During COVID-19 lockdowns, Australian governments made a catastrophic decision. They “eased” liquor licensing laws as supposed temporary economic relief. The alcohol industry seized the opportunity and never let go.

Online alcohol sales exploded 400% between 2012 and 2022. The industry now turns over $2 billion annually. Every Australian carries a bottle shop in their pocket. Buy-now buttons sit alongside targeted ads. Alcohol home delivery arrives within hours—sometimes within minutes.

New research from the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, The University of Queensland, and The George Institute for Global Health confirms what prevention advocates have been warning about: Australians at highest risk of alcohol harm are being deliberately targeted through home alcohol delivery platforms. The alcohol industry and the Australian Hoteliers Association know this. They profit from it. They do nothing to stop it.

High-risk drinkers consume approximately 80% of all alcohol products sold in Australia. They are not collateral damage. They are the business model.

COVID Protections Weaponised for Profit

Governments introduced “contactless delivery” to control COVID-19 transmission. A public health measure. The alcohol industry converted it into a permanent harm delivery system.

Delivery services now piggyback on bricks-and-mortar liquor licences. Platforms engage independent contractors with their own ABNs. Three separate entities now operate under one licence that was never designed for this arrangement: the retailer, the delivery platform, and the driver.

The sale occurs in an unlicensed space—someone’s home. None of the protections that exist in physical venues apply. The regulatory framework has collapsed entirely.

The Numbers Don’t Lie About Online Alcohol Delivery

A national survey of over 2,000 Australians reveals the scale of the problem. More than a third of people who consumed alcohol in the past year had it delivered to their homes. Of those deliveries, 39% arrived within two hours.

For Australians likely experiencing alcohol dependency, the targeting intensifies. Fifty-five per cent were sold alcohol for rapid delivery, compared to 24% of low-risk drinkers. This is not accidental. This is algorithmic precision.

Four people with lived experience of alcohol use shared their testimonies with Cancer Council WA and the Alcohol and Other Drug Consumer & Community Coalition. Their identities are protected through anonymised initials. Their words expose the reality.

One person, referred to as C, was direct: “It’s a dangerous thing, and my view is, it should not be allowed. With my history around alcohol and other drugs—a feature such as home delivery—I can’t stand behind, or support this type of service in my community.”

The Trap: How Alcohol Home Delivery Keeps People Drinking

R, now in recovery, described what home alcohol delivery enabled: “I found it wonderful when I was a practising alcoholic. I didn’t have to leave the house and be sober enough to go to the bottle shop. I could wake up still intoxicated and just order alcohol for the day online. When I was close to running out, I would just order more. I would pay extra for a shorter delivery window.”

R continued: “I was able to remain intoxicated for a few days in a row. So, now that I do not consume alcohol, I think it is dangerous and keeps the person in a state of active addiction if they are addicted. It’s just too easy to access. With online ordering, you get deals making it more tempting to order large quantities. Also, once you use the online ordering, you get advertisements coming into your email inbox, making it too tempting.”

The cycle is deliberate. First purchase adds you to the marketing database. Promotional emails flood your inbox. Bulk discounts encourage larger orders. Shorter delivery windows enable continuous intoxication without leaving home.

Another respondent, J, survived heroin and methamphetamine addiction. Alcohol nearly killed them: “I have been up the heroin highway and through meth mountain, but alcohol was the thing that crushed me—if I had the ability at that time to use online home delivery—I would be dead.”

T identified how online alcohol sales bypass existing safeguards: “It provides easier access to alcohol for people who would otherwise be refused service at a liquor store or pub.”

Advertising Collapsed Into Sales

One-third of people who had alcohol home delivery clicked through directly from an online advertisement. For those likely experiencing alcohol dependency, this jumped to 51%.

Buy-now buttons. Shop-now links. Push notifications demanding immediate purchase. The separation between advertising and sales has been eliminated. With it went any space for protective decision-making.

Food delivery platforms—UberEats, Menulog, Deliveroo—now function as alcohol distribution channels. Twenty-five per cent of participants had alcohol delivered through these apps. Fifty-three per cent saw alcohol advertisements whilst browsing for meals. For people at high risk of alcohol dependency, 39% saw these advertisements often or always.

Sixty-eight per cent of people using food delivery apps expressed concern about alcohol advertising being targeted at them on these platforms.

The Body Count

This is not theoretical harm. People are dying.

In the Australian Capital Territory:

• Alcohol-induced deaths sit at their highest level in 10 years
• One person dies every five days due to alcohol
• Thirty-two people are hospitalised every week

These deaths occurred whilst online alcohol sales expanded alongside the national trend.

People with lived experience describe poverty, domestic violence, injury, alcohol poisoning, and suicidal ideation as direct consequences of online alcohol home delivery.

J captured the psychological dimension: “You can’t have a feeling without a thought when you see alcohol everywhere. It makes it harder to change your thoughts and feelings. It makes it harder for people who are struggling.”

C described watching “people order alcohol until they die.”

Responsible Service of Alcohol Does Not Exist Online

T, another person with lived experience, asked the obvious question: “If liquor stores, bottle shops and bars require staff to have RSA qualifications to serve alcohol then it should not be able to be ordered online where there is no such regulation to protect people from the detrimental effects of alcohol.”

In licensed premises, staff refuse service to intoxicated patrons. They monitor consumption. They face penalties for serving minors. Online sales have none of these protections.

The Alcohol & Drug Foundation reviewed delivery compliance. The results confirm complete regulatory failure:

• 28% of delivery drivers failed to check identity
• One in 10 drivers reported no protection from penalisation when refusing delivery
• One in 10 drivers were penalised by employers for refusing delivery
• Drivers face abuse and intimidation from intoxicated customers

The loopholes are being exploited systematically. Customers order alcohol for delivery to office buildings, beaches, and other public spaces—circumventing even minimal home delivery requirements. Gift purchases provide another workaround. Contactless delivery means no face-to-face verification whatsoever.

They Called Us Extremists. We Were Right.

For decades, prevention advocates were dismissed as wowsers—temperance fanatics out of touch with Australian culture. The alcohol industry weaponised that label. So did their political allies.

Turns out WOWSER means something: We Only Want Social Evils Rectified.

When groups pushed back against unfettered alcohol availability creeping through Australian communities, they were marginalised. Called extreme for suggesting that perhaps not everyone needs to drink. Ridiculed for pointing out that alcohol is still the most troublesome drug in our culture.

The industry playbook hasn’t changed. Label prevention advocacy as extremist. Dismiss evidence-based policy as wowserism. Keep profiting from harm whilst claiming any regulation threatens “personal freedom.”

But communities of practice formed anyway. Groups like Cancer Council and the Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education built the evidence base. The National Alliance for Action on Alcohol—now Alcohol Change Australia—created coalitions. Submissions to government on secondary supply laws, outdoor advertising, FASD, warning labels. Years of work.

Now the latest crisis: online alcohol marketing and home delivery. This is creating harms reminiscent of Australia’s worst past alcohol cultural manifestations. The difference? This time the evidence is overwhelming. The community support is undeniable. The death toll is measurable.

The so-called extremists were right all along.

Australians Demand Action on Alcohol Home Delivery

Community support for stronger protections is overwhelming:

• 84% support independent ID checks when orders are delivered
• 83% support independent ID checks when ordering alcohol online
• 82% support protecting children’s data from being used for alcohol marketing
• 80% support health warnings on online retail websites
• 78% support health warnings on online alcohol advertisements
• 78% support prohibiting push notifications prompting alcohol purchase
• 77% support preventing companies from using personal data to target people with alcohol marketing
• 74% support alcohol not being left unattended during delivery
• 74% support buy-now-pay-later platforms not being used to purchase alcohol
• 68% have concerns about alcohol advertising targeted at them on food delivery apps
• 67% support removing buy-now buttons and direct sales links from alcohol advertisements
• 62% support alcohol deliveries not being permitted before 10am and after 10pm

Opposition ranges between 4% and 7%. The community has spoken unambiguously.

Around three-quarters of Australians support preventing digital platforms from exposing children to alcohol advertisements and data-mined targeted advertising. Almost the same proportion support government action to reduce community exposure to alcohol promotion.

The alcohol industry and the Australian Hoteliers Association ignore this. They prioritise profit.

What Must Happen Now

The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education identified evidence-based policy priorities:

• Two-hour safety pause between order and delivery to prevent impulsive consumption
• Delivery hours restricted to 10am–10pm to reduce risks of family violence and suicide
• Effective digital age verification for online alcohol sales
• Mandatory ID checks on delivery to prevent supply to children and intoxicated people
• Strict limits on data-driven push marketing
• Protection for delivery staff with specific training and liability on companies for non-compliance

The Federal Government and the South Australian Royal Commission into domestic, family and sexual violence both recommended restrictions on home alcohol delivery as essential measures for preventing gender-based violence.

Victoria introduced a Remote Sellers Packaged Liquor Licence for online alcohol sales but lacks staff for approvals and compliance enforcement. Other states introduced minor changes. Queensland and the ACT held consultations. None of it keeps pace with the unregulated chaos.

Reviews show compliance failing catastrophically. Regulations mean nothing without enforcement.

No More Excuses

The alcohol industry and the Australian Hoteliers Association built a digital infrastructure designed to maximise sales to vulnerable people. They hide behind “consumer choice” and “personal responsibility.”

Delivering unlimited alcohol to someone experiencing addiction is not responsible. Targeting push notifications at people likely experiencing alcohol dependency is not defensible. Removing every protective barrier between advertising and consumption is not acceptable.

R stated the reality plainly: “From my experience alone, I can see that it’s far too easy and dangerous to access alcohol online in copious large amounts and drink yourself to death. I know this sounds dramatic, but it’s the reality.”

C demanded action: “Community protections are extremely important—far more accountable harm minimisation strategies need to be implemented by government with stringent regulations that are reviewed regularly. The systems in place need voices like mine and others with lived experience to advocate in relation to these topics.”

Australian governments must act. Implement the two-hour safety pause. Restrict delivery hours. Ban data-driven targeting. Create real accountability for companies profiting from community harm.

The alcohol industry and the Australian Hoteliers Association must stop pretending ignorance. The evidence is overwhelming. The community demands change. How many more Australians must die before meaningful action occurs?

Additional Resource: A brief history of alcohol consumption in Australia

(Source: WRD News)