Liquor Commission

On 3 November 2020, the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT) imposed reportable transaction conditions on a number of liquor licences that authorise the sale of take-away alcohol for licensees in Alice Springs region and the Kulgera and Erldunda Roadhouses.

Initially the Liquor Commission notified all Alice Springs takeaway outlets that it intended to impose those conditions via its own motion powers under section 33 of the previous Liquor Act 1978. Six of the affected licensees sought a review of that decision by NTCAT.

The reportable transaction conditions do not currently apply to liquor outlets that did not join the NTCAT review. The Liquor Commission is currently addressing this situation.

The reportable transaction conditions were introduced to curb secondary supply of liquor and grog running into dry communities in and around Alice Springs. This illegal and irresponsible activity has the potential to negatively impact on the wellbeing of the wider community, particularly some of the more vulnerable, women and children.

If the sale of alcohol is a reportable transaction, the new conditions require the licensee to give police details of the purchaser including name, age, and place of residence as well as details of what was purchased.

Types of purchases of liquor that are reportable include:

• three or more takeaway liquor purchases of any kind by the same person in any one day
• takeaway sales to anyone person on any one day in excess of the following:
  • 3 cartons of full strength beer
  • 12 bottles of wine
  • 4 bottle of spirits
  • 48 cans or bottles of RTD’s
• any other liquor sale which arouses suspicion that the purchaser will commit an offence by possessing, consuming or supplying liquor with all areas of the Pitjantjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra lands and all Aboriginal lands in the Northern Territory.

The new reportable transaction conditions are not intended to inconvenience members of the general public including tourists, interstate or intrastate visitors, cattle station owners and the like purchasing alcohol from takeaway liquor outlets for their own personal consumption. Also, the reportable transaction conditions do not apply where a police auxiliary liquor inspector is on duty at the liquor outlet.

Download liquor outlet signage

Reportable transactions - Alice Springs PDF (161.4 KB)