(VIC) Introduce a Minimum Unit Price for Alcohol Sales
- Elaine Qiao, Min Li Chin, Philip Alex, Amy O’Brien & Connor O’Halloran
- 6 days ago
- 9 min read
Author: Elaine Qiao, Min Li Chin, Philip Alex, Amy O’Brien & Connor O’Halloran | Publish date: 8/4/2026
P: In VIC, there is no minimum unit price for alcohol sales.
S: The Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation should amend Division 1A of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (VIC) to prohibit the supply of alcohol below a set minimum unit price (MUP).
Problem Identification:
Division 1A of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (VIC) stipulates ‘restrictions on the supply of liquor and other alcoholic products’. However, it does not establish an MUP.
According to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), this means that some liquor is sold at ‘unacceptably low prices’, affecting the health of both drinkers and their communities. Health economists and alcohol researchers, Livingstone et al. (2026), have suggested that these harms may disproportionately affect those from a low socioeconomic background.
Context:
An MUP sets a floor price for a unit of alcohol, meaning a unit ‘cannot be sold for less than the minimum price’ set. According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF), an MUP targets packaged liquor like ‘cask or boxed wines, which provide larger amounts of alcohol at lower prices.’ They added that an ‘MUP does not affect the price of beer, wine or spirits that cost more than this.’
The Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR) found that the mean price of cask wine is $0.55 per standard drink in Australia.
The NT introduced a $1.30 MUP in 2018, but repealed this in 2025.
Jiang et al. (2019) noted that socioeconomically disadvantaged drinkers were ‘more likely to purchase cheap alcohol and to experience more alcohol-related harms’ than other drinkers.
Arguments:
Alcohol Change Australia argued that ‘the cheaper alcohol products are, the more people drink, and the more they experience harm.’ Livingston and Callinan (2019) highlighted that heavy drinkers are ‘more likely to drink cask wine and full-strength beer and to purchase cheaper alcohol than other drinkers.’ Torney et al. (2023) explained that heavy drinkers prefer cheap alcohol as this enables them to ‘pay significantly less per drink’. O’Flynn (2011) noted that increased alcohol consumption is associated with a range of psychological and physical comorbidities, including mental health disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disease and neurological issues. Katherine Brown, Chief Executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies (UK), stated that ‘cheap alcohol destroys lives and it is often the…most vulnerable that suffer the most.’
The NT government’s MUP policy was repealed in 2025 after concerns that it ‘failed to achieve meaningful outcomes and imposed unnecessary burdens on consumers and businesses.’ The Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), an independent body promoting informed public policy decisions on alcohol, disputed these claims, arguing that this ‘narrative…is not based on evidence and given the evidence available, the repeal can largely be attributed to the politicisation of alcohol policy.’ Taylor et al. (2021) corroborated that the per capita consumption of cask wine reduced by 50.6% across the NT whilst the MUP was in place. The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) reported that after one year, the rate of alcohol-related assaults in the NT fell by 26% and the rate of alcohol-related domestic violence fell by 21%.
Jiang et al. (2019) noted that increasing the price of alcohol might disproportionately affect the purchasing freedom of lower socio-economic individuals. However, Anderson et al. (2024) stated the ‘potential negative effects’ of an MUP ‘[for] people with low incomes are balanced by positive health effects’.
Advice/Solution Identification:
The RACP, Cancer Council, and the ADF, have all called for an MUP for alcohol, among others. The RACP have said that this could help to ‘reduce the hazardous levels of [alcohol] use by the heaviest consumers and support healthier choices for all users.’ Dr Nic Taylor, a research fellow at the National Drug Research Institute, has further commented that an MUP ‘could deliver significant public health gains and reduce government healthcare expenditure in the long term. Evidence shows that an MUP could substantially reduce harm on multiple fronts.'
Precedent:
There is international precedent for implementing a minimum unit price for the supply of alcohol to reduce alcohol-related harm. Scotland and Wales have introduced a minimum price of £0.65 and £0.50 per unit of alcohol. Public Health Scotland stated that ‘MUP has had a positive impact on health outcomes, including addressing alcohol-related health inequalities.’ They found that introducing an MUP reduced deaths directly caused by alcohol consumption by an estimated 13.4%. Billan et al. (2025) concluded that ‘MUP in Wales has successfully reduced alcohol purchases and consumption of high-strength alcohol’.
Public Support:
Broad support for introducing a MUP:
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) - $1.30
La Trobe University Centre for Alcohol Policy Research - $1.30
Marzan et al. (2024) - $1.30 to $1.50
Taylor and Livingston (2024) - $1.90
Sharma and Sinha (2016) - $2.00
Public Health Association Australia (PHAA) - The PHAA recommended that the Government coordinate all states and territories to introduce an MUP that is indexed for inflation and targets the portion of the alcohol market consumed primarily by the heaviest drinkers.
This list reflects publicly stated positions and should not necessarily be taken as endorsement of this specific brief.
News Coverage:
Association of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agency NT (AADANT) - “Media Release - Minimum unit pricing”. This media release urged policy-makers in the NT to retain the MUP and emphasised the relationship between the availability of cheap alcohol and increased alcohol-related harms. By: AADNT | 30 September 2024 - Read the release here.
Connections - “The market matters: Shifting the minimum unit price”. This editorial article compared the MUP policies implemented in NT and Scotland and recommended increasing the NT MUP to $1.90. By: Connections | June 2024 - Read the article here.
FARE - “Northern Territory Government scraps alcohol floor price”. This editorial article responded to the NT government’s decision to repeal its MUP in 2025 and emphasised the organisation’s disappointment in this decision. By: FARE | February 13 2025 - Read the article here.
ADF - “Early success in the NT: minimum unit pricing update”. This article reported on how the introduction of an MUP in NT has resulted in reduced alcohol related harms. By: ADF | May 12 2020 - Read the article here.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) - “Alice Springs Liquor Accord to maintain alcohol floor price”. This article reported on how some Alice Springs liquor stores have voluntarily maintained MUP despite the NT government repeal. By: ABC | February 10 2025 - Read the article here.
Where to go to learn more:
(2024) The high cost of cheap alcohol | The Royal Australasian College of Physicians - This factsheet explores the negative effects of alcohol and the likely effects of introducing an MUP on consumption in Australia by examining its impacts in NT, Scotland and Russia. Moreover, it highlights the value of the MUP in reducing health inequalities. View the fact sheet here.
(2022) Evaluation of Minimum Unit Price of Alcohol in the Northern Territory | Northern Territory Department of Health - Prepared by Frontier Economics in partnership with Yarning, this report evaluated the impact of the MUP against its main objectives. Moreover, it recommended not to remove the MUP as it showed some evidence that it has impacted consumption patterns. View the report here.
(2023) Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol: Lessons from Scotland for Australia | Public Health Association Australia - This post discussed the evaluation of Scotland’s MUP policy 5 years after its introduction, summarising evidence on how the policy affected alcohol prices, consumption and health outcomes, and drawing lessons relevant for alcohol pricing policy in Australia. View the article here.
(2025) Local environments, accessibility and affordability: A qualitative analysis of alcohol purchasing across different socio-economic areas in Victoria, Australia | Caluzzi et al. - This study explored how local environments, accessibility and affordability shaped alcohol purchasing practices across different socio-economic contexts in VIC. View the article here.
(2023) Cask wine: Describing drinking patterns associated with Australia’s cheapest alcohol | Torney et al. - This paper examined drinking patterns associated with Australia’s cheapest alcohol, cask wine, finding it is consumed in large quantities at home and more often by heavier drinkers compared to bottled wine. View the article here.
Human Perspective:
Trigger Warning: Alcohol abuse.
Ethan was an outgoing person who loved going to live music gigs at local bars and was, at first, only a social drinker. But after losing his job in his mid-20s and facing mounting financial pressures, he began drinking more heavily to cope with his stress and anxiety. What started as occasional drinking quickly escalated, as he found cheap, high-strength wine to be an affordable way to cope with the pressures of daily life. He often drank large amounts of cheap cask wine which took a serious toll on his health and left him isolated from friends and family. His sister, Laura, remembers the frustration and heartbreak of seeing him struggle – the late-night hospital visits, the failed attempts to cut back, and the moments when he seemed to lose hope. Despite his struggles, Ethan remained aware of the broader issue, explaining how cheap alcohol was a trap for people like him, and how stronger measures could prevent others from following the same path. He expressed a wish that he didn’t have such easy access to these cheap, high-strength beverages. He felt that reducing access to these products would protect vulnerable individuals such as himself from the harms of excessive drinking.
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:
Taylor, N. (2026). Chat regarding Minimum Unit Price in VIC [Video interview with Research Fellow, National Drug Research Institute], on 06/03/26.
Support
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Disclaimers
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Reference list:
Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF). (2023, July 31). Minimum unit price for alcohol vs ‘big alcohol’ profits. https://adf.org.au/insights/mup-vs-alcohol-profits/
Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF). (2019). Minimum unit price for alcohol. https://cdn.adf.org.au/media/documents/AlcoholUnitPrice_ShortPP_Final1.pdf
Alcohol Change Australia. (2023, November). Public Opinion on Alcohol in Australia: Knowledge, attitudes, and support for change. https://alcoholchangeaus.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/AlcoholChangeAustralia_Report_FINAL.pdf
Anderson, P., Stockwell, T., Natera, G., & Kaner, E. (2024). Minimum unit pricing for alcohol saves lives, so why is it not implemented more widely? BMJ, 384, e077550. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-077550
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2024, February 29). National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022-2023: Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs by Socioeconomic Area. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/social-determinants/alcohol-drugs-socioeconomic-area
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Cancer Council. (n.d.). Alcohol: Policy priorities. https://www.cancer.org.au/about-us/policy-and-advocacy/prevention/alcohol/policy-priorities
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE). (2019, April 18). New study into Australia’s heaviest drinkers validates control of cheap alcohol [Media release]. FARE. https://fare.org.au/new-study-into-australias-heaviest-drinkers-validates-control-of-cheap-alcohol/
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE). (2017, October 3). Momentum builds for alcohol price reforms to tackle the harm caused by cheap booze [Media release]. FARE. https://fare.org.au/momentum-builds-for-alcohol-price-reforms-to-tackle-the-harm-caused-by-cheap-booze/
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) and People’s Alcohol Action Coalition (PAAC). (2019). Northern Territory Alcohol Harm-Reduction Report. FARE and PAAC. https://fare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/NT-Alcohol-Harm-reduction-Report.pdf
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NT Independent. (2025, February 12). CLP lifts minimum unit price for alcohol amid calls to keep the policy in place. https://ntindependent.com.au/clp-lifts-minimum-unit-price-for-alcohol-amid-calls-to-keep-the-policy-in-place/
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