This page is divided into the following sections;
You must have a tobacco seller’s licence to sell tobacco or tobacco products in Tasmania.
To get a licence, you must complete the application form and pay the prescribed fee. The prescribed fee is currently $191.50 per premises.
Other important information for applicants includes:
- You must be over 18 years of age to obtain a tobacco seller’s licence.
- Only individuals, not companies, can apply for a tobacco seller's licence.
- An application must include a list of all the premises from where you intend to sell tobacco products.
- The licence or a reasonable copy must be displayed on all premises where the licence holder sells tobacco products.
- A tobacco seller's licence expires at the end of the period specified in the licence or 12 months from the date of issue, whichever is sooner. If you have a licence, you will be sent an application to renew your licence before your current licence expires.
- Tobacco Seller's Licences are not transferable when a business changes ownership.
- There are penalties for selling tobacco products without a tobacco seller’s licence.
For further information download the Information for Applicants form or contact the Tobacco Licensing Officer on (03) 6336 2251.
The Public Health Act 1997 contains a number of provisions that impose significant limits on the way tobacco products are displayed and sold.
With regard to the display of tobacco products, these include restrictions on:
- Items designed or marketed for use by children including confectionery being displayed within 75cm of tobacco products;
- The display of one packet per product line to a maximum of 150 packets.
- Vending machines may have a maximum of 40 vending chips displaying images of tobacco products;
- Approved health warning notices are required to be displayed where tobacco products are displayed and on vending machines; and
- There are limitations on how price tickets and price information can be displayed.
Until 1 February 2011, displays must be confined to a single area that does not exceed one square metre. For specialist tobacconists displays must be confined to four square metres.
From 1 February 2011, a complete ban on the display of tobacco products will commence (except for specialist tobacconists).
Details regarding restriction on price tickets and vending machine displays can be found in the Guidelines for Price Tickets and Other Matters (Tobacco Products) 2008.
With regard to the sale of tobacco products, there are prohibitions on:
- All advertising of tobacco products;
- Promotions and marketing schemes involving tobacco products such as give-aways;
- Tobacco manufacturers providing false information about the health effects of tobacco or tobacco control laws;
- Confectionery or toys which look like tobacco products;
- Fruit and confectionery flavoured tobacco products;
- Tobacco products being sold in packages containing less than 20 cigarettes;
- All internal spot and external lighting attached to tobacco displays and vending machines; and
- Self-operated vending machines.
It is important that tobacco retailers familiarise themselves with these rules as there are penalties for breaches. Tobacco Control Officers from the Department of Health and Human Services conduct regular checks to ensure retailer compliance.
Further information is contained in the Guide for Selling Tobacco Products in Tasmania or you can view the tobacco control provisions in Part 4 (Division 1A) of the Public Health Act 1997. Alternatively you can contact a Tobacco Control Officer.
The Public Health Act 1997 includes provisions banning the sale or supply of tobacco products to a child. A child is defined as “a person who has not attained the age of 18 years”.
It is strongly recommended that tobacco retailers ask for proof of age prior to selling cigarettes to any person if they are unsure of their age. Acceptable proof of age documents include:
- A drivers licence
- A passport
- A photographic Key Pass identification card issued by the Commonwealth Key Register
- A photographic firearms licence issued by Tasmania Police under the Firearms Act 1996 or
- A Tasmanian Government Proof of Age card.
For further information refer to the Guidelines for Proof of Age (Tobacco Products) 2001.
Training Checklist
The holder of a tobacco seller’s licence is required to provide information to employees about the sale and supply of tobacco products to children. This information can be provided verbally, but it is recommended that licence holders obtain written acknowledgement from employees responsible for selling tobacco products that they have been made aware that it is an offence to sell or supply tobacco to a child.
The Department has developed a Training Checklist that can be used by tobacco retailers and licence holders to train employees. For further information or copies of the Training Checklist contact a Tobacco Control Officer.
Compliance Surveys
Quit Tasmania conducts compliance surveys periodically for the Department. Surveys check to see if retailers are selling tobacco products to people under 18 years of age using teenage volunteers. Compliance surveys are a research tool to test compliance with the law and are not used as the basis for prosecution.
Results from some of the previous surveys conducted by Quit Tasmania are highlighted in the following reports:
Information from surveys is provided to the Department and can be used as the basis for controlled purchase operations.
Controlled Purchase Operations
Controlled Purchase Operations are conducted by Tobacco Control Officers from the Department and use teenage volunteers to test whether retailers are selling tobacco products to people under 18 years of age. They are not conducted by Quit Tasmania. Controlled Purchase Operations are approved activities under the Public Health Act 1997 for testing compliance with the law. When a sale is made evidence is referred for prosecution.
Enforcement Policy
The Department’s enforcement policy in relation to the sale of cigarettes to children is to prosecute when an offence is detected. Warnings are not issued. This means that retailers who are found to have sold cigarettes face immediate prosecution and a maximum fine of $6,000 for a first offence and $12,000 for a subsequent offence and licence cancellation.