Alcohol consumption is widespread within Australia and entwined with many social and cultural activities. It is also a major health issue and associated with both health risks and social harms (AIHW 2018, 2021b, WHO 2023). Alcohol is the 5th leading risk factor contributing to disease burden in Australia. Around 4.5% of premature death and ill health was due to alcohol consumption in 2018 (AIHW 2021a).
Australia has guidelines for alcohol consumption to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol, with the key principle being; the less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol (NHMRC 2020).
Using data on locations of licensed alcohol outlets, this report presents findings on access to alcohol outlets across small geographic areas (SA2) of the 6 Australian States (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania). Data was not available for the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory at the time of this study.
This work is important, as being able to purchase alcohol within a short distance of the home is one factor that may result in people being more likely to experience the negative outcomes associated with alcohol such as injuries, violence, and chronic disease health risks. These maps will help understand access to alcohol in an area – that is, how close and how many outlets there are – and this information can be used to inform public health and urban planning decisions and support service delivery to address and reduce the risks and harms from alcohol consumption.
This report also includes an additional analysis of data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2019 for people living in Capital city areas (SA1) to demonstrate how geographic data can be used in combination with health data. This method investigates the relationship between distance to the closest alcohol outlet and risk of harm from risky drinking and experiencing an alcohol-related incident like verbal or physical abuse from someone under the influence of alcohol.
Key findings
Density and access to alcohol outlets varies across selected Australian states, but there are some similarities:
- Density and access to alcohol outlets varies across the selected Australian states, but there are some similarities:
- The number of alcohol outlets in small geographic areas (SA2) is highest in the Capital city central business districts of all states.
- Small geographic areas (SA2) with more than 20 alcohol outlets per 1,000 adults are more likely to be in Capital city areas than non-capital city areas (in all states except Tas).
- The central business districts of all states (except Perth in WA) have more than 20 alcohol outlets per 1,000 adults.
- Among small geographic areas (SA2) with the highest access to alcohol outlets (as measured by an accessibility index), 3 out of 4 are in Capital city areas.
- Across the 6 Australian states included in the study, at the SA1 level, about 3 in 5 people (59%) are estimated to live within 1 kilometre by road of an alcohol outlet, with 1 in 10 (11%) living within 250 metres of an alcohol outlet.
- For people living in Capital city areas, almost 2 in 3 (65%) are estimated to live within 1 kilometre by road of an alcohol outlet and 1 in 8 (12%) within 250 metres, compared with 1 in 2 (49%) and 1 in 13 (7.7%) for Non-capital city areas.
Using a subset of data for people living in Capital city areas (SA1) from the AIHW National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2019:
- People aged 14 and over in Capital city areas who are estimated to live within 250 metres of an alcohol outlet by road are more likely to have experienced alcohol-related risks and harms compared with people in Capital city areas living further away:
- More than 1 in 3 people (37%) exceeded Guideline 1 and drank alcohol in ways that increase the risk of alcohol-related disease or injury, compared with 26%–30% for people living further away.
- 1 in 4 people (25%) experienced an alcohol-related incident like verbal or physical abuse from someone under the influence of alcohol, compared with 12%–22% for those living further away.
Explore interactive data visualisations and maps
For summary findings and information about the measures see:
Or explore the maps using the links below.
