After an 18-year campaign, the “sexist” and “unfair” GST on tampons and sanitary pads will be ditched from January 1.

State and territory treasurers unanimously backed the change during a meeting with federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Melbourne on Wednesday.

This means the 10 per cent GST impost will be gone in less than three months.

Levying GST on sanitary products has long been described as unfair because products such as condoms and Viagra are exempt. Both major parties recently changed their policies to back the exemption.

Products affected by Wednesday’s decision are expected to include tampons, pads, menstrual cups, maternity pads and leak-proof underwear.

Despite a push to exempt breastfeeding aids, such as pumps and nipple shields, from the consumption tax, they are not included.

The change will cost states and territories $30 million in revenue annually. But Mr Frydenberg said they were already making more money thanks to GST being levied on online purchases since July.

Federal Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer said efforts to remove the tax had had a “tortured history” and she was glad the time had come.

“We’re really delighted that everyone’s come on board to scrap what is an unfair tax,” she told Sky News on Wednesday.

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

Greens senator Janet Rice said the decision had come after 18 years of campaigning (the push to exempt sanitary products started when the GST was introduced in 2000).

“People power has made it happen,” she said on Wednesday.

“The politicians have finally realised how much support in the community there has been to end the unfair and sexist tax.”

However, the federal government faces a tougher time convincing some states and territories to back its plan to change how the GST is carved up.

Later on Wednesday, treasurers discussed the planned introduction of a 75 cent floor in GST payments. The eastern states are concerned they will be worse off under the proposal, hatched to protect Western Australia from losing GST revenue.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Coalition would listen to what state and territory treasurers had to say.

But Wednesday’s meeting would have no bearing on the legislation the government planned to introduce when it next sits in mid-October.

“At the end of the day, this is a decision for our government,” Mr Morrison told Perth radio station 6PR.

Victorian Labor Treasurer Tim Pallas said the carve-up plan was more about fixing a political problem for the Coalition in WA than making GST distribution fairer.

But Mr Frydenberg said the changes were based on data from the Productivity Commission. All states and territories would be better off, he said, with Victoria set to get $425 million more.

“We’re putting in an additional $9 billion to support the states and territories,” he told Sky News.

Federal Labor broadly supports the GST changes but is concerned there are no protections for states in the draft legislation.

NSW Liberal Treasurer Dominic Perrottet wants the plan amended to guarantee the states a better deal.

But the Commonwealth appears unlikely to budge, with Mr Frydenberg arguing a guarantee would create “parallel systems”.

-with AAP