Alcohol’s Harm to Others in Australia: Patterns, Costs, Disparities and Precipitants was compiled over six years and is the most comprehensive analysis to date of harm to people beyond the consumer.
Launched at Victoria’s Parliament House on Wednesday, 3 December, the report showed:
- Almost half the population of Australia (48 per cent) was negatively affected by the alcohol use of others in 2021.
- Alcohol was involved in up to half (47 per cent) of all police-reported family and domestic violence incidents.
- One in six (17 per cent) families reported children were harmed by someone else’s alcohol use.
- Residents in Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory, New South Wales and the ACT were more likely to report harm from the drinking of strangers than adults living in Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania.
- The economic costs to society of others’ drinking in 2021 was estimated at $34.3 billion.
The multi-year project is a collaboration between researchers from La Trobe University and Central Queensland University, in partnership with the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Monash Health, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation and the Australian Rechabite Foundation.
Lead researcher Professor Anne-Marie Laslett, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at La Trobe’s Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, said researchers had been gradually building the body of evidence through 30 publications on alcohol’s harm to others in Australia. The release of this report marks the culmination of the team’s work.
Professor Laslett said the evidence underlined the need to prevent and respond to the harm seen in many aspects of Australian lives, within families and communities.
“The way we drink - and particularly the way men drink - needs to change and be guided by effective government policies,” Professor Laslett said.
“Services to support those drinking heavily - and their families - are crucial. Policies and service provision must acknowledge that gendered, social and economic inequalities exacerbate harms to individuals and families from alcohol.”
FARE CEO Ayla Chorley said alcohol drove child maltreatment, including abuse, neglect and disrupted care. Children living in a home with heavy alcohol use faced higher risks of poor mental health, school disengagement and intergenerational harm.
“Alcohol is fuelling violence and harm in Australian homes every day and the scale of the problem should shock us all,” Ms Chorley said.
“These harms can be reduced and disproportionately impact women and children, but they remain overlooked in alcohol policy. That needs to change.”
The report will be launched on 3 December by Victorian Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Enver Erdogan, who said reducing alcohol harm was a shared responsibility and the Victorian Government was working with other jurisdictions to deliver meaningful change.
“This report reinforces why we must work together to protect families and communities, and we welcome its evidence-based insights into the real impact of alcohol on children and families,” Minister Erdogan said.
“Victoria is actively participating in the national review of alcohol laws that is exploring practical reforms that reduce harm and improve safety to support those most affected.”
The report urges governments to screen for alcohol in all domestic violence and child-protection cases; restrict outlet density and trading hours in high-risk areas; and regulate online and home delivery to limit late-night access.
It also recommends closing data gaps by requiring police, health, justice and social services to record alcohol involvement in incidents and to invest in evidence-based, public health alcohol harm prevention campaigns.
The findings are in line with the national rapid review of evidence-based approaches to gender-based violence, which explicitly highlighted alcohol’s role and called on state and territory governments to review liquor-licensing regulations.
If you or someone you know needs support, please call Lifeline 13 11 14, the National 24/7 Alcohol and Other Drugs Hotline 1800 250 015 or 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732.
Media enquiries
Robyn Grace – r.grace@latrobe.edu.au, 0420 826 595
