As frontline services and police prepare for a surge domestic and family violence ahead of this weekend’s NRL Grand Final, advocates are calling for action to close a loophole which allows prolific alcohol ads during sport.
It comes as new data shows alcohol ads aired on TV before 8am on AFL Grand Final day in 2025, exposing thousands of children and compounding harmful associations between alcohol and sport.
New data from Neilsen shows alcohol ads played on commercial free-to-air TV from 7.55am until 9.01pm on AFL Grand Final day in 2025, with 134 minutes of alcohol ads airing across the Channel 7 network that day alongside AFL programming, equivalent to an entire AFL match broadcast. There were 375 ads aired across AFL-related free-to-air TV programming.
Major sporting events are consistently associated with increases in domestic and family violence. This month NSW Premier Chris Minns said domestic violence incidents increase by up to 25% on NRL Grand Final weekend. State of Origin game nights are associated with a 40% increase in incidents, while Victoria Police have previously reported a 20% spike in callouts during the AFL Grand Final.
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education CEO Ayla Chorley said alcohol advertising contributed to greater harm in the community.
“Evidence shows that advertising influences alcohol use. When children are exposed to alcohol ads, they are more likely to start drinking earlier and go on to drink at high-risk levels later in life,” she said.
“Alcohol is involved in up to half of police-reported domestic, family and sexual violence incidents, and can increase both the severity and frequency of harm. That harm does not occur in isolation. It is often concentrated around occasions where alcohol is heavily consumed and aggressively promoted. On nights of major sporting events, such as grand finals, police and frontline services report significant increases in violence against women and children.”
A report released by FARE in August found every single AFL and NRL team is sponsored by an alcohol company.
“Sports shape our culture, and when alcohol becomes embedded in sport through advertising, alongside harmful ideas about masculinity, violence becomes easier to excuse, dismiss, and perpetuate,” Ms Chorley said.
The Australian Communications Media Authority are set to make a decision as to whether to move from the current code of practice that is developed by the commercial TV industry to a program standard which would be developed by ACMA.
Developing the program standard would allow the regulator to close the loophole that allows these ads during weekend sports broadcasts, when they would otherwise be prohibited.
“ACMA can decide to create a program standard, and in doing so can close the loophole to put an end to alcohol ads during sports, preventing thousands of children being exposed to a harmful product while watching sport” Ms Chorley said.
“Anything short of a program standard would fail to deliver on the federal inquiry’s recommendation to move away from industry-led rules and towards mandatory, government-led regulation of alcohol marketing.
“A program standard by ACMA that closes the sports loophole is a commonsense change that would allow everyone to watch sport on TV free from alcohol marketing and help break the longstanding association between alcohol and sport.”
The majority of Australians want to see this change. Recent polling found 3 in 4 people want to see less alcohol ads on TV and 4 in 5 believe there should be restrictions on alcohol ads during times children are watching, including sport.
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