From 31 March 2007, passengers on international flights to and from Australia will only be allowed to carry a small amount of liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) in their carry-on baggage. The restriction will cover items such as creams, perfumes, sprays, gels, toothpaste and other similar substances.

You should ensure that each container is less than 100 millilitres and that they fit comfortably into a one-litre resealable plastic bag. Putting your items into one of these bags will minimise the delay that you experience at screening points, because the bags can be inspected easily. The bags can be purchased at most supermarkets and measure approximately 20cm by 20cm.

Allowances will be made for medications or baby food needed for consumption on the flight under certain conditions. In addition, you will be able to bring any drinks or other liquids that you have purchased from shops, including duty free shops, on the secure side of the airport.

There will be no changes to the amount of these substances that you can pack in your checked baggage, which is carried in the hold of the aircraft.

The Australian Government has imposed these new measures. They are in line with the restrictions imposed in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada.

You can find out more information at the Department of Transport and Regional Services website at www.dotars.gov.au

Inbound duty free
For flights to Australia, all LAGs, with the exception of duty free, will be restricted to 100ml containers contained within in a one litre LAGs bag.  When the items are duty free, they may be transported if they are delivered to the gate in a sealed bag with proof of purchase and only collected by the passenger after proceeding through LAGs screening.

Passengers may purchase LAG duty free items onboard an aircraft. However, it should be noted that no duty free items will be permitted to be taken through the transit screening point. Therefore it is recommended that passengers looking to purchase duty free do so onboard (where permitted) or on arrival (where permitted) at your final destination (in either direction).

Please note: customers traveling Sydney to Melbourne on UA839 are permitted to purchase duty free on arrival in Melbourne. Duty free purchased in-flight between the USA and Sydney will be confiscated in the Sydney transit process.

Outbound duty free
Passengers may take all LAGs purchased or collected in the sterile area of an Australian international airport on board an aircraft, including duty free items, unless other jurisdictional measures apply. Customers are only permitted to take duty free on the first sector out of Australia. Any customer connecting to domestic flights in San Francisco or Los Angeles will need to place their duty free in their checked bag prior to rechecking it in the USA. If the duty free is not placed into checked baggage on arrival in the USA, it will be confiscated at the domestic security checkpoint.