People across Australia will visit licensed venues on Wednesday 25 April to commemorate Anzac Day and ahead of this busy day Liquor & Gaming NSW (LGNSW) has published tips to ensure any promotions that venues are planning are both appropriate and respectful.
LGNSW said: “The words ‘Anzac Day’ or images associated with them shouldn’t be used in a way that the community would find offensive or that trivialises the commemorations.
“To prepare for the day and avoid intoxication and anti-social behaviour in your venue, make sure your staff are well aware of Responsible Service of Alcohol laws, and review your alcohol management plan, incident register and security staffing.”
LGNSW also urged venues to review their advertising strategy and promotional materials to ensure they are respectful and that they are in line with overall liquor promotion guidelines. Liquor promotions must not:
- encourage irresponsible, rapid or excessive consumption of alcohol
- have special appeal to minors
- be indecent or offensive, and
- be out of step with general community standards.
LGNSW also details examples of unacceptable liquor promotions, which would include the following:
- Appeal to minors – because of the design, name, motifs or characters used
- Indecent or offensive – through the use of images, including the human body, which may considered offensive by a reasonable adult
- Non-standard measures – for example, yard glass, slammers, water pistols, etc. that encourage irresponsible drinking
- Emotive descriptions or adverting – for example, the use of slogans that focus on the excessive consumption alcohol such as ‘drink like a fish’ or ‘drink to you drop’
- Free drinks or extreme discounts – that promote excessive consumption of alcohol. For example, ‘all you can drink’ or encourage rapid consumption, such as ‘$50 voucher between 7-8pm only’
- Irresponsible, rapid or excessive consumption – such as a drinking game, for example, ’60 shots in 60 minutes’ or ‘boat races’. Or sports event promotions such ‘free beer until first points scored’ or ‘half price drinks until half time’
- Not in the public interest – such as promoting unlawful activity, anti-social behaviour, allude to consuming alcohol with illicit drugs or associating liquor consumption with violent or aggressive behaviour towards other people.
Two-up is also allowed in NSW venues on Anzac Day and while venues do not require a permit the regulator encourages venues to refer to its two-up fact sheet.