'Tampon tax' scrapped in Australia after 18-year controversy - BBC News
After 18 years of protest, sanitary products will no longer be deemed "non-essential items".
Women campaigning for an end to the tax in 2015

Australia will remove a controversial tax on female sanitary products following years of campaigning by women's groups.

Currently, tampons and sanitary pads are sold with a 10% goods and services tax (GST) because they are categorised as non-essential items.

Women have argued it is an unfair classification, noting items such as condoms and sunscreen are exempt.

Federal and state governments agreed on Wednesday to remove the levy.

"We're really delighted that everyone's come on board to scrap what is an unfair tax," Minister for Women Kelly O'Dwyer told Sky News Australia.

"Millions of women right across the nation will be very thankful for it."

Widely known as the "tampon tax", the levy on sanitary products has drawn protests since the GST was introduced in 2000.

Many women, including long-time campaigners, celebrated the change on Wednesday.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Janet Rice This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 2 by izzie This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 3 by Michelle Law 🌈 This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The decision was brought on by the federal government, which had previously faced opposition from state and territory counterparts over estimated falls in tax revenue.

In 2015, a petition against the tax was signed by more than 90,000 people. Campaigners even produced a rap video.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Drop It Coz It's Rot makes fun of a tax the producer calls "ridiculous"

Australia's states and territories stand to lose about A$30m (£16m; $21m) in revenue because of the change.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has previously said that sanitary products should not have been included when the GST was introduced.