(VIC) Introduce a 2-Hour Safety Pause on the Rapid Delivery of Alcohol

David Paterson, Victoria Karnaros, Olivia Marshall, Lidan Cao & Eve Faehrmann
Jan 13
7 min read

Author: David Paterson, Victoria Karnaros, Olivia Marshall, Lidan Cao & Eve Faehrmann | Publish date: 13/1/2026

Trigger Warning: Alcoholism, Family Violence, Death

P: In VIC, there is no restriction on the time between when an order for alcohol delivery is placed and when it is dispatched.
S: The Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation should amend section 18C(1)(c) of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (VIC) to insert a requirement for a minimum 2-hour safety pause between when an order for alcohol delivery is placed and when it is dispatched for delivery.

Problem Identification:

Section 18C(1)(c) of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (VIC) (the Act) regulates the instructions for alcohol delivery for an off-premises request. However, no restriction on the time between when an order is placed and when it is dispatched is included.

According to Alcohol Change Victoria (ACV), this means that 'alcohol is more accessible than ever before’ and ‘has turned every phone into a bottle shop.’ They stated that ‘rapid delivery is associated with excessive and high-risk alcohol consumption’, including binge drinking. They have further highlighted that this can lead to severe health consequences and alcohol-involved violence.

Context:

An off-premises request refers to a customer ordering alcohol when they are not at the supplying venue, typically by phone, post, or online. Liquor license holders generally partner with a delivery agent (e.g. Uber Eats) and rely on their staff to handle the delivery process. In VIC, liquor retailers can deliver until 11 pm, regardless of the trading hours on their licence. ACV has stated that rapid delivery means ‘people can receive their online orders in as little as half an hour.’

As reported by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF), online alcohol delivery surged during the COVID lockdowns. As restrictions kept people at home, online retailers responded by promoting their ability to deliver alcohol directly to people’s doorsteps. In 2020, 11.3% of alcohol purchased in Australia was bought online, up from just 3.5% in 2019.

A UNSW study (2023) found that 1 in 5 Australian adults used a rapid delivery service to continue a home drinking session that ‘would have otherwise had to end’.

Arguments:

The ADF argued that rapid delivery can be ‘easily accessed by people who are already heavily intoxicated’, which has severe health consequences. The Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education (FARE) stated that ‘55% of people likely experiencing alcohol dependency were sold alcohol for rapid delivery compared to 24% at low risk of alcohol dependency.’ For example, in February 2025, The Age reported the case of Kathleen Arnold, a Melbourne woman who ‘drank herself to death’, after being permitted to order over 300 alcoholic products in a 182-day period, despite a known history of mental health issues and substance misuse. According to UNSW research, ‘those who had used a fast same-day service to continue drinking were six times more likely to drink at hazardous levels’.

According to FARE, increased alcohol use from rapid delivery could be ‘a significant risk factor that can exacerbate family violence.’ They reported that among Victorians using rapid alcohol delivery in the past year, ‘a third experienced different forms of abuse… nearly a third of which believed it resulted from using rapid alcohol delivery.’ A UNSW study further found that rapid alcohol delivery ‘could increase short-term harms…such as accidents or violence’. ACV noted that 24-54% of reported family violence incidents involve alcohol. Furthermore, researchers at Monash University stated that ‘off-premise licenses were related to higher family violence [ambulance] attendances’.

Dr Kerri Coomber et al. found that when rapid delivery is made to ‘intoxicated patrons or larger groups within a home’, delivery drivers may feel ‘unsafe to refuse a delivery’. Movendi International stated that ‘it would be extremely difficult to identify an intoxicated person in the brief moment of delivery’. A liquor shop owner noted that ‘if a person is intoxicated … and a driver says “we can’t serve you...it could be putting [drivers] into a violent situation’. FARE reported that this creates safety risks for delivery drivers when encountering customers who have already consumed alcohol prior to placing their orders.

Advice/Solution Identification:

ACV, FARE, and ADF have called for a 2-hour safety pause on the dispatch of alcohol from online and remote sellers. ACV has said that this could ‘limit online orders placed with the intention of continuing drinking sessions once alcohol has run out, and discourages impulsive alcohol purchasing.’ Furthermore, according to the Power To Persuade, an independent platform for global discussion about social policy, this could help ‘keep communities safe and not…allow businesses to trade at the expense of people’s lives.’

Precedent:

If VIC were to enact this reform, it would be nation-leading to the best of the authors’ knowledge. However, in October 2025, in the ACT, the Liquor Amendment Bill 2025 (ACT) was introduced which would enact a 2-hour safety pause.

Public Support:

News Coverage:

ABC News - “Strong support for tightening restrictions on alcohol delivery services, survey shows”. This article discussed a survey in Canberra, which showed strong support for restrictions on alcohol delivery services, including a safety pause. By: Lottie Twyford | 28 Feb 2024 - Read the article here.
ABC News - “DV prevention advocate Kym Valentine urges action on delayed alcohol laws”.This article interviewed advocates who expressed frustration over delays in changing laws that could alter how alcohol is delivered to homes in South Australia. By: Sophie Holder | 11 November 2025 - Read the article here.
The Age - “Curfews, time delays on alcohol delivery urged after woman drank herself to death”. A 30-year-old woman drank herself to death after ordering 300 alcoholic products in 182 days, which prompted calls for major reforms of VIC alcohol regulations. By: Erin Pearson | 11 February 2025 - Read the article here .
The Sydney Morning Herald - “Jimmy Brings alcohol delivery investigated over Sydney man’s death”. Jimmy Brings delivered three bottles of wine to a Sydney man’s home almost every day in the weeks before he died, which prompted NSW to tighten alcohol delivery laws. By: Angus Thompson and Mary Ward | 14 October 2021 - Read the article here.

Where to go to learn more:

Alcohol Change Victoria - A cross-sector coalition in VIC has called for action on alcohol harms. Their position statements detailed why rapid delivery drives risky consumption habits and recommended delivery delay requirements to prevent harm. View their statement here.
FARE Submission on the ACT Liquor Amendment Bill 2025 - The submission outlined policy measures for safer online alcohol retailing and preventing alcohol-related harm through minimum delivery wait periods. View the submission here.
FARE Online sale and delivery of alcohol – A growing risk to our community - The report found that the growth of online and rapid alcohol delivery is increasing alcohol-related harms and outpacing current regulations, and provided policy recommendations. Read the report here.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation - The brief outlined how the rapid growth of online alcohol delivery in Australia increases availability and risks of harm through weaker age and intoxication controls, while recommending stronger safeguards including a safety pause. Read the report here.
Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (VIC) - Read the full Act here.

Human Perspective:

TW: Family Violence

Katrina is a 35-year-old woman living in Melbourne with her partner and 2 young children. Before the pandemic, her partner’s moderate drinking would stop when the last bottle ran dry, letting arguments fade without escalating. But now, he can order more alcohol online, with orders arriving at the door within minutes, allowing him to drink late into the night without a cut-off point. When alcohol is involved, it feels like he is 2 different people, fuelling aggression behind closed doors. Katrina feels intimidated and scared when his voice rises in angry verbal assaults. Sometimes, he hits her if she says something that upsets him. On 3 occasions, the delivery driver had handed over the bags without noticing his intoxication, and once he had forced her to accept the order as her own. Without restrictions, Katrina feels especially unsafe and concerned for the impact on her children, and the physical and mental health impacts of excessive drinking by her partner.

To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement:

Support

If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper or suggest amendments, please email Info@foreaustralia.com.

Reference list:

Alcohol and Drug Foundation. (2025). The rise of online alcohol delivery. https://cdn.adf.org.au/media/documents/MB_OnlineAlcoholDelivery.pdf.

Alcohol Change Victoria. (2025, April 1). Strengthen consumer protections for online sale and home delivery of alcohol. https://www.alcoholchangevic.org/post/strengthen-consumer-protections

Colbert, S., Wilkinson, C., Thornton, L., Feng, X., Campain, A., & Richmond, R. (2023). Cross‐sectional survey of a convenience sample of Australians who use alcohol home delivery services. Drug and Alcohol Review, 42(5), 986–995. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13627

Coomber, K., Baldwin, R., Wilson, C., Taylor, N., Callinan, S., Wilkinson, C., Toumbourou, J. W., & Miller, P. G. (2022). Western Australia alcohol home delivery project: Test purchasing final report. Deakin University. Prepared for Cancer Council Western Australia. https://cancerwa.asn.au/assets/public/2023/03/Deakin-University_WA-alcohol-home-delivery-project_Test-purchasing_final-report.pdf

Fenwicke, C. (2025, October 22). Law changes proposed to limit same-day alcohol orders, delivery hours for canberrans | region canberra. Region Canberra. https://region.com.au/law-changes-proposed-to-limit-same-day-alcohol-orders-delivery-hours-for-canberrans/914703/

Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education. (n.d.). Family violence. https://fare.org.au/policy/family-violence

Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education. (2023). Online sale and delivery of alcohol – A growing risk to our community. https://fare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Online-sale-and-delivery-of-alcohol-%E2%80%93-A-growing-risk-to-our-community.pdf

Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education. (2025). Submission on the ACT Liquor Amendment Bill 2025. In Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory. https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/2986443/Submission-010-FARE.pdf

Knight, B. (2023, March 1). Alcohol delivery services used to extend drinking sessions: study. UNSW Sydney. https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2023/03/alcohol-delivery-services-used-to-extend-drinking-sessions--stud

Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (VIC). https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-06/98-94aa110-authorised.pdf

Movendi International. (2021, October 16). Australia: Boom of Alcohol On-Demand Delivery Fuels Rise in Alcohol Harm - Movendi International. https://movendi.ngo/policy-updates/2021/10/16/australia-boom-of-alcohol-on-demand-delivery-fuels-rise-in-alcohol-harm/

Pearson, E. (2025, February 11). Curfews, time delays on alcohol delivery urged after woman drank herself to death. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/curfews-time-delays-on-alcohol-delivery-urged-after-woman-drank-herself-to-death-20250210-p5lb0z.html

Retail Drinks Australia. (2023). Code of Conduct. https://code.retaildrinks.org.au/thecode/code-of-conduct

Scott, D., Ogeil, R. P., Maoyeri, F., Heilbronn, C., Coomber, K., Smith, K., Miller, P. G., & Lubman, D. I. (2021). Alcohol Accessibility and Family Violence-related Ambulance Attendances. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(13-14), NP10661-NP10682.https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520986262

Sontate, K. V., Rahim Kamaluddin, M., Naina Mohamed, I., Mohamed, R. M. P., Shaikh, Mohd. F., Kamal, H., & Kumar, J. (2021). Alcohol, Aggression, and Violence: From Public Health to Neuroscience. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699726

The Power to Persuade. (2023, November 6). Click to Drink: What are the risks of online alcohol marketing and delivery for people in treatment and recovery? Power to Persuade. https://www.powertopersuade.org.au/blog/click-to-drink-what-are-the-risks-of-online-alcohol-marketing-and-delivery-for-people-in-treatment-and-recovery/6/11/2023

Victorian Government. (n.d.). Off-premises requests for alcohol delivery and pickup. https://www.vic.gov.au/off-premises-requests-for-alcohol-delivery