Is Caffeine legal in Australia?

Legal status

Caffeine is legal everywhere as an ordinary food and beverage ingredient; the notable Australian status is a prohibition on pure and highly concentrated caffeine at retail. Following a 2019 caffeine-toxicity death, the TGA added highly concentrated caffeine to Schedule 10 of the Poisons Standard (substances of such danger to health as to warrant prohibition of sale, supply and use) and tightened the Therapeutic Goods (Permissible Ingredients) Determination, while FSANZ amended the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to ban retail sale of foods containing caffeine at 5% or more (solid/semi-solid, e.g. powders) or 1% or more (liquids).

Consequences if caught

No penalty attaches to ordinary caffeinated foods, drinks or coffee; enforcement targets sellers, with retail supply of pure or highly concentrated caffeine powders prohibited and actionable by the TGA and state food regulators.

If prescribed or medical

n/a — a food ingredient

Documentation

Ordinary caffeinated products need no documentation; high-caffeine drinks (>145 mg/kg) require statements and pure/high-concentration caffeine foods may not be sold to consumers under the Food Standards Code.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Australia’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.