Responsible Service of Alcohol staff should be aware of changes to the beer and spirit excise which has been announced by the federal government recently.
The federal government announced over the weekend that its’ half yearly increase on duty rates for alcoholic excisable goods would include an increase in beer and spirit excise as well as ready to drink products.
An article on the hospitality website www.theshout.com.au detailed more about the excise hike:
The latest data on the consumer price indices for the December Quarter 2013 reveals that new rates of duty on beer and spirits increase the price of full-strength beer by 29 cents per case, light beer by 11 cents per case and a 700ml bottle of spirits by 38 cents.
A case of ready-to-drink products will also see a hike in price, increasing by 66 cents.
Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2014/02/05/article/Government-lifts-beer-spirits-excise/MFAPKJXDXZ.html
The article on TheShout.com.au also went on to quote the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia’s spokesman, Stephen Riden who explained more about the impact of the excise hike on the consumer,
The Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia’s (DSICA) information and research manager Stephen Riden said that the distilled spirits consumer was paying more tax on their drink of choice.
“The latest excise hike sees a standard 700ml bottle of whiskey pay just under $22 in alcohol tax alone, before adding GST or any other costs,” Riden told TheShout.
“And as usual, the distilled spirits consumer is being treated inequitably over those drinking beers and wines.”
Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2014/02/05/article/Government-lifts-beer-spirits-excise/MFAPKJXDXZ.html
One of the reasons for the hikes is the level to which people in Oz are binge drinking and abusing alcohol. While most people are drinking responsibly and moderately, those who have developed a culture of binge drinking are doing so more frequently and dangerously.
It is important that as RSA staff we can easily recognise these alcohol abusers and binge drinkers so as to avoid serving them more alcohol than is necessary – this is a vital part of our RSA duties.
Denying service to unduly intoxicated patrons is one of the cardinal rules of alcohol service and failure to do so may result in fines and further misconduct by these drunken patrons, either within the venue and/or on the streets of our entertainment districts.
To learn more about Responsible Service of Alcohol legislation and your duty of care as a server of alcohol, you must complete formal RSA training.
According to federal law people in the hospitality industry who work in venues where alcohol is sold, must be in possession of a RSA certificate. However this need not be a long, complicated and tedious process involving face-to-face training, RSA training is most commonly completed online, obviously because of the convenience of doing so but also because it is makes economic sense (online training costs a fraction of traditional training).
To learn more about the RSA course or to register, please visit our homepage today or contact us for more information.