The single-use plastics ban makes it an offence for businesses or organisations to sell, supply, distribute or provide banned single-use plastic items in Victoria.

Banned items are single-use plastic:

• drinking straws
• plates
• drink-stirrers and sticks
• cotton bud sticks
• cutlery (knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, food picks and sporks)
• expanded polystyrene food service items and drink containers.

There are exemptions for specific circumstances where items are required for health and safety reasons. For example, single-use plastic drinking straws can continue to be made available to individuals who require one due to disability or for a medical need.

There are also some items that will be phased out over the next few years where suitable alternatives are not yet available. This includes plastic-lined paper plates (exempt until 1 November 2024) and integrated items such as plastic straws attached to juice boxes (exempt until 1 January 2026). For more information on exemptions go to the single-use plastics page.

Where can you find help and resources?

There are some great resources to help businesses transition to sustainable alternatives in preparation for the single-use plastics ban.

• Business information sessions: the National Retail Association (NRA) is holding free Q&A sessions every Friday at 11am AEDT until the end of February 2023. Book your spot on the Eventbrite booking page.
• Signs and posters: The Victorian Government’s single-use plastics page has resources including guides, posters and postcards, including a range of translated resources.

The Sustainability Victoria website provides resources for food and drink premises like bubble tea shops, cafes, takeaway shops and more to explain the benefits of reusable products.

• Free reuse masterclasses: To help you learn how organisations and businesses are leading the reuse revolution, Sustainability Victoria has produced some reuse masterclasses you can watch in your own time.
• Register your business with BYO containers: BYO Containers is a website that helps customers find restaurants and cafes across Australia that accept reusable containers. To learn more, and add your business to the interactive map, visit the BYO Containers website.
• Register as a Responsible Cafe: Responsible Cafes is on a mission to give the global cafe community the tools and platform to bring about positive behavioural change and reduce their ecological and carbon footprint. To learn more and register, visit the Responsible Cafes website.

If your business needs help preparing for the ban, you can call the National Retailers Association (NRA) on 1800 817 723 or visit the NRA website.