Victoria Police submission to the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 review
Victoria Police welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the review of the Liquor Control
Reform Act 1998 (LCRA).
This submission presents proposed reforms to the LCRA, reaffirms Victoria Police’s support for
evidence-based harm minimisation approaches and also makes comment on broader research and
analysis in support of reducing harm associated with the misuse and abuse of alcohol.
The review provides an opportunity to strengthen the legislative framework to support Victoria Police in
meeting our responsibilities for community safety; to reduce the harm associated with alcohol misuse
and abuse in and around licensed premises; and enhance responses to family violence.
Alcohol consumption is an intrinsic part of many aspects of Australian culture, and the liquor and
licensed hospitality industry in Victoria generates positive impacts in the form of revenue and
employment.1 However, the associated harms to the Victorian community resulting from misuse and
abuse of alcohol are significant, with a recent report estimating the social costs at $4.3 billion per
annum.2 Victoria Police also supports a cross-agency approach underpinned by a robust legislative
framework.
There is significant evidence of the risk to individuals and the community from the misuse of alcohol.3
Research reveals the toll of these harms, with the impact of alcohol seen in road trauma, assaults,
family violence, property damage, child abuse, victimisation and public safety issues.4
Victoria Police data indicates that the availability of alcohol, either in concentrated entertainment
precincts or from the increased number of packaged liquor outlets, acts as a substantial driver of assault
and related offences. New research is also establishing a strong correlation between family violence
rates and the expanded availability of alcohol from packaged liquor outlets.5
Given recent investment by the Victorian Government in responding to recommendations from the
Family Violence Royal Commission, and the $2bn reform package under the Community Safety
Statement, Victoria Police considers that a review of liquor regulation must also sit within the overall
context of reducing crime, and the fear of crime, within the Victorian community. Given the nexus
between alcohol and offending, particularly crimes against the person and family violence, it is
appropriate that regulation of liquor plays its part in the prevention of harm.
Victoria Police plays a vital role through effective regulation and enforcing compliance with the
LCRA to minimise harm associated with alcohol misuse and abuse.
1
Victorian Auditor-General (2012). Effectiveness of justice strategies in preventing and reducing alcohol related harm.
Victorian Auditor General’s Office website http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports_and_publications/latest_reports/201112/20120620-alcohol.aspx (accessed 28/11/2016)
2 Ibid
3 Gao, C., Ogeil, R., & Lloyd, B. (2014). Alcohol’s Burden of Disease in Australia, FARE Australia and the Victorian Health
Promotion Foundation, Melbourne
4 Miller, P. (2013). Patron Offending and Intoxication in Night-Time Entertainment Districts (POINTED). NDLERF Monograph
Series No.46. National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund. Canberra.
http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/publications/monographs/monograph-46 (accessed 29/11/2016)
5 Livingston, M. (2011). A longitudinal analysis of alcohol outlet density and domestic violence. Addiction. pp919-925
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As a priority, Victoria Police seeks:
•
•
•
•
•
Strengthened consideration of harm from the misuse and abuse of illicit drugs within the
Objects of the Act.
Development of a clear, single step definition of intoxication which also includes via the
consumption of illicit drugs.
More effective regulation of the packaged liquor industry, in acknowledgement of the links
between alcohol misuse/abuse and family violence.
Change to the current inquiry and review processes to strengthen Victoria Police timeliness,
efficiency and effectiveness of initiated harm minimisation interventions; and
Access to retail sales data to improve understanding of where alcohol-related harm is initiated.
Victoria Police strongly supports the introduction of a definition of harm within the Objects of the LCRA
which includes reference to family violence. In line with the context of alcohol as a driver of offending,
the Community Safety Statement explicitly includes development of a more sophisticated approach to
the measurement, and reporting, of harm.6 In our view, the LCRA could be updated to reflect this more
holistic view of harm.
QUESTIONS
1.
What opportunities are there for reducing the regulatory burden?
Victoria Police plays an important role in the regulatory process relating to liquor licensing and would
welcome reform that reduces the administrative burden associated with policing licensed premises.
This should not however impact on existing enforcement powers that allow Victoria Police to act to
minimise harm and regulate public order.
Research consistently demonstrates that increased control over the supply of alcohol results in a
reduction of the harms caused. The regulatory requirements imposed on business should reflect the
potential for harm and moderate the risks associated with the supply of alcohol.
The declaration of designated areas under s.147 of the Act
The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation’s website states:
Designated areas are determined by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and
Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) in consultation with the Chief Commissioner of Police. This
is done after reviewing the level of alcohol related violence and disorder around
licensed premises in certain areas.
The VCGLR can declare an entertainment precinct where alcohol-related violence and
antisocial behaviour has occurred, to be a ‘designated area’.7
Victoria Police maintains a view that the declaration of designated areas is a strategy that contributes
to harm minimisation. Section 148(b) of the Act provides for police to issue a banning notice to a person
who is committing or has committed a specified offence wholly or partly in a designated area, banning
the person for up to 72 hours from the designated area or all licensed premises in the designated area.8
These powers are exercised as a means of preventing or reducing the occurrence of alcohol-related
violence or disorder.
6 See
Victorian Government, Community Safety Statement 2017, p.24.
See VCGLR website: http://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/utility/community/government+initiatives/designated+areas/ (accessed
29/11/2016)
8 Data exploring the use of banning notices is included at question 10 - Could the current controls on patron behaviour in the
LCRA be improved? If so, how?
7
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Further at s.148 (i) of the Act a court may make an exclusion order for a period not exceeding 12 months
in respect of a person if the court is satisfied that the order may be an effective and reasonable means
of preventing the commission by the offender of further specified offences in the designated area.
Between December 2007 and May 2011 ongoing Orders were declared for the following designated
areas: Ballarat CBD; Bendigo; Dandenong; Docklands; Frankston; Geelong; Knox City Shopping
Centre; Melbourne/CBD; Port Phillip; Shepparton; South Yarra/Prahran; Traralgon; Warrnambool;
Yarra and Yarra – Area No. 2.
Since March 2014, new Orders for designated areas have only been able to be issued for a 12-month
period and existing fixed-term Orders can only be extended for a further 12-months following expiry.
Victoria Police considers issues identified within a designated area are unlikely to significantly change
within a 12-month period to warrant review on an annual basis.
To reduce the regulatory burden, Victoria Police recommends that any future Orders declaring
designated areas should be granted as ongoing and those Orders issued post-March 2014 (i.e. Colac
CBD; Footscray; Mildura CBD; Mornington CBD; Sunshine) should be amended such that they become
ongoing Orders.
In addition, Victoria Police would welcome the implementation of a 10-year review process 9 for all
designated area Orders issued under s.147 (1) of the Act.
Additional opportunities to reduce the regulatory burden of the Act are outlined below.
The issuance of “Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) IDs”
Victoria Police supports introduction of a requirement for staff within a licensed premise who are RSA
qualified be issued with an RSA ID, incorporating a photo of the individual, thereby removing the burden
on licensees to maintain an RSA register under s.108 (a)(d). This would also assist Victoria Police and
VCGLR Compliance Officers in monitoring and enforcement.
Whilst there may be a cost involved associated with purchasing these identity cards, the overall benefit
in ensuring effective and efficient monitoring of RSA staff exceeds the minimal cost to business or
individuals. This approach is consistent with practice in other jurisdictions, such as New South Wales.
The removal of director and nominee criminal liability provisions
Current director and nominee liability provisions provide that where an offence is committed by a
licensee or BYO permittee who is a body corporate, the directors of the body corporate are also liable
pursuant to the s.53, 53A, 53B and 53C criminal liability provisions. Currently directors of bodies
corporate can avoid the liability provisions if a nominee pursuant to s.54 is endorsed on a licence or
permit, however the endorsement of a nominee is optional.
The benefit Victoria Police derives from having a nominee endorsed on a licence or permit is where a
need arises to engage with an officer of a body corporate and there are no Victorian-based directors.
The benefit only exists if a nominee is endorsed on a licence or permit, and then only if the nominee is
authorised to speak on behalf of the body corporate. Victoria Police considers the benefit outweighs
the workload involved in assessing nominee approval applications.10
9
The 10 year review period has been suggested by the VCGLR.
According to the VCGLR, 5,697 liquor licences and BYO permits have a nominee endorsed.
10
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Victoria Police seeks:
•
•
A new legislated requirement that licensees and permittees must have a Victorian based
representative who is authorised to speak on their behalf; and
That directors of body corporates are severally liable for unpaid fines and pecuniary orders
made under the LCRA.
With these inclusions, the following provisions of the Act could be repealed without adverse
consequences:
•
•
•
•
•
s.53(2) which provides director liability where a licence or BYO permit is held by a body
corporate;
s.53(2A) which provides that s53(2) does not apply in respect of an offence for which the
provisions of s.53A(2), 53B(2) or 53C(2) apply where an offence has been committed by a
body corporate;
s.53(4) which provides that ss.(2) and (3) do not apply where a nominee is in place;
s.53A, 53B and 53C which provide criminal liability provisions for officers of bodies corporate;
and
s.54 which provides nominee provisions.
Section 53(3), which provides liability provisions for members of a committee of management of an
unincorporated body that holds a club licence, would need to be retained as an unincorporated body
cannot be prosecuted. The removal of s.53 (4) nominee protection would have no adverse
consequences as no current Club licence holder held by an unincorporated club has a nominee
endorsed.11
The proposal would provide red tape reductions for the liquor industry and Government.12
2.
Does the current licence type regime work? How could it be improved?
Victoria Police considers the current licence type regime is generally appropriate given the diversity of
business models for the supply of liquor in Victoria.
The current number of licence types represents a substantial reduction and simplification in comparison
to the number and scope of those available under the previous version of the Act, and Victoria Police
considers it unnecessary to further reduce the number of licence types.
Victoria Police considers however, that there is scope to improve ‘Restaurant & Café’ and ‘Temporary
Limited’ licence types.
Restaurant & Café licences
Data accessed through the VCGLR website13 reveals that in metropolitan Victoria, there has been a
39.25 percent (n=1,252) increase in the number of ‘Restaurant & Café’ licences issued over the four
year period from 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2016 (see Figure 1 in Appendix A). Over the same period
in regional Victoria, the number of ‘Restaurant & Café’ licences issued has increased at a slightly lower
rate (33.95%; n=295) (see Figure 2 in Appendix A). Considered cumulatively it can be seen that an
additional 1,547 ‘Restaurant & Café’ licences have been issued throughout the State over the past four
years (an increase of 38.11%) (see Figure 3 in Appendix A).
11
An audit conducted on 9 December 2016 by the Victoria Police Liquor Licensing Unit found there to be only three (3) Club
licences held by unincorporated bodies (Restricted club licences 31450729, 31424150 & 31424891).
12
During the 2015/16 financial year there were 798 applications for approval of nominee.
13
Data incorporated into Figures 1-3 are drawn from the VCGLR website
http://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/home/resources/data+and+research/victorian+liquor+licences+by+category (accessed 29/11/2016)
4|Page
Victoria Police is aware that some licensees are applying for a ‘Restaurant & Café’ licence rather than
an ‘On-premises licence’ to avail themselves of the lower fee and less onerous planning requirements,
but are trading as though they have an ‘On-premises licence’ with many venues operating more akin to
a bar/tavern. Victoria Police observes the following emerging issues:
•
Trading beyond ordinary trading hours – some licensees trading under a ‘Restaurant & Café’
licence have been observed to cease food service but continue to serve alcohol into ‘High
Alcohol Hours’ (HAH), in contravention of the “predominant activity (i.e. service of meals) at all
times” condition of their liquor licence.
•
Availability of tables and seating – some licensees have been observed to remove/stack a
proportion of tables and chairs within a premise so that they are unusable by patrons, in
contravention of the licence condition requiring seating for at least 75 percent of patrons
attending the premises at any one time.
•
Amplification of music –some licensees are permitting the live performance of music, or the
playing of recorded music on the premises at higher than background level at any time outside
ordinary trading hours, in contravention of the licence conditions. In so doing these licensees
are circumventing the conditions that would apply when live or recorded amplified music other
than background music is provided (i.e. crowd controllers, closed-circuit television).
Victoria Police considers such venues pose an unacceptable risk to unaccompanied minors who are
lawfully allowed to be on licensed or authorised premises as per s.120 (2)(d)(i)(ii) of the Act.
Victoria Police seeks reform that requires licensees applying for variation to an existing licence (i.e. to
extend trading hours) to provide sufficient justification for the variation. The justification should be no
less rigorous than that required for a new licence. Licensees are currently only required to specify the
new trading hours and days.
If, on the basis of such information the Commission determines that the nature of the business has
changed, then the category of licence held by the licensee should be amended, attracting the
appropriate operating hours risk fee and applicable licence conditions.
As per current practice, Victoria Police will continue to advise the Commission when breaches of licence
conditions are detected.
Temporary Limited licences
The VCGLR Annual Report 2015-16 indicates that the following number of ‘Temporary Limited’ licences
were granted in the last three financial years: 9,647 in 2013–14, 9,562 in 2014–15 and 10,165 in 2015–
16.14
Victoria Police is concerned that ‘Temporary Limited’ licences can be issued by the VCGLR without any
input from Victoria Police or the relevant local council; and once granted neither party is aware of their
existence unless issues arise. Victoria Police would welcome the opportunity to continue to work with
the VCGLR to develop a more robust risk assessment and triage process for granting ‘Temporary
Limited’ licences.
Victoria Police recognises there is a significant volume of ‘Temporary Limited’ licence applications and
would only seek to have visibility where appropriate according to the level of perceived risk.
14
VCGLR (2016) Annual Report 2015-16. Victorian Government. http://assets.justice.vic.gov.au/vcglr/resources/be072444de52-4b32-9e38-923f5826bba6/vcglrannualreport15-16web.pdf (accessed 05/12/2016)
5|Page
3.
How could the liquor licence application and renewal process be improved?
Victoria Police believes that the current licence application and renewal process is sufficiently
straightforward for both new applicants and existing licensees. The VCGLR website is considered easy
to navigate, and provides an extensive range of fact sheets, application forms and FAQs.
Victoria Police does though, consider there is currently an opportunity to include further particulars in
the following areas:
a
b
c
Full disclosure of beneficiaries on all licence and BYO permit applications.
Licence conditions and management plans for Packaged Liquor Licences.
Additional considerations in the licence renewal process.
a) Full disclosure of beneficiaries on all licence and BYO permit applications
Currently applicants for the grant or transfer of a liquor licence or BYO permit, who are a body corporate,
must provide an Australian Company Number (ACN) issued by the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission (ASIC).
Victoria Police seeks to have full disclosure of all beneficiaries stated on the licence or permit
application, as occurs in both NSW and the NT (refer to Appendix B for relevant sections of the NSW
and NT Liquor Acts). Where a body corporate is an applicant or a shareholder of a company applying
for the grant or transfer of a licence or permit, it is the position of Victoria Police that the Chief
Commissioner should be served with an ASIC company search disclosing details of directors and
shareholders of the applicant and its related entities.
Victoria Police also recommends that applicants must provide a clear explanation as to who is a
beneficiary of a trust related to an applicant for the grant or transfer of a licence or permit. Further, if
the applicant is a body corporate, this process should extend to include associates of the directors.
Full disclosure would assist in the prevention of infiltration by organised crime into the liquor industry15,
by preventing the concealment of unsuitable persons within a business.
b) Licence conditions and management plans for Packaged Liquor licences
Victoria Police has identified an emerging issue with the theft of liquor from packaged liquor outlets.
This results in an increase in violence against staff, adverse amenity issues and a reduced perception
of safety in the community. The theft of packaged liquor involves both opportunistic offenders where
the liquor is intended for personal consumption as well as organised criminals, who, intelligence
suggests, dispose of the stolen liquor through established licensed premises for either cash or illicit
drugs. Theft of packaged liquor contributes to community harms and criminal offending. This creates
additional demands for Victoria Police in responding to calls for assistance.
To address this emerging issue, Victoria Police would welcome consideration of an expansion of the
Objects of the Act to manage community concern regarding the theft of liquor, in particular packaged
liquor. This would allow for a range of harm minimisation interventions including conditions on larger
packaged liquor licensed venues and management plans for all packaged liquor premises. At present
there are:
• No conditions on Packaged Liquor licenses addressing minimal limits of staffing numbers at
large packaged liquor outlets.
• No standard requirements for CCTV coverage and
• No amenity clauses or consideration for the use of security personnel to reduce offending.
Many of the larger packaged liquor outlets, both in floor size and volume of sales, operate with skeleton
staff which can provide opportunities for theft and violence related offences.
15
It is noted that the Objects of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 include:
•
•
The management of gaming machines and gaming equipment is free from criminal influence and exploitation, and
Other forms of gambling permitted under this or any other Act are conducted honestly and that their management is
free from criminal influence and exploitation.
See VCGLR website:
http://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/home/laws+and+regulations/legislation+and+regulations/gambling+legislation/
6|Page
Victoria Police supports the introduction of standard specific licence conditions for large packaged liquor
premises as a harm minimisation strategy; to reduce theft and violence related offending. In determining
the standard range of conditions consideration should be given to staffing numbers, CCTV usage,
amenity clauses and security personnel.
The determination of a ‘large packaged liquor outlet’ would require further collaboration with industry
partners. Consideration should be given to:
•
•
•
Size of the premise (floor space and storage)
Volume of alcohol sales
Licensed premise history
Data on floor space is readily available however the provision of publicly available retail sales data is
needed to consider the volume of alcohol sold and the potential for risk in the community, including the
theft of liquor.
Victoria Police also seeks that all current and future packaged liquor licensees must prepare (and
subsequently implement) a management plan, similar to that required by licensees seeking to vary
licence conditions for a live music venue or those subject to the late night liquor licence freeze.
In collaboration with industry partners, Victoria Police will continue to encourage adoption of situational
crime prevention strategies within packaged liquor outlets such as target hardening initiatives (e.g.
displaying “top shelf” spirits within lockable glass cabinets) and increased use of security personnel.16
Further, Victoria Police participates in a number of Packaged Liquor Accords around the State,17 and is
a partner in the recently established National Retail Association – Retail Loss and Crime Committee.
Additional recommendations relating to packaged liquor density and family violence are incorporated in
our response to questions 4 and 11 respectively.
c) Additional considerations in the licence renewal process
Victoria Police believes that the licence renewal process is a straightforward, simple process for
licensees. The process applies equally to all licensees, regardless of their compliance with the Act and
conditions of their licence.
However, a poor regulatory history is considered a good predictor of future behaviour and the likelihood
of future harm. Victoria Police recommends that such considerations should be included in the licence
renewal process. Specifically Victoria Police suggests that consideration be given to the development
of a ‘show cause’ process to be implemented by the VCGLR when considering liquor licence renewal
and transfer applications from licensees of premises and venues where breaches of the Act are proven
to have occurred.
As stated on the VCGLR website, ‘holding a liquor licence is a privilege, not a right, and selling alcohol
comes with very real and serious obligations’. 18 The development of a ‘show cause’ process for
licensees who have breached the conditions of their licence, coupled with an improved inquiry process
as mentioned at question 5, serves to reinforce this position.
Introduction of electronic/online processes
16
In Western Australia the Director of Liquor Licensing imposed a range of additional conditions on the liquor licenses of a
small number of packaged liquor outlets that were identified as targets for theft of liquor by juvenile offenders. Additional
conditions included:
•
Variations to entry/ exit points;
•
Target hardening for security of spirits (i.e. locked away); and
•
Positioning of a security officer at the door.
Victoria Police understands that following the implementation of these conditions, theft offences from the outlets decreased by
approximately 30 percent.
17 http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/geelong/geelong-packaged-liquor-accord-replicated-around-victoria/newsstory/78fd6d47c84e2709537b2c67e79752c8 (accessed 06/12/2016)
18 See VCGLR website: http://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/home/liquor/standard+licence+obligations/your+obligations/ (accessed
02/12/2016)
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Victoria Police notes that the VCGLR’s new eLicence process is commencing on 31 December 2016.
Licensees will be able to receive an electronic copy of a renewed liquor licence following fee payment
and a short processing time.
Victoria Police welcomes the introduction of online service of applications on Victoria Police.
4.
Is there scope for streamlining the interaction between licensing and planning processes?
What are the biggest opportunities?
Victoria Police considers there is scope to streamline the liquor licensing and planning processes to
address anomalies arising from the non-sequential nature of the approval processes and lack of
planning oversight of permanent limited licences.
The non-sequential nature of the approval processes, whereby planning approval is often determined
after the liquor objection period has concluded, on occasions results in:
•
•
Activities which are prohibited under a planning scheme being approved under the liquor
licensing scheme.
Activities prohibited by the planning scheme being difficult for Victoria Police to enforce where
they do not appear as conditions on a liquor licence or BYO permit.
The evolution of the limited licence category to include permanent limited licences has allowed activity
previously regulated under both the planning and liquor licensing schemes to now be exempt from the
planning scheme.19 As a consequence, councils no longer have planning oversight of premises which
operate under permanent limited licenses.
The following amendments to the Act would address inconsistencies arising from the non-sequential
nature of the respective approval processes and the unintended consequences of s.16 (2) of the Act.
•
•
Unless exempted by s.16 of the Act, the VCGLR when granting a new licence or BYO permit
or varying an existing licence or BYO permit:
o must give due consideration to the planning permit;
o must not exceed the terms of the planning permit; and
o must endorse planning approval conditions which relate to matters regulated by the
LCRA;
That s.16 (2) of the Act be amended so that the reference to ‘limited licence’ be narrowed to
‘temporary limited licence’ (see s.14 (1A)).
These safeguards would not impact the timeliness of either process.
The inclusion of planning permit conditions on the liquor licence would deliver better alignment and
transparency, assisting industry to meet their obligations under the Act and improving the monitoring
capabilities of Victoria Police.
19
This is due to the s.16 (2) exemption under the Act which applies to all limited licence types (i.e. temporary and permanent
limited licences.
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Opportunity for greater alignment between the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the
LCRA
Victoria Police notes the ongoing partnership between the South-East Metro Councils Alliance
(SEMCA) that seeks to strengthen alignment between the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the
LCRA. This partnership is currently pursuing amendment to Victoria’s statutory planning provisions
(Clause 52.27 VPP) to require that:
a)
b)
c)
The impacts on the broader health and wellbeing of a community must be considered, as a
result of a packaged liquor licence being granted;
The nature of the broader community must be considered when determining the likely
cumulative impact of increased supply of packaged liquor on that community; and
Applicants must provide a social and economic impact assessment as part of their application
to Council for a planning permit for packaged liquor.
This issue is further discussed in response to question 8.
5.
Are there opportunities to improve the risk based fee structure?
Victoria Police considers the existing risk based fee structure could be further strengthened to deliver a
more robust risk-based licensing system that incorporates both perceived and actual risk.
The range of offences that currently “trigger” the compliance history risk fee20 should be expanded to
include serious offences such as those outlined in s.97 of Queensland’s Liquor Act 1992 (reproduced
below)21:
QLD LIQUOR ACT 1992 - SECT 97
When all or part of licensed premises must be classified as high risk
(1) The commissioner may classify all or part of licensed premises as high risk if the commissioner is satisfied—
(a) one or more glassings have happened at the premises during the relevant period; or
(b) there has been a level of violence at the premises during the relevant period that is unacceptable having
regard to the main purpose of this Act mentioned in section 3(a).
Such penalties aim to strengthen the accountability of licensees and provide incentives to implement
measures to minimise the risk of harm caused by alcohol abuse and misuse.
Victoria Police also seeks that the following offences against the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 be
included as compliance history trigger offences in determining a venue’s risk based fee under the LCRA
on the basis that these offences create equal harm to the community:
•
•
•
A venue operator must not knowingly allow a person who is intoxicated to play a gaming
machine;
The holder of a wagering licence or the wagering operator must not knowingly accept a bet
from a person who is in a state of intoxication;
The casino operator must not knowingly allow a person who is intoxicated to gamble or bet in
the casino.
This would hold licensees to account for harm caused and ensure consistency between the legislation
under which both Victoria Police and the VCGLR regulate.
20
As per the VCGLR website, trigger offences also apply to at sexually explicit entertainment venues and venues with a full
club licence with gaming. The range of offences only include supplying alcohol to underage or intoxicated persons and
permitting underage or drunken/disorderly persons on the licensed premises.
21 The Queensland Act at s.99(D) further provides that:
“When licensee may apply to end the banning of regular glass in the licensed premises
(1)
This section applies if 1 year has elapsed since all or part of licensed premises were classified as high risk.
(2)
The licensee may make written representations to the commissioner to revoke the classification.
(3)
The commissioner may revoke the classification only if the commissioner is satisfied that the licensee has put measures in
place at the licensed premises that sufficiently minimise the risk of harm caused by alcohol abuse and misuse.
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Density of licensed premises
Victoria Police supports measures to manage liquor outlet density, in particular packaged liquor, either
through additional risk factor considerations under the risk based licensing fee system, or through the
development of caps or saturation levels that can inform and guide both the liquor licence and local
council planning application processes.
Evidence identifies high density of licensed premises, involving on-premises consumption and offpremises consumption (i.e. packaged liquor), contributes to high levels of alcohol-related harm (see for
example: VicHealth, 2013; Livingston, M., 2011; and Chikritzhs, T. & Liang, W., 2010).
Research conducted by VicHealth22 (2013) identified that greater density of packaged liquor outlets was
associated with increased harms in relation to health outcomes and the commission of violence
offences. The Vic Health report23 found that within Victoria “the density of packaged liquor outlets
correlated with assaults in disadvantaged and advantaged suburbs, though this relationship did not
extend to central, inner urban or fringe suburbs”.24 Chikritzhs and Liang (2010)25 found that increases
in packaged liquor sales were linked to increases in anti-social behaviours, including assault and
domestic violence. According to VicHealth’s report “Chikritzhs and Liang found that the average sales
volume per packaged liquor outlet was significantly associated with assault, with this relationship
strongest in residential locations. For every additional 10,000 litres of pure alcohol sold from a
packaged liquor outlet, the risk of violence on residential properties increased by 26%”.26
Livingston27 in a 2011 report examining the association between liquor licence density and domestic
violence, concluded that “general and on-premise liquor licences were found to have small effects on
domestic violence rates, whereas an increase of one packaged outlet per 1,000 residents was
associated with a concomitant increase of 1.36 in the domestic violence rate”.28
Recent research related to on-premises consumption published by Miller et al (2016) recommends that
governments/regulatory authorities “place caps on outlet density and the number of licensed venues in
nightlife precincts” to “prevent any further increases in alcohol-related harm”.29 The report concludes
that such caps or density limits are required as “a large and robust literature demonstrates the
association between increased liquor outlet density and street and domestic violence”.30
22
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (2013) The social harms associated with the sale and supply of packaged liquor in
Victoria: Full report. https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/social-harms-of-packaged-liquor (accessed 07/12/2016)
23
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (2013) The social harms associated with the sale and supply of packaged liquor in
Victoria: Full report. https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/social-harms-of-packaged-liquor (accessed 07/12/2016)
24
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (2013) The social harms associated with the sale and supply of packaged liquor in
Victoria: Full report. p.12. https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/social-harms-of-packaged-liquor (accessed 07/12/2016)
25
Chikritzhs, T. & Liang, W. (2010) Violence in the Night-time Economy: Availability and Amenity. Kettil Bruun Society
Thematic Meeting on Alcohol and Violence, Melbourne.
26
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (2013) The social harms associated with the sale and supply of packaged liquor in
Victoria: Full report. p.13. https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/social-harms-of-packaged-liquor (accessed 07/12/2016)
27
Livingston, M. (2011) Longitudinal analysis of alcohol outlet density and domestic violence. Addiction (106) 5: 919-925.
28
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (2013) The social harms associated with the sale and supply of packaged liquor in
Victoria: Full report. p.13. https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/social-harms-of-packaged-liquor (accessed 07/12/2016)
29
Miller, P., Bruno, R., Morgan, A., Mayshak, R., Cox, E., Coomber, K., Droste, N., Taylor, N., Dimitrovski, N., Peacock, A.,
Boxall, H., & Voce, I. (2016) Drug and Alcohol intoxication and Subsequent Harm in night-time Entertainment Districts
(DASHED). National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund Monograph Series No. 67. p.242
30
Ibid.
10 | P a g e
Results from the Drug and Alcohol intoxication and Subsequent Harm in night-time Entertainment
Districts (DASHED) study (Miller et al, 2016) indicate that “licensed establishments are clustered around
the streets where assaults during high alcohol hours (HAH) occur most frequently”31 and further that in
relation to ambulance attendances during HAH “it was clear that most attendances clustered on very
few streets”.32
Research presented in the recent VicHealth report and in Miller et al’s recent work suggests that areas
with a higher density of either packaged liquor outlets or licensed establishments supplying alcohol for
on-premises consumption “may impact upon the community in detrimental ways” including high levels
of “assaults, domestic violence and high-risk alcohol consumption”33 often necessitating emergency
medical responses and police intervention.
6.
How can the LCRA better foster diversity and support small business?
Victoria Police believes that the LCRA as it currently stands is sufficiently focused on fostering diversity
within the liquor and licensed hospitality industry in Victoria and on supporting small business. In
particular, we believe that small business has been and continues to be supported through the
application of a risk based fee structure.34
7.
Could the current harm minimisation measures in the LCRA be improved? If so, how?
Victoria Police welcomes consideration of evidenced-based approaches to harm minimisation as part
of the review of the LCRA.
Academics in the fields of criminology and public health have undertaken substantial work examining
issues of harm minimisation as it relates to the supply and consumption of liquor. Key research by
Associate Professor Peter Miller and associates has focused on the Victorian context through, for
example, the Dealing with alcohol-related harm and the night-time economy (DANTE)35 study and the
Patron Offending and Intoxication in Night-Time Entertainment Districts (POINTED)36 study.
These learnings informed collaborative work undertaken in 2012 and 2013 by Victoria Police, VicHealth
and Associate Professor Miller under the auspices of the Liquor Control Advisory Council (LCAC) Harm
Minimisation Trial Working Party. Table 1 details potential intervention strategies incorporating the top
15 interventions likely to address public violence and crime. Table 2 refers to the top 10 interventions
to address family violence from this work.
31
Ibid, p.144.
32
Ibid, p.119.
33
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (2013) The social harms associated with the sale and supply of packaged liquor in
Victoria: Full report. p.13. https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/social-harms-of-packaged-liquor (accessed 07/12/2016)
34 See VCGLR website: http://assets.justice.vic.gov.au/vcglr/resources/cde47780-84fd-4620-952be520d1e4f9c3/liquor+licence+fees+july+2016.pdf (accessed 29/11/2016)
35 Miller, P., Tindall, J., Sonderlund, A., Groombridge, D., Lecathelinais, C., Gillham, K., McFarlane, E., de Groot, F., Droste,
N., Sawyer, A., Palmer, D., Warren, I. & Wiggers, J. (2012). Dealing with alcohol-related harm and the night-time economy
(DANTE). NDLERF Monograph Series No. 43. National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund. Canberra.
http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/publications/monographs/monograph-43 (accessed 29/11/2016)
36 Miller, P. (2013). Patron Offending and Intoxication in Night-Time Entertainment Districts (POINTED). NDLERF Monograph
Series No.46. National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund. Canberra.
http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/publications/monographs/monograph-46 (accessed 29/11/2016)
11 | P a g e
Table 1: Proposed interventions to address public violence and crime
Rank Intervention
Rank Intervention
1
Reduce alcohol outlet opening hours (on9
premises) (Indicated areas)
Limiting liquor sales to less than 3.5%
alcohol from packaged liquor outlets
2
Reduce alcohol outlet opening hours (on10
premises) (Statewide)
Restrict alcohol promotions within
venues (i.e. happy hour/specials)
3
Minimum unit price (Statewide)
11
Freeze on number of packaged liquor
outlets (Statewide)
4
Minimum unit price (high harm areas)
12
Reducing the types and size of liquor
that can be sold (i.e. no pints, high
strength beer and ciders, shots): Only
after midnight
5
Compulsory ID scanning in venues trading
13
after 11pm
Mandatory sobriety for recidivist
offenders (and/or banned drinkers
register)
6
Extension
of
risk-based
licensing
provisions to include lockouts and trading 14
hours restrictions
Reducing the types and size of liquor
that can be sold (i.e. no pints, high
strength beer and ciders, shots): All
times/venues
7
Limiting liquor sales to less than 3.5%
15
alcohol in licensed venues after midnight
Reducing the types and size of liquor
that can be sold (i.e. no pints, high
strength beer and ciders, shots): For
the entire evening
Freeze on number of packaged liquor
16
outlets (Selected sites)
A suite of increased public safety
measures aimed at; pre/side loading,
drunks remaining on -premises,
excessive singular bar closing times,
highly visible security/RSA officers,
access to taxi, etc.
8
Table 2: Proposed interventions to address family violence
Rank Intervention
Rank Intervention
1
Minimum unit price (Statewide)
6
Reduce alcohol content of specific
alcohol drinks purchased at offpremises licenses
2
Minimum unit price (High harm areas)
7
Restrict alcohol promotions (i.e.
Shopper dockets, two for one specials,
volume buy specials)
3
Freeze on number of packaged liquor 8
outlets (Selected sites)
Freeze on number of packaged liquor
outlets (Statewide)
4
Reduce alcohol outlet opening hours (on- 9
premises) (Statewide)
Reduce alcohol outlet opening hours
(off premises)
5
Reduce alcohol outlet opening hours (on- 10
premises) (Indicated areas)
Dry zone legislation for residences/
communities
12 | P a g e
8.
How should harm be considered in the licence application process?
Victoria Police seeks a number of reforms to better reflect harm in the licence application process. This
includes expansion of the factors that can be considered when determining detriment to amenity and
through the introduction of Community Impact Statements.
i) Expanded factors for considering detriment to amenity
S.3(a) of the Act includes a range of factors which may be taken into account when determining whether
the grant, variation or relocation of a licence would detract from or be detrimental to the amenity of an
area.
Victoria Police seeks that ‘health, education, public safety or social conditions in the community’ be
included under s.3(a) to better reflect the complexity of modern community life. This is consistent with
s.47F of the NT Liquor Act. Victoria Police supports the retention of ss.3 of the LCRA which states that
“nothing in subsection (2) is intended to limit the definition of amenity”.
ii) Community Impact Statements
Consideration may be given to the introduction of Community Impact Statements for all ‘Packaged
Liquor’ licence applications. Research indicates that a significant volume of alcohol is purchased for
consumption off-premises37,38 and is associated with increases in harms within the community.
Victoria Police’s Alcohol Drug Recorded Intelligence For Tasking (ADRIFT) data supports this finding
through the consistent identification of ‘residential’ as the number one location where alcohol was last
consumed.39 It is understood that work currently being undertaken by Associate Professor Miller using
ambulance and hospital admission data will further serve to support this finding.
Under the current ‘Late night (packaged)’ liquor licence application process requirements, applicants in
the local government areas of Melbourne (including Docklands), Stonnington, Yarra and Port Phillip
must provide the VCGLR with a range of supporting documentation including a statement which
satisfies the Commission that:
‘the economic and social benefit of granting the licence will outweigh the impact of alcohol
misuse and abuse and community amenity’.40
Application of this requirement could be considered for all future ‘Packaged Liquor’ licences, whereby
applicants must provide a statement to this effect in support of their application and in accordance with
the current Objects of the Act: “ensuring as far as practicable that the supply of liquor contributes to,
and does not detract from, the amenity of community life”.
Other harm-related considerations relevant to the licence application process have been incorporated
into our response to question 3 above.
37
According to a recent VicHealth report (2013) ‘Over three quarters (78%) of all alcohol in Australia is bought as packaged
liquor for off-premises consumption”. Refer to https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/social-harms-of-packaged-liquor p.8.
(accessed 07/12/2016)
38 According to the VCGLR website, ‘Packaged Liquor’ licences account for less than 10 percent of all current licences issued
throughout the State (see VCGLR website:
http://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/home/resources/data+and+research/victorian+liquor+licences+by+category)
39 ADRIFT is a real time data platform which allows police to identify the most common location of drug and alcohol-related
offences across the State.
40 See VCGLR website: http://assets.justice.vic.gov.au/vcglr/resources/3b938bfe-85aa-4036-a6c05b14e39b38a6/late%2bnight%2bpackaged%2bliquor%2blicence%2b-%2bapplication%2bkit.pdf
13 | P a g e
9.
How should the LCRA encourage best practice harm minimisation behaviour by licensees?
Victoria Police is committed to an evidence-based approach to minimising alcohol-related harm in
Victoria.
Further to our response to question 7, it is suggested that any recommendations arising from the work
being undertaken by the current Liquor Control Advisory Council working groups (i.e. the Responsible
Service of Alcohol Training Working Group and the Liquor Accords Working Group) be considered in
reform that could be delivered by the review of the LRCA.
Licensing of management
In its submission to the 2004 Parliamentary Inquiry into Strategies to Reduce Harmful Alcohol
Consumption, Victoria Police recommended the following:
Whilst licensees must be licensed and undergo training on their duties and
responsibilities under the Liquor Control Reform Act (“First Step” training program)
managers are currently not required to be licensed or undergo training as to their duties
and responsibilities as managers. This is a concern as managers are usually the
critical decision makers on day-to-day issues that contribute directly to harmful alcohol
consumption in and around licensed premises.
Under current liquor licensing legislation a person can be a manager even though they
may be unsuitable to be a licensee, a director of a licensee company, a nominee, or
even a licensed crowd controller. Managers can operate with virtual immunity from
prosecution for offences committed on licensed premises, as the licensee is usually
vicariously liable. The only recourse a licensee normally has is to terminate a
manager’s employment. There is however nothing to prevent unsuitable managers
moving on to another licensed premises and engaging in further poor management
practices.
Licensing of managers would:
• Ensure that persons managing licensed premises were appropriately trained to perform
their duties;
• Provide licensees with an effective means of establishing that prospective managers were
suitable persons who had received appropriate training; and,
• Prevent unsuitable persons managing and exercising control over licensed premises.41
Victoria Police maintains the position that managers of licensed venues should be licensed in addition
to licensees.
10. Could the current controls on patron behaviour in the LCRA be improved? If so, how?
Victoria Police recognises the importance of controls on patron behaviour both at the individual and the
licensee level.
The current LCRA controls on patron behaviour available for enforcement by Victoria Police range from
Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) for a number of behaviour-related offences, to Banning Notices
and Barring Orders, and applications for Court-issued Exclusion Orders. Police also rely on Liquor
Accord Banning Orders.
Victoria Police strongly supports retention of the current controls and would welcome consideration of
additional behaviour offences available in other states and territories as part of the review of the LRCA.
Banning notices
Although Victoria Police data suggests the number of banning notices issued by Victoria Police has
been declining over the past four years and there are a number of considerations that limit Victoria
41
Parliament of Victoria (2006) Inquiry into Strategies to Reduce Harmful Alcohol Consumption: Final Report. Vol. 1. Drugs
and Crime Prevention Committee. pp.650-651.
http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/dcpc/alcoholharmreduction/DCPC-Report_Alcohol_Vol1_200603.pdf (accessed 09/12/2016)
14 | P a g e
Police’s ability to issue banning notices under s.148 of the Act, Victoria Police maintains a strong view
that banning notices remain an effective option as part of a suite of approaches to address alcoholrelated harm within designated areas.
Exclusion orders
Victoria Police notes that the number of Liquor Reform Exclusion Orders issued by the Courts has
decreased over the last five financial year periods42, from a peak in 2012-13 of 97 orders, to a low of
49 orders last financial year.43
Victoria Police considers that Court Exclusion Orders remain an effective strategy for addressing
alcohol-related harm within designated areas over a significant time period (i.e. up to 12-months).
Detected breaches of banning notices and court exclusion orders
Although available data does not provide for assessment of the impact of banning notices or exclusion
orders on offenders’ propensity to breach the sanctions, the low number of contraventions/attempted
contraventions suggests that banning notices and court exclusion orders are influencing the behaviour
of persons banned or excluded such that they are not coming to police attention due to
drunk/intoxicated/disorderly conduct in licensed premises or designated areas.
Data extracted from LEAP by the Crime Statistics Agency on 18 July 2016 shows that over the five year
period 2011-12 to 2015-16, 31 offences were detected by police following contravention or attempted
contravention of either a banning notice (n=19) or a court exclusion order (n=12)(refer to Table 3 in
Appendix A).
As illustrated in Figure 5 (refer to Appendix A) neither type of order/notice is detected as having been
breached at significant levels (i.e. an average of <2 percent of banning notices were detected as having
been breached over the 4-year period, and an average of <4 percent of exclusion orders were detected
as having been breached over the 5-year period).
Additional patron behaviour offences from other Australian states and territories
In addition to the provisions in the NSW Liquor Act 2007 and ACT Liquor Act 2010 outlined in the
following text box44, Victoria Police seeks consideration of the introduction of an offence for breaching
a Liquor Accord ban.
Victoria Police notes that the effectiveness of Liquor Accords is currently under review by the Liquor
Control Advisory Council (with a final report due to the Minister by 31 December 2016), and that the
outcomes of this report may influence the relevance of this recommendation.
11. What opportunities are there to address family violence within the LCRA?
Victoria Police acknowledges that while alcohol does not cause family violence, it has a definite impact
on the frequency and severity of incidents. We welcome consideration of a broad range of legislative
42
Data has been extracted based on the hearing date as entered in LEAP.
Conversely the number of Alcohol Exclusion Orders issued by the courts is reflecting an increasing trend, from 11 in 201415 to 44 in 2015-16. Alcohol Exclusion Orders are issued under s.89DD of the Sentencing Act 1991, and may be imposed by
the court on a person if:
a)
a conviction is recorded against you for a relevant offence;
b)
the Court is satisfied that you were intoxicated at the time of committing that relevant offence;
c)
the Court is satisfied that your intoxication significantly contributed to the commission of the relevant offence, and
d)
you are not, or have not been subject to a previous Alcohol Exclusion Order in relation to the circumstances that
gave rise to the relevant offence.
It is possible that the decrease observed in the number of Liquor Reform Exclusion Orders is partially offset by an increase in
the number of Alcohol Exclusion Orders, however it is not possible to definitively conclude this.
44
It is noted that similar to the NSW self-exclusion from licensed premises agreement, under the Gambling Regulation Act
2003 (Vic) a person may enter into a self-exclusion program to be prohibited from entering a ‘gaming machine area’ (refer to
VCGLR website: http://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/utility/community/responsible+gambling/selfexclusion+program+for+gambling+patrons [accessed 05/12/2016]). It is the position of Victoria Police that consideration should
be given to incorporating a similar self-exclusion provision into the Act in relation to licensed premises.
43
15 | P a g e
levers to improve the community response to this problem, including consideration of controls under
the LCRA.
Harm minimisation should be the primary Object of the Act. We support the introduction of a broad
definition of harm. This should include, but not be limited to, issues such as violence, including family
violence, and give consideration to negative impacts on children, young people or other vulnerable
people or groups. This would also allow for the future application of perpetrator-based interventions, as
the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Family Violence are embedded.
As raised throughout our submission, there is a strong evidence base which demonstrates that high
density of licensed premises, late night venues and packaged liquor contributes to high levels of alcoholrelated harm. Victoria Police seeks measures for new liquor licences to have consideration for any
significant social and economic effects or harm that may impact on a community. A licence applicant
must satisfy local council that the economic and social benefit of granting the licence will outweigh the
impact of alcohol misuse.
12. Could the current compliance and enforcement provisions in the LCRA be improved? If so,
how?
The role of Victoria Police is to monitor and enforce the requirements of the LCRA by ensuring the
licensees operate within the law. While Victoria Police acknowledges that the majority of licensees
comply with the provisions of the Act, breaches of licence conditions carry the potential for significant
harm within the community.
Victoria Police’s approach to policing licensed premises is built on the following four pillars:
Prevention – Police evaluate self regulation among compliant licensees to prevent future harms from
occurring.
Education/Early Intervention – Implement positive initiatives to educate the licensees and the
community about alcohol related harm.
Strong and timely enforcement – Police actions that prevent new and emerging risks at licensed
premises from escalating.
Effective evaluation – Police actions that influence the policy, regulatory and legislative environments
to improve our capacity to deter and detect, and deal with the risk of harm associated with licensed
premises.45
Victoria Police seeks the following reforms to the enforcement provisions within the Act to minimise
future harms:
a) A single step process for managing intoxicated persons.
b) A definition of intoxication which reflects the harms occurring in licensed premises.
c) An Early Intervention model supported by the inquiry and review process.
d) Improving the response to underage drinking.
a) A single step process for managing intoxicated persons
Victoria Police seeks legislative reforms specific to managing drunk and intoxicated persons and the
introduction of a clear, ‘single step’ model in line with every other Australian jurisdiction.
45
Victoria Police Manual – Procedures and Guidelines: Policing Licensed Premises (2013)
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We seek deletion of the term `drunken`. We recommend that the legislation ensures that an intoxicated
person (as per the VCGLR ‘Intoxication Guidelines’ pursuant to s.3AB (2) of the Act) cannot be supplied
liquor and be on licensed premises.46
Victoria Police notes that all other Australian jurisdictions have only one definition of either drunk or
intoxicated in their respective Liquor Acts. The LCRA definition that `state of intoxication` is a lesser
state of physical and mental impairment than the state of `drunk and disorderly` (which is not defined
under the Act) creates a ‘two-step’ process where a person can lawfully consume liquor until becoming
intoxicated. The ‘supply liquor to an intoxicated person’ offence only occurs if further liquor is supplied,
and a ‘permit drunk on licensed premises’ offence only occurs if the intoxicated person continues
consuming liquor until they are drunk. Further the ‘permit’ element of the offence allows for a defence
that the licensee must have known they were on-premises.
Difficulties in detecting licensee “trigger” offences
As shown in Table 7 (see Appendix A) the number of compliance history “trigger” offences (i.e. ‘Supply
liquor to intoxicated person’; ‘Permit drunken/disorderly person on licensed premises’; ‘Supply liquor to
underage person’; and ‘Licensee when underage person found on licensed premises’) detected during
the 2015/16 financial year totalled 26.47 Victoria Police acknowledges that 26 is a small number in
consideration of the efforts undertaken to detect offences.
Under the current definition of intoxication (and the relevant guidelines) in order for police to gather
sufficient evidence of the supply of liquor to an intoxicated person, officers must conduct observation of
that person’s behaviour over a prolonged period of time. Such extensive continuous observations are
not normally undertaken by frontline uniformed police, and necessarily require the deployment of covert
operatives which imposes a significant resource impost on Victoria Police.
Victoria Police maintains its position that the introduction of a clear, ‘single step’ process for managing
intoxicated persons would more effectively hold licensees accountable in accordance with obligations
under RSA provisions. We anticipate this would have positive impacts by reducing the number of
people detected for public order offences (such as ‘Drunk in a public place’) and related amenity issues
in the vicinity of licensed premises. This supports our early intervention approach to minimising harm.
b) A definition of intoxication which reflects the harms occurring in licensed premises
Victoria Police seeks changes to the definition of ‘state of intoxication' in s.3AB(1) of the Act by
replacement of the words "the consumption of liquor" with “the consumption of liquor, drugs or another
intoxicating substance” to address drug and poly drug use at licensed premises.
The definition of intoxication within the LCRA needs to reflect the nature of activity occurring on licensed
premises including the harm arising from poly drug use.
As it stands, the s.4 (1) (a) harm minimisation objects of the LCRA only relate to harms arising from the
misuse and abuse of alcohol and not illicit drugs.
46
See the VCGLR website:
http://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/home/liquor/standard+licence+obligations/serving+intoxicated+patrons/intoxication+guidelines
47 The total number of offences comprises 8, 13, 1 and 4 of each offence type listed respectively.
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Illicit drug use is a major issue in Victoria's licensed premises as evidenced by a recent study conducted
in and around nightclubs by Deakin University and seven other universities involving over 7,000 patrons,
where it was found that 40 percent of people tested positive for detectable illicit drugs, and another 610 percent of people reported using drugs such as; GHB, Ketamine, Mephedrone and LSD.48 Most
people tested were also drinking alcohol.
Victoria Police has experienced significant difficulties in holding licensees accountable for drug use
occurring in their venues as the Act does not reference specific offences related to drugs.
As the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) has identified “it can be difficult to differentiate the effects of
alcohol on behaviour from the effects of other drugs on behaviour”.49
Further, data extracted from LEAP by the CSA illustrate that drug offences at licensed premises have
increased significantly over the last five years. For example offences for drug dealing and trafficking
detected in the 2015/16 financial year were more than four times those detected in 2011/12 whilst drug
use and possession offences were more than two and a half times more for the same comparison period
(refer to Tables 4 and 5 in Appendix A).
Three Australian jurisdictions (i.e. South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland) incorporate ‘other
substances’ into their definitions of intoxication in their respective Liquor Acts. The Queensland
legislation is provided as an example in the box below.
QLD LIQUOR ACT 1992 - SECT 9A
When a person may be taken to be unduly intoxicated
(1)
For this Act, a person may be taken to be unduly intoxicated if(a)
the person’s speech, balance, coordination or behaviour is noticeably affected; and
(b)
there are reasonable grounds for believing the affected speech, balance, coordination or behaviour is
the result of the consumption of liquor, drugs or another intoxicating substance.
This definition has the advantage of being a single, objective test of intoxication based solely on
observable behaviours.
In addition, other Australian jurisdictions reference specific drug offences in their respective Liquor Acts
as follows:
•
•
•
NSW Liquor Act 2007 – s.74 Sale of stolen goods and possession, use or sale of drugs on
licensed premises
WA Liquor Control Act 1988 – s.115(b) permits any reputed thief, prostitute or supplier of
unlawful drugs to remain on the licensed premises
TAS Liquor Licensing Act 1990 – s.79 (a) a more general offence of Licensee and permit holder
to prevent offences on licensed premises and permit premises.
Victoria Police proposes that the LCRA reference drug offences specifically, as per the above examples.
48
Miller, P. (2013). Patron Offending and Intoxication in Night-Time Entertainment Districts (POINTED). NDLERF Monograph
Series No.46. National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund. Canberra.
http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/publications/monographs/monograph-46 (accessed 29/11/2016)
49 Sutherland, P., McDonald, C., & Millsteed, M. (2016) Family violence, alcohol consumption and the likelihood of criminal
offences. Crime Statistics Agency. Victorian Government. https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/research-andevaluation/publications/family-violence-alcohol-consumption-and-the-likelihood-of (accessed 06/12/2016)
18 | P a g e
As introduced at question 3, published on the VCGLR website is a fact sheet on Management Plans
which details that:
A management plan allows licensees or licence applicants to demonstrate that they
have a strategy for the management of their venue and its risks.
Applicants should include the following in their management plan where relevant:
▪ strategies for responding to drugs
It is evident that the VCGLR acknowledges the risks and shares Victoria Police’s concerns surrounding
drugs on licensed premises.
Section 49(a) of the NT Liquor Act allows that a Licence may be suspended if drug premises order
made under the Misuse of Drugs Act s.11(k) Drug premises order if indications of supply at or from
premises.50
This legislation, if available in Victoria and coupled with expansion of the harm minimisation Objects of
the Act to include illicit drugs, could be used to minimise harms from the misuse and abuse of illicit
drugs which is occurring on licensed premises.
Inclusion of ‘drug possession/use/sale’ as grounds for disciplinary action under s.90
In addition to the broadening of the definition of intoxication under the Act, Victoria Police seeks that
drug possession/use/sale should be incorporated under s.90 of the Act as grounds on which the VCGLR
can commence an inquiry process to take disciplinary action in relation to a licensee or permittee.
Currently the grounds for disciplinary action set out under s.90 extend to:
(a) that the licensee or permittee has contravened a provision of this Act, the regulations, the
licence or BYO permit or a condition of the licence or BYO permit (as the case may be);
(b) that the licensee or permittee has contravened a condition of an approval or consent of the
Commission under this Act (other than a licence or BYO permit);
(c) that the licensee or permittee has been found guilty of an offence against section 118A or an
offence against regulations made under section 118B;
(d) that the licensee has contravened an undertaking given under section 133F;
(e) that the licensee or permittee has been found guilty of an offence against this Act or the
regulations;
(f) that the licensee or permittee has been found guilty of an offence under Part II of the Food Act
1984 in relation to liquor supplied by the licensee or permittee;
(g) that the licensee or permittee has been found guilty of an offence under section 253 of the
Victoria Police Act 2013 relating to a police officer or under the Police Regulation Act 1958
relating to bribery of a member of the police force;
(h) that the licensee or permittee has been found guilty, whether in Victoria or elsewhere, of an
offence punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 3 years or more;
(i) that the licensee or permittee is a body corporate, a director of which has been found guilty,
whether in Victoria or elsewhere, of an offence punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment
of 3 years or more;
(j) the licensee or permittee is a club that is not a body corporate, a member of the committee of
management of which has been found guilty, whether in Victoria or elsewhere, of an offence
punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 3 years or more;
(k) that the licensee or permittee has knowingly assisted a person to breach a disqualification
determination imposed under section 93D;
(l) that the licensee or permittee has paid a penalty for an offence under this Act for which an
infringement notice within the meaning of the Infringements Act 2006 has been served;
50
(2) On receiving an application under section 11D(2) in relation to commercial or liquor licence premises, the court may make a drug
premises order declaring the premises to be drug premises if the court is satisfied that the evidence of the indications of supply is sufficient
to establish on the balance of probabilities that a dangerous drug has been supplied at or from the premises by an owner, landlord or
tenant of the premises or a person employed by or acting for and on behalf of an owner, landlord or tenant of the premises.
19 | P a g e
(m) that the licensee or permittee has altered the premises in a way that would have prevented the
granting of the licence under section 22 had the alterations been in place immediately before
the licence was granted;
(n) that the licensee or permittee has obtained the licence or BYO permit by fraud or false
representations;
(o) that the licensee or permittee has conducted the business under the licence or BYO permit, or
allowed it to be conducted, in a manner that detracts from or is detrimental to the amenity of
the area in which the licensed premises are situated;
(p) that a licensee or permittee has contravened the terms of a closure and evacuation notice;
(q) that the licensee or permittee is otherwise not a suitable person to hold a licence or BYO permit.
Victoria Police considers that that the inclusion of drug possession/use/sales within s.90 of the LCRA
would contribute to the harm minimisation Objects of the Act, and serve to reinforce the obligations on
licensees and permittees to ensure that venues are being managed and operated safely and in
accordance with the law.
c) Early intervention model with regard to inquiry and review processes
The Victoria Police Manual highlights that access to, and utilisation of a range of enforcement options
can support compliance with the law. This is based on the principle that compliance will be enhanced
by utilising the most appropriate enforcement option available to address the licensee’s behaviour and
type of offence committed. This facilitates an early interventionist approach whereby police can use
penalties to drive compliance and escalate as required for more serious breaches.
Victoria Police is concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of the current inquiry and review
process and seeks for the review of the LCRA to support an early intervention model where risk and
harm are consistently reviewed and monitored.
This includes changes to support a more timely, transparent and robust legislative and policy framework
to provide certainty and clarity about the expectations on applicants/licensees. This would also deliver
outcomes that are consistent, transparent, predictable and fair for all stakeholders.
There is an inherent conflict of interest in the VCGLR’s responsibilities to both issue licences and hold
hearings on complaints about its own decisions. Under the Act, VCGLR has responsibility for licensing,
informing and educating, monitoring and enforcing. In addition, it must also hold hearings on contested
liquor licences, disciplinary actions and on reviews of decisions made by a single-commissioner or
delegate of the Commission. This has proven difficult for Victoria Police for two key reasons:
•
•
understanding the rationale and transparency of review decisions; and
in resolving issues from an early interventionist, harm minimisation approach.
Victoria Police seeks an enforcement outcomes based framework which would introduce greater clarity
in decision-making and ensure that timeframes for responding to requests support early intervention by
Victoria Police.
In particular, Victoria Police would welcome a time commitment or guidelines to resolving issues. We
note that the time taken to determine Victoria Police s.29 applications for variation of licence or BYO
permits has an average of 204 days for processing. Comparable time delays have been experienced
with s.91 inquiry applications and Victoria Police initiated inquiries. The time taken to respond to
applications seriously restricts the ability of police to monitor compliance in a proactive way that
prevents further harm.
Injunctive relief provisions
The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation Act 2011 (No. 58/2011) introduced
injunctive relief provisions into the LCRA effective from 6 February 2012 (Division 3B – Injunctive relief,
ss.133H to 133L).
20 | P a g e
The provisions allow the Commission to apply to the Supreme Court, Country Court or Magistrates’
Court for the grant of an injunction restraining a person from engaging in conduct described in
s.133H(1)(a) to (e) and allow a court to grant orders restraining the person from engaging in the
described conduct.
Currently the only recourse Victoria Police has to prevent an avoidable harm is to request that the
Commission initiate injunction proceedings on behalf of Victoria Police.
To support harm minimisation, Victoria Police seeks inclusion of the Chief Commissioner as a person
who can make application for injunctive relief pursuant to Division 3B of the LCRA.
d) Improving the response to underage drinking
Victoria Police seeks amendment to s.123 (2) (e) of the LCRA so that the exemption only applies where
it relates to liquor provided in accordance with s.119 (5) (e) with the onus on the minor to prove who
supplied them liquor. This adheres with the current Objects of the Act and provides for adequate
controls over the consumption of liquor, especially as it relates to risky drinking behaviour by minors.
Police currently have no enforcement powers under the Act where large crowds of underage partygoers drink at a residence (exemption at s.123(2)(e)), but were not supplied liquor by a parent, guardian
or spouse of the person (if the spouse is of or over the age of 18 years); or someone who is authorised
by a parent, guardian or spouse of the person as per s.119(5)(e).
This is an emerging issue given the use of social media to promote parties which have the tendency to
attract ‘gate crashers’ and become out of control, causing high risk and harm to the community as well
as individuals engaged in risky drinking behaviour.
According to research undertaken by the Victorian Auditor-General (2012) disproportionate levels of
alcohol related harm are experienced by some groups within the community, such as young people
aged 10–24 years old. Rates of alcohol related hospital admissions and heavy drinking (more than 20
drinks on a single occasion) among young people have increased considerably over the past few
years.51
VCGLR’s ability to set conditions
Victoria Police notes that there is a current matter before the Victorian Supreme Court concerning a
licensed venue. This matter was originated by a Victoria Police licensing inspector and raises a key
legal question around the ability of the VCGLR to place conditions on licensed venues whereby the
breach of such conditions is similar to an offence provision within the LCRA. Victoria Police is of the
view that the VCGLR should be able to place suitable conditions on a license and thereby more fully
engage the regulatory compliance mechanisms available in the Act relating to conditions, rather than
just relying on offence provisions.
13. Are there other measures that could reduce harm? What would be the costs and benefits
of including them?
In addition to measures detailed in our responses to questions 7 and 9, further initiatives that could be
undertaken to reduce harm in and around licensed premises are as follows. A range of measures are
presented on the basis of evidence available in other jurisdictions, for which some legislative reform
may be required.
51
Victorian Auditor-General (2012). Effectiveness of justice strategies in preventing and reducing alcohol related harm.
Victorian Auditor General’s Office website http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports_and_publications/latest_reports/201112/20120620-alcohol.aspx (accessed 28/11/2016)
21 | P a g e
a) Safer Bars training
Piloted in Western Australia (WA) the Safer Bars WA training pilot was modelled on a program
developed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada which aimed to “increase the
capacity of bar staff to prevent aggression, violence and injury in and around bars, by providing all staff
within a licensed premises free in-house training and supporting information”.52
The program is delivered by the Injury Control Council of Western Australia and focuses on “reducing
risk factors and enhancing staff members’ skills to reduce potential aggression, violence and injury in
and around licensed premises, and goes beyond mandatory ‘responsible service of alcohol’ training”.53
According to the Queensland Government’s Drink Safe Precincts Final Evaluation report (2013), the
“Safer Bars” training program involves three main components:
➢ A three-hour training program for staff and management aiming to develop strategies to
➢
➢
reduce, prevent and manage aggression. For example, the training provides bar staff with
techniques for managing potential problem behaviours and teaches them strategies to reduce
risks of injury and legal problems in their premises.
A risk assessment workbook comprising 92 questions for managers/owners to identify and
address aspects of their premises which facilitate violence and/or aggression (including entry,
bar operations, atmosphere and physical layout).
A legal pamphlet that outlines bar staff and managers’ legal responsibilities to prevent
violence and aggression.54
The report further concludes that “evaluation of the Safer Bars training program suggests that training
bar staff in managing and reducing violent behaviour can reduce the number of incidents of aggression
in and around licenced premises”. In a recent review of international research and practice concerning
night-time economy management conducted for the City of Sydney, Hadfield (2011) recommended:
adoption of the ‘Safer Bars’ training programme, or similar model, as a mandatory
requirement for the staff of all licensed premises operating within locations that are
known ‘hot spots’ for alcohol-related crime and disorder… A specially adapted training
programme might also provide an opportunity for NSW police and the City of Sydney
to offer support to licensed operators and door supervisor agencies in crime
prevention.55
b) Collection of retail alcohol sales data
As detailed in our submission to the Consultation Paper: Requirement for wholesalers to report
wholesale liquor supply information (submitted to the Victorian Department of Justice &
Regulation on 30 April 2015), it is Victoria Police’s position that the collection of retail alcohol
sales data would generate a more detailed and robust evidence-base for policy evaluation and
development than wholesale data currently provides.
52
http://www.vincent.wa.gov.au/Welcome_to_Vincent/Publications/Media_Centre/2009_Archived_Media_Releases (accessed
14/12/2016)
53 Ibid.
54 Queensland Government (2013). Drink Safe Precincts Final Evaluation: 24 months of the trial. The State of Queensland
(Department of the Premier and Cabinet). December 2013. https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/drink-safeprecincts/resource/9eb08e99-9863-45bc-96f9-385f9ae780c8 (accessed 02/12/2016)
55 Hadfield, P. (2011). Night-Time Economy Management: International Research and Practice. A review for the City of
Sydney, September 2011. pp.14-15.
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/131740/InternationalEvidenceLiteratureReview.pdf (accessed
02/12/2016)
22 | P a g e
From an operational policing perspective, retail sales data is considered more effective than
wholesale data in generating intelligence around the links between alcohol, crime and societal
harms. The Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy and National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
research (National Alcohol Sales Data Project reports) suggests that the ability to design
strategic policing, health and government policy is better provided for by collection of retail sales
data rather than wholesale data. The greater level of detail generated by retail sales data would
enhance Victoria Police’s ability to implement localised enforcement initiatives. Development
of tailored initiatives at a local government or neighborhood level is an important aspect of harm
reduction supporting stakeholder engagement developed through initiatives such as Liquor
Accords.
Victoria Police data indicates that the availability of alcohol, either in concentrated
entertainment precincts or from packaged liquor outlets acts as a substantial driver of assault
offending. Recent research (Livingston, 2011) indicates a strong correlation between family
violence rates and the availability of alcohol from packaged liquor outlets.56 Currently the harm
generated by packaged liquor outlets, which supply 78 percent of the alcohol consumed in
Victoria,57 is not well researched or understood. The collection of retail consumption data would
allow greater insights to be gathered about the role of particular alcohol outlets in the generation
of harm. The greater level of detail provided by retail data would facilitate better understanding
of the Victorian drinking culture and of behaviours which lead to the misuse of alcohol. This in
turn will support Victoria Police in developing targeted strategies to promote community safety
and at a local (municipal) level.
Small Business Exemption
Victoria Police considers that the current exemption provided for small business to report
wholesale data reduces the validity and integrity of the proposed data collection process.
The Victorian Auditor-General's report Effectiveness of Justice Strategies in Preventing and
Reducing Alcohol-Related Harm (2012) recommended the creation of “a consolidated database
to facilitate meaningful and accessible analysis of alcohol consumption and harm” (p. 22).
Accordingly Victoria Police suggests that all alcohol wholesalers be included in the data
collection process, and that the small business exclusion be removed. This will ensure the
integrity of the data collected for Victoria on alcohol consumption and provide the robust and
complete evidence-base required. The Auditor-General further stated in his 2012 report that
shortcomings in the data collection process have hampered the management of alcohol-related
harm in Victoria over the past few years. It was also noted that harm had increased over that
period and was most likely to be understated due to data issues:
The increase in reported short-term alcohol-related harm over the past 10 years indicates
that strategies to mitigate alcohol-related harm have not been successful.
More people require medical attention for intoxication, and the number of assaults and
injuries has increased. The extent of the problems caused by alcohol is, however,
understated because of shortcomings in data collection, analysis and dissemination.58
Whilst it is acknowledged that inclusion of small business in the data collection process will
create an additional compliance obligation for some licence holders, as stated by the VCGLR
‘holding a liquor licence is a privilege, not a right, and selling alcohol comes with very real and
serious obligations’.59
56
Livingston, M. (2011) A longitudinal analysis of alcohol outlet density and domestic violence. Addiction. pp 919-925.
Victorian Auditor-General (2012). Effectiveness of justice strategies in preventing and reducing alcohol related harm.
http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports_and_publications/latest_reports/2011-12/20120620-alcohol.aspx (accessed 02/12/2016)
58 Ibid. p. 10.
59 See VCGLR website: http://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/home/liquor/standard+licence+obligations/your+obligations/ (accessed
02/12/2016)
57
23 | P a g e
Victoria Police believes that collection of complete data on alcohol consumption would be in
line with the harm reduction objective of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998: to contribute to
minimising harm arising from the misuse and abuse of alcohol.
c) Sale of counterfeit alcohol
Victoria Police is aware of an emerging issue concerning the sale of fraudulent or counterfeit
alcohol.
Proceedings are currently being commenced in relation to two licensed premises that have
been detected knowingly selling a product that, while it can be considered ‘alcohol’, purported
to be a genuine ‘branded’ product but that was in fact more akin to a home-brew.
Victoria Police is unable to speculate how broadly this issue may be occurring. Whilst we are
advised that the counterfeit products detected to date are unlikely to have caused harm to
consumers in a medical sense, Victoria Police suggests that further exploration of this issue be
undertaken.
Initial research by Victoria Police identifies that the NT Liquor Act includes an offence at s.103,
Sale of adulterated liquor, which states:
A licensee or employee of a licensee must not sell adulterated liquor.60
d) Joint enforcement operations
As detailed in the Queensland Government evaluation of the Drink Safe Precincts (DSP) trial
(2013), the Queensland Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR), Office of Fair Trading,
Queensland Police Service, Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, and local government
conduct joint enforcement operations targeting licensed premises within the DSPs. 61
Operations assess compliance against a number of areas associated with harm-minimisation,
including: liquor regulations; fire safety; security providers; workplace health and safety; and
local laws (i.e. cleanliness, patron safety and lighting).
Victoria Police has worked with partner agencies in multi-agency approach to assessing
compliance for a number of years and recommends that agencies explore options for formalise
harm-minimisation collaboration across the spectrum of regulatory areas.
Further, as discussed in response to question 4, the inclusion of all council planning permit
conditions on the liquor licence would facilitate holistic consideration of the licensees’
obligations.
60
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/la107/s103.html
Queensland Government (2013). Drink Safe Precincts Final Evaluation: 24 months of the trial. The State of Queensland
(Department of the Premier and Cabinet). December 2013. p. 144. https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/drink-safeprecincts/resource/9eb08e99-9863-45bc-96f9-385f9ae780c8 (accessed 02/12/2016)
61
24 | P a g e
e) Alcohol Advertising and Promotions
Victoria Police is aware that research demonstrates that exposure to repeat alcohol advertising
promotes pro-drinking attitudes and reinforces perceptions of drinking as positive, glamorous and
relatively risk-free; and supports reform that provides for consideration to restrictions on where, when
and how alcohol may be advertised. We are also aware of evidence that alcohol advertising restrictions
have the potential to reduce the harmful social costs of alcohol consumption, for example reducing
motor vehicle fatality rates.
Victoria Police’s view is that alcohol advertising and promotion should:
•
•
•
•
Be delivered in such a manner that seeks to minimise exposure to minors
Not encourage the misuse of alcohol
Where feasible, be regulated in a consistent manner across all media channels
Recognise that some forms of sponsorship are also a form of advertising and promotion.
S115A of the Act provides for the VGLRC to give notice to a licensee banning the licensee from
advertising or promoting the supply of liquor or conduct of a licenced premises if in the opinion of the
VGLRC, the advertising or promotion is likely to encourage irresponsible consumption of alcohol or not
in the public interest. Guidelines are in place by the VGLRC. Victoria Police supports review of the
guidelines for responsible liquor advertising and promotions, and in particular, examples of
unacceptable practice, to ensure the guidelines adequately address the sale of alcohol for off-premises
consumption.
25 | P a g e
Appendix A – Tables and Figures
Table 3. Banning and exclusion notices, 2011-12 to 2015-16
Jul 2011 - Jun Jul 2012 - Jun Jul 2013 - Jun Jul 2014 - Jun Jul 2015 - Jun
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Total
Total
Total
Total
Total
Offence Description
ATT ENTER LICENSED PREM-EXCLUSION ORDER
.
2
.
.
.
CONTRA ALCOHOL EXCLUSN ORD-ATT ENTER PLC
.
.
.
.
1
ENTER DESIGNATED AREA - BANNING NOTICE
.
4
1
.
2
ENTER DESIGNATED AREA - EXCLUSION ORDER
1
.
1
4
.
ENTER LICENSED PREMISES-BANNING NOTICE
.
2
.
1
2
ENTER LICENSED PREMISES-EXCLUSION ORDER
.
.
.
.
2
RE-ENTER DESIGNATED AREA-BANNING NOTICE
.
1
2
1
.
RE-ENTER DESIGNATED AREA-EXCLUSION ORDER
.
.
1
.
.
RE-ENTER LICENSED PREMISE-BANNING NOTICE
1
.
.
1
1
Total
2
9
5
7
8
Note: All offences within the offence subdivision of 'D30 Public nuisance offences' that mention liquor, alcohol, licensed premises, designated area or drunkenness have been included in this table
Table 4. Drug offences recorded at licenced premises, 2011-12 to 2015-16
Jul - Jun 2012 Jul - Jun 2013 Jul - Jun 2014 Jul - Jun 2015 Jul - Jun 2016
Offence Subdivision
C10 Drug dealing and trafficking
30
44
37
53
127
C20 Cultivate or manufacture drugs
1
2
3
4
7
C30 Drug use and possession
98
111
122
164
250
C90 Other drug offences*
0
0
2
0
0
Total
129
157
164
221
384
* The 2 'other' drug offences recorded during this period had an offence description of 'Induce MP administer drug of dependence'
62
Total
291
17
745
2
1055
Table 5. Drug offences recorded at nexus to licenced premises, 2015-16
Offence Subdivision
C10 Drug dealing and trafficking
23
C30 Drug use and possession
45
Total
68
Notes:
- There were no drug offences recorded at nexus to licenced premises in the years prior to 2015-16
- 10 of the drug dealing and trafficking offences and 21 of the drug use and possession offences are also counted in Table 4
Table 6. Drug offences recorded at hotel/motel, 2011-12 to 2015-16
Jul - Jun 2012 Jul - Jun 2013 Jul - Jun 2014 Jul - Jun 2015 Jul - Jun 2016
Offence Subdivision
C10 Drug dealing and trafficking
C20 Cultivate or manufacture drugs
C30 Drug use and possession
Total
62
262
6
121
389
81
24
236
341
59
7
166
232
94
8
225
327
96
10
220
326
Total
592
55
968
1615
Data extracted by the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) from LEAP on 18th July 2016 and is subject to change.
26 | P a g e
Victoria Police Statistics
Table 7. Number of infringement notices issued in Victoria under the Liquor Control Reform Act between 01 July 2006 and 30 June 2016
Offence Code
Offence Description
Statutory
Reference
Commit Date
2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16
6007
Fail to display notice as required by the Commission
LCRA 102(1)(2)
12
26
29
10
1
5
7
5
2
5
6008
Supply liquor other than in accordance with licence
LCRA 108(1)(a)(i)
172
237
607
377
202
152
175
118
122
138
6009
Permit supply of liquor not in accordance with licence
LCRA 108(1)(a)(ii)
35
19
16
30
4
12
6
4
5
5
6010
Permit consumption of liquor not in accordance with licence
LCRA 108(1)(a)(iii)
26
29
34
49
18
20
13
9
9
10
6011
Use place/premises other than licensed/authorised premises for supply of liquor
LCRA 108(1)(b)
4
7
25
7
2
1
0
1
5
0
6012
Take/receive liquor orders other than at licensed premises
LCRA 109(1)
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6014
Permit underage to supply liquor on licensed premises
LCRA 122(1)
0
0
0
7
0
1
0
0
0
1
6016
Fail to notify commencement of associate
LCRA 103A(2)(b)
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
6017
Permit other person to carry on business
LCRA 106(1)(a)
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
6018
Person not employed carrying on business
LCRA 106(1)(b)
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
6120
Supply liquor to intoxicated person
LCRA 108(4)(a)
20
33
103
66
68
25
21
6
3
8
6122
Permit drunken/disorderly person on licensed premises
LCRA 108(4)(b)
106
100
191
113
36
34
22
15
17
13
6123
Supply liquor to underage person
LCRA 119(1)(a)
21
10
18
18
15
3
8
6
3
1
6124
Permit liquor to be supplied to underage person
LCRA 119(1)(b)
10
3
3
10
3
2
0
1
0
0
6125
Liquor supplied to underage person on licensed premises
LCRA 119(2)
4
9
9
10
4
5
2
3
1
1
6127
Licensee when underage person found on licensed premises
LCRA 120(1)
42
31
65
35
25
19
11
11
1
4
6131
Fail to display licence at licensed premises
LCRA 101
9
24
24
22
4
10
8
5
0
4
6132
Fail to keep a resident's register
LCRA 100(a)
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6133
Fail to enter particulars in resident's register
LCRA 100(b)
1
3
3
0
2
1
1
1
1
1
6134
Fail to keep resident's register on licensed premises
LCRA 100(c)
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6136
Fail to notify the Commission of cessation of company director
LCRA 103(1)
7
12
22
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6137
Fail to have company director approved by the Commission
LCRA 103(2)
1
3
14
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
6138
Fail to make refreshments available
LCRA 99
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
6139
Fail to produce copy of the plan of licensed premises for inspection
LCRA 101B(2)
2
17
24
11
3
9
4
3
3
3
6140
Let or sub-let part of licensed premises without the Commission's consent
LCRA 105(1)
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
6142
Fail to produce evidence of completion of the responsible service of alcohol program or course.
LCRA 108A (2)(a)
0
11
27
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
6143
Fail to produce evidence of completing the responsible service of alcohol program or course undertaken during requisite period.
LCRA 108A (2)(b)
0
2
8
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
6158
Fail to provide free drinking water
LCRA 99A(1)
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
6160
Failure to complete RSA (LICENSEE)
LCRA 108AA(2)
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
6161
Failure to complete RSA (MANAGER)
LCRA 108AA(3)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
6162
Failure to ensure staff complete RSA
LCRA 108AB(2)(a),(b)
0
0
0
0
3
6
5
4
4
1
6163
Failure to ensure RSA refresher complete
LCRA 108AC(2)
0
0
0
0
0
2
8
3
3
1
6164
Failure to maintain RSA register
LCRA 108AD(2)
0
0
0
0
0
28
17
26
20
13
6165
Failure to produce RSA register
LCRA 108AE(2)
0
0
0
0
2
16
10
5
10
3
6183
Failure of a licensee to complete approved responsible service of alcohol (RSA) program within 3 years of previous completion of program or within 12 LCRA CLAUSE 25(4) OF
months of 1/1/11 (whichever is later)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
6184
Failure of licensee that is a body corporate to ensure responsible person completes approved responsible service of alcohol (RSA) program within 3
years of previous completion of program or within 12 months of 1/1/11 (whichever is later)
LCRA CLAUSE 25(5) OF
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
6186
Failure of licensee to ensure liquor staff complete approved responsible service of alcohol (RSA) program within 3 years of previous completion of
program or within 12 months of 1/1/11 (whichever is later)
LCRA CLAUSE 25(7) OF
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
Note: This table contains all infringements issued under the Liquor Control Reform Act - Licensee/Permittee Offences.
Data extracted from FPPO on 15 December 2016 and subject to variation
Produced By Corporate Statistics, Victoria Police - December 2016
27 | P a g e
Figure 1: Metropolitan Victoria Liquor Licences – 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2016
Metropolitan Victoria Liquor Licences - 30 June 2012 to 30
5,000
General
4,500
4,129
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
3,190
2,378
3,306
2,438
3,483
3,587
2,546
2,583
3,775
2,648
4,239
Late night
(general)
4,442
Onpremises
3,872
2,689
2,817
2,818
Late night
(onpremises)
Restaurant
& café
2,905
Packaged
liquor
Late night
(packaged)
2,000
Full Club
1,500
Restricted
Club
1,000
Pre-retail
500
Wine &
Beer
Producer's
Renewable
Limited
0
BYO Permit
Figure 2: Regional Victoria Liquor Licences – 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2016
Regional Victoria Liquor Licences - 30 June 2012 to 30 June
General
2,500
Late night
(general)
2,000
1,875
1,882
1,902
1,916
1,948
1,934
1,962
1,951
1,968
Late night
(onpremises)
1,500
1,000
869
500
0
Onpremises
889
932
954
1,000
1,027
1,094
1,119
1,164
Restaura
nt & café
Packaged
liquor
Full Club
Restricted
Club
Pre-retail
Wine &
Beer
Producer'
s
28 | P a g e
Figure 3: Selected Liquor Licence Types (Statewide) – 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2016
Selected Liquor Licence Types (Statewide) - 1 June 2012 to 1
6,000
4,625
4,899
5,000
4,000
4,775
4,598
5,223
4,781
4,451
4,415
4,541
4,502
5,606
5,358
4,771
4,873
4,256
4,059
4,323
4,195
2,275
1,964
2,210
1,964
2,197
1,973
2,144
1,973
2,135
1,992
2,099
1,993
2,028
2,005
2,014
2,010
2,039
2,027
1,487
1,477
1,486
1,470
1,489
1,489
1,500
1,511
1,538
3,000
2,000
1,000
General
Onpremises
0
Restaurant
& café
Packaged
liquor
Renewable
Limited
Figure 4: Number of Banning Notices Issued between 2012-13 and 2015-16: Statewide and selected LGAs in which the
“Freeze” is operating
29 | P a g e
Figure 5: Number of Exclusion Orders (2011/12-2015/16) and Banning Notices (2012/13-2015/16) issued and
subsequent detected breaches: Statewide
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Appendix B – NSW and NT Liquor Act sections
NSW LIQUOR ACT 2007 - SECT 41
Statement as to interested parties
(1) An application for a licence must be accompanied by a written statement, made by a person having
knowledge of the facts, specifying:
(a)
that the person has made all reasonable inquiries to ascertain the information required to complete
the statement, and
(b)
whether there are any persons (other than financial institutions) who will be interested in the
business, or the profits of the business, carried on under the licence, and
(c)
if there are any such persons, their names and dates of birth and, in the case of a proprietary
company, the names of the directors and shareholders.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is interested in the business, or the profits of the business,
carried on under the licence if the person is entitled to receive:
(a)
any income derived from the business, or any other financial benefit or financial advantage from the
carrying on of the business (whether the entitlement arises at law or in equity or otherwise), or
(b)
any rent, profit or other income in connection with the use or occupation of premises on which the
business is to be carried on.
(3) The regulations may provide exceptions to this section.
NT LIQUOR ACT - SECT 26A
Disclosure of influential persons or potential beneficiaries
(1) An applicant for a licence must make an affidavit disclosing whether certain persons may be able to influence
the applicant, or expect a benefit from the applicant, if the licence is granted.
(2) If the applicant is a body corporate, the affidavit must be made by:
(a)
the principal executive officer of the body corporate; or
(b)
if that officer does not have knowledge of the relevant facts – another person who has knowledge of
the relevant facts and is authorised by the body corporate to make the affidavit.
(3) The affidavit, subject to subsection (6), must disclose the following matters:
(a)
subject to subsection (4), whether or not there is any person who will by any lease, agreement or
arrangement be able to influence any decision made by the applicant in relation to the sale of liquor
or the sale and consumption of liquor;
(b)
subject to subsection (5), whether or not there is any person other than the applicant who by any
lease, agreement or arrangement may expect any benefit from the applicant in relation to the sale of
liquor or the sale and consumption of liquor;
(c)
if a person disclosed under paragraph (a) or (b) is a natural person – the person's full name, address
and date of birth;
(d)
if a person disclosed under paragraph (a) or (b) is a body corporate other than a club – the name of
the body corporate and the full name, address and date of birth of the secretary and each executive
officer of the body corporate;
(e)
if a person disclosed under paragraph (a) or (b) is a club or other voluntary association of persons:
i. the name of the club or voluntary association of persons; and
ii. the full name, address and date of birth of the secretary and each executive officer
of the club or voluntary association of persons; and
iii. details of the objectives (if any) of the club or voluntary association of persons and
whether or not the club is a non-proprietary club or the voluntary association of
persons conducts its business in the same way as a non-proprietary club;
(f)
full and correct particulars of any lease, agreement or arrangement disclosed under paragraph (a) or
(b);
(g)
if the applicant is a body corporate other than a club – the names of all persons who have a
substantial holding (within the meaning of section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001) in the body
corporate.
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(4) If the applicant is a body corporate, subsection (3)(a) does not require disclosure of a person who is the
secretary, an executive officer, a member or a shareholder of the body corporate carrying out the duties or
exercising the normal rights of the person in that capacity.
(5) Subsection (3)(b) does not require disclosure of a contract, agreement or other arrangement entered into for
the purposes of this Act or the Regulations and approved by the Director-General.
(6) The affidavit need not disclose anything specified by the Regulations as not requiring disclosure.
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