Smoking Bans in Outdoor Dining Areas

Smoke-free outdoor dining helps keep people safe from secondhand smoke and makes smoking less common. It's also a good way to help kids avoid picking up the habit.

It also helps support people who have recently quit smoking, or who are trying to quit, by removing smoking visual cues and triggers.

The introduction of smoke free outdoor dining means there are two types of outdoor areas:

Outdoor dining areas.
Outdoor drinking areas.

All outdoor drinking areas must be separated from outdoor dining areas by either a four metre buffer zone or a wall at least 2.1 metres high.

If you have an outdoor dining area where food can always be eaten, it must stay smoke-free all the time, even when no one is eating.

Smoke-free outdoor dining factsheets are available from the Department of Health website.

Current no smoking signs can be used for the new bans in outdoor dining, however additional signage may be required. Business owners and managers can contact us for these signs or go to the Department of Health website.

All existing smoking restrictions continue to apply - refer to our Tobacco information for businesses page for this information.

More information can be obtained from the Tobacco Reforms webpage or call Tobacco Information Line on 1300 136 775.