Melbourne street sign near Marvel Stadium causes confusion

The discovery of a sign confuses AussiesMany believed it gave them permission to openly drink in a CBD READ MORE: Yarra City Council reduces speed limits in Fitzroy and Collingwood

A street sign prohibiting public drinking between specific hours has left Melburnians scratching their heads.

The sign was spotted in Melbourne's CBD near Marvel Stadium and shows a figure drinking from a bottle with a red line through them, and the words 'Don't drink on the street between 7pm and 8am: $100 fine'.

A local posted the sign to Reddit on Friday with the heading 'You can only drink booze on the streets in Melbourne during the daytime', which gave the impression they could drink through the day without being fined.

'Today I learned that as a native Melburnian, we're allowed to drink in the city on the street at certain times. Let's go,' one said.

'Day drinking is the best kind of drinking,' another said.

A Melbourne resident came across this sign in the Melbourne CBD which allows public drinking between 8am and 6pm (pictured)

Social media users were confused by the sign (pictured)  because other states have stricter laws governing public drinking

Many were confused as they had never heard of the rule.

'I don’t think this law has been followed once. Source: Melburnian,' one wrote.

'It's my first time here and I have been all over the world — this is one of the most interesting laws/signs I've come across,' another said.

'I've never seen those, I always assumed it was illegal no matter what time (having been fined for having a beer elsewhere),' one said.

'Melburnian here — never seen this sign or heard of this law in my life. To think I could've been public day drinking all this time,' another said.

In major cities across Australia, it is illegal to drink in public areas - footpaths, squares, malls - in the central business districts, reported Yahoo.

Despite the sign, it is illegal to drink anywhere in Melbourne CBD, 24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week (pictured area near Marvel Stadium where sign is located)

In Sydney, it is illegal at all times to drink on the street throughout most of the CBD.

In Queensland, a person cannot drink alcohol anywhere in a public place - unless the area has been declared a wet area.

Read More

The truth about what happens if you drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week - and how much it shortens your life by (and it's shorter than you think)

In Adelaide, people drinking in its streets and squares is prohibited - 24 hours a day, seven days a week - as they are considered dry areas.

Across Western Australia, it is against the law for anyone to drink in a public place, such as on streets, in parks or at beaches.

That is why the sign created confusion, as it implies drinking if okay at daytime, but that is not the case.

A City of Melbourne spokeswoman confirmed to Yahoo the sign was in fact out-of-date and invalid.

'It's an old sign and the website is correct — we'll check the area for old signs and have them removed,' she said.

In Melbourne, drinking alcohol is banned in all public places in the CBD 24-hours-a-day, 365 days a year.

The laws were last updated in 2019.