KEY ISSUES OF PUBLIC INTEREST
SELLING ALCOHOL RESPONSIBLY
Principle 1
The product should not have the potential to appeal to minors.
Principle 2
The product should not have an appearance that could potentially lead to confusion with confectionery or soft drinks.
Principle 3
The product should not have an appearance which may lead to confusion about its alcoholic nature or strength.
Principle 4
The products should not draw any association with drug culture, narcotics or other illicit drugs or drug paraphernalia.
Principle 5
The product should not encourage illegal or immoderate consumption such as binge drinking, drunkenness or drink-driving.
Principle 6
The product should not suggest any association with dangerous, violent, aggressive, or antisocial behaviour.
Principle 7
The product should not suggest that consumption can lead to social, sporting or sexual success or popularity.
Principle 8
The product should not feature imagery or language that could be deemed offensive on cultural, religious, ethnic or gender grounds.
Principle 9
The product should not suggest that any physical or mental health benefit can be obtained by consumption.
We acknowledge that the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverage products brings with it considerable responsibilities. Many of these obligations are defined by legislation that seeks to protect individuals and society from harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
Alcohol consumption is ultimately an issue of individual responsibility. However, as a responsible retailer of alcoholic beverages, we go beyond regulatory compliance and abide by a strict buying charter that governs all aspects of our liquor operations. Any alcoholic or alcohol branded product (such as branded chocolate, chips or soft drinks) submitted for potential sale by any buyer within the Woolworths Liquor Group must first be benchmarked against a checklist, and any product failing to meet these guidelines will be removed. The charter includes nine principles that aim to avoid the sale of any products that appeal to minors, encourage inappropriate drinking practices or make inappropriate associations.
These practices send a strong message to the community and manufacturers that products that target minors and encourage illegal drinking are not welcome in our stores.
Responsibility at our stores
Preventing sale of alcohol to underage customers and to people who are supplying them is one of the challenges facing our 8,000 staff working in licensed premises.
To help our staff make the right decisions we have implemented our ID25 policy, which requires staff to ask for identification when customers appear to be aged 25 or younger. This reduces the guesswork and potential stress for staff while helping to ensure we only sell to customers of legal age.
This policy has been incorporated into our Responsible Service of Alcohol training for all staff. Prominent in-store signage supports the program.
Responsible Service of Gaming
The ALH Group is committed to providing responsible gaming in our venues. We acknowledge that problem gambling is a serious community issue and that a small proportion of customers are harmed by their gambling activities.
ALH complies with all applicable responsible gambling legislative requirements in each state. ALH participates in many state and local government gambling working groups to assist in identifying and developing appropriate responsible gambling initiatives.
All ALH gaming staff are trained in the Responsible Service of Gambling. The ALH Group has engaged David Schwarz, a well known former AFL footballer and media identity, as its Responsible Gambling Ambassador to provide employee education and customer awareness about the importance of “being honest with yourself about your gambling”.
David has completed an accredited Responsible Service of Gambling course and will provide additional support to existing state-based initiatives.
Key elements of the program include:
- State venue manager and staff meetings covering David’s personal experiences and learnings with the aim of assisting our staff in interacting with problem gamblers. ALH invites interested community groups, welfare agencies and local government representatives to many of these meetings.
- Venue posters and other material highlighting the importance of “being honest with yourself about your gambling”.
- Working with ALH management to further identify opportunities where we can proactively assist those who have a problem with their gambling.
David’s role includes being available for our staff to discuss any gambling problems they or their families and friends may be experiencing.
Responsibility in the community
Woolworths has always been a willing and conscientious participant in efforts by state and territory police, local councils and community groups to tackle problem drinking. We have voluntarily introduced a range of measures (above the license requirements) to assist local communities to better manage alcohol related issues. These have included removing types of “long-neck” beer and wine casks (especially in the Northern Territory), reducing trading hours, removing of glass products in specific locations, and working with the federal government proactively on the intervention program.