“It is well-established that increases in the availability of alcohol contributes to increases in alcohol-related violence.
Research in Melbourne has found that there is a strong association between family violence and the concentration of off licence (packaged or take-away liquor outlets in an area. The study concluded that a ten per cent increase in off-licence liquor outlets is associated with a 3.3 per cent increase in family violence. Increases in family violence were also apparent with the increase in general (pub) licences and on-premise licences. In Western Australia, a study concluded that for every 10,000 additional litres of pure alcohol sold at an off-licence liquor outlet, the risk of violence experienced in a residential setting increased by 26 per cent.”
“There is also some research demonstrating the effects of changes to trading hours on family violence specifically. An evaluation of interventions in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory (NT) found that restricted hotel opening hours and restrictions on take-away sales on Thursdays led to a decline in admission to women’s refuges.
FARE, ‘National framework for action to prevent alcohol-related family violence’, June 2015, page 17.