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Online Sale and Delivery of Alcohol

Closing loopholes in online alcohol retail

Online sale and rapid delivery makes alcohol more accessible at home – the most common place for people to use alcohol.

This increases alcohol harms in the home, such as self-harm and family violence. 

A FARE survey showed rapid delivery within two hours is associated with risky drinking – with 38 per cent of people drinking more than 11 standard drinks on the day of delivery. 

There are studies suggesting delivery is used to extend drinking sessions and people report receiving deliveries while intoxicated. 

Studies have also found alcohol companies do not consistently verify age when selling and delivering alcohol, sometimes leaving deliveries at the door. 

Poor checks and balances mean alcohol could be delivered to people who are intoxicated and people underage.

Do you have a story to share?

So many Australians have experienced harm from alcohol sold on digital apps and delivered in as little as 20 minutes, without proper checks and balances. If you’d like to share your experiences, please get in touch.

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The expansion of online sale and delivery is making alcohol more accessible at home, increasing the risk of harm.  

Add your name to pledge that you’ll stay involved to help fix Australia’s outdated liquor laws to make sure they protect the health and wellbeing of our community.

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Alcohol companies have a responsibility not to cause harm to our communities. 

But laws across Australia haven’t kept pace with the changing ways alcohol companies do business. Alcohol companies have been taking advantage of these loopholes. 

South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia have been the first to take action on this, introducing targeted laws to reduce harm. 

It’s time for the rest of Australia to follow suit – updating community protections to match how alcohol is now marketed and sold. 

We need the following common-sense measures:

  1. A 2-hour safety pause between order and delivery, for alcohol-only orders, to prevent the rapid delivery of alcohol into homes;
  2. Keep deliveries to between 10am and 10pm, to reduce the risks of alcohol-related family violence and suicide, which increase later at night in the home;
  3. Effective digital age verification for online sales of alcohol to ensure alcohol isn’t sold to children;
  4. ID checks on delivery of alcohol delivery to ensure alcohol isn’t supplied to children or intoxicated people;
  5. Address predatory, data-driven push marketing to protect people’s health and privacy;
  6. Support delivery staff with delivery-specific training, not penalising them for non-delivery, and making delivery companies liable for non-compliance.”
When these ads are linked to rapid online delivery, bringing alcohol into people’s homes in less than 30 minutes, they are even more harmful. People are seeking help for alcohol dependency and then in their face is an ad saying, ‘I can bring this to your door’.
- Shanna
I'm disgusted to see to see an alcohol company advertising one-hour delivery of alcohol. It is absolutely irresponsible.
- Garry
We must ask ourselves – are elevated levels of domestic abuse an acceptable trade-off for allowing alcohol companies to aggressively promote rapid booze delivery into homes late at night?
- Kym

Research in the spotlight

Icon depicting advertising to children

Addressing harmful industries’ digital marketing in Australia

Every day we are bombarded with alcohol advertising. Have you experienced alcohol advertising online? Share how this has affected you, your family or your community. 

Child looking at TV

Young Australians and the promotion of alcohol on social media

FARE has partnered with The University of Queensland to undertake a three-year study to better understand how young people are targeted by alcohol companies via social media. The study is using novel computational and machine learning methods to collect and analyse alcohol marketing from more than 480 alcohol pages on social media. The research is supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project grant. 

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Digital Youth: An intelligent systems approach to monitor harmful online marketing to children and young adults

FARE is a partner on the #DigitalYouth project being led by the Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE) and the Institute for Health Transformation. The research will use novel methods to develop the first thorough snapshot of youth exposure and engagement with digital marketing in Australia. The research is supported with a grant from The Ian Potter Foundation. 

Learn more about how online alcohol retail affects our communities

Online sale and delivery of alcohol – A growing risk to our community

On-demand alcohol delivery services and risky drinking

Alcohol home delivery services: An investigation of use and risk

Western Australia alcohol home delivery project: Online survey final report

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Australians deserve to have a say in the role that alcohol plays in their lives and communities. 

At FARE, we want to amplify community voices about the impact of alcohol, to make sure people are put first when it comes to decisions that affect their health. 

With your support, local advocates and grassroots organisations can create the change they want to see in their communities. 

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