Alcohol reform
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:41): My question is for the Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation. On 6 September 2024 national cabinet recognised the clear link between alcohol and intimate partner and family violence incidents and announced that the Australian and state and territory governments would be implementing recommendation 17 of the Unlocking the Prevention Potential: Accelerating Action to End Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence report. Among other things, recommendation 17 states that governments will:
… prevent and reduce –
domestic family and sexual violence –
… including homicide, with a focus on alcohol and gambling industries … This should include:
a. adopting clear primary objectives in state and territory liquor regulatory regimes to prevent gender-based violence, alongside existing objectives around alcohol harm reduction …
b. restrictions on alcohol sales, delivery timeframes … and advertising
In particular there was a focus on online alcohol sales. With this in mind, why haven’t you implemented reforms to the Liquor Control Reform Act, as committed to in 2024?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:42): I thank the member for their question and their interest in these matters. I think they have touched on a number of points of really important work, and it also gives me an opportunity to reflect that our government recognises the serious and often tragic link between alcohol and gender-based violence. We are taking steps to reduce those harms. Through our strengthening women’s safety package we have funded Liquor Control Victoria to deliver new responsible service of alcohol training, and this training is all about equipping venue staff to identify and respond to sexual violence, harassment and family violence. This training is mandatory now for all new licensees and staff working late-night venues, bars, hotels and bottle shops, and it will be delivered at no cost for an accessible online module. We have also updated decision-making guidelines for late-night licences, and, since 2023, the Victorian Liquor Commission must now consider whether venues have a plan to prevent and respond to gendered violence when assessing new applications in four inner-city LGAs.
So this is an issue that the government is across; we have already taken a number of steps and actions. But in relation to your specific questions about the online harm and in particular the service delivery – I understand they are the two specific questions to your substantive – we are working very closely to protect vulnerable individuals from harm, but we are also committed to getting the balance right, and that includes ensuring that alcohol delivery services operate responsibly and in line with regulations. The sector already has a self-regulated model at the moment. They have a relatively high compliance rate, but there are still risks, and as a government we have made a number of reforms aimed at reducing harm from alcohol, including laws that regulate the online ordering and delivery of liquor. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of some of these policies. I do note and give a shout-out to the Malinauskas government, which has made an announcement in relation to this area. I guess we will look at some of the effectiveness of those reforms, and we will continue to minimise harm where we can.
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:44): You made specific commitments about updating the regulations around these things. There was no commitment there other than ‘We’ll look at it.’ But alcohol reforms in Victoria were again recommended by the coroner in 2025, following their investigation into the tragic death of 30-year-old Kathleen Arnold, who was found dead in her Heidelberg home as a result of alcohol poisoning. The coroner had found that she had bought 319 alcohol-based products via delivery services in the last six months before her death – so that does not sound like a self-regulatory model that is working well. The coroner recommended that an online alcohol delivery curfew and cool-down period between orders be implemented. Minister, will you commit to amending the Liquor Control Reform Act to address the concerns raised by the coroner and in line with the commitments that you made at national cabinet in 2024, by the end of this term?
Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:45): I thank the member for their supplementary question. The government is committed to keeping all Victorians safe, and we have already made the important reforms. An example I gave in my answer to the substantive was the changes we made to the RSA – responsible service of alcohol – training. But of course the national cabinet process is underway, and I know there are many steps across the country. We are closely monitoring those developments. I believe that we do need a uniform approach to the issue. Alcohol harm does not just stop at the border; it is a national issue, and we do need a national approach. I gave an example of some of the reforms that South Australia committed to. But I think our position is that we need to make sure we strike the right balance, and we need to do both steps. We need to make sure that there is harm minimisation, but we also need to make sure we do not drown the legitimate sector with red tape as well. So there is a thing of balance in these policy areas, and I am committed to making sure we have the most effective policies possible.