The ACT Government proposes to amend legislation regulating same-day alcohol supply in order to minimise harm from alcohol.

Reforms to the Liquor Act 2010 would set a maximum volume of liquor that could be delivered to the same customer within 24 hours. It would mandate when delivery could take place: a shorter window for rapid delivery than off licensees can trade now (7am to 11pm Monday to Saturday, 9am to 11pm Sunday). Delivery staff and agents would have to undergo Responsible Service of Training specifically tailored to the rapid alcohol delivery market. It would be an offence to deliver alcohol to evidently intoxicated people, minors, or to alcohol-free zones.

The ACT Government has released a discussion paper on regulation of this retail sector, and is encouraging community input on how to best protect customers, delivery drivers, and retailers. Consultation closes in early September.

The government states that a specific legislative framework for same day deliveries would provide clarification for retailers and consumers between the application of legislation and industry codes of conduct, and introduce specific protections for customers, retailers and delivery drivers that do not exist under the Act.

Access Canberra regulates premises from which same day delivery services supply alcohol as off-licences. Other Australian jurisdictions, including NSW and Victoria, have introduced specific legislation to regulate online sales that provide rapid alcohol delivery.

“Any amendments to the Liquor Act 2010 must support our harm minimisation approach to liquor policy in the ACT, including reducing the risk of consuming alcohol at an early age,” Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said.

The online ordering and same day delivery of alcohol have become increasingly popular due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, the government states.

A same day delivery of alcohol means the delivery of packaged alcohol, under a commercial arrangement, to a person in the ACT on the same day it is purchased. Typically, same day delivery providers deliver alcohol between 30 minutes to 2 hours after an order is placed.

The government acknowledges that same day delivery is a convenient service for consumers, a safer alternative for people who might be tempted to drink and drive to buy alcohol, a new revenue stream for ACT liquor licensed retailers, and that it creates employment opportunities for delivery drivers.

However, Mr Rattenbury is concerned that the same day delivery of alcohol presents some risks for the community, particularly for people under the age of 18 or for those who are intoxicated when they place an online order.

The government believes alcohol is associated with antisocial behaviour, dangerous driving, parental neglect, domestic violence, self-harm, and poorer health outcomes in general, as well as with work health and safety issues for delivery persons.

The government’s discussion paper quotes two reports: UNSW Sydney’s 2021 survey of more than 1,000 Australian adults who had used an online alcohol delivery service in the past three months found that one in five respondents had used an alcohol delivery service to extend a home drinking session when they ran out of alcohol; of these, one-third indicated they would have stopped drinking if the service was not available. Using delivery services in this way was associated with six times higher odds of drinking at hazardous/harmful levels. Likewise, in 2019, the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), an anti-alcohol NGO, proposed that rapid home delivery should be prohibited, with a two-hour delay between purchase and delivery “to prevent the continuation of an existing alcohol session”.

However, last month, Retail Drinks Australia, a national industry body representing the interests of Australia’s packaged retail liquor stores, published a report on online alcohol sales and delivery, which it argues “debunks [the] growing misperception that online purchasing is fuelling a generation of tech-savvy liquor-consuming millennials”, CEO Michael Waters said.

The report analysed more than 10 million transactions from the 2021–22 financial year, including both same-day and non-same day deliveries.

The report found that most online customers purchasing alcohol for delivery are 35 years or older, living in high income inner-city areas in state capitals. Younger customers spent less per order, and purchased fewer drinks per order.

Customers ordered infrequently, most ordering just once or twice a year. Most online sales (65 per cent) were not purchased for delivery on the same day, and it was unlikely that same day deliveries were used to extend drinking sessions.

Online purchases for express delivery (within two hours) accounted for less than 22 per cent of sales, and less than 8 per cent of this was delivered within 30 minutes. Same day alcohol deliveries were significantly lower in value. Total online sales only accounted for 13 per cent of all total retail liquor sales.

“The report also dispels the notion that online orders are mostly made by heavily intoxicated individuals with a desire to continue consuming immediately,” CEO Michael Waters said in July. 

“Contrary to popular belief, most people place online orders around dinner time regardless of whether they request same day delivery or delivery at a later date, with 65 per cent requesting a different day.”

Mr Waters also said the report invalidates the claim that online delivery leads to easier underage access to alcohol. Postcodes with higher shares of 16- to 17-year-olds tended to have fewer, not higher, online sales, which did not support the hypothesis that online alcohol sales and deliveries increase accessibility for underage drinkers.

“Given our proximity to NSW, the ACT can draw on the experiences from just over the border,” Mr Rattenbury said.

“In 2021, the NSW Government introduced a framework to regulate alcohol deliveries, making harm minimisation standards more comparable to those at physical bottle shop premises.”

Retail Drinks Australia welcomed the consultation, and looked forward to participating in this process on behalf of ACT off-licences, Mr Waters said.

“As part of our thought leadership role in this space, Retail Drinks has had an industry-wide Code of Conduct in place since July 2019, implementing a range of responsibility measures which have helped inform similar processes in other Australian states and territories.

“This includes a ban on same-day, unattended deliveries; self-exclusion; prohibiting alcohol deliveries to dry zones; and requiring bespoke training for all delivery providers prior to undertaking any alcohol deliveries.”

It requires delivery drivers to have RSA qualifications; implements age verification procedures; and blocks out time for deliveries.

“It’s clear our Online Code of Conduct is working,” Mr Waters said.