The Liquor Act 2010 (the Act) commenced 1 December 2010 and replaced the Liquor Act 1975.  The main objectives of the Act are to minimise harm associated with the consumption of alcohol, facilitate the responsible development of the liquor and hospitality industries, and to encourage and support consumers to take responsibility for their consumption of alcohol and their behaviour.

• What has changed under the new Act?
• What is Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training and how does it affect me as an employee?
• How does the Risk Assessment Management Plan (RAMP) affect me as an employee?
• How does the Incident Register affect me as an employee?
• What are the rules regarding serving alcohol to intoxicated people?
• What are the rules regarding serving alcohol to persons under 18 years of age?
• As an employee am I able to refuse to serve a person alcohol?
• As an employee am I able to serve alcohol to a person if I am under 18 years of age?
• What are my responsibilities if I am employed as a crowd controller?
• What are my responsibilities regarding the checking of identification documents?

What has changed under the new Liquor Act 2010?

Under the new Act there are major changes to:

• licensing requirements including public consultation and development of Risk Assessment Managements Plans for new applications;
• permit types and the application requirements;
• offences for patrons; and,
• compulsory Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training.

What is Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training and how does it affect me as an employee?

Licencees and commercial permit holders (excluding influential persons of a corporation who do not supply liquor), employees supplying liquor and crowd controllers will be required to have successfully completed an A.C.T. approved Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training course by 1 June 2012.  This is a six month extension to the previous date of 1 December 2011.  Persons who have completed an unapproved RSA course (in any jurisdiction) since 1 June 2010 will not need to complete an approved course until 1 June 2013.  RSA training will be required every three years if you are:

• the licensee or a commercial permit holder;
• an employee of the licensee or commercial permit holder who serves liquor at the premises: or,
• a crowd controller who works at the premises.

A list of currently Registered Training Organisations Approved to Conduct Responsible Service of Alcohol Training in the A.C.T. is available for searching purposes.

How does the Risk Assessment Management Plan (RAMP) affect me as an employee?

The Act requires all applications for a licence or commercial permit to be accompanied by a Risk Assessment Management Plan (RAMP).  The RAMP is a plan that details the procedures, practices and arrangements for conducting the business of selling liquor at the premises.

Once approved, the licesee or commercial permit holder has an obligation to ensure they and their employees are aware of its contents and comply with the requirements of the RAMP.

Examples of what the RAMP may contain are:

• how the premises are lit;
• what noise mitigation measures are in place; and,
• what security measures are in place.

How does the Incident Register affect me as an employee?

The Act requires licensees and permit holders to keep an incident register and specifies the information to be included in the register.  As an employee you may have to fill in the register if there is an incident or bring an incident to your employer's attention.

Incidents that must be noted in the register include:

• incidents involving violent, unlawful or anti social behaviour at licensed or permitted premises;
• incidents involving violent, unlawful or anti social behaviour in the immediate vicinity of the licensed or permitted premises where it involves a person who has recently left, or been refused entry to the premises;
• where a person has been removed from licensed or permitted premises;
• where a person requires medical assistance at the licensed or permitted premises after midnight and before the time prescribed by regualtion; and
• the seizure of false identification.

What are the rules regarding serving alcohol to intoxicated people?

The Act includes offences for staff who serve alcohol to an intoxicated person.  The Act states that a person is intoxicated if:

• the person's speech, balance, coordination or behaviour is noticeably affected; and,
• it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the affected speech, balance, coordination or behaviour is the result of the consumption of liquor.

The Liquor (Intoxication) Guidelines 2010 (No 1) have been developed to assist in determining whether a person is intoxicated.

There are new offences that assist employees where a person is refused service including offences for:

• abusing employees if service is refused because a person is intoxicated;
• patrons supplying liquor to other patrons who are intoxicated; and
• patrons who refuse to leave the premises after being directed to do so.

What are the rules regarding serving alcohol to person under 18 years of age?

The Act provides that it is an offence to supply liquor to a person under 18 years of age on licensed or permitted premises.  The Act also sets out how identification must be evaluated.

As an employee am I able to refuse to serve a person alcohol?

Employees can refuse to serve a person liquor.  This may occur in a range of circumstances, but the Act requires employees to refuse to serve liquor where the person is intoxicated, under 18 years of age, or where a person refuses to provide identification.

As an employee am I able to serve alcohol to a person if I am under 18 years of age?

The licensee or permit holder commits an offence if they employ a person under 18 years of age and that person supplies liquor and the liquor is supplied in an adults only area of the licensed or permitted premises.

A person under 18 years of age may work in an adults only area if they are not supplying liquor to patrons.  A person under 18 years of age may serve liquor to patrons who are not in an adults only area, for example, with a meal in a restaurant if the restaurant is not in an adults only area.

What are my responsibilities if I am employed as a crowd controller?

The Act requires crowd controllers working at licensed premises to have undertaken RSA training by 1 December 2011.  If you have completed RSA training since 1 December 2009 you must complete training sometime before 1 December 2012.  Crowd controllers that work at licensed premises are required to complete RSA training every three years.

What are my responsibilities regarding the checking of identification documents?

The Act requires employees including crowd controllers who check identification to examine the identification documentation to establish whether:

• the document has expired;
• the date of birth means the person is over 18 years of age;
• the document has not been forged or altered; and,
• the person presenting the document is the person in the photograph on the document.

Employees and crowd controllers may seize false identification excluding passports.  As soon as possible after seizing the document, a receipt must be given to the person who it was seized from. 

The receipt must include:

• a description of the document;
• an explanation for why it was seized;
• the date and time it was seized;
• the name and address of the premises where it was seized; and,
• if the document is moved from the premises, where it is to be taken. 

Personal contact details of the employee or crowd controller are not required and the receipt does not need to be signed.

Any seized documents must be sent to the Commissioner for Fair Trading within seven days and a record of the seizure must be made in the incident register of the premises along with a copy of the receipt.

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