The next phase of the NSW Government’s Liquor Amendment (24-hour Economy) Bill 2020 has now come into effect, with online age verification requirements introduced for same day alcohol deliveries.
From this month on, same day alcohol delivery providers will need to verify the age of their customers at the point of sale when they make an order. It’s the final phase of regulation roll out for online alcohol deliveries under this legislation in NSW, following other tightened measures in July and December 2021.
Retail Drinks CEO, Michael Waters, welcomed the requirements and praised the industry’s efforts to prepare for their implementation over the past 18 months. He said significant progress had occurred in the online liquor retail industry in this time.
“Retail Drinks is proud to have been at the forefront of responsibility in the online liquor delivery space, especially with our globally recognised Online Alcohol Sale and Delivery Code of Conduct which has been in place for over three years,” Waters said.
“We have also played a significant role in helping industry transition towards the NSW Government’s new age verification requirements, including launching a successful industry-first trial of age verification technology last year.
“We have welcomed the NSW Government’s collaborative approach with industry to ensure that the minimum standards as prescribed by the regulations are fit for purpose and allow a degree of flexibility for online liquor retailers to comply with the age verification requirements.
“We look forward to continuing our productive and collaborative work with the NSW Government, our members, and a growing number of age verification providers to further enhance responsibility in this space.”
Same day alcohol delivery operators need to use an accredited ‘identity service provider’ under the Australian Government’s Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF) in order to verify customer ages. However, in the lead-up to the June 2022 rollout of these requirements, Liquor & Gaming NSW said it recognised unforeseen issues from businesses trying to implement the technical solutions, including some issues which are outside of the businesses’ direct control.
Therefore, the NSW Government has announced it intends to establish alternative processes that can be used while technical issues are being resolved. For the initial 12 months until June 2023, delivery providers will have more options to verify customer age, over which time Liquor & Gaming NSW will monitor the situation and any other issues that arise.
Liquor & Gaming NSW has also introduced a transition period until 1 September 2022. Until then, the regulator has said it won’t take action against businesses regarding the age verification requirements, if the business can demonstrate it is actively working to meet the requirements.
More information about the requirements, including alternative processes and FAQs, can be found at the Liquor & Gaming website.