Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs (IGCD) National Stakeholder
Meeting on Alcohol Related Violence and Harms
19 November 2014
Summary of Meeting
The IGCD National Stakeholder Meeting on Alcohol Related Violence and Harms was held in
Canberra on 19 November 2014 at the Hotel Realm, with 94 attendees from a range of interest
and backgrounds including police, emergency department, medical and health services,
researchers, liquor licencing, alcohol industry, community leaders, and policy makers and
advisors from Commonwealth, State and Territory governments.
The purpose of the meeting was to identify potential national, evidence-based priority actions to
reduce alcohol related violence and harms, to inform and contribute to the development of
advice by IGCD to Ministers and Governments.
The meeting sought to foster a collaborative, balanced and open-minded approach, to combine
efforts where appropriate, to support the achievement of and sustainable gains in preventing and
reducing alcohol related violence and harms within Australia.
The Forum was opened by a Welcome to Country by Mrs Susan Barry, and was facilitated by
Professor Steve Allsop of the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI).
There were presentations on the research and evidence base from Professor Steve Allsop
(NDRI), Professor Kypros Kypri (University of Newcastle) and Associate Professor Peter Miller
(Deakin University). These considered the contribution of the changing alcohol environment to
alcohol related violence and harms, results and implications of the Newcastle experiment with
restrictions imposed on 14 venues in 2008, and the evidence base for the effectiveness of
various interventions to address alcohol related violence and harm.
Presentations from other stakeholders provided perspectives, experience and identified
alternative possible actions for consideration. These stakeholders included:
 Street violence – Mr Neil Davis, Sammy D Foundation/Stop the Punch Collective
 Violence in the home – Ms Julie Oberin, WESNET
 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander impacts – Professor Kate Conigrave, University of
Sydney
 Emergency department - Professor Gordian Fulde and Mr Jack de Groot, St Vincent’s
Health Australia
 Law enforcement – Detective Superintendent Jim Migro, WA Police
 Industry – Mr Stephen Ferguson, Australian Hotels Association
 Liquor licensing – Mr Micheil Brodie, NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority
 Outcomes of the Australian Medical Association National Alcohol Summit – Ms Susan
Parker, Australian Medical Association
Following the formal presentations, presenters formed an expert panel for a facilitator-led
discussion aimed at further exploring possible priority, evidence-based actions to reduce alcohol
related violence and harms. Participants then formed breakout groups to further discuss and
prioritise potential actions.
These sessions highlighted broad support for national, comprehensive, coordinated, multifaceted
responses to address all forms of violence, across the life-course (ante-natal, childhood,
adolescence and throughout adulthood) and across levels of prevention (primary secondary and
tertiary).
While alcohol related violence and harm was seen as a community issue, and part of a system of
individual, community and environmental factors that require a comprehensive approach in
response, it was noted that some population groups experience greater impacts from alcohol use
than others and therefore require additional support.
In particular, the protection of young people from alcohol-related harms, and improving
outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities were seen as high
priorities for attention. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People experience disproportionate
harm relating to alcohol use, with mortality rates from alcohol-related diseases among
Aboriginal populations being four times higher than in non-Aboriginal populations.
Children and young people were also noted as vulnerable groups who stand to gain the greatest
benefit from intervention when it comes to alcohol consumption and related harm, in relation to
physical development and health outcomes, and also the influence of their environment on drinking
attitudes, behaviours and related harms.
Several priorities were identified by participants, including:

Facilitating safer and healthier drinking cultures including through:
o a comprehensive, integrated national strategy
o effective and sustainable public education
o use of the internet and other media to support and strengthen the provision of
credible and accurate information about alcohol
o targeted approaches and local complementary initiatives for specific population
groups
o dissemination of National Alcohol guidelines messages, particularly regarding
alcohol and pregnancy
o promotion of healthy lifestyles
o supporting and harnessing the community including through peers, families, sporting
groups and schools.

Limiting or preventing exposure to advertising, promotion and sponsorship through
regulation and, where appropriate, voluntary and collaborative approaches with business,
including:
o removing the ability for alcohol advertising on television before 8.30pm as part of
the broadcast of a live sporting event on weekends and public holidays
o phasing out sponsorship at sporting and cultural events
o introducing independent regulation with comprehensive coverage and penalties
o health warning labels on alcohol products, particularly in relation to alcohol and
pregnancy.

Ensuring practice is guided by appropriate research, data collection and evaluation,
including through:
o agreed national data and reporting systems, and effective structures and processes for
timely and effective use of data
o collection of emergency department attendance, police, last drinks, sales data and
potentially also through ABS personal safety data
o research to improve understanding of the relationship between alcohol and domestic
violence
o evaluation of school based programs.

Reducing the availability of alcohol through a range of measures including:
o minimum pricing
o volumetric taxation
o trading hour restrictions (e.g. 3am last drinks) and lockouts
o management of outlet density
o raising the legal drinking age to 21
o addressing secondary supply.

Utilising opportunistic brief interventions, in a wide range of settings, such as:
o hospital emergency departments
o primary health care facilities
o domestic violence call outs
o welfare services
o mental health facilities
o the criminal justice system
o schools
o workplaces
o sporting clubs.

Development and implementation of family support and treatment strategies to prevent
and break patterns of drug use, including intergenerational patterns, through:
o effective assessment, intervention and treatment
o developmental and early childhood programs
o resilience building among young people
o strengthening families
o community nurse visits
o peer-based interventions
o combined substance abuse and domestic violence treatment.

Building capacity and up-skilling those responding to alcohol related harms, including
through supportive systems or technology to identify and respond to the inappropriate use of
alcohol.

Strengthening enforcement, including in relation to:
o liquor licensing
o targeted (and random) police interventions
o meaningful and immediate sanctions
o electronic monitoring
o consequence policing
o violent venues register
o safer bars
o family drug court
o alcohol free or ‘dry-zones
o nighttime buses and trains
o supervised taxi ranks
o mandatory ID Scanners
o patron banning notices.
The IGCD committed to using the outcomes of the meeting to inform its advice to Ministers on
the specific issue of alcohol related violence and harms, and to also use the outcomes to inform
the development of the next iteration of a National Alcohol Strategy for 2016-21.
This meeting summary and a list of attendees will be available on the IGCD’s website at
www.nationaldrugstrategy.gov.au/internet/drugstrategy/publishing.nsf/Content/igcd-lp. Several
presentations made at the meeting are available for attendees. Should attendees wish to receive
copies of the presentations, please email igcd@health.gov.au.
The IGCD website will be updated as the IGCD progresses the development of the National
Alcohol Strategy during 2015, alongside work that has commenced to develop the National
Drug Strategy 2016-2021.
The IGCD would like to thank all those who participated and provided input to the meeting, and
to encourage further participation in consultation opportunities that will be available over the
next 6-12 months, to fully inform the development of the next National Alcohol Strategy.