Butts Out from 1 July

From 1 July 2016, the new outdoor smoking ban comes into effect across South Australia.  Smoking will be banned in all outdoor dining areas, however, patrons will still be allowed to smoke in outdoor drinking areas, so long as no food is served.

Businesses must display signs alerting customers to the ban or face a $1,250 fine, while people caught smoking in the area could be fined up to $200.

Smoking will still be allowed in outdoor areas where pre-packaged snacks, such as chips and nuts, are available.

Businesses can divide outdoor areas into smoking and non-smoking sections, however, they would need to build a wall of at least two metres high to separate the two areas.

South Australia was the last state, besides Victoria, to restrict smoking in alfresco settings.

On 31 May 2016, World No Tobacco Day, the City of Darwin declared Smith Street Mall and Raintree Park “Smoke Free”, the start of a six month trial period to ensure all outdoor places and open spaces are accessible to the whole community and user friendly for all ages.

This follows other cities such as Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, declaring popular retail and business malls smoke free zones.

If you have any queries regarding the new smoking laws, please contact Jarrod Ryan (jarrod@ryandurey.com) or Alyce Cassettai (alyce@ryandurey.com).