The Australian federal government has introduced tighter restrictions on promotional merchandise after new figures revealed that government departments and agencies spent more than $3.4 million on promotional products during the 2025–26 financial year.

The spending included thousands of branded items such as stress balls, condoms, lollies, reusable shopping bags, pens, beanies and other promotional materials. The figures were provided to the Senate and reported by ABC News on Saturday, 31 October 2026.

The Albanese government has introduced a new policy aimed at reducing unnecessary spending of taxpayer money on promotional merchandise. The restrictions came into effect in July 2026 and require government agencies to obtain approval before purchasing promotional products, except in certain permitted circumstances.

The Department of Defence was among the largest spenders, allocating more than $1.4 million to promotional merchandise during the financial year.

The department's purchases included gifts for foreign military representatives and dignitaries, as well as promotional products for recruitment activities, employment expos and military base open days.

Defence representatives defended the expenditure, saying that merchandise purchases must meet government requirements for efficient, effective, economical and ethical use of public resources.

The Department of Health also spent approximately $383,000 on promotional merchandise. Its purchases included 40,000 condoms and 7,000 branded condom wallets as part of public health initiatives designed to encourage safer sexual practices and prevent sexually transmitted infections.

The department also purchased 5,000 stress balls, 5,000 packets of mints and 220 yo-yos carrying anti-vaping messages.

Health officials said these products were used to communicate important public health information and encourage people to adopt healthier behaviours. They argued that promotional merchandise can help campaigns reach their intended audiences and make health messages more memorable.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded approximately $176,000 in merchandise spending. Most of this expenditure was associated with activities supporting the 2026 national census.

Its promotional products included census-branded beanies, miniature AFL footballs, socks, reusable shopping bags, pencils, pens and badge pins.

The Australian Federal Police also recorded merchandise expenditure exceeding $251,000. The organisation said its promotional materials were primarily used at recruitment exhibitions and career events.

An AFP spokesperson explained that the organisation had strengthened its purchasing procedures to ensure merchandise was more educational and less focused on distributing generic branded gifts.

Under the government's new policy, federal agencies must seek senior approval when promotional merchandise is considered essential to delivering government policy objectives. Certain purchases, including products intended for resale and materials primarily designed to provide information, are treated differently.

The Department of Finance has also introduced reporting requirements. Government entities covered by the policy will need to disclose relevant merchandise expenditure in their annual reports beginning with the 2026–27 reporting period.

The new restrictions are intended to improve transparency and encourage government departments to consider whether promotional purchases provide genuine public value.

The issue has attracted attention because public spending is closely scrutinised, particularly when government agencies use taxpayer funds for products that may not appear essential to their operations.

The government says the changes will help limit unnecessary promotional spending while allowing legitimate public health, education, recruitment and communication activities to continue.