Draft decision to authorise Queensland liquor accord

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today made a draft decision to grant conditional authorisation for a pro-forma liquor accord arrangement in Queensland for three years.

Liquor accords are agreements signed between licensed premises and local authorities which aim to deal with harm resulting from alcohol abuse.

The pro-forma liquor accord arrangement proposed by the State of Queensland acting through the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation includes a range of measures such as some limited restrictions on discounting and on the supply of certain drinks.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the ACCC recognises the benefit in empowering local communities to deal with the important issue of alcohol abuse.

"The ACCC considers that the measures proposed are likely to assist in efforts to reduce violence and other alcohol-related harms in and around drinking venues in Queensland," Mr Samuel said.

The ACCC considers the restrictions in the pro-forma accord arrangement are likely to have some effect on price and consumer choice.  However, the ACCC believes these issues are likely to be limited by the fact that the restrictions will be confined in their operation to drinking venues in areas where there are relevant identified harms. Further, participating in an accord will be voluntary and the terms of each accord will be non-binding.

To further minimise any detriment from the arrangement, the ACCC proposes to grant authorisation subject to a number of conditions including a requirement on accord bodies to measure harms and provide relevant documentation to the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation.

The ACCC may authorise this type of arrangement when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment. Authorisation provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

The ACCC now invites comments on the draft determination. The ACCC's draft determination and information about making a submission will be available from the ACCC website, www.accc.gov.au/AuthorisationsRegister and by following the links to this matter.  Parties wishing to make submissions should do so by 2 September 2010.