South Australia needs effective, evidence-informed regulatory controls to address and reduce harms from alcohol. However, the laws that exist to keep people safe and protect them from harm have not kept pace with the way that alcoholic products are marketed, sold and delivered. Alcohol harms are exacerbated by the rapid expansion of online sale and delivery (OS&D) of alcohol, which has vastly increased availability and accessibility, creating unique risks to community health and safety.
Alcohol is a significant contributor to gender-based violence in Australia, increasing its frequency and severity. The ‘Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches to End Gender-Based Violence’ report recommended governments review and strengthen alcohol laws by adopting primary objectives to prevent gendered violence and by limiting alcohol sales and delivery timeframes and advertising. The National Cabinet also agreed to review alcohol laws and their impact on family and domestic violence to identify and share best practice and reforms and to report back.
Measures proposed in the draft SA ‘Liquor Licencing (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2025’, respond to the Rapid Review and National Cabinet, by:
- Adopting gendered violence in the primary objects, establishing harm minimisation as the paramount object of the Liquor Licensing Act and inserting gender-based violence as part of the definition of alcohol harm.
- Restricting sale and delivery timeframes, amending delivery timeframes to between 10am and 10pm and preventing rapid delivery by establishing a 2-hour safety pause between sale and delivery.
FARE welcomes the South Australian Government’s proposed changes to the Liquor Licensing Act 1997 to address the Rapid Review recommendations, National Cabinet commitment and regulation of OS&D of alcohol.
Summary of recommendations
Gendered violence and the objects
1. FARE supports prioritising harm minimisation in the Act, by making it the paramount object of the Act and including gender-based violence in the definition of alcohol harms.
Late night and rapid delivery
2. FARE supports the amendment to delivery start times from 8am to 10am in the relevant licence conditions.
3. FARE supports the amendment to the relevant licence conditions to introduce a 2-hour safety pause between the order and delivery of alcohol to prevent higher-risk rapid delivery.
4. FARE supports the scope of OS&D measures applying to all OS&D of alcohol, by retaining no distinction between same day and non-same day delivery.
ID checks and offences
5. FARE supports retaining the current requirements in the Liquor Regulations for effective ID checks on delivery of alcohol.
6. FARE supports retaining the offence for the selling or supplying of alcohol to people under 18 years old. Amend the Act to clarify that selling or supplying includes selling online and delivery to people under 18 under old and to establish an offence for leaving an alcohol delivery unattended.
These reforms can be further strengthened by implementing the following OS&D reforms.
7. Require effective digital proof of age, (collecting ID data safely), as an effective ID check for online sales.
8. Remove the exception that permits people under 18 years old to sell alcohol. Amend offences and penalties for people under 18 years old and replace them with confiscation and education responses.
Predatory marketing
9. Add new clauses to specifically ban unacceptable marketing practices, with appropriate penalties. Extend the list of unacceptable promotional practices to the digital marketing of OS&D, including prohibiting retailers from offering delayed payment; sending direct prompts; ‘buy-now’ buttons or offering incentives for a minimum spend or volume.
10. Require retailers to include on their websites at least three prescribed rotating health warning statements about the risk of harm from alcohol, with a link to the Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol.
Compliance and data
11. Require retailers to report the volume of alcohol sold online and delivered by geographic area. Publish regular sales and delivery data reports.
12. Require retailers to keep records on deliveries refused because recipient was under 18, did not provide evidence of age or was intoxicated. Publish regular reports on compliance and enforcement.
13. Prescribe test purchasing operations to ensure compliance with the OS&D requirements for both sales and delivery.
Licensing and risk factors
14. Amend ‘Ongoing licences’ to establish a separate, specific liquor licence for OS&D, to align the administration, licence fees and conditions with the business model, entities and risks of harms associated with OS&D. Require retailers to have this licence to deliver or sell alcohol online.
15. Prescribe an effective community impact consultation and assessment process for all retailers offering OS&D. Improve community access, information and support for engaging with licence applications. Engage with all relevant stakeholders to ensure OS&D consultation is informed by relevant expertise of alcohol harm.
16. Establish a risk rating for OS&D.
17. Incorporate a risk factor calculation of supply density for OS&D of alcohol in a geographic area.
Delivery staff protection
18. Provide better support delivery staff of alcohol companies by requiring delivery-specific Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training.
19. Clarify that selling or supplying to an intoxicated person includes delivery to an intoxicated person and is a prohibited offence.
20. Clarify that licensees are liable for any delivery breaches. Amend the Act to prohibit retailers from imposing a penalty on employees or delivery agents for not completing a delivery, or for refusing delivery.
21. Amend the draft Bill measures that increase penalties for offences to remove those increases that apply to individuals, (other than licencees, responsible persons or persons in charge), eg. a person who sells alcohol without a licence.
