What each Act means by intoxicated
NSW“For the purposes of this Act, a person is intoxicated if” (a) “the person’s speech, balance, co-ordination or behaviour is noticeably affected”, and (b) “it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the affected speech, balance, co-ordination or behaviour is the result of the consumption of liquor” (s 5(1)).
VICA person is in a state of intoxication when their speech, balance, coordination or behaviour is noticeably affected, and it can reasonably be believed that liquor is the cause (s 3AB(1)).
QLDA person “may be taken to be unduly intoxicated if” their “speech, balance, coordination or behaviour is noticeably affected” and “there are reasonable grounds for believing” that this “is the result of the consumption of liquor, drugs or another intoxicating substance” (s 9A).
Two differences are in the words. The Queensland test reaches drugs and other intoxicating substances as well as liquor, and it says a person “may be taken to be” unduly intoxicated where the other two Acts say a person “is” intoxicated. Both New South Wales and Victoria also provide for official guidelines: the Secretary “is to issue guidelines to assist in determining whether or not a person is intoxicated” (NSW s 5(3)), and in Victoria the Commission must issue guidelines on how to tell (s 3AB(2)).
NSWThe duty in New South Wales
“A licensee or an employee or agent of a licensee must not, on the licensed premises, sell or supply liquor to an intoxicated person.”
Liquor Act 2007 (NSW) s 73(2)Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
Anyone else on licensed premises is bound too: under s 73(3) a person other than the licensee or the licensee’s employee or agent “must not, on licensed premises, supply liquor to an intoxicated person”, with a maximum of 10 penalty units.
A catering bar at a private home
Section 73(6) reads: “In the application of this section to an on-premises licence that relates to a catering service, a reference to licensed premises does not include private domestic premises except for the purposes of subsection (2).” So for a bar working under that kind of licence, the rule against selling or supplying liquor to an intoxicated person in s 73(2) still reaches a private home; elsewhere in s 73, a reference to licensed premises does not include it.
VICThe duty in Victoria
Under s 108(4)(a), a licensee or permittee must not supply liquor to a person in a state of intoxication.
120 penalty units (s 108(4)).
The guest has a duty of their own. Under s 114(1)(b), a person on licensed premises must not procure liquor for someone in a state of intoxication, or aid or abet that person to obtain liquor. It reaches a guest who gets a drink for an intoxicated friend, and the maximum for s 114(1) is 20 penalty units.
QLDThe duty in Queensland
Under s 156(1), on premises to which a licence or permit relates, a person must not supply liquor to, permit or allow liquor to be supplied to, or allow liquor to be consumed by, a person who “is unduly intoxicated or disorderly”.
Maximum penalty where the person is unduly intoxicated or disorderly: 500 penalty units for the licensee or permittee, or an approved manager working at the premises; 80 penalty units for anyone else.
The same subsection covers minors, set out on the minors card.
The three duties together
| State | Who is bound | Where | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Licensee, employee or agent (s 73(2)); anyone else (s 73(3)) | On the licensed premises | 100 penalty units; 10 for anyone else |
| Victoria | Licensee or permittee (s 108(4)(a)) | As worded in s 108(4)(a), set out above | 120 penalty units |
| Queensland | Any person (s 156(1)) | On premises to which a licence or permit relates | 500 penalty units for the licensee, permittee or an approved manager; 80 for anyone else |
This card stops at refusing service. Asking a guest to leave is a separate matter, with its own provisions, and it is not covered here.