Sydney : The end of the tampon tax, restrictions on foreign political donations and crackdowns on predatory lending practices are among changes to Australian law coming into effect on Tuesday.
On Monday the federal government signed a determination to remove the GST from sanitary products, following unanimous state and federal agreement three months ago. It will take effect on 1 January.
It follows a decades-long campaign to have the essential female products included with condoms and lubricant as “health goods” exempt from the tax.
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In 2000 then health minister, Michael Wooldridge, said condoms “prevent illness”, and he “wasn’t aware that menstruation was an illness”.
Both parties voted it down over the years but eventually supported the push, despite the $30m loss in tax revenue.
