Last month, the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney and the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) at Curtin University co-hosted a special two-day event – the Illicit Alcohol Roundtable – in response to growing concerns about this emerging illicit market.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) estimates that illicit alcohol sales could be worth as much as AUD $1 billion and is believed to be predominantly spirits. There remains some debate about the definition of illicit alcohol; for instance, does it simply refer to that which is manufactured and/or distributed illegally, or does it also encompass counterfeit products and stolen goods resold on the market? Regardless, a key theme to emerge is that illicit alcohol is often sold through otherwise legitimate liquor outlets, with the outward appearance of a legal product, to unsuspecting consumers. This bears many similarities to what has been documented with the illicit tobacco trade.
The Illicit Alcohol Roundtable, convened by NDARC’s Dr Michala Kowalski and NDRI’s Dr Nic Taylor, brought together key stakeholders to understand the scale and nature of the issue in Australia. This included representatives from the ATO’s Illicit Alcohol Team, Australian Border Force, liquor and gaming authorities, health, and police officers from several states, alongside researchers in public health, criminology, social sciences, law and forensic science.
Facilitated by Scientia Professor Alison Ritter, from the Drug Policy Modelling Program at UNSW, participants mapped their collective knowledge – and knowledge gaps – and discussed potential courses of action to combat this growing issue from multiple perspectives.
Illicit alcohol is a complex problem, which poses unique challenges across Australia. Alcohol is often overlooked as an illicit commodity in Australia; however, stakeholder insights have made it clear that a nationally backed and co-ordinated evidence informed prevention effort will be required to stop growth in the area.
