What are some potential harms that the same day delivery of alcohol laws are designed to address?

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The NSW government has blamed technical issues for its failure to enforce mandatory online age verification for same-day alcohol delivery, which was supposed to start this month.

The Greens accused the government of squibbing on the commitment it made in 2020, saying it beggared belief that companies could deliver booze in 30 minutes but could not implement ID verification technology.

Same-day alcohol delivery companies must now “verify” a customer’s age at the point of sale. This was supposed to occur electronically using the federal government’s Document Verification Service and Trusted Digital Identity Framework.

Same-day alcohol delivery companies must now “verify” a customer’s age at the point of sale. Ken Irwin

Regulations published on June 1 show the NSW government has given companies the option of simply asking customers to state that they could produce a document to verify their age – such as a driver’s licence – if asked, and keep records of that statement being made. This is in addition to the existing obligation to check ID at the point of delivery.

A grace period means companies won’t face any penalties for failure to comply until September, and none of the services the Herald ordered from this week required customers to sign the statement.

“It’s incredible that these companies can figure out how to deliver alcohol to your door in minutes but not how to implement existing identity verification technology.”

Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP

When the government agreed to the Greens’ amendment in 2020 mandating age verification for same-day delivery companies, only one ID verification provider – Australia Post – was accredited under the TDIF. There are now three, including myGov ID and OCR Labs.

Greens upper house member and liquor spokeswoman Cate Faehrmann, who introduced that amendment, said it was still unacceptably easy to buy alcohol online without providing ID.

“It’s incredible that these companies can figure out how to deliver alcohol to your door in minutes but not how to implement existing identity verification technology,” she said. “Clearly the alcohol industry cares more about its bottom line than it does the potential harms caused by alcohol.”

The state government has also given the companies the option to use an alternative ID-checking solution, including those that do not use the federal government’s document verification service. Some companies are eyeing this option.

Retail Drinks Australia chief Michael Waters said the industry’s code of conduct, which has been in place for three years, already ensured minors cannot use online sales as a “backdoor” to buying alcohol by requiring a positive ID-check at the point of delivery.

The Herald was asked for ID to receive deliveries from Dan Murphy’s, Jimmy Brings and BoozeBud this week. All three outlets gave indications that an ID-check may be required at the door.

Melanie Poole, policy director at the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, said it was “not acceptable” for customers to self-report their age. “The community wants to have confidence that the systems in place are effective at protecting good health and wellbeing.”

A spokesman for Liquor and Gaming NSW said delivery businesses faced “unforeseen technical issues in meeting minimum age verification requirements using the [national framework], which were outside of the direct control of the licensees”.

One problem involved matching purchasers’ ID documents to the DVS. “This included significant processing times and/or large failure rates where the matching process was unable to be completed,” the spokesman said.

As such, companies may ask the customer to “state that they will (or would be able and willing to) produce an evidence-of-age document” instead. “This is in addition to the requirement for delivery providers to verify the recipient’s age at the point of delivery.”

LGNSW will monitor their progress and review the effectiveness of the regime by June 1, 2023. A spokesman for NSW Hospitality and Racing Minister Kevin Anderson confirmed LGNSW would not enforce these requirements before September to give companies time to adjust.

When the laws were passed in 2020, Customer Service and Digital Government Minister Victor Dominello noted there were “strong industry concerns that have been raised about this change”. But it was a useful harm reduction measure and “industry has been afforded the necessary time” to make it happen, he said.

A number of other laws restrict same-day alcohol delivery in NSW, including a ban on deliveries between midnight and 9am, and after 11pm on Sundays. Drivers cannot be penalised for refusing to deliver to someone who cannot prove they are 18 or who is intoxicated.

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