Patrolled beaches: smoke-free and vape-free

Smoking and vaping is banned in the areas between the red-and-yellow flags and within a 50-metre radius of a red-and-yellow flag, in publicly accessible areas predominantly covered by sand and water. The ban will apply during patrolled hours when one or more red-and-yellow lifesaving flags has been put in place by a Life Saving Victoria club.

The ban does not apply beyond the ‘landward edge’ of the beach’s sanded area – meaning the point where the sand ends and joins another surface such as grass or a footpath.

The ban applies to patrolled river beaches, such as the beach on the Murray River in Mildura. However, in the case of a river beach the ban does not apply beyond the water's edge or beyond the landward edge of the beach.

Lots of children, young people and families visit Victoria's patrolled beaches. Children are influenced by what they see going on around them.

Smoking and vaping is banned on Victoria's patrolled beaches to protect everyone – especially children and young people – from exposure to tobacco smoke, the aerosol from e-cigarettes, and from seeing adults smoking and vaping.

Banning smoking and vaping on beaches also helps the environment. Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter on Victorian beaches and can release toxins and pose a choking hazard for small children.

An inspector can issue an infringement penalty of one penalty unit for smoking or vaping on a patrolled beach, and one penalty unit if a person fails to stop smoking or vaping on request by the inspector. The current value of a penalty unit is listed on the Department of Treasury and Finance, Indexation of fees and penalty units page.

The maximum court-ordered penalty that can be issued for smoking or vaping on a patrolled beach is five penalty units. An additional penalty of five penalty units can be ordered if a person did not stop smoking or vaping when asked to do so by an inspector.

Lifesavers perform a valuable service keeping Victorian families safe at the beach every summer. They do not have a role in enforcing the smoking and vaping ban on patrolled beaches. However, along with any other beach user, lifesavers are free to remind any smoker or e-cigarettes user of the 'No smoking' signs.