Last updated: October 2016
Suggested citation: Grace, C. 11.3 Commonwealth (national) legislation. In Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH [editors]. Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2016. Available from: http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-11-advertising/11-3-commonwealth-legislation
Authors who contributed to previous versions of this section include Chapman, S., Freeman, B., & Winstanley M.
Advertising of tobacco products in Australia has been progressively restricted since the 1970s. As described earlier, cigarette advertising bans on radio and television have been in place since 1976. In 1989, the Australian Government introduced the Tobacco Products Advertisements (Prohibition) Act 1989, which prohibited advertising of tobacco products in all newspapers and magazines, effective from December 1990.
The Tobacco Products Advertisements (Prohibition) Act 1989, in conjunction with the amended Broadcasting Act 1942, prohibited direct advertising in the print and broadcast media. The Tobacco Products Advertisements (Prohibition) Act 1989 was repealed in December 1992 by the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 (TAP Act) that came into effect on 1 July 1993.1
In 2007, the Australian Government published a guide to the TAP Act that outlines what is and is not allowed under the Act.2 The guide is designed to assist people who sell tobacco products (such as tobacconists, service stations and grocery shop owners), those whose work involves publishing or broadcasting (such as advertising agents and people who work in the media), and people who deal with the tobacco industry (such as sporting or cultural groups seeking sponsorship).