Since South Australia led in 2021, six states and territories have banned plastic straws, cutlery, plates and polystyrene food containers; Tasmania has proposed bans and the Northern Territory has committed to them.
- Authors / organisation
- Australian Marine Conservation Society (tracker)
- Year
- 2026
- Journal or publisher
- AMCS
- Study type
- Institutional report
- Evidence strength
- Evidence: Medium
- Sample / scope
- All 8 Australian states and territories
- Key finding
- Six of eight Australian states and territories ban single-use plastic straws, cutlery, plates and EPS food containers; Tasmania has proposed bans and the Northern Territory has committed to them. Western Australia and South Australia added further items in 2025.
- Headline number
- 6 of 8 states and territories ban straws, cutlery and polystyrene food containers
- Caveats / how it is misquoted
- Tracker run by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), not an official register; national harmonisation incomplete. The tracker leaves plates out for Western Australia, which bans them under its Environmental Protection (Prohibited Plastics and Balloons) Regulations 2018 (regulation 3A).
- Open access
- Yes
- Verified on
- 24 September 2026
Australia has no national single-use plastics law. Six states and territories have legislated their own bans, starting with South Australia in March 2021.
South Australia, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria now ban single-use plastic straws, cutlery, stirrers, plates and expanded polystyrene (EPS) food containers. Tasmania has proposed similar bans, and the Northern Territory has committed to them. Recent additions include Western Australia banning produce bags for dry goods and confectionery from 1 October 2025, with plastic barrier bags (the thin bags used for loose food) for loose meat, seafood and dairy from 1 October 2026, and South Australia banning fish-shaped soy sauce containers from 1 September 2025. New South Wales has proposed its next tranche.
The state-by-state approach matters because Australia has moved faster than many national governments, but the patchwork creates compliance complexity for businesses operating across borders.
National harmonisation remains incomplete, and South Australia paused its produce-sticker ban after industry pushback.
