From 1 July 2024 vapes can no longer be sold Australia wide other than in pharmacies. New Commonwealth laws override South Australia's Act and now only pharmacies can sell vapes. Licences still permit the sale of tobacco products.

The following information can assist all tobacco and e-cigarette licence holders and their staff to understand licence conditions introduced on 10 July 2023.

All licence holders must comply with the Tobacco & E-Cigarette Product Act 1997 (TEP Act) licence conditions.

Licence conditions

Retail Tobacco Licences are subject to compliance with the following conditions:

  1. Tobacco products and e-cigarette products can only be sold at a place specified in this licence. Retailers with more than one retail outlet selling tobacco and/or e-cigarettes must hold a separate licence for each outlet.
  2. This licence expires 12 months from the date of issue.
  3. The licensee must ensure that the current version of their Retail Tobacco and E-Cigarette Merchant’s Licence is displayed on the premises and visible to members of the public and staff. Where a licence consists of multiple pages (including conditions), a copy of each page must be clearly displayed.
  4. The Licensee must ensure that all employees and contractors who are involved in the sale and supply of tobacco and e-cigarette products have skills and knowledge that are commensurate with their work activities to ensure compliance with the Tobacco & E-Cigarette Product Act 1997 and these conditions of licence.
  5. The number of points of sale for tobacco and e-cigarette product at this address is limited to:
    • up to five points of sale for all premises licensed under the Liquor Licensing Act 1997, excluding premises with a packaged liquor sale licence granted under section 38 of the Liquor Licensing Act 1997 that are restricted to one point of sale; or
    • one point of sale for other premises.
  6. The licensee must comply with the Controlled Substances Act 1984 and the legislative instruments made under this Act which relate to the sale, supply and/or possession of nicotine*.
  7. The licensee must not possess or store e-cigarette products containing nicotine or other products containing nicotine unless lawfully permitted under the Controlled Substances Act 1984.
  8. The licensee must verify, and keep and retain records of, the ingredients in e-cigarette products that are sold, supplied, possessed and/or stored on the premises. More specifically, verification must include at least one of the following:
    • A MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), certificate or statement issued from the supplier, importer or manufacturer outlining the ingredients contained within the e-cigarette product. For the purposes of this condition, the label and/or packaging of e-cigarette products is not a MSDS, certificate or statement.
    • A laboratory testing certificate verifying the absence of nicotine issued from an Australian NATA accredited laboratory, or comparable credentials if using an international laboratory. The laboratory certificate must include the date of the test; product details (brand, flavour, size and any identifying information such as batch numbers), the details of the laboratory, testing methodology performed and the LOQ (Limit of Quantification) or LOR (Limit of Reporting).
    • These records must be:
      • retained for a period of 2 years
      • kept, stored and be readily accessible on the premises
      • produced to an Authorised Officer for inspection upon request.
  9. The Licensee must keep and retain records of the suppliers, importers and/or manufacturers of all tobacco and e-cigarette products that are sold, supplied, possessed and/or stored on the premises. These records must include the following information:
    • name of purchaser
    • name of seller or importer including their name, address, contact details (phone / email) and Australian Business Number (ABN)
    • if products are imported directly from overseas (by the Licensee):
      • details of the manufacturer including name, address, contact details (phone / e-mail)
      • proof of legal importation and taxation/excise payment
      • date of sale
      • invoice number
      • itemised list of goods sold including product name, brand, quantity etc.
    • These records must be:
      • retained for a period of 2 years
      • kept, stored and be readily accessible on the premises
      • produced to an Authorised Officer for inspection upon request.
  10. The Licensee must comply with all Laws applicable to the occupation and operation of the licensed premises. For the purposes of this condition the word “Laws” means the laws in force in South Australia including the common law and all present and future legislation (both State and Federal) and all amendments to them and re-enactments of them and all regulations and by-laws, orders and proclamations made pursuant to them.
  11. The Licensee must prior to any takeover or merger, or change of either 51% of the legal or beneficial shareholding or membership of the Licensee or the effective control of the ownership or management of the Licensee, obtain the written approval of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing or delegate. Approval can be sought by writing to:
  12. Consumer and Business Services’ Occupational Licensing team at occupational@sa.gov.au.The Licensee must advise in writing, and within 28 days, if the business is no longer selling tobacco and/or e-cigarette products by retail. Notification can be made in writing to:

* Nicotine for human use is a Schedule 4 poison for the purposes of the Controlled Substances Act 1984 in preparations for human use except:

  • in preparations for oromucosal or transdermal administration for human therapeutic use as an aid in withdrawal from tobacco smoking (eg, nicotine patches and nicotine gum)
  • in tobacco prepared and packaged for smoking.

Key points

Key things businesses need to know:

  1. Understand the laws: Read the licence conditions and familiarise yourself with section 18 of the Controlled Substances Act 1984 (CS Act) which prohibits the sale, supply and possession of nicotine.
  2. Have supplier information readily available: Maintain relevant documentation that supports the traceability of your tobacco products to the supplier, importer or manufacturer. Please refer to the conditions for specific information that is required to be maintained – in most instances an itemised invoice will be sufficient. Keep these records at your business to show to an Authorised Officer during an inspection if requested.
  3. Train your staff: Ensure all staff and contractors who are involved in the sale and supply of tobacco products have adequate skills and knowledge relative to their work responsibilities. This means they should be aware of the requirements of the TEP Act, and other relevant legislation. Licence holders are encouraged to provide adequate supervision and oversight to ensure ongoing compliance with all the requirements. As a licence holder, you may be found guilty of an offence committed by your employees under the TEP Act and CS Act.
  4. Be aware of other laws about tobacco and vapes: Ensure that you are aware of and comply with all other Australian Government legislation that may be applicable to your business. This means that you must not sell or supply products that are prohibited by other legislation (eg cannabis, viagra, amyl nitrate, chop-chop etc).
  5. Display your licence: Display your TEP Act licence, including the conditions in a visible place on your premises. This will enable your staff and customers to readily see them.
  6. Changing business ownership: If there is a change in ownership at your business, please be aware that the licence cannot transfer to the new owner/s. They must submit a new licence application with CBS. Processing of the application can take up to 3 months. The only exception is if the sale of the business occurs by the transfer of the shares in the body corporate that owns it. As the proposed new controlling interest essentially 'inherits' the licence with the company, the seller must get prior written approval for the change of controlling interest from the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs by writing to occupational@sa.gov.au - as detailed in licence condition 11 above.

Frequently asked questions

All licence holders should still retain Material Safety Data Sheet and laboratory testing certificates for two years after last possessing the vape stock.

An Authorised Officer (AO) will still have power to ask you for this documentation and if it cannot be provided during the inspection, it may contribute to the AO having reasonable cause to suspect that the product contains nicotine. If this occurs, the AO may seize all applicable vaping products from your store and submit them for laboratory analysis to confirm the presence or absence of nicotine.

The documentation can be in the form of a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), statement or laboratory certificate issued by your supplier, importer or manufacturer.

No, you should not sell any vaping products anyway because of the Commonwealth Government ban from 1 July 2024.

All documents need to be:

  • retained for a period of two years
  • kept, stored and be readily accessible on the premises
  • produced to an AO for inspection upon request.

What is considered ‘readily accessible’ may depend on the circumstances. The expectation is that the records be produced to an AO immediately or within a reasonable time period. This would mean during the course of the inspection in most instances.

It is important to note if these records cannot be provided to the AO during the inspection, it may contribute to the AO having reasonable cause to suspect that the product may contain nicotine. If this occurs, the AO may seize and retain the product.

The TGA website contains a searchable register of over 300 vaping products, many of which have been confirmed to contain nicotine. If you sell a product on this list, you are encouraged to stop selling the product until you have sufficient evidence that it does not contain nicotine or you should dispose of it immediately. For more information, visit the TGA's testing of nicotine and vaping products page.

NVPs must not be disposed of through general waste. In accordance with the Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010, a vape is prohibited from being disposed into landfill. There are several local and interstate waste disposal providers who can facilitate the safe, ethical, and lawful disposal of vapes and their contents.

Yes, CBS Officers are Authorised Officers (AO) under the TEP Act and may conduct unannounced inspections to verify compliance with the legislation, including licence conditions. AOs are required to carry identification while performing compliance activities and licence holders (or their employees) can ask to see an AO’s ID card at any time during the inspection.

AOs have a range of prescribed powers and some of these powers include the ability to:

  • enter and remain on the premises
  • require a person to produce a record
  • take photographs, films, audio, video or other recordings
  • seize and retain products or records if there is ‘reasonable suspicion’ that an offence has been committed under the Act, including licence conditions.

When an AO reasonably suspects that a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit an offence against the TEP Act, they may require the person's full name, usual place of residence and evidence of the person's identity.

Any person who hinders, obstructs an AO or uses abusive, threatening or insulting language may be guilty of an offence and subject to a penalty of $35,000.

Lastly, South Australia Police (SAPOL) Officers are also AOs under the TEP Act and may also conduct inspections and investigations as necessary.

Yes, any person who sells, supplies or possess a nicotine product that is not permitted under the CS Act is committing an offence. All employees must understand that they have a personal responsibility to ensure that they do not sell NVPs.

Yes, when a breach of licence condition occurs, CBS will consider the most appropriate compliance or enforcement action. This may include issuing a fine, commencing prosecution proceedings or cancelling a licence. Not all breaches of licence conditions will result in enforcement action. CBS will consider a range of factors in determining the appropriate action to take.

Failure to comply with a licence condition is an offence which carries an expiation fee of $500 and maximum penalty of $10,000.

A variation of licence conditions is considered to be a decision of the Minister. According to section 12 of the TEP Act, licence holders who are dissatisfied with a decision of the Minister may submit an application requesting a formal review. The application must:

  • be made within one month after you received notice of the decision to which the application relates
  • set out in detail the grounds on which the licence holder seeks a review
  • be sent to CBS’ Occupational Licensing team on occupational@sa.gov.au licence number).

Upon receiving an application, the Minister, or his delegate, may:

  • confirm or vary the decision under review
  • reverse the decision and substitute it with another decision.

The Minister, or his delegate, will inform the licence holder of the result of the review in writing. It is important to note, that whilst a review is occurring, compliance with the TEP Act and the licence conditions is still required.

Legal disclaimer

The material and information contained on this webpage is for general information purposes only. Licensees should not rely upon the material or information as a basis for making any business, legal or any other decisions. Licensees should refer to their licence issued under Part 2 of the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Act 1997 and the licence conditions fixed under section 9 of the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Act 1997. Licensees should seek professional or legal advice if they have any questions regarding their obligations under the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Act 1997.

Further information

If you have any questions about your obligations under the TEP Act, email CBS on occupational@sa.gov.au.