Reviewed: 19 August 2026
Short answer: you cannot vape in an internal area of a New Zealand workplace. An outdoor or open work area is not covered by that indoor workplace prohibition, but an employer or proprietor can still make it vapefree. Work vehicles require a separate check because the written-consent exception applies only to a qualifying specified work vehicle, while taxis, passenger-service vehicles and vehicles carrying children have different rules.
The right decision therefore depends on more than asking a manager informally. First classify the physical area, then read the employer’s policy, and finally apply any vehicle or transport category. A verbal “yes” cannot override the statutory indoor rule, and written consent from coworkers does not create a right to vape in every work vehicle.
Start with the physical area
New Zealand’s Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 requires internal workplace areas to be smokefree and vapefree. The rule covers workplaces occupied by an employer and usually frequented by employees or volunteers in the course of their work, subject to limited statutory exclusions.
The Ministry of Health does not classify a space by the label on a floor plan. Its guidance looks at whether the area is completely or substantially enclosed by a ceiling or roof, walls, sides or screens, and doors, windows or other closeable openings when those openings are closed. The overall reasonable-person assessment matters.
That approach prevents easy shortcuts. Opening a roller door does not automatically turn a warehouse into an outdoor area. A covered loading bay, marquee, veranda with screens or partially enclosed staff area may need a closer assessment. If reasonable people could differ about whether the space is internal, do not treat uncertainty as permission.
The physical test also applies before an employer preference is considered. A manager cannot convert an internal workplace area into a vaping area through an informal arrangement. The statutory rule comes first; policy can be stricter in an open area but cannot waive an indoor prohibition.
Use the four-step workplace decision tree
- Is the place internal? Look at the roof or ceiling, walls or sides, screens and closeable openings. If it is completely or substantially enclosed, treat it as an internal area and do not vape.
- If it is open, what does the employer’s policy say? The indoor workplace prohibition may not cover the area, but the employer or proprietor can still ban vaping there.
- Is the “place” actually a vehicle or transport service? Do not apply the ordinary outdoor-area answer. Identify whether it is an operating taxi, specified work vehicle, small passenger service vehicle, larger passenger service vehicle or another transport setting.
- Does every exception condition exist? Check public access, written consent from all regular users, employer permission, vehicle status and whether a person under 18 is present. A missing condition means the exception does not establish permission.
This flow produces three useful outcomes: prohibited by the workplace rule; not prohibited by that indoor rule but controlled by employer policy; or conditional and requiring the exact vehicle rules. It avoids the misleading answer “ask your boss” when the law has already resolved the indoor scenario.
Indoor workplaces are vapefree
Offices, workshops, warehouses and staff rooms can all be internal workplace areas when the enclosure test is met. The rule is not limited to places open to customers. It protects employees and volunteers in the work environment described by the Act and official guidance.
A manager’s personal preference does not displace the requirement. Nor does a group agreement among employees. The distinction is important because the specified-work-vehicle exception does use written consent in a narrow setting; that consent model should not be copied into an office, stockroom or other internal workplace.
Some places are specifically excluded from the statutory workplace definition, and the HealthEd employer resource lists limited transport-accommodation examples. Those exclusions should be read directly rather than generalised. An ordinary reader should not assume their office or staff room is exempt because another category has an exception.
For wider public-place and national rules outside employment, use our New Zealand vaping laws guide. This page remains focused on the employee, volunteer and work-vehicle decision.
Outdoor work areas still depend on policy
An open area is not captured by the indoor workplace prohibition merely because work occurs there. That does not make every yard, uncovered break area or open deck a designated vaping area. The employer or proprietor may set a policy that makes the open area vapefree.
Read the current policy rather than relying on where people previously stood or what a former manager permitted. A policy can identify the whole site, particular outdoor zones, vehicles and conduct during working time. This article does not interpret an individual employment agreement or decide whether a disciplinary response was proper.
The physical classification and policy check are separate. If a covered space is actually internal, the law resolves the vaping question even if the policy is silent. If it is genuinely open, policy becomes the next decision owner. Silence in one document should not be presented as an employer’s approval.
When the architecture is borderline, gather the relevant facts: overhead coverage, sides or screens, closeable openings and how enclosed the area is when those openings are shut. Put the question to the employer. The Ministry also directs uncertain classification questions to the appropriate enforcement or expert channel rather than encouraging a guess.
Work vehicles need their own matrix
A vehicle can be an internal workplace, but HealthEd’s current employer guide sets out several transport categories. The matrix below keeps the categories separate. “Written consent” is not a universal vehicle pass.
| Vehicle or transport setting | Published rule | What does not establish permission | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specified work vehicle | Employer may permit vaping only where the public does not normally have access and every regular user gives written consent | Verbal agreement, consent from only some users, or employee preference | Conditional; employer may still say no |
| Operating taxi | No driver or passenger may vape at any time, including waiting and travel between fares | No passengers being present at that moment | Do not vape while it remains an operating taxi |
| Small passenger service vehicle | Restricted at all times except the narrow return after carrying a passenger at the end of a shift | The ordinary specified-work-vehicle consent model | Do not assume an exception outside the stated return journey |
| Passenger service vehicle carrying more than 12 people | Vaping is not permitted | Driver or passenger consent | Do not vape |
| Any covered vehicle with a person under 18 | Vaping is illegal when the vehicle is on a public road, moving or stationary | Employer permission or adult consent | Do not vape |
The table is a transport decision, not passenger-baggage guidance. If the question is about carrying a device on a personal flight, use our separate guide to taking a vape on a plane in New Zealand.
How the specified work-vehicle exception works
A qualifying specified work vehicle needs two gateway conditions. The public must not normally have access to it, and all regular users must give written consent. Even then, HealthEd says the employer is not required to allow smoking or vaping.
This is permission controlled by the employer, not a right created by worker consent. Two employees agreeing verbally during a shift do not satisfy the written-consent condition. Consent from most regular users is also insufficient because the guidance requires all regular users.
The consent is not permanent. HealthEd says a person may withdraw it by giving the employer written notice. Once a regular user withdraws consent, the shared-consent condition can no longer be treated as complete.
Public access is another independent check. A vehicle used by customers or passengers may fall into a specific transport category rather than the specified-work-vehicle exception. Identify its real operating status instead of calling every company-owned vehicle a work vehicle.
Taxis and passenger services do not use one rule
An operating taxi is vapefree at all times for the driver and passengers. The HealthEd guide expressly includes waiting time and travel between fares. An empty taxi therefore does not become a specified work vehicle simply because no passenger is currently sitting inside.
The guide distinguishes a taxi that has ceased to be an operating taxi, giving private family-car use as an example. That change of status is factual. A driver should not declare the taxi “private” for a few minutes while it remains in operation.
Small passenger service vehicles have their own narrow wording: vaping is restricted at all times except when the vehicle is returning after carrying a passenger at the end of a shift. Do not broaden that exception to ordinary waiting, travel between jobs or the start of a shift.
Passenger service vehicles carrying more than 12 people, such as the buses described by the guide, are vapefree. Written agreement among occupants does not replace that category rule.
A person under 18 changes the vehicle decision
HealthEd states that it is illegal to smoke or vape in a vehicle with a child under 18 when the vehicle is on a public road, whether moving or stationary. An employer’s permission or written agreement among adult regular users cannot override this branch.
This age rule is only included here because it changes work-vehicle decisions. Questions about access, sale and broader age rules belong in our guide to vaping and under-18 law in New Zealand.
Check the youngest occupant before considering any consent exception. If someone under 18 is present in the covered public-road scenario, the decision stops at no vaping. There is no reason to continue debating whether the public normally accesses the vehicle.
Examples that combine location and permission
An office with a window open
An open window does not automatically make the office an open area. Apply the enclosure and reasonable-person test with doors, windows and other closeable openings considered closed. An internal workplace remains vapefree.
An uncovered staff courtyard
The indoor workplace prohibition may not cover a genuinely open courtyard, but the employer can still ban vaping there. Read the current policy before treating the area as available.
A shared trade vehicle used only by three employees
It may be eligible for the specified-work-vehicle pathway if the public does not normally have access, but all regular users must give written consent and the employer must choose to permit it. One missing condition means the exception has not been established.
An empty taxi waiting for the next fare
It remains an operating taxi, and HealthEd says the ban includes waiting time and travel between fares. The absence of a passenger does not change that answer.
A company vehicle with a 17-year-old passenger
If it is on a public road, moving or stationary, the under-18 vehicle restriction applies. Employer approval and written consent do not create an exception.
How to raise a workplace complaint
The official employer guide provides a structured process. A workplace smoking or vaping complaint may be made to the employer or the Director-General of Health and must state the particulars. If it goes to the Director-General first, it is referred to the employer in the first instance.
The guide gives the employer 20 working days to investigate whether a breach occurred and try to resolve the complaint. Where the employer cannot investigate and resolve it by agreement within 40 working days after receiving it, the employer must refer the complaint in writing to the Director-General.
Keep the complaint specific: identify the area or vehicle, dates, operating status and the policy or rule in question. This is general process information, not advice on an individual employment dispute. HealthEd notes that employment relationship problems are dealt with under the Employment Relations Act.
The practical answer
For an internal New Zealand workplace, do not vape. For an open area, check the employer’s current policy. For a vehicle, identify the exact category and do not assume written consent is enough: public access, all regular users, employer permission, operating status, passenger-service rules and under-18 occupants can each determine the outcome.
If the physical space or vehicle category is unclear, record the facts and ask the employer or appropriate official channel. The correct response to ambiguity is a classification check, not a private exception.
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