“They said I was dead. Then 30 minutes later they said my mum picked me up. Neither was true. My boyfriend spent hours looking for me. He called my family,” Olivia said. Heavily intoxicated, Olivia was left to wander the CBD before her boyfriend finally found her: “My boyfriend searched for five hours." Ejecting drunk patrons is standard procedure for clubs, bars and other licensed venues. It’s not just done for business or safety reasons - the Liquor Control Reform Act legally requires it. Venues must refuse service to those "visually intoxicated" and remove any drunk or disorderly persons from their premises. They can incur a maximum penalty of more than $19,000 if they fail to do so. However, the law does not require venues to ensure the safety of people who only moments before were patrons of their clubs.

Their right to object or recover their belongings is left up to internal club policy, meaning they can be left stranded late at night without money or any way of communicating. Opponents say this practice often leaves patrons, particularly young women, in vulnerable positions. After collapsing at a club, Fiona was forced out on the street. Credit:Joe Armao Fiona* is still unsure what caused her to collapse to the floor at a club, however, she was quickly ejected by bouncers. She was left throwing up in a dark alcove around the corner from the club's entrance. She says the legislation should be changed to extend the clubs' duty of care.

“I felt really dizzy and was seeing stars … once we got outside [the bouncer] just kind of threw me aside, around the corner, and he just walked off,” she said. “I didn’t feel safe there ... At the time I just assumed there would be laws saying they had to protect me. “[Patrons] are generally kicked out for being too drunk and obviously are not well enough to look after themselves." A spokeswoman from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation said licensees are only required to ensure the safety of patrons inside the venue. However, the laws do have the potential to change. The state government conducts an ongoing review of liquor regulations.

When contacted by The Age, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Marlene Kairouz, declined to comment on why clubs are not statutorily required to ensure the safety of those they remove. However, a spokesman for the minister said, “We are considering this issue as part of our ongoing review of Victoria’s liquor laws". The High Court has previously ruled on venues' duty of care in cases where patrons have been injured or died after leaving venues highly intoxicated. While these rulings are decided on a case-by-case basis, the court has ruled in favour of the publican each time.

Dimi Ioannou, a public safety lawyer and principal partner at Maurice Blackburn law firm, said while a venue might have an ethical duty to ensure vulnerable patrons got home safely, there was no legal obligation. “It’s open for interpretation, but recent court cases have limited the duty of care that clubs have once a patron has left [the venue],” she said. "But it's a moral duty that comes into play. If they are going to escort them out, do a simple thing like call a family member or a friend to come to pick them up because that can make all the difference." Michael Humphrey has been a club manager and promoter for three years. He said that the clubs he has worked for always ensured that young girls who were ejected had a friend or taxi to take them home. He said ejecting patrons was an important part of business.

“You want to create an environment that everyone is comfortable in ... and when someone is too intoxicated that can really affect the environment of the place.” While no organisation collects statistics on how many people are injured or fall victim to crime after being ejected from clubs, stories like Olivia and Fiona’s are not hard to find. Kayleigh* was out clubbing with friends when a bouncer moved her to the door. “I will admit I deserved to be kicked [out] ... but they wouldn’t let my friends know where I was. I waited outside. I had a man approach me saying he wanted to drive me home.” Kayleigh managed to find her friend outside the club but the man didn’t give up.

“He drove his car up to us and said ‘Jump in my car I’ll take you home’. Considering there’s a police station right next to the club you would think it’s safe, but it’s not.” It is common practice for nightclubs not to allow people to wait immediately in front of the club if they have been refused entry or removed from the premises, despite these areas often being well lit and manned by security. Mr Humphry this club policy was often due to ejected patrons impeding others' access to the venue and damaging business by being disorderly. Instead, intoxicated patrons are often asked to move down the block or into a side street. Fiona is still troubled by the events of her night out. She said she was lucky to have a friend who helped her onto a train. Given her state, however, she feels her night could have had a much scarier ending.

“The police aren’t going to be everywhere all the time. So much more could have happened.” *The Age has decided not to use the subject's surnames to protect their privacy.