Retail Drinks Australia Report

Busting the Myth of Density Restrictions

THE ALLEGED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALCOHOL OUTLET DENSITY AND ALCOHOL-RELATED HARM HAS BEEN A KEY FOCUS AMONGST RESEARCHERS AND POLICYMAKERS IN RECENT YEARS. LIQUOR LICENCE DENSITY IN SYDNEY’S KING CROSS PRECINCT WAS RECENTLY THRUST INTO THE SPOTLIGHT AS PART OF A NSW PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY INTO SYDNEY’S NIGHT TIME ECONOMY. WHILST RECOMMENDING A RELAXATION OF THE 2014 ‘LOCKOUT LAWS’ IN THE SYDNEY CBD, THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED LOOKING AT ANOTHER REVIEW IN 12 MONTHS TO SEE IF ANY CHANGES TO THE DIVERSITY AND DENSITY IN KINGS CROSS ARE ENOUGH TO WARRANT REGULATORY RELAXATIONS IN THE AREA.

Words Julie Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of Retail Drinks Australia

In examining liquor licence density, it is commonly argued in academic articles that there is a correlation between the number of liquor licences and incidences of alcohol-related harm. It is often inferred from this that the more liquor licences which are concentrated in a certain area results in a subsequent increase in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm. Broad conclusions such as these, however, promote an overly simplified view of alcohol consumption and do not consider the inherent complexities associated with alcohol-related harm and violence. They also fail to establish first that increased liquor licences actually lead to an increase in consumption, let alone than make a further connection between total consumption and harmful consumption.

As is the case in all alcohol-related policy, it is important to consider the surrounding contextual factors in which this debate on density restrictions is occurring. ABS data released in September this year again showed that alcohol consumption in Australia is at historical lows, with per capita statistics revealing that 9.51 litres of pure alcohol were consumed for each person aged 15 years and over in 2017-18 (compared to 11.12 litres in 1969).

The significantly decreasing consumption of alcohol has occurred against a backdrop of an increasing number of liquor licences and licensed premises which have consistently increased over the past 10 to 15 years in Australia (Flinders University, 2011). The number of physical licensed premises has also been complemented by increasing alcohol availability through online delivery services, which have only emerged in scale in Australia over the last two to three years (aside from traditional delivery services such as wine clubs).

A proper evaluation of context is also needed at a micro-level when considering the debate on liquor licence density. One study published in 2015 (Gmel et al) noted that that the specific relationships between particular outlet types and particular types of harm vary substantially between studies, meaning the implications of changes to alcohol availability may be highly contextspecific. The authors found that “outlet density commonly had little effect on individual-alcohol use, and the few ‘natural experiments’ on restricting density showed little or no effects”.

A substantial amount of academic research on density restrictions in Australia has only occurred in recent years. In most cases, it is yet to translate into any significant policies at a regulatory level; however, the implementation of whole-of-population alcohol policies without proper rationale and evidenced-based research can often lead to perverse outcomes. The idea that density restrictions will automatically result in a significant decrease in both alcohol consumption and by extension, alcoholrelated harm is at best premature and at worst, entirely inaccurate.