RSA Course Online

Author: Peter Cutforth

  • Serving Alcohol Responsibly: Illegal “Home Bottle Store” Seized

    Police are targeting home bottle stores since the discovery of an illegal home shop last week. Police found numerous bottles of alcohol in the house and discovered that the homeowners were actually running an illegal alcohol shop, charging as much as $100 for a bottle of spirits and $150 for a block of beer. This is despite the ban on full strength take-away alcohol in the area since 2007.

    This post from Yahoo News explains further:

    Fitzroy Crossing police are targeting illegal home bottle shops after alcohol was seized from a house in the Junjuwa community last week.

    Officers executed a search warrant on the home and uncovered 52 bottles of bourbon, 21 bottles of wine, 14 bottles of scotch, four bottles of rum and seven blocks of beer throughout the house.

    Sen. Sgt Andrew Stevens said the homeowners were charging $100 for a bottle of spirits and $150 for a block of beer.

    A ban on full-strength takeaway alcohol came into force in Fitzroy Crossing in 2007.

    Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/18767879/police-seize-alcohol-from-home-bottle-shop/

    One of the reasons why home bottle stores are so bad for the community is because in addition to not adhering to tax laws, these operators are not adhering to Responsible Service of Alcohol laws.

    Regulation of these illegal shops is impossible so they can sell alcohol to minors, to alcoholics or drunk customers and can cause violence to erupt in the community without authorities having any means of recourse if they do not know where these illegal home shops are being run.

    This community was noted for alcohol fuelled problems which is why a ban on full strength take-away alcohol was implemented in the first place and any positive change seen by this ban is often erased by unscrupulous illegal traders, taking advantage of members of the community by charging exorbitant prices for alcohol.

    There is a reason why it is so important that people who serve or sell alcohol are trained to do so, it is so that the community is not harmed by this. This is precisely why Australian legislation dictates that anyone who sells or serves alcohol complete the Responsible Service of Alcohol course.

    The course covers the following important topics

    1. An introduction to RSA – teaching you the principles of serving alcohol responsibly.
    2. RSA legislation – covering the skills and knowledge necessary to sell or serve alcohol according to NSW legislation. Here you will learn about the legal requirements of RSA.
    3. The impact of alcohol – including the risks to your patrons, including long-term health problems, associated with alcohol consumption. You will also learn how alcohol impacts on personal and community health.
    4. The section on RSA strategies will provide you with a range of skills that will help you to comply with the requirements of the liquor laws.  This section helps workers practically apply what they have learnt by looking at role plays demonstrating best practice in RSA strategies.

     

     

  • RSA Training: Serving Alcohol to Minors – The Implications

    According to an article on www.thechronicle.com.au young drinkers that are dependent upon alcohol (in other words have an alcohol addiction) are nearly 10 times more likely to have had 10 or more sexual partners within several years than people who do not have an alcohol problem. The article was quoting a new study published in the journal “Drug and Alcohol Dependence” by author Dr Joseph Boden amongst others.

    Although the survey was conducting on New Zealand youth, the culture of binge drinking among young people is comparable to Australia’s.

    The new study shows that these young people are also nine times more likely to have committed violent offences than young people who have no alcohol abuse issues. The implication of this is great because it shows that quite a number of juvenile and violent young offenders are most likely to be misusing alcohol and if we remove alcohol from this equation, the young adult crime rate could drop by as much as 47 per cent.

    The research was conducted at the Otago University in Christchurch, New Zealand involving more than 1000 people who were part of the long term study.

    Read an excerpt from a post on www.thechronicle.com.au which explains more about the survey:

    The study’s authors, including Dr Joseph Boden, estimate in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence that the elimination of all alcohol misuse could reduce the young adult crime rate by up to 47 per cent.

    The research, from Otago University at Christchurch, is based on interviews with around 1000 members of a long-term study who were born in the city in 1977.

    The alcohol study draws on answers from when they were aged 21, 25 and 30.

    Five per cent met the clinical criteria for alcohol addiction. Up to a quarter had problems with alcohol that were less serious but still affected their daily life to some extent.

    Dr Boden said much alcohol research focused on the impact on teenagers – “because they do the most drinking, it peaks at age 21 and drops after that.

    Our study shows these adverse effects are occurring up to the age of 30″.

    He said earlier research by his group had indicated the risks of hazardous drinking patterns were now stretching further into adult life because of New Zealand’s trend of delaying parenthood, which now on average started in the early 30s.

    “It shows people are living this extended adolescence.

    Source: http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/multiple-partners-linked-alcohol-comnsumption/2008849/

    With people attempting to prolong their youth they are also doing a lot of partying which means doing the same things they did when they were younger such as binge drinking.  As people delay parenthood they are able to be more irresponsible because as the post explains, “parenthood knocks this stuff right out of people- the drinking, the drugging.” They normally don’t clean up their acts unless they have to.

    Dr Boden went on to explain that alcohol law changes passed by NZ Parliament last December were weak and didn’t sufficiently address the problem.

    New Zealand’s councils have been warned to take note of the survey’s findings in light of the new local policies they are currently developing.

     

     

  • Parents Supplying Teens with Alcohol under NSW Laws

    An article on Illawarra Mercury’s website recently discussed the NSW law which allows parents to supply alcohol to their children and supply alcohol to the children’s friends with their parent’s permission.

    Under the current law in the state, parents can provide alcohol to the kids and authorise other adults to give their children alcohol.

    A NSW mother, Fiona Morgan speaks about the importance of weighing the issue, even though she would not give alcohol to her son Adam, her 15 year old son however she did agree with the law in principle.

    She went on to explain in the post on www.Illawarramercury.com.au

    “If it comes through parents and permission is being provided, you know what and how much they’re drinking,” she said.

    “If not, kids will get alcohol elsewhere and it won’t be in a controlled environment, and that’s when it gets dangerous.”

    The NSW Legislative Committee on Social Policy is conducting an inquiry into the appropriateness of laws relating to provision of alcohol to minors, with the hot-button issue being the ability of parents to either directly supply, or allow another adult to supply, their children with alcohol.

    Lance Barrie, research manager at the University of Wollongong’s Centre for Health Initiatives, said the issue of “secondary supply” was one of the biggest problems around minors and alcohol.

    “In NSW, there is no limit on the amount of alcohol that can be supplied,” he said.

    “NSW has better laws than some other states but they could definitely be tightened up.”

    Read more at: http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1636606/teen-drinking-should-parents-be-allowed-to-supply-alcohol/?cs=12

    According to the National Health and Medical Research Council it is best that parents delay drinking among their teens for as long as possible for their health and safety, especially because of its effect on their developing brains and nervous system.

    Some of the worst case scenarios that can result from teen drinking is binge drinking, drink driving and unsafe sex which is why abstinence is best for teenagers. Not only are teens at risk of teenage pregnancy, contracting STDs, being involved in drink driving crashes and other violence but they are also damaging their health which could have long term consequences.

    How does this NSW law regarding teenage drinking affect RSA Staff?

    The fact of the matter is that anyone employed in a licenced venue should not be serving alcohol to minors and may be at risk of receiving a fine of up to $11,000 and possible jail time for breaking this law.

    A person must not obtain liquor from licensed premises on behalf of a minor unless the person is the parent or guardian of the minor. Anyone who fails to adhere to this law may receive an $11,000 fine or 12 months imprisonment (or both). They are also at risk of receiving an on-the-spot fine of $1,100.

    Parents, while it’s difficult to prevent teenagers from experimenting with alcohol, you can encourage sensible drinking habits, especially if you are going provide them the alcohol.

     

  • NZ Alcoholic Couple Neglects Children

    The consequences of alcoholism has been highlighted by an incident which happened in New Zealand recently, the incident highlights the importance of Responsible Service of Alcohol because RSA staff play an important role in denying alcohol to people who demonstrate a drinking problem – to avoid incidents such as this one.

    A NZ couple reportedly neglected their 4 children by failing to provide them with food and medical care but rather prioritised alcohol, drugs and parties. Police arrested the parents for their neglect who placed having a good time ahead of taking care of their 4 children.

    The parents were subsequently sentenced to community service and intensive supervision for neglecting their children, all of whom are under five years old.

    This sad and shocking story was reported by News.com.au as follows:

    In January, police found the children, all under five, at a Hutt Valley home, unkempt, hungry and sick with skin sores that required hospitalisation.

    Police were alerted by concerned neighbours who saw children running out on to the street unsupervised during a party.

    On arrival, police found the adults extremely intoxicated and aggressive in a “fairly chaotic scene”.

    “This was not an issue of poverty for this family, these parents simply prioritised alcohol, drugs and parties ahead of the needs of their children,” Hutt Valley Inspector Mike Hill said.

    Both parents pleaded guilty to four charges of neglect, one for each child, in May.

    On Monday, Judge Susan Thomas sentenced the father to six months of community detention, between the hours of 7pm and 6am, along with 80 hours of community work and 18 months of intensive supervision.

    Source: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/parents-neglected-kids-for-alcohol-police/story-e6frfkui-1226672472853

    The mother was arrested and sentenced to 160 hours of community work and 18 hours of intensive supervision. Both mother and father must also undertake intensive drug, alcohol, parenting and budgeting courses.

    The young children, ages 4,3,2 and seven months were extremely neglected and being so young were obviously not able to take care of themselves. Despite the young age of the children, the home contained no baby formula or food for the children, there was also no beds or furniture for them to sleep on.

    Unsurprisingly the kids were removed from their parent’s custody. It is sad that innocent children suffer because of the irresponsibility of parents. But this inability of many adults to control how much they drink is one of the reasons why Responsible Service of Alcohol training is so important.

    Often once people become intoxicated they cannot control themselves, this leads to excessive drinking as well as a plethora of other consequences such as violence, medical conditions and alcoholism as well as the decline of the family unit.

    If staff of licenced venues pay more attention to their patrons and begin enforcing RSA rules more closely, we should see a decline in alcoholism and alcohol misconduct.

    Responsible service of alcohol training teaches workers how to identify intoxicated patrons and how to deal with them. It also teaches RSA staff the consequences they and their employer may face if RSA laws are breached.

     

     

  • Liquor and Gaming Laws in NSW under Review

    The government of New South Wales have called for public submissions on liquor and gaming laws under review. A government official recently announced that the review would report on the public consultation process.

    The review will be tabled in parliament late this year and will assess whether the liquor laws introduced in 2008 are effective at the moment, including consideration of whether increased penalties, new offences, expanded regulatory powers etc. are continuously effective.

    TheShout.com.au reported on the NSW liquor and gaming law review:

    The New South Wales Government has called for public submissions as part of five-year statutory reviews of the Liquor Act 2007 and the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007.

    Minister for Hospitality George Souris on Friday said the review will report on the public consultation process and is to be tabled in Parliament by December 13 this year.

    “The new liquor laws introduced in July 2008 represented the biggest change in quarter of a century and this review will go a long way to assessing their effectiveness,” he said.

    Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2013/07/10/article/NSW-reviewing-liquor-and-gaming-laws/STMPZOPGGY.html

    The post went on to describe the changes that were made to the laws in 2008 aimed at reducing alcohol harm among the community including the establishment of a liquor licensing body to replace the previous system which was court-based. The post goes on to explain:

    “Those changes included increased penalties, new offences, expanded regulatory powers, a Community Impact Statement process for liquor licence applications and establishment of an administrative-based liquor licensing body to replace the previous court-based system.”

    Souris said the review will be led by Michael Foggo, a lawyer and Commissioner of the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing for three years before retiring from that position four years ago.

    Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2013/07/10/article/NSW-reviewing-liquor-and-gaming-laws/STMPZOPGGY.html

    The review which will take its course over the next 5 years attempts to ensure that the policy objectives and terms of the legislation are still as valid today as they were when they were implemented and allow the community to voice their opinions on relevant issues.

    The post on TheShout.com.au goes onto explain:

    Submissions should be sent via email to [email protected] or sent to:

    Statutory Reviews

    Policy & Strategy, NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing

    GPO Box 7060

    SYDNEY NSW 2001

    The final date for submissions is August 30, 2013.

    Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2013/07/10/article/NSW-reviewing-liquor-and-gaming-laws/STMPZOPGGY.html

    While the laws governing liquor and gaming may change, one aspect which is unlikely to change is Responsible Service of Alcohol laws.

    RSA law dictates that every worker in a licenced venue needs to undergo specific RSA training to enable them to serve alcohol according to liquor laws in their state. The basic rules of RSA include not serving alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age- 18 and not serving alcohol to unduly intoxicated patrons.

    Workers already in the industry who have not yet undergone this training or others wishing to enter the industry can register and complete the course online from the comfort and convenience of their home. Simply visit our homepage for more information on how to register.

     

  • Dutch Have New Unorthodox Way of Dealing with Alcoholics

    An interesting new method of dealing with problem drinkers has emerged from The Hague. A volunteer organisation in Amsterdam has found a new, totally unorthodox method of dealing with alcohol addicts who steer up trouble in public areas by providing them with beer in exchange for them cleaning up public spaces.

    It appears the problem of alcohol addicts spending their days in public parks has gotten out of hand in the city which is why these addicts are being gather in community centres for a day of work, cleaning up the parks and are rewarded with a beer with which to start their day.

    An excerpt from a report on http://news.xinhuanet.com explains:

    It is 9 a.m. and Tom can’t wait to have another beer. Tom is one of the first alcohol addicts today who gather at the community center for another day of work. And while most workdays in the Netherlands start with a fine cup of coffee, he and the others team members start their day of work with a can of tepid beer.

    Tom a member of the special cleaning force composed of 19 alcohol addicts. While most of them used to cause trouble in the neighborhood by being publicly drunk and shout at people, now they pick up the rubbish from the bushes. The reward for their public service is beer.

    “That cupboard over there is our treasury,” Tom says while pointing at the large cupboard behind the round table. The storeroom is ceiling-stuffed with beers and Tom impatiently gazes at the six-packs piled up to the top.

    “Here you are,” team leader Gerrie says, distributing one can for each worker in the room, while accurately ticking off the names on the list.

    Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-08/24/c_132659967.htm

    It is unlikely that such an approach would ever be adopted by other nations but what exactly is the reasoning behind the strange approach?

    Well apparently it is a way of providing structure to these drinkers’ days which would normally just be wasted drinking in the park.

    The initiative focuses rather on exchanging drinker’s work with 5 cans of beer, a warm meal, a tobacco pack and 10 euros for each day’s work. These people are finally being reached despite numerous attempts. There are around 82,000 alcohol addicts in the Netherlands and every year almost 30,000 people with an alcohol problem are treated.

    In the Netherlands there are numerous professional treatment facilities available for problem drinkers with an emphasis placed on early intervention and outpatient treatment.

    Most participants of the programme have experience living on the street and many of them have serious health issues which costs the economy millions. So giving alcohol does not sound like a responsible thing to do in the first place but Dutch counsellors believe their method is effective, having experienced a positive change in the last year from these methods.

     

  • Sobering Up Centres opened in Sydney to Crack down on Alcohol-fuelled Violence

    In an attempt to crackdown on alcohol related violence the New South Wales government have opened the first of its “drunk tanks”.

    Police in Sydney’s CBD and Randwick were the first to start operating the tanks last week. But drinkers and visitors to entertainment districts do not need to fear, the centres are reserved exclusively for violent or nuisance drunks, so those who are ‘well behaved’ have no need to worry about being locked up.

    Those who should be concerned are people who are intoxicated in a public place, refuse to move on direction by police and behave in an anti-social manner that may endanger themselves or others. These people will be detained and kept in a drunk tank (or sobering up centre).

    The first night of the sobering up centres resulted in 5 men aged from their late teens to early twenties being locked up and fined $200 each before being released the next morning.

    The tough new conditions were spurred on by the death of a teenager in July last year. Thomas Kelly’s death in Sydney’s Kings Cross District resulted in a range of new regulations including a ban on the sale of shots after midnight. The teenager was hit while walking in the district with his girlfriend last year and died in hospital a few days later.

    In the wake of the new sobering up centres, the State Government also announced further legislation to curb alcohol-related violence, including bans for disorderly behaviour, ID card scanners and greater supervision at high-risk venues.

     

  • Liquor News: Danger of Home-brews

    Calls for a Review of Laws Relating to Home-Distilled Alcohol and Public Health Warning Issued

    A public health warning has been issued about the dangers of drinking home-made spirits, which often contains dangerous amounts of methanol which can prove fatal.

    According to media reports, the Tasmanian Government has said it is considering changes to laws relating to home-brewed alcohol following the death of 2 men in the state.

    These 2 fatalities are the latest in a serious of deaths caused by drinking toxic, home-brewed alcohol. Another 3 men recently died in Victoria after drinking grappa made in their garage.

    Police are currently waiting for the toxicology reports to confirm that the 2 men who died were in fact poisoned by home-distilled liquor.

    The latest 2 victims were a 54 year old and a 49 year old man who passed away in the St Helens area, prompting the state government to issue its statement that it would review the current legislation relating to home-made alcohol. The 2 men drank the home distilled alcohol mixed with a soft drink which may have masked it’s poisonous smell and taste.

    The following excerpt from an article posted on Abc.net.au explained further,

    The Tasmanian Attorney General Brian Wightman says while laws relating to moonshine are a federal matter, he would consider working to tighten any potential loopholes.

    “About any legislative amendments that may be required,” he said.

    “We have two people who have lost their lives, it’s an incredibly sad time.”

    While owning a small still in Australia is not illegal, making alcohol with it can attract big fines or a jail term.

    The Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus says it is a matter for the Tax Office, which enforces alcohol laws.

    Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-30/alcohol-experts-call-for-education-on-home-distilled-alcohol/4924426

    The aim of the public health warning is warn home distillers about the potential risks of making alcohol at home. It is vitally important that people know what they are doing and do their research, which was the warning from experts. People who consume home-made alcohol should be vigilant and report to a hospital if they begin to feel ill after drinking a home brew. It is important that people with alcohol poisoning get early treatment to avoid death.

    The problem with home-made alcohol is Methanol. Methanol needs to be removed, it is a toxic by-product and causes blindness and death in humans with just 100mls of consumption.

    The police are currently investigating the death of the 2 men last week and will determine the alcohol content of the milky white spirit consumed by a number of residents in St Helens. Apparently at least a dozen other people consumed the alcohol in the area and one man was apparently making it and safely consuming it for years.

    The post on Abc.net.au goes on to explain more about the investigation,

    “Our preliminary work has indicated that these two gentlemen did have contact with an address where there was some homemade or some home-brewed spirits and whether they drank those spirits is unconfirmed at this stage but it is forming part of our investigation,” he said.

    One of the men, aged 54, died on Monday, while a second man, aged 49, died on Wednesday.

    One of the men is understood to have collapsed outside a St Helens shopping centre on Wednesday, and the other died at home earlier this week.

    The ABC understands one of the men who died was making the spirits out of potato skins and sharing it with a small group of friends for a couple of years.

    Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-30/alcohol-experts-call-for-education-on-home-distilled-alcohol/4924426

     

  • Alcohol News: Concern over Social Media Promotion of Alcohol to Minors

    Australian Researchers have expressed their concern about the promotion of alcohol products to young people using social network platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook. The study is published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.

    The concerns were raised after researchers from the University of Western Sydney tracked the tweets of various global alcohol brands over a period of 6 months. Researchers discovered that the original tweets sent out by these brands were then re-tweeted to larger audiences, increasing the risk of it being seen by minors.

    Researchers are also concerned that the use of hash-tags was increasing the risk by linking the alcohol promotions to popular social events.

    The following excerpt explains:

    Australian researchers say alcohol brands are using Twitter to promote their products to a young and potentially underage audience.

    A research team from the University of Western Sydney tracked the tweets of various global alcohol brands – including Corona, Heineken, Smirnoff and Jack Daniels – for six months.

    It found their initial tweets were often re-tweeted to a much larger audience which increased the risk of them being seen by users aged under 18.

    It also found the use of hashtags increased the audience by attaching the alcohol promotions to popular social events such as concerts.

    Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-02/alcohol-brands-using-twitter-to-promote-product-to-underage-aud/4928530

    The article went on to quote one of the authors of the study who said that she believes tougher restrictions should be implemented for alcohol promotion. Twitter has been a particularly useful and beneficial platform for these alcohol brands to promote their products and because it is relatively new, we may have initial problems with regulation. The researchers found the promotion of some brands more problematic than others, such as Budweiser.

    The co-author of the study, Dr Ann Dadich said that greater regulation needs to be instated for alcohol promotions, she went on to explain,

    “There’s quite a large young demographic that is using Twitter, a number of people may be thinking, ‘well it’s too difficult to manage this’,” she said.

    “Twitter is a relatively new platform for companies, and what we found is that it seems to be quite an efficient way to promote their wares.

    “In addition to their direct audience, they’re obviously getting that secondary audience as well.”

    Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-02/alcohol-brands-using-twitter-to-promote-product-to-underage-aud/4928530

    According to researchers who pinpointed Budweiser’s social media promotions as particularly threatening mentioned that during the 6 month study, the company sent 286 tweets to its followers- numbering more than 15,000. Their tweets were then re-tweeted 13,523 times.

    There have been numerous calls for more regulation of this type of alcohol promotion including one from the executive officer of the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association, Sam Biondo who has called for the loophole to be addressed. The post went on to explain:

    “You’ve got to question how we’ve allowed things to get to the point it has,” he said.

    “And we really do need to have a community debate, governments need to look at these issues, because it’s really, it is having an impact.

    Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-02/alcohol-brands-using-twitter-to-promote-product-to-underage-aud/4928530

     

  • Alcohol Legislation to address abuse in the Pilbara

    Pilbara is one of those places that is battling to come to terms with alcohol abuse and its effects on the community. I recently came across an article on Abc.net.au which discussed the problem and why legislation is being passed which would prohibit some communities from obtaining alcohol at all.

    The article explained the damage done by alcohol from the perspective of a chief executive of the Bloodwood Tree Association, Bon Neville. Neville in the article explains how his organisation sees at least 80 people a week coming in to use the sobering up service which he runs. The organisation offers drug and alcohol counselling to the community by a team of dedicated community service workers. Some of the communities the organisation offers their services to are Yandeyarra, Marble Bar and Warralong.

    Services such as the Bloodwood Tree Associated are much needed because the level of alcohol abuse in Pilbara has been described as alarming, the reason for the new legislation.

    According to a report that was released last year, alcohol was shown to be a factor in nearly 77 per cent of all domestic assaults in the West Pilbara. The report also indicated that Pilbara residents were almost 3 times more likely to be involved in an assault (presumably related to alcohol) than people in other parts of the state. The problem of drivers driving over the legal alcohol limit was also a huge problem in the area.

    Not only were the people in the region more liable to sustain immediate harm, the report showed they were also twice as likely to be diagnosed with alcohol liver cirrhosis and 3 times more likely to have a stroke.

    The report’s release resulted in new liquor restrictions being impose on 18 towns in the region.

    The article also went on to explain that new legislation may soon be passed which would change things in the remote Warralong settlement which would make it an alcohol-free community. The legislation would dictate that the residents of the town would not be able to consume, possess or supply alcohol within a 20km radius of the settlement. These changes could come into effect as soon as the end of this month.

    The article on Abc.net.au went on to explain:

    The former officer-in-charge of the nearby Marble Bar police station Sergeant Peter Vale, says he was approached about a year ago by concerned elders in Warralong who were already imposing the restrictions themselves.

    He says the number of police call-outs has already dropped since then.

    “There were all sorts of issues, mainly alcohol issues, a number of assaults, woundings and things like that where people were getting intoxicated and females were getting bashed by their partners and sometimes fairly serious offences,” he said.

    “If there was alcohol in the community, it was very difficult to control.

    “It was just mayhem out there with drunks walking around everywhere and kids not being looked after or not going to school.

    “I believe it’s definitely reduced the amount of violence and domestic violence occurring.”

    Mr Waldron says if the Governor, Malcolm McCusker, signs off on the legislation, Warralong could officially be dry by the end of the month.

    Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-06/election-live3a-the-final-day/4939722