On Anzac Day, commemorative hubs like pubs, clubs and hotels will continue trading, with takeaway alcohol flowing – often through on-site bottle shops. Yet, bizarrely, across NSW, around 80 per cent of packaged liquor retailers – standalone bottle shops, to you and me – will be forced to close. “The legislation and regulation has always been very complicated and convoluted,” Retail Drinks Australia CEO Michael Waters told Inside FMCG. The result is a system that appears to be a drifted
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On Anzac Day, commemorative hubs like pubs, clubs and hotels will continue trading, with takeaway alcohol flowing – often through on-site bottle shops. Yet, bizarrely, across NSW, around 80 per cent of packaged liquor retailers – standalone bottle shops, to you and me – will be forced to close. “The legislation and regulation has always been very complicated and convoluted,” Retail Drinks Australia CEO Michael Waters told Inside FMCG. The result is a system that appears to be a drifted-out contradiction, and far from deliberate policy.The rationale consists of a regulatory split that has become difficult to justify. Liquor retailers operate across two separate sets of laws, with one governing the sale of alcohol, and the other governing when shops can open. On Anzac Day, they pull in different directions. “The Liquor Act is silent on Anzac Day, but the Retail Trading Act declares it a restricted trading day. Our sector also falls under the auspices of the Retail Trading Act, so that’s where the complexity comes in,” Waters said. The liquor industry is already operating on tight margins, that distinction determines who can trade, who can’t and who ultimately absorbs the cost. The burden on independents In NSW, the liquor trade sits in an uneasy middle ground between scale and fragility. There are over 700 bottle shops across the state, and while the majors like Dan Murphy’s, BWS and Liquorland loom large, several hundred remain independently owned, with many operating under banner groups. On top of this, growth in alcohol spending is slowing, and the customer is drinking less (or more consciously), in this light the regulatory overlay lands uniquely for smaller operators. As Waters put it frankly, “only 20 per cent of our sector are classified as small shops and to be a small shop is a very high threshold. If you are a small business that has five employees on the books, you can’t trade. So it’s quite stupid.” In that system, independence exists, but not always freely.It was not always structured this way and for decades, there was a compromise. “For many decades, non-exempt businesses could trade from 1pm on Anzac Day because of a respectful circumstance for the commemorations and the parades,” Waters said. When the NSW Government opened the Retail Trading Act for reform in 2024, the expectation was alignment. “We responded very positively because we saw an opportunity to tidy up the inconsistencies between the Retail Trading Act and the Liquor Act.” Instead, they removed the 1pm exemption and made the entirety of the day restricted with exemptions to small shops that have less than 4 staff. Retail analyst Dean Salakas suggested the logic is inconsistent. “If you go by that logic, it should apply to all businesses, including pubs.” Waters is more direct. “It is not only unfair, but it’s also discriminatory and anti-competitive.”What the data statesThe Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data stated in 2024 that per capita alcohol consumption has descended from more than 13 litres in the 1970s to an estimated 9–10 litres today. At the same time, liquor licences have grown by about 50 per cent nationally, while cost-of-living pressures continue to build. “It’s at least $40 million of lost trade, at least 10,000 employees denied their right to work. And over $5 million in lost wages,” Waters said. To independent retailers’ demise, the pressure is immediate. One regional retailer estimates a single public holiday adds $1150 in wages, which is the equivalent of selling 200 cartons of beer just to break even. Waters explained why the issue remains unresolved, which is partly political. “We understand this decision was made prior to the last election as a pre-election promise by the union movement and the Labor Party,” Waters said. “Seventy per cent of our sector are small businesses that are not unionised and they’ve been caught up in that issue.” There is also a reluctance to name exceptions. “If we do it for one sector within retail, we may be forced to do it for others.” The fix itself is theoretically straightforward. “They can really quickly and easily fix this by inserting one line saying all licences under the Liquor Act are exempt.” But as experience shows, simple fixes do not always move quickly. Waters explained it took seven years and a change of government to get Boxing Day trading back. “We’ve got very long memories.”
