4Simplified outline of this Act

4 Simplified outline of this Act

This Act is about regulating the advertising and presentation of tobacco and e‑cigarette products in order to discourage the use of such products and protect and improve public health.

One of the main objects of this Act is to give effect to obligations that Australia has under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This is done in part by prohibiting the advertising of tobacco products, as well as by prohibiting persons from making tobacco sponsorships.

In order to limit the risk of e‑cigarette products becoming a gateway into smoking, and to address the health risks of vaping, this Act includes similar prohibitions in relation to e‑cigarette products.

This Act also specifies a number of requirements that tobacco products must comply with, including requirements and limitations relating to plain packaging, health warnings, the terms that can be used in relation to the brand names or variant names of tobacco products, and the marks that can be included on tobacco product packaging.

A permanent ban on some tobacco products is included as well.

Certain persons are subject to obligations under this Act to report to the Secretary on a variety of matters including the ingredients used in tobacco products, volumes of sales and imports and marketing and promotional expenditure. Usually, the Minister must publish those reports.

A range of compliance and enforcement powers are provided for, including by applying the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014.

This Act also establishes the Illicit Tobacco and E‑cigarette Commissioner.

Various miscellaneous matters are also dealt with by this Act, including the power to make delegations and regulations.