It is against the law:
- to supply alcohol to a person who is intoxicated (affected by alcohol)
- to allow a drunk person to be at your licensed venue or location
- for customers to buy alcohol to give to a person who is intoxicated.
Intoxicated customers can remain at your venue but you cannot serve them alcohol.
Liquor inspectors or Victoria Police can issue you with a hefty fine and demerit points if you breach the law. This will increase your annual renewal fees for up to 3 years.
Intoxication guidelines
A person is considered to be intoxicated if they meet these 2 criteria:
- They shows signs of being noticeably affected, by their speech, balance, coordination or behaviour.
- You believe this is due to them drinking alcohol.
First, consider if the person has one or more signs of intoxication:
- becoming loud and boisterous
- having difficulty walking straight
- becoming argumentative
- bumping into furniture or customers
- annoying other customers and staff
- rambling in their conversation
- using offensive language
- losing their train of thought
- spilling drinks
- having difficulty paying attention
- fumbling and having trouble picking up objects
- not hearing or understanding what is being said
- swaying
- appearing drowsy or dozing while sitting at a bar or table.
Second, decide if these signs are the result of drinking alcohol.
Consider information such as:
- the amount of alcohol you have seen the person drink
- how much other staff members have seen the person drink
- whether the person smells of alcohol
- whether they may have been drinking before going to your venue.
Other causes
Sometimes, physical and mental disabilities lead to a person showing symptoms similar to alcohol intoxication.
Consider whether a customer may have such a condition before refusing service.
Resources to help you
Checklist
This checklist helps identify what your venue is doing well and identifies areas for improvement.
We encourage you to go through the checklist with your staff to identify anything that might need attention.
Videos
View these videos to help you and your staff identify and manage intoxication at your licensed venue or location.
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