[1] The PMC was introduced in July 1995 (replacing the previous departure tax which commenced in October 1978) and was initially described as a charge to partially offset the cost to government of the provision of passenger facilitation at airports, principally customs, immigration and quarantine functions.
The PMC is paid by airlines and recovered from passengers as part of the fare or as a special charge (e.g., in the case of free or points tickets).
Its initial stated aim was to recover costs associated with passenger processing at Australia's air and sea ports.
In 1991 the rate was increased to A$20 to fund a A$20 million tourism promotion package in an attempt to counter the negative impact of the pilots' dispute of 1989.
Few jurisdictions levy taxes on departing international passengers, although some charge airport fees to cover the cost of provision of government agency services at the frontiers.
In 2013 Australia was ranked 130 out of 140 countries for its relative cost of ticket taxes and airport charges in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report.
The PMC is the second highest departure tax among the members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) after the United Kingdom Air Passenger Duty's long haul rates (see table).