Tampons and pads will no longer be hit with a 10 per cent tax starting from tomorrow, New Year’s Day.
The Federal Government has signed the documentation that officially removes the GST on feminine hygiene products, ending a two-decade campaign.
It comes three months after the states and territories unanimously agreed to ditch the tax on women’s products, despite the expected $30 million cost a year in GST revenue.
The GST on sanitary items has long been described as unfair because other health products including condoms and Viagra are exempt.
Nicole Byers, editor-in-chief of The Australian Women’s Weekly, said the reform comes after 18-years of campaigning by many thousands of women and organisations across the country and follows a concerted campaign in 2018 by Bauer Media, publisher of The Weekly and other magazines and websites (including Now to Love) and magazines for women.
“This is a great win for women,” Byers said. “Bauer has been the latest of many to push for the tax to be removed – this has been a hard earned win for a reform that should have happened decades ago.”
Items that will be GST-free include tampons, disposable and reusable menstrual pads, menstrual cups, panty liners and period or leak-proof underwear.
Bauer’s 36 magazine brands ran a “No Gender Selective Tax” campaign in support of removing the GST on tampons in 2018. This involved editorial and advertising content across all major brands as well as an influencer campaign across social media. Consumers were asked to sign a petition at bloodyannoying.com.
The campaign has also involved direct representation to the senior federal and state government leaders as well all MPs nationwide.
Byers said that even though there has been a win in this campaign, Bauer will continue to fight and campaign for women’s issues that often don’t get enough attention in the media.
“We will continue to push for policy campaigns where our readers tell us it’s needed,” she said.
