Intoxicated patrons in licensed premises

It is illegal to sell or supply alcohol to an intoxicated person in a licensed venue.

An intoxicated person is someone who is under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

It is your responsibility as the licensee to prove the patron is not intoxicated at the time of sale.

If you have reasonable grounds to believe that a person is intoxicated, you or your employees can exclude or remove them from the premises.

If a person is violent, argumentative, disorderly or unable to control their behaviour, you or your employees must exclude or remove them from the premises.

How to identify an intoxicated person

A person showing one or more of these behaviours may be intoxicated:

• spilling drinks
• rambling conversation or slurred speech
• annoying other customers and employees
• swaying or dozing while sitting
• becoming loud or boisterous
• crude or aggressive behaviour
• inappropriate sexual advances
• becoming careless with money
• bumping into or knocking over furniture
• inability to light a cigarette or letting a cigarette burn in an ashtray
• glassy eyes, lack of eye focus, loss of eye contact.