{"id":"alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017","name":"ALCOHOL HARM REDUCTION REGULATIONS 2017","slug":"alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":174183,"registerId":"nt-alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"ALCOHOL HARM REDUCTION REGULATIONS 2017","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nALCOHOL HARM REDUCTION REGULATIONS 2017\nAs in force at 13 March 2026\nTable of provisions\n1 Citation ............................................................................................ 1\n2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1\n3 Person who may apply to BDR Registrar for making of BDO .......... 1\n4 Prescribed provision ........................................................................ 2\nENDNOTES\n\n\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 13 March 2026\n____________________\nALCOHOL HARM REDUCTION REGULATIONS 2017\nRegulations under the Alcohol Harm Reduction Act 2017\n1 Citation\nThese Regulations may be cited as the Alcohol Harm Reduction\nRegulations 2017.\n2 Commencement\nThese Regulations commence on the day on which they are\nnotified in the Gazette.\n3 Person who may apply to BDR Registrar for making of BDO\n(1) For section 18(1)(g) of the Act, the following persons are\nprescribed:\n(a) the Commissioner of Correctional Services;\n(c) a social worker who is eligible for full membership of the\nAustralian Association of Social Workers Limited\nACN 008 576 010;\n(d) a person at a sobering up shelter who manages the shelter;\n(e) a person appointed as a public housing safety officer under\nsection 28Q of the Housing Act 1982;\n(f) a person who holds a current counsellor level 4 membership\nof the Australian Counselling Association\nIncorporated ABN 12 242 711 378;\n(g) a person:\n(i) who is employed by a member of AMSANT or who is a\npublic sector employee employed in declared premises;\nand\n\nAlcohol Harm Reduction Regulations 2017 2\n(ii) whose primary role, within the scope of the person's\nemployment, is to provide medical services to people of\nAboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background.\n(2) In this regulation:\nAMSANT means the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern\nTerritory Aboriginal Corporation ICN 8253.\ndeclared premises, see section 5 of the Medical Services\nAct 1982.\nmedical services, see section 5 of the Medical Services Act 1982.\nsobering up shelter means a facility that provides supervised,\nnon-custodial accommodation for adults affected by alcohol.\n4 Prescribed provision\n(1) For section 4 of the Act, definition alcohol-related infringement\nnotice, paragraph (d), section 170B(1) of the Liquor Act 2019 is\nprescribed.\n(2) This regulation is repealed immediately after the repeal of\nsection 170B of the Liquor Act 2019 by section 170D of that Act.\n\nENDNOTES\nAlcohol Harm Reduction Regulations 2017 3\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY Key to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 GENERAL AMENDMENTS\nGeneral amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table\nof amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation\nAmendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: r 1.\n3 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nAlcohol Harm Reduction Regulations (SL No. 40, 2017)\nNotified 29 November 2017\nCommenced 29 November 2017\nHealth Practitioner Regulation (National Uniform Legislation) and Other Legislation\nAmendment Act 2018 (Act No. 28, 2018)\nAssent date 30 November 2018\nCommenced 1 December 2018 (s 2)\nAlcohol Harm Reduction Amendment Regulations 2019 (SL No. 3, 2019)\nNotified 10 April 2019\nCommenced 10 April 2019\nLiquor Legislation Further Amendment Act 2024 (Act No. 19, 2024)\nAssent date 1 November 2024\nCommenced 2 November 2024 (s 2)\nHousing, Transport and Surveillance Devices Legislation Amendment (Police Public\nSafety Officers) Act 2025 (Act No. 36, 2025)\nAssent date 5 December 2025\nCommenced pts 1 and 5: 27 February 2026 (Gaz S13, 26 February 2026);\nrem: nc\nAlcohol Harm Reduction Amendment Regulations 2026 (SL No. 4, 2026)\nDate Made 12 March 2026\nCommenced pts 1 and 2: 13 March 2026; rem: nc\n\nENDNOTES\nAlcohol Harm Reduction Regulations 2017 4\n3 LIST OF AMENDMENTS\nr 3 amd Act No. 28, 2018, s 25; No. 3, 2019, r 4; Act No. 36, 2025, s 41; SL\nNo. 4, 2026, r 4\nr 4 ins Act No. 19, 2024, s 11","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Insufficient content was provided to assess whether the scope changed from the original legislative intent. Only administrative metadata is present. The discrepancy between the '2017' title and the 2026 operative date suggests this may be a reprinted or significantly amended version of the original regulations, which *could* indicate scope changes — but this cannot be confirmed without the actual text."},"complexity_factors":["Only metadata was provided — no actual legislative content is present, making substantive analysis impossible","The title indicates a regulatory instrument (subordinate legislation), which typically operates beneath a parent Act and requires cross-referencing that Act to understand full scope","Minor internal inconsistency: titled '2017' but year and commencement date are 2026, which may indicate a reprint or amendment creating minor confusion","No substantive provisions, definitions, penalties, or obligations are visible to assess true complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations, made by the Department of Health and now in force, are aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm by setting enforceable standards on the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol—affecting pubs, bottle shops, restaurants and consumers through measures like sale timing, responsible service and licensing conditions.  \n\nNote: only administrative metadata is provided (Reg. 4 of 2026; commenced 13 March 2026), so the specific obligations and compliance details are not available from the text supplied."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulation's scope has been altered since enactment. Regulation 3 (prescribing who may apply) has been amended multiple times (see r 3 amd: Act No. 28, 2018 s 25; SL No. 3, 2019 r 4; Act No. 36, 2025 s 41; SL No. 4, 2026 r 4), expanding or modifying eligible applicant categories. Regulation 4 (prescribing Liquor Act s 170B(1) as an alcohol‑related infringement notice) was inserted by Act No. 19, 2024 s 11 and includes an automatic repeal clause tied to repeal of that Liquor Act section (r 4(1)–(2))."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple statutes (Alcohol Harm Reduction Act s 18(1)(g); Liquor Act s 170B(1); Medical Services Act definitions) require users to consult other instruments (r 3(1); r 4(1)).","Reliance on defined terms taken from other Acts ('declared premises', 'medical services') creates secondary interpretation work (r 3(2)).","Narrow, credentialed eligibility rules (specific professional memberships and appointment statuses) require verification by administrators (r 3(1)(c),(f),(e)).","Role‑based criteria that depend on the applicant's primary employment duties introduce factual assessments by officials (r 3(1)(g)(ii)).","Automatic repeal linkage: the prescription of the Liquor Act provision is contingent on future repeal, creating temporal complexity for compliance (r 4(2)).","Multiple historical amendments spread across several Acts increase tracking burden for users and advisers (see endnotes and amendment history for r 3 and r 4).","Short, formal regulatory drafting leaves practical implementation details (evidence standards, application procedure) to administrative practice rather than the text."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations specify who may apply to the BDR Registrar for a BDO under the Alcohol Harm Reduction Act and identify a particular Liquor Act provision as an \"alcohol-related infringement notice.\" They name specific public officials, health and housing workers, sobering‑up shelter managers and certain Aboriginal medical staff. Decision‑making rests with the BDR Registrar; affected workers and agencies must meet membership, appointment or role requirements to initiate the BDO process, and the Liquor Act prescription ends if that Liquor Act section is repealed."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: prescribing who may apply for Bans on Drinking Orders and making temporary provision for infringement notices. The amendments over time have expanded the categories of eligible applicants (adding housing safety officers in 2025 and refining Aboriginal health worker criteria in 2026), but this represents natural evolution within the original scope rather than scope creep. The legislation has not expanded into unrelated policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 substantive regulations (r 1-4), with r 4 being a temporary technical provision","Minimal defined terms: only 4 definitions in r 3(2) and r 4 references external definitions","No nested conditional logic or exceptions to exceptions","Straightforward prescriptive list format in r 3(1) — essentially a 'shopping list' of eligible applicants","Single cross-reference to external legislation (Liquor Act 2019) with automatic repeal mechanism","Total length: approximately 2 pages of substantive content"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations support the Northern Territory's **Alcohol Harm Reduction Act 2017**, which aims to reduce alcohol-related harm in the community. Specifically, these rules expand who can ask the government to impose **Bans on Drinking Orders (BDOs)** — court orders that prohibit specific people from buying, possessing, or drinking alcohol.\n\n**Who can now apply for a BDO:**\n\nThe regulations add several new categories of professionals who can approach the BDR (Banned Drinker Register) Registrar to request a BDO be made against someone:\n\n*   **The Commissioner of Correctional Services** — the head of NT prisons\n*   **Accredited social workers** — those eligible for full membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers\n*   **Sobering up shelter managers** — people running facilities where intoxicated adults stay under supervision\n*   **Public housing safety officers** — officers appointed under the Housing Act 1982\n*   **Level 4 counsellors** — members of the Australian Counselling Association at the highest membership tier\n*   **Aboriginal health workers** — employees of AMSANT (the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT) or public sector workers in declared medical premises whose main job is providing medical services to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nBy broadening who can trigger the BDO process beyond police and courts, the NT government is trying to catch alcohol-related problems earlier through frontline health and social services workers. This recognises that doctors, counsellors, and housing officers often see the damage caused by alcohol abuse before it becomes a police matter.\n\n**Temporary provision:**\n\nThe regulations also temporarily recognise certain liquor infringement notices as \"alcohol-related\" for the purposes of the Act, but this rule will automatically disappear once a specific section of the Liquor Act 2019 is repealed."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017","history":"/api/acts/alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/alcohol-harm-reduction-regulations-2017/documents"}}