By Andy Young
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) of New South Wales has reminded licensees of their obligations under responsible service of alcohol (RSA) after banning a former licensee for six months.
Donald Yung, of Iluka, has been banned from working in any NSW licensed venue from 1 December, 2015 after he failed to implement adequate venue management procedures, which resulted in a bar staff member serving an intoxicated patron.
Yung was formerly the licensee of the ZooBar Lounge & Nightclub at Lismore trading as Jacks Bar at the Met.
The ILGA has also served a seven-day RSA certification suspension on Shea McCaughey, the staff member who served the intoxicated patron.
The incident occurred in January 2015, when police officers observed the intoxicated man walk past an RSA marshal and into the hotel, where he was served with alcoholic drinks.
McCaughey said the man spoke clearly when he ordered and despite him having "wonky" eyes he served him two drinks. When police interviewed the patron he told them he'd drunk half a 700ml bottle of rum before arriving at the bar, where he had a further "six or so" rum and cokes.
The police said that since the bar opened in October 2014 a number of incidents had been reported; that the venue was not a member of the Lismore Liquor Accord and that it did not have an alcohol or venue management plan in place.
Although Yung was not at the bar on the night the incident occurred the ILGA found that he had failed to undertake reasonable steps to implement a system to prevent alcohol-related harms and as a result contravened his RSA obligations. It deemed that Yung maintained a broad range of responsibilities as licensee for ensuring responsible sale and service of alcohol and appropriate operating and employee standards at the hotel, and that a six month suspension was appropriate.
The ILGA reminded each RSA employee that they have an obligation to ensure compliance and that McCaughey had failed to take reasonable steps to assess that patron's state of intoxication. The authority said that although McCaughey had assumed door staff had vetted the patron, RSA employees should not rely on another person's actions to "absolve individual responsibilities".