Five stores in Adelaide’s CBD have been shut down after being caught selling illicit tobacco and vapes under South Australia’s tough new laws.
The Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs issued 28-day closure orders for Rundle East Convenience, Rundle City Convenience, The Ultimate Convenience (Rundle Street) and Grenfell City Convenience.
The Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs has also issued a 3-day closure order for XL Convenience (Grenfell Street).
The stores were raided by members of Consumer and Business Services’ (CBS) illicit tobacco taskforce over the past week and officers seized illegal cigarettes, vapes and nicotine pouches.
These are the first stores to be subject to the longer short-term closure orders with reforms to South Australia’s illicit tobacco laws taking effect on 5 June.
The Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs now also has the power to seek closure orders of up to 12-months through a Magistrates Court.
Any business who violates such an order can be hit with a penalty of up to $1.1 million and an individual up to $700,000.
Selling illicit tobacco and vapes poses a significant risk to community safety and South Australia has the toughest fines of any state or territory for supplying or possessing ‘commercial’ and ‘large commercial’ quantities with penalties of up to $6.6 million.
The Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs will also be contacting the landlords of the premises to inform them of the closures. Under the reforms, it is an offence to knowingly allow a premises to be used to sell illicit tobacco and vapes with penalties of up to $20,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a body corporate and we have empowered landlords to be able to terminate leases for shops subject to long term closure orders.
South Australia’s tough approach to illicit tobacco and vapes has been recognised as the best in the nation with the Australian Council on Smoking and Health giving our state an A+.
Since July 1, the state government illicit tobacco taskforce has conducted more than 500 inspections across the state and CBS and SA Police have seized $34 million worth of illicit tobacco and vapes.
