About the legislation
The Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023 (the Act) consolidates various Commonwealth tobacco-related laws. It modernises and simplifies the tobacco laws, introducing new measures to:
- discourage smoking and the use of tobacco products
- restrict the promotion of e‑cigarettes.
The aim of the Act is to:
- improve public health by discouraging smoking and the use of smoking products
- encourage people to give up smoking and stop using tobacco products
- address the health risks of vaping and using e‑cigarettes.
The Act replaced the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 and Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011, which were repealed on 1 April 2024.
You can view the laws on the Federal Register of Legislation website:
- Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023
- Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Regulations 2024
- Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2023
- Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Rules 2024
When the legislation comes into effect
The Act commenced on 1 April 2024. There is a transition period allowing manufacturers, importers and retailers to shift to the new arrangements.
Why it is important
Our tobacco control measures, both regulatory and non-regulatory, have helped to reduce smoking rates in Australia. We have one of the lowest smoking rates in the world. However, tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death and disability among Australians. It is also the greatest contributor to the health gap between First Nations people and other Australians.
Our reforms to the tobacco control framework help us:
- respond to changes in the market
- deal with new and emerging products, which are used to influence consumer behaviour and undermine existing tobacco control measures
- meet Australia's obligations as a party to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Key elements of the new laws
The legislation:
- continues tobacco advertising bans including restricting sponsorships
- restricts the advertising and promotion of e‑cigarettes, including via sponsorships
- continues plain packaging requirements
- restricts the use of appealing brand and variant names
- regulates and in some cases prohibits attractive product features, such as crush balls and flavour beads
- standardises tobacco product pack size and cigarette stick sizes
- restricts ingredient additives that enhance the appeal of tobacco products
- updates and improves health warnings on tobacco product packaging
- mandates health promotion inserts that encourage and empower people to quit smoking
- mandates the disclosure of tobacco product ingredients, pricing and sales volumes, and advertising, promotion and sponsorship expenditure
- improves coverage, enforcement and compliance for tobacco control
- provides for a new Illicit Tobacco and E‑cigarette Commissioner within the Australian Border Force.
Transition period
The Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2023 and the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Rules 2024 commenced on 1 April 2024. It provides transition periods for manufacturers, importers and retailers to comply with the new legislative requirements.
From 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, we will consider you to be compliant with the new tobacco packaging requirements in the Act if you comply with the old legislation:
- Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 and Regulations
- Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 and Regulations
- Competition and Consumer (Tobacco) Information Standard 2011.
From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025, retailers may sell-through stock that complies with the old legislation.
Read our fact sheet for more information on the transition periods for manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers.
Legislation review
To make sure our tobacco laws are up to date and fit for purpose, we undertook a review process. Find out more about the tobacco legislation review.
Register for updates
Register for updates about the new Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023.
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