Alcohol Floor Price (NT)
On 1 March 2025, the NT government repealed the Territory’s alcohol floor price, or minimum unit price (MUP). The rules surrounding the alcohol floor price forbade vendors selling alcohol for less than a minimum price. This was a harm reduction measure that aimed to avoid allowing vulnerable people access to very cheap alcohol. This page outlines the changes.
What was the alcohol floor price?
The alcohol floor price was set at $1.30 per standard drink. It applied to takeaway sales as well as on-premise sales.
This minimum price was introduced under the Liquor Act 2019 to prevent alcohol, particularly cask wine, from being sold at very low prices.
Now that the alcohol floor price has been repealed, vendors will set the prices for alcoholic beverages.
Aims of the MUP
The minimum unit prices aimed to reduce alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers in the NT, and as a consequence, to reduce the associated social and economic costs of alcohol abuse.
Reviews of minimum unit price
Under the legislation, the MUP was required to be reviewed every three years. In 2021, when it was reviewed for the first time, the NT government consulted with a wide range of stakeholders to ascertain whether the increase in price on the cheapest alcohol products had had an effect on alcohol consumption by heavy drinkers.
The review found that the MUP had led to a reduction in the consumption of cask wine and thus a small reduction in overall alcohol consumption in the target group. It found evidence of a reduction of alcohol-related harms, though this could not be directly attributed to the MUP. The review found no evidence that the MUP negatively impacted the economy.
Abolition of the MUP
In early 2025, legislation was introduced to the NT parliament to abolish the alcohol floor price. The move followed criticism of the law on the basis that it was ineffective in addressing alcohol-related harm and unfairly targeted responsible drinkers. The government claimed that the reduction in alcohol consumption that followed the introduction of the MUP was, in fact, the result of other measures such as the introduction of police auxiliary liquor inspectors (PALIs).
Repealing the MUP was an election promise of the CLP.
Police auxiliary liquor inspectors
Under section 250 of the Liquor Act, police auxiliary liquor inspectors have the power to intervene in sales of liquor in the NT.
PALIs have the power to stop sales at liquor outlets and may ask a person who is on licensed premises, who is within 20 metres of licensed premises, or who appears to intend to buy alcohol (or has bought alcohol) for their personal details and for information about the liquor they are buying such as where they will be drinking it and who they will be sharing it with.
It is an offence for a person to fail to answer the questions of a PALI if they are within 20 metres of a licensed venue or have bought or are intending to buy alcohol. If a person has bought alcohol and then refuses to answer the questions of a PALI, their alcohol can be seized.
Banned drinker register
Alcohol consumption in the NT is also regulated by the Banned Drinker Register (BRD).
Anyone who buys takeaway alcohol in the NT must show ID. This is then used to check whether the person is on the Banned Drinker Registry. A person who is on the BRD will not be sold alcohol.
A person may be placed on the BRD in three different ways.
The police may issue a Banned Drinker Order for a range of reasons, including that a person has committed drink driving offences, other alcohol-related offences, or has had a Domestic Violence Order made against them under circumstances where alcohol was a factor.
A person may be placed on the BDR because a court order has been made against them with a condition that they not consume alcohol.
A person may also be on the Register because they have chosen to be placed on the Register, or because an authorised person such as a doctor has made a referral for them to be placed on the Register, or because a family member has made a referral. When a referral is made, the Registry makes a decision as to whether the person should be placed on the Registry.
A Banned Drinker Order can be challenged in the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Drinking in the Territory
Alcohol consumption in the NT has long been a major issue affecting the community. In 2022 – 2023, The National Drug Strategy Household Survey found that 40% of adults in the NT consumed alcohol at levels that involved health risks (compared the national average of 31%).
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