New South Wales Consolidated Acts

PUBLIC HEALTH (TOBACCO) ACT 2008 - SECT 30

30 Smoking in motor vehicle prohibited if juvenile present

(1) A person must not smoke in a motor vehicle that is on a road or road related area if there is a person under the age of 16 years present in the vehicle.

: Maximum penalty--10 penalty units.

(2) The driver of a motor vehicle in which a person is smoking in contravention of subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--10 penalty units.

(3) The driver may be proceeded against and convicted of an offence against subsection (2) whether or not the person who was smoking has been proceeded against or convicted of an offence under subsection (1).

(4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) if the court is satisfied that, when the defendant was smoking, the defendant believed on reasonable grounds that no person in the motor vehicle was under the age of 16 years.

(5) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (2) if the court is satisfied that the defendant believed on reasonable grounds that, when the person who contravened subsection (1) was smoking, no person in the motor vehicle was under the age of 16 years.

(6) For the purposes of investigating whether an offence has been committed against this section, a police officer may do any or all of the following--

(a) direct the driver of a motor vehicle to stop the vehicle,

(b) require the driver of a motor vehicle who the police officer reasonably suspects has committed an offence against this section to produce his or her driver licence (within the meaning of the Road Transport Act 2013 ) and state his or her name and home address,

(c) require a passenger in a motor vehicle who the police officer reasonably suspects has committed an offence against this section to state his or her name and home address.

(7) If it is established in any proceedings for an offence against this section that at the time of the alleged commission of the offence there was present in the motor vehicle concerned a person who appeared to be under the age of 16 years, it is to be presumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary that the person was under the age of 16 years.

(8) In this section--

"drive" has the same meaning as in the Road Transport Act 2013 .

"driver of a motor vehicle" means any person driving the vehicle.

"motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in the Road Transport Act 2013 , but does not include a public passenger vehicle within the meaning of the Passenger Transport Act 1990 .

"road" or
"road related area" has the same meaning as in section 4 (1) of the Road Transport Act 2013 .

"smoke" includes using an e-cigarette to generate or release an aerosol or vapour.