Smoke Free Areas

 

2017 State Government Outdoor Smoking Laws

From 1 August 2017, smoking has been banned:

• in outdoor areas at hospitality and food venues used for eating food. This includes footpath dining areas, courtyards and beer gardens during times food is being eaten, or is available to be eaten
• in all outdoor areas at food fairs (an event where the principal activity is the supply of food for consumption at the event)
• within 10 metres of a food stall or food vendor at organised outdoor event (other than a food fair).

To complement smoke-free outdoor dining, smoking is banned in an outdoor drinking area if any part of that area is within 4 metres of an outdoor dining area, unless separated by a wall of at least 2.1 metres high. This means the two areas can be separated by either:

• a 4 metre buffer zone; or
• a wall of at least 2.1 metres high.

If the separation requirement is not met, smoking is banned in an outdoor drinking area. This law applies to the same venue as well as to neighbouring venues.

For more information, please visit the health.vic website.