South Australia Regulation

In South Australia the sale of nitrous oxide is regulated by the Controlled Substances Act (1984). The Act was updated to include regulations that impose new penalties for the sale of nitrous oxide for brick and mortar stores and online businesses.

Changes commencing 1 April 2020

Under the new Controlled Substances (Poisons) (Nitrous Oxide) Variation Regulations 2019 it is an offence to:

• sell or supply to people under the age of 18

• sell between the hours of 10pm and 5am

• make nitrous oxide visible or accessible to the public in retail stores

• fail to display a notice on the premises that details the offence of selling to under 18s

Retailers selling nitrous oxide must display this notice (PDF 156KB) and ensure it is visible to the public.

New Penalties

From 1 April 2020 sellers of nitrous oxide will face harsher penalties if they fail to follow the new regulations.

• If nitrous oxide is sold from 10pm to 5am, the seller can be fined up to $5,000.

• If the retailer fails to store nitrous oxide out of sight and inaccessible to the public they can be fined up to $5,000.

• If the retailer failes to display a notice on the premises detailing the offence to sell or supply to under 18s, they can receive an on the spot expiation of $315 or be fined up to $2,500.

South Australia Police will be undertaking compliance activities in respect of the new regulations. Members of the public can contact SAPOL on 131 444 to report instances where retailers appear to be in breach of the regulations.

Health information on volatile substances (including nitrous oxide) is available on the SA Health website.