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Liquor law information and education for the public
10.1 Multi-faceted programs should be developed which would:
§ educate and encourage parents and other adults to resist supplying alcohol to minors
§ provide clear, easy to understand information on the requirements of the liquor laws to the public
§ promote the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, and the dangers of heavy or high risk drinking
§ implementation of television advertising using shock tactics, to discourage young people from drinking alcohol and/or decreasing young people drinking at excessive and dangerous levels.
Program components should target young people, Aboriginal communities, ethnic communities, women, rural and remote communities, as well as the broader population.
Programs should include culturally appropriate information to meet the needs of those different groups. To achieve this goal, programs should be developed in consultation with relevant leaders and representatives from the different communities and demographic groups. |
Government Response
The Alcohol Education and Information Taskforce referred to in the response to Recommendation 1.3 will consider existing strategies and programs and develop programs and initiatives that inform and educate the general community, and specific groups within the community, about responsible drinking and the requirements of the liquor laws.
Specific components of this recommendation are addressed elsewhere in the Government’s response:
§ education for parents and other adults to prevent supply of alcohol to minors is dealt with in Recommendations 1.10, 8.11, 8.12 and 8.15
§ provision of information about liquor laws to the public is dealt with in Recommendations 1.10, 8.3, 8.11, 8.12 and 8.15
§ promotion of safe drinking levels is dealt with in Recommendations 1.4, 1.7 and 1.9
§ education and information programs to effectively target young people, Aboriginal communities, ethnic communities, women, rural and remote communities, as well as the broader population is dealt with in Recommendations 1.11, 1.12, 2.15, 2.16 and 2.21.
The issue of television advertisements using shock tactics to discourage alcohol abuse will be referred to the new taskforce. There are differing views about the use of shock tactics in advertising concerning public health matters, and such an approach will require careful examination.
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Reducing local problems through responsible service of alcohol training
10.2 There should be an extension of the current mandatory training requirements as follows:
§ all liquor licensees, serving staff and security officers should be required to undertake responsible service of training when taking up employment in the liquor industry
§ this training should be updated on a periodic basis every three or four years
§ RSA training should be sensitive to the special issues relating to Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities, and should be developed with appropriate input from representatives of those communities. |
Government Response
The components of this recommendation are addressed elsewhere in the Government’s response:
§ mandatory responsible service of alcohol (RSA) training for liquor licensees, serving staff and security officers is dealt with in Recommendations 2.12, 7.10, 7.13 and 8.36 (where it is indicated that RSA training has been made mandatory)
§ consultation with the liquor industry on developing a model for refresher RSA training to maintain industry standards has commenced, see Recommendation 2.12
§ the need for training to be sensitive to the special issues relating to Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities, and for training courses to be developed with appropriate input from representatives of those communities, is dealt with in Recommendations 7.10 and 7.13.
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Reducing drink spiking in licensed venues
10.3 Specific strategies should be developed to address drink spiking, including:
§ encouraging licensed premises to adopt those preventative measures found to be effective in combating drink spiking, including alcohol, particularly where there is a greater potential for drink spiking to occur, for example, in nightclubs
§ a public awareness campaign highlighting the issue of drink spiking. |
Government Response
See Recommendation 8.77.
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Local liquor accords
10.4 There should be enhancements and extensions of the current liquor accords program to:
§ encourage venue operators to develop local accords, in consultation with community stakeholders such as chambers of commerce and progress associations, and Aboriginal and ethnic community leaders in communities with a high percentage of those people
§ provide licensing authorities with the power to require participation of licensed venues in local accords on a case by case basis
§ provide effective support and resources to local accords to ensure their continuation
§ establish a mechanism for reviewing and evaluating liquor accords, and disseminating information to all accords about measures that have been found to be successful. |
Government Response
The response in Part D of Section 8, Liquor Accords, addresses this recommendation as do a number of other parts of the report. Specifically:
§ encourage venue operators to develop local accords is dealt with in Recommendations 1.5, 2.12, 8.26, 8.27, 8.29 and 8.43
§ the question of the mandatory nature of liquor accords is dealt with in Recommendations 8.24, 8.25 and 8.30
§ support for, and facilitation of, liquor accords is dealt with in Recommendations 8.26 and 8.28
§ review and evaluation of liquor accords is dealt with in Recommendations 8.26 and 8.30.
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Regulation of alcohol advertising
10.5 Endorse the changes to the Alcohol Advertising Self Regulatory System as determined by the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy at its August 2003 meeting. |
Government Response
See Recommendation 1.8.
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Alcohol supply in Indigenous communities
10.6 Communities with a high percentage of Aboriginal people should be consulted over using restrictions on alcohol supply as a harm minimisation measure, and legislative and administrative practices should be established to ensure that any such restrictions that are directed and supported by Aboriginal communities can be put in place. |
Government Response
Certain types of supply restrictions (such as controls on trading hours or the sale of certain types of alcohol) can be imposed on licensed venues as a harm minimisation measure under existing liquor laws. For example, s.104 of the Liquor Act 1982 allows disturbance complaints to be made by local stakeholders which can result in restrictions being imposed by the Liquor Administration Board. Applications can also be made to the Court by Police and the Director of Liquor and Gaming to have conditions imposed on a liquor licence (s.20, Liquor Act 1982). These localised restrictions can be tailored to address problems in Indigenous communities, and have been applied in Brewarrina, Wilcannia and Bourke.
How to make further use of these provisions will be considered as part of the discussion paper on the supply and control of alcohol in Aboriginal communities to be prepared by the Department of Gaming and Racing (Rec. 8.41). The discussion paper will also canvass other options for supply restrictions to assist Aboriginal communities. It will be released in 2005.
Aboriginal communities will be consulted over licensing applications and the use of restrictions as a harm minimisation measure as part of the new social impact assessment process to be introduced into the liquor laws. The process will require licence applicants to consult with the local Aboriginal community on supply restrictions where their venue could have harmful consequences for that community. See also Recommendation 2.8.
Aboriginal community liquor accords (Rec. 1.12) will include consideration of the use of licensing restrictions to control the supply of alcohol in Aboriginal communities.
The Government will hold a follow-up to the Talking About Grog forum which was held prior to the Alcohol Summit. This follow-up forum will be held during 2004, and will provide Aboriginal leaders and Elders with the opportunity to discuss programs and their roll-out in their communities.
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Ensuring orderly conduct of licensed venues and their environment
10.7 The current powers to require intoxicated or disorderly persons to leave a licensed venue should be extended to permit police officers to require that such persons move away from the vicinity of the venue. |
Government Response
See Recommendation 8.62.
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Taxation on alcohol: proposal for a national inquiry
10.8 There should be a national public inquiry into alcohol taxation that should consider the health, economic, social and community costs and benefits of current and proposed alcohol excise and taxation measures (eg. greater price incentives for low alcohol products). |
Government Response
See Recommendation 2.9.
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Enforcing the liquor laws in Indigenous and culturally diverse communities
10.9 Recruit Aboriginal and multicultural licensing officers who are locally or regionally based, within the Department of Gaming and Racing, who can undertake spot random checks of local alcohol related licensing issues outside of core (9 to 5) working hours. |
Government Response
The Department of Gaming and Racing will recruit an Aboriginal Liaison Officer who can act as a point of contact between Aboriginal communities and the liquor licensing system. This officer will provide advice on licensing issues to Aboriginal communities and licensed venues within those communities, as well as to local police and special inspectors who undertake compliance duties under the liquor licensing laws.
The Government will work with the Aboriginal community to increase its involvement in the liquor licensing process through:
§ new Aboriginal community liquor accords (Rec. 1.12)
§ Aboriginal community consultation in the development and operation of liquor accords in general (Rec. 8.29)
§ a new social impact assessment for liquor licence applications which includes consultation with Aboriginal communities
§ a discussion paper on the supply and control of alcohol in Aboriginal communities (Rec. 8.41).
The Department of Gaming and Racing will develop strategies to involve Area and Community Health Services, as well as cultural organisations, in local liquor accords to address licensing issues affecting culturally diverse communities (Rec. 8.26). Community representatives will be invited to participate in accords where there are specific alcohol related issues in those communities that could be addressed through the accord process.
See Recommendation 2.8.
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Liquor licensing information and assistance for local communities
10.10 Establish a two-way information line that callers can use to get information about local liquor licensing matters, and where callers can raise concerns about the impact of alcohol misuse/abuse on their local community. |
Government Response
The Department of Gaming and Racing operates a general telephone enquiry service and website for the public to obtain information on licensing matters and the liquor laws. Local police stations also hold information about licence conditions imposed on individual licensed venues.
To enhance the information that is already available from the Department of Gaming and Racing, an interactive website will be developed which will improve access to information on liquor licensing matters, including licensing information on specific venues, and advice on what to do about alcohol misuse/abuse associated with licensed venues.
The Department will also develop an easy to use on-line complaints form so complaints can be made over the internet. Website users will be able to request information, and be directed to other avenues of advice.
Police have responsibility for enforcing the liquor laws, and are therefore best placed to deal with concerns at the local level about alcohol misuse or abuse. General duties police will receive training on responding to concerns raised about alcohol related problems and problems with licensed venues in their area (Rec. 8.71).
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Using the liquor laws to address underage drinking issues
10.11 Appropriate deterrents to underaged youth obtaining and purchasing alcohol must be pursued, as it is evident that the current system of fines is not effective in preventing underaged youth from purchasing or obtaining alcohol illegally.
Examples could include increased fines and mandatory conferencing. Infringements of this kind should be graduated, with each additional offence, or more serious offences, escalating the punishment. A situation where a youth can offend in one area and receive a caution, and then re-offend in another area and receive a subsequent caution should not occur, to the extent administratively possible. |
Government Response
The response to a number of recommendations includes detail about deterrents for underage drinkers, including:
§ the level of fines applying to underage drinking offences is being considered by the Taskforce on Alcohol Related Offences, Penalties, and Law Enforcement (Rec. 8.22). This taskforce is also examining graduated penalties
§ making greater use of Youth Justice Conferences for young offenders (Rec. 8.16) and ensuring Aboriginal Elders can be involved in conferences (Rec. 9.25)
§ development of a youth model for Circle Sentencing (Rec. 9.25)
§ the trial of a Cautioning Aboriginal Young People Protocol by NSW Police (Rec. 9.26).
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Enforcement of the liquor laws: training and resources
10.12 Improve training and increase resourcing of liquor licensing police. |
Government Response
See Recommendations 8.71 and 8.76.
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Enforcement of the liquor laws: intelligence driven enforcement
10.13 Recognising that a minority of licensed premises account disproportionately for alcohol related violence, intelligence led regulation of licensed premises is urgently required. Resources are needed to enable liquor licensing decisions to be informed by data on incidents of harm recorded by police, Emergency Departments, and licensing courts. |
Government Response
Key initiatives proposed or underway include:
§ the Minister for Police will establish an interagency Alcohol Related Crime Intelligence Working Party to review and make recommendations on improving Police data collections, developing better Police intelligence based strategies, developing a central Police intelligence capacity, and developing integrated data bases and data links with the Department of Gaming and Racing (Rec. 8.69)
§ rollout of the Linking Project will assist in gathering intelligence to inform future police operations concerning alcohol related crime and violence (Rec. 8.73)
§ the proposed social impact assessment process for new licensed venues will assist the licensing authority to be better informed by data on incidents of harm recorded by police and other government agencies.
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Wholesale alcohol sales data
10.14 The data supplied to the Commonwealth by the wholesalers should be made available to the states, including types of beverages sold by postcode to enable local communities to monitor and evaluate harm minimisation initiatives. |
Government Response
See Recommendation 2.5.
Anyone who wishes to sell alcohol must have a licence.