Alcohol delivery laws

It is an offence for a licensee, or any person delivering packaged alcohol on behalf of a licensee or other business that has sold it by retail, to make a delivery to a minor. This includes deliveries made to NSW customers from interstate.

Some limited defences to a prosecution for this offence are available, including if:

• the minor was over 14, and before the alcohol was sold or supplied the defendant was provided with an evidence of age document that could be reasonably accepted as being genuine and proving that the person was an adult, or
• if the delivery person did not know the package contained alcohol at the time of the alleged offence (e.g. a courier was not made aware the package they were delivering contained alcohol and inadvertently commits an offence).

A maximum penalty of $11,000 or 12-months imprisonment (or both) applies.

It is an offence to deliver packaged alcohol to an intoxicated person, where it has been sold by retail and is being delivered within NSW as part of a commercial arrangement. This includes deliveries of alcohol sold in NSW and delivered from interstate.

A defence is available if the delivery person did not know the package contained alcohol at the time of the alleged offence.

A maximum penalty of $11,000 applies.

The NSW GL4003 Intoxication Guidelines PDF, 186.41 KB include detailed guidance on  what to look for when someone is intoxicated.

Responsible Supply of Alcohol Training (RSAT) also provides guidance on how to identify intoxicated people.

Same day delivery laws apply to deliveries of packaged alcohol, under commercial arrangements, to customers in NSW on the same day as they are purchased by retail. It does not matter whether the sale occurs in NSW or interstate.

There are some limited exceptions where the laws do not apply, including:

• delivery of packaged alcohol to other licensed businesses, whether the alcohol is sold by wholesale or retail
• delivery of less than 1.5 litres of packaged alcohol in a food hamper such as a picnic basket or a gift hamper – for example, a Christmas food hamper with wine.

Same day delivery providers include licensed businesses and any other business or person who as part of a business or undertaking:

• state or otherwise indicate by advertisement or otherwise, that they will supply alcohol for same day delivery in NSW, and
• supply the alcohol by same day delivery or engage another person, whether it is an employee or agent, to supply the alcohol by same day delivery.

The laws will apply to same day alcohol delivery providers including:

• licensed takeaway alcohol businesses offering online sales and delivery to customers in NSW.
• food delivery businesses and platforms that deliver alcohol with or without food.
• individuals offering same day alcohol delivery on task matching platforms.
• any other business that delivers alcohol to the public.

Under the NSW liquor laws, same day delivery providers must ensure they have systems and processes in place that minimise risks associated with same day alcohol deliveries.

Importantly, they also have certain obligations in relation to the people they engage to deliver alcohol as part of their business, including employees and agents.

Requirements for same day delivery providers:

• Providers need to have systems and processes in place to support delivery people, including employees and agents, to check evidence of age and identity of intended recipients before delivery occurs. They must not permit deliveries to occur if there has been no check.
• Licensees must provide written instructions to the person delivering the alcohol setting out which adult has been specified to receive the order. This can be the adult who placed the order, or another adult at the same premises who agrees to accept it on their behalf. Customers ordering online can also nominate an adult at a different location to receive the delivery (e.g. for a gift delivery).

Requirements for delivery people:

• People making same day alcohol deliveries must refuse to supply alcohol to a person who is under 18 years of age.
• To comply with age verification requirements, delivery people must check the intended recipient’s physical ID if they appear to be under 25 years of age. This is consistent with standards that apply to licensed premises.
• For recipients who look 25 or older, either a physical ID must be checked or a signed declaration taken to confirm the recipient’s name and that they are 18 or older. If a signed declaration is taken in writing or electronically, it should be kept for an appropriate period of time, to ensure there is a record of this occurring.
• If an intended recipient’s details do not match the adult specified to receive the delivery, the delivery person should simply record that they were unable to verify this and refuse to make the delivery.
• Delivery people cannot be financially penalised for not making a delivery in these circumstances.
• Alcohol must never be left unattended where delivered on the same day.

People making same day alcohol deliveries must complete RSAT and pass an assessment.

The training includes how to:

• comply with your legal obligations
• recognise intoxication
• reduce the risk of supply of alcohol to minors
• ensure your personal safety when delivering alcohol.

If you are an existing same day delivery person, you will need to register completion of this training and assessment before 1 December 2021 to continue working in this industry.

If you are new and want to start working in this industry from 1 December 2021, you will need to register completion of the training and assessment before you begin making same day deliveries.

From 1 December 2021, delivery providers must ensure that the people they engage to make same day deliveries hold a current RSAT certificate. Penalties apply for non-compliance, including a maximum fine of $5,500.

Delivery providers can also be held responsible for breaches of the same day delivery laws by employees or agents that don’t hold a current RSAT certificate.

Information on RSAT is available on the Responsible Supply of Alcohol Training (RSAT) page.

Same day alcohol deliveries can only be made between:

• 9am and midnight from Monday to Saturday; and
• 9am and 11pm on Sunday.

These requirements more closely align delivery times with the standard trading hours for takeaway bottle shops, to help minimise risks of harm from late night packaged alcohol purchases.

Same day deliveries must never be made outside these permitted hours regardless of whether an order was processed before the cut-off times.

The law requires that delivery providers must ensure that records are kept about any occasion where a delivery person refuses to deliver alcohol to a person:

• to prevent the sale or supply of the alcohol to a minor,
• to prevent the supply of alcohol to an intoxicated person; or
• because they were unable to verify the person proposing to accept the delivery was the person specified in the written instructions to receive the delivery.

A same day delivery provider must ensure that records are kept for a least one year after the day on which the delivery was refused and recorded. These records must also be available for immediate inspection by police or a Liquor & Gaming NSW inspector.

The records are intended to help delivery providers track these occasions and to support compliance monitoring around the same day alcohol delivery laws.

From 1 July 2021, all same day delivery providers are required to capture delivery data to report to Liquor & Gaming NSW every six months, showing the volume of packaged alcohol they delivered in NSW as part of same day deliveries by each postcode.

The reporting periods are:

• 1 July to 31 December
• 1 January to 30 June

Reports are due to Liquor & Gaming NSW within 21 days of the end of each period.

Providers need to provide the first report by 21 January 2022 using the approved template XLSX, 13.52 KB.

Please visit the same day alcohol delivery data reporting page to access more information on the reporting requirements and how to submit your report.

It is an offence for a person to make same day deliveries into public places that are alcohol-free zones, alcohol prohibited areas or restricted alcohol areas.

Alcohol-free zones and alcohol prohibited areas are established by local councils. They represent areas where alcohol consumption is not permitted, and police have certain powers to confiscate alcohol. Examples include:

• alcohol-free zones on public roads and footpaths
• alcohol-prohibited areas in parks and civic spaces.

To ensure compliance, same day delivery providers must never ask delivery people to deliver alcohol in these zones or areas. Providers may choose to:

• deliver to private residential or business addresses only, or
• familiarise themselves with relevant council requirements in the local area/s they service and ensure delivery people are not asked to deliver alcohol in established public zones or areas.

Restricted alcohol areas are declared areas of the state, specified in liquor regulations, where restrictions can apply to the sale, supply, possession or consumption of liquor on any premises. There are currently no declared restricted alcohol areas.

Same day delivery providers must not financially penalise delivery employees and agents who:

• refuse to deliver alcohol to minors or intoxicated people, and
• take reasonable steps to deliver the alcohol to an appropriate alternative address agreed with the provider.

A financial penalty includes any action that has a financial impact, such as withholding or delaying payment, or reducing employment hours.

Delivery providers are required by law to offer a method to self-exclude from their delivery service when they sell of advertise alcohol online for same day delivery.

Self-exclusion agreements allow a person to exclude themselves from alcohol delivery by entering into a formal agreement with a same day delivery provider. These types of agreements are a crucial part of harm minimisation.

Providers will need to enter into and comply with self-exclusion agreements, either temporarily or permanently, if any person requests it.

Providers will need to ensure that online sites and mobile applications where same day alcohol delivery is being advertised clearly provides a way for people to enter into these agreements. Providers must ensure that any person accessing their service online would reasonably be expected to be alerted to the ability to enter into a self-exclusion agreement.

Do delivery people need to be aware of the self-exclusion method?

Yes, providers should ensure that their delivery staff and agents are made aware of their self-exclusion scheme so they can explain how a person can self-exclude if asked by a customer.

Is there a standard method for self-exclusion?

Providers have flexibility to consider the best avenue that considers their specific business model and online platform they use to offer same day delivery services.

Providers should consider key aspects like:

• clearly articulating to customers what self-exclusion means
• capturing sufficient information from people so self-exclusion is effective
• ensuring people can specify a timeframe for the self-exclusion – e.g. 6 months, one year, two years or permanent
• what channels, if any, will be provided for people to end a self-exclusion agreement

From 1 June 2022, all same day delivery providers will need to ensure they have:

• verified the age of each customer online before they agree to make a same day delivery; and
• have processes in place to authenticate customers whose age has been verified for all future same day deliveries they order online.

These measures increase protections to help prevent minors from purchasing alcohol online.

Options for verifying age online

There are three options currently available that delivery providers can use to verify age online. Information on these options is available on the same day delivery age verification webpage.

Delivery businesses that make agreements to supply alcohol from NSW premises for same day delivery should always check that the alcohol is being sold under a NSW liquor licence. This ensures the NSW liquor laws apply to the sale and that businesses primarily operating in NSW are appropriately licensed.

A delivery provider must not, as part of a same day delivery, supply packaged alcohol if it is stored for sale at premises within NSW and is not sold under a NSW liquor licence.

This requirement does not apply to the delivery of packaged alcohol that is stored for sale in another State or Territory and delivered into NSW – for example, a Wodonga business that sells alcohol for same day delivery into Albury can be licensed under a Victorian liquor licence. However, delivery providers must still comply with all other laws and obligations that apply to the same day delivery of the alcohol across the border to NSW customers.