Deakin University researchers call for last drinks laws in Victoria after finding link between proportion of men and young people at a venue and inebriation

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A covert study of patrons at licensed venues across Australian cities found a correlation between the proportion of young patrons and men and the levels of intoxication prompting a renewed call for lockout laws in Victoria.



The study, led by Deakin University in Victoria, observed 828 people across 62 nightclubs, bars, and large mainstream pubs in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Geelong and Wollongong, with researchers looking for signs of inebriation such as slurred speech, lack of balance and coordination, and changes in behaviour.

For all venues, approximately half showed signs of being tipsy or drunk at any time, the majority were male, and just over half the patrons were aged under 25. For each percentage point increase of male patrons in a venue, there was a corresponding 5% increase of high levels of intoxication in that venue.

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Overcrowding and being open past midnight were also associated with higher levels of intoxication. Nightclubs had a significantly lower percentage of patrons showing signs of intoxication compared to large, mainstream pubs, the study found.

The data was gathered before the introduction of last drinks and lockout measures in New South Wales and Queensland. In NSW, Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Data shows an overall reduction in the monthly number of assaults in the two target areas of the lockout laws, the Sydney CBD and Kings Cross precincts.

One of the study’s authors, associate professor of psychology at Deakin University Peter Miller, said such policies should be considered by the Victorian government. Last drinks policies and lockout laws have been consistently ruled-out by the Victorian government.

“I think it’s really worrying that the Victorian government dismisses any talk of last drinks policy despite the policy being so heavily evidence-based,” Miller said.

“Victoria has had a review of its licensing laws, but most of the documents from a review of licensing carried out by the Liquor Control Advisory Council have been kept secret, there is no transparency. These are documents that should be completely and utterly available to the public, including how often government ministers meet with the alcohol industry.

“You get this incredible veil of secrecy in Victoria around liquor licensing.”

While a previous, similar study undertaken by the researchers obtained permission from venues involved, the researchers found those where the highest level of harm occurred refused to participate.

“Therefore, use of covert observations was used for the current study with full ethics approval,” the researchers wrote in the paper published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

“The use of covert operations does not increase any risks to patrons or staff and ensures that patrons or staff and ensures that patrons or venue staff do not change their behaviours or protocols, thus resulting in unrepresentative data.”

The minister for liquor and gaming regulation, Marlene Kairouz, told News Corp Australia on Sunday that “lockouts would be disastrous for the fabric of our city’s social and cultural identity”.



“We are getting on with making vibrant Melbourne a 24-hour city,” she said. “We have a liquor freeze on beer barns, and inspectors on the beat making sure licensees are doing the right thing.”

But Miller said there had not been a successful prosecution of a venue for serving a drunk patron in the past five years.

“At some point, we have to ask, what’s the government’s motivation in rejecting out-of-hand so quickly these laws that save lives? People like me, those in emergency departments, paramedics and police only talk about this because we want to stop lives being wrecked.”

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The chief executive of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, Michael Thorn, said serving alcohol after midnight increased the risk of harm for every hour that went by.

“The Victorian government of course has done everything possible to not make any announcements about a review of the Liquor Act,” Thorn said.

“They’ve given up on taking a progressive approach in addressing Victoria’s rising rates of alcohol-related harm. While average per capita alcohol consumption is going down in Victoria, a number of measures including ambulance callouts show harm is increasing.”