{"id":"liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018","name":"Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018","slug":"liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":178699,"registerId":"wa-liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nLiquor Control Act 1988\n\nLiquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018\n\nWestern Australia\n\nLiquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Exempt person 2\n\nPart 2 — Restricted area\n\n6. Declaration of restricted area 3\n\n7. Notice of restricted area 3\n\nPart 3 — Prohibitions and related provisions\n\n8. Prohibitions as to liquor in the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community 4\n\n9. Exception to r. 8 4\n\n10. Seizure and disposal of containers of liquor 4\n\nPart 4 — Period of effect\n\n11. Period during which these regulations have effect 5\n\nPart 5 — *Liquor Control Regulations 1989* amended\n\n12. Regulations amended 6\n\n13. Regulation 27 amended 6\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 7\n\nOther notes 7\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nLiquor Control Act 1988\n\nLiquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n\t\tThese regulations are the *Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThese regulations come into operation as follows —\n\n(a) Part 1 — on the day on which these regulations are published in the *Gazette*;\n\n(b) the rest of the regulations — on the day after that day.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\nIn these regulations —\n\nexempt person has the meaning given in regulation 4;\n\nParnngurr Aboriginal Community means the area of land within a radius of 30 km of the telecommunications aerial located at the point with the following Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020 (GDA2020) coordinates —\n\n(a) 22.817097°S;\n\n(b) 122.597667°E.\n\n[Regulation 3 amended: SL 2021/209 r. 4.]\n\n##### 4. Exempt person\n\nFor the purposes of these regulations, a person is an exempt person if the person is —\n\n(a) staying at a place that is at least 50 km from their usual place of residence for a period of at least 1 night; and\n\n(b) intending to stay away from their usual place of residence for a period of less than 12 months; and\n\n(c) not in the course of travelling on a regular journey between their usual place of residence or their place of work or education; and\n\n(d) travelling in the course of a holiday, or to visit friends or relatives, or for leisure, business or any other reason; and\n\n(e) not usually a resident in a restricted area declared under section 175(1a) of the Act.\n\n[**5.** Deleted: SL2021/113 r. 4.]\n\n## Part 2 — Restricted area\n\n##### 6. Declaration of restricted area\n\nThe Parnngurr Aboriginal Community is declared to be a restricted area for the purposes of section 175(1a) of the Act.\n\n##### 7. Notice of restricted area\n\n(1) The Director of Liquor Licensing must take all reasonable steps to cause to be posted, and while the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community continues to be a restricted area by operation of regulation 6 to be kept posted, at each place where a customary access route enters the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community a notice —\n\n(a) describing the offences set out in regulation 8; and\n\n(b) specifying the penalties for those offences.\n\n(2) A failure to comply with subregulation (1) does not invalidate the declaration in regulation 6.\n\n## Part 3 — Prohibitions and related provisions\n\n##### 8. Prohibitions as to liquor in the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community\n\n(1) Subject to regulation 9, a person commits an offence if the person —\n\n(a) brings liquor into, or causes liquor to be brought into, the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community; or\n\n(b) possesses liquor in the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community.\n\nPenalty for this subregulation:\n\n(a) if subregulation (2) applies — a fine of $5 000;\n\n(b) in any other case — a fine of $2 000.\n\n(2) This subregulation applies to an offence under subregulation (1) committed by a licensee, a manager of licensed premises or a director of a body corporate that holds a licence.\n\n##### 9. Exception to r. 8\n\nA person who is an exempt person does not commit an offence under regulation 8(1) if the person continuously maintains possession of, but does not consume, the liquor.\n\n##### 10. Seizure and disposal of containers of liquor\n\nDespite section 155(4) and (5) of the Act, a member of the Police Force may seize and, as soon as is practicable, dispose of any opened or unopened container of liquor suspected on reasonable grounds to be the subject of an offence under regulation 8.\n\n## Part 4 — Period of effect\n\n##### 11. Period during which these regulations have effect\n\nUnless sooner repealed, these regulations have effect for the period that ends at the close of 7 January 2035.\n\n[Regulation 11 inserted: SL 2021/113 r. 5; amended: SL 2021/209 r. 5; SL 2024/273 r. 6.]\n\n## Part 5 — *Liquor Control Regulations 1989* amended\n\n##### 12. Regulations amended\n\nThis Part amends the *Liquor Control Regulations 1989*.\n\n##### 13. Regulation 27 amended\n\nIn regulation 27(4) in the Table insert in alphabetical order:\n\n| *Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018* regulation 8(1) |\n| --- |\n\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018* and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation see the compilation table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Published** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| *Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018* 1 | 6 Jul 2018 p. 2546‑8 | r. 1 and 2: 6 Jul 2018 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 7 Jul 2018 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Amendment Regulations 2021* | SL 2021/113   2 Jul 2021 | r. 1 and 2: 2 Jul 2021 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 3 Jul 2021 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2021* | SL 2021/209 17 Dec 2021 | r. 1 and 2: 17 Dec 2021 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 18 Dec 2021 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Racing and Gaming Regulations Amendment (Liquor Control) Regulations (No. 5) 2024* Pt. 3 | SL 2024/273 18 Dec 2024 | 19 Dec 2024 (see r. 2(b)) |\n\n\nOther notes\n\n1 These regulations expire at the close of 7 Jan 2035 (see r. 11).\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nexempt person 3, 4\n\nParnngurr Aboriginal Community 3\n\n© State of Western Australia 2024.\n\nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.\n\nAttribute work as: © State of Western Australia 2024.\n\nBy Authority: GEOFF O. LAWN, Government Printer\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Subsequent amendments adjusted definitional and temporal scope: the Parnngurr coordinates and related wording were amended (reg 3; SL 2021/209), the exempt person definition and related provisions were revised (regs 3–4, amendments 2021), and the regulations' period of effect was set/updated to 7 January 2035 (reg 11; SL 2024/273). Those changes modify who is captured and how long the ban operates, while leaving the core prohibition mechanism (reg 8) intact."},"complexity_factors":["Geographic definition by precise coordinates and 30 km radius (reg 3).","Multi‑criterion 'exempt person' test that controls who may retain liquor (reg 4, reg 9).","Two-tier penalty structure with higher fines for licensees, managers and corporate directors (reg 8(1)–(2)).","Police power to seize and immediately dispose of containers notwithstanding usual s.155 limits (reg 10).","Signage obligation on the Director of Liquor Licensing with non‑compliance not invalidating the declaration (reg 7(1)–(2)).","Time‑limited operation and later amendments altering definitions and duration (reg 11; compilation table and amendment notes)."],"plain_english_summary":"Declares the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community a restricted area that bans bringing or possessing liquor, sets fines (higher for licensees), allows short‑term visitors to retain but not consume liquor, empowers police to seize and dispose of containers, and requires entry signage; effective until 7 January 2035. It affects residents, visitors, licensees and police — who pay fines or enforce seizures — and places a compliance duty on the Director of Liquor Licensing to post notices (regs 6–10)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow scope: creating a specific alcohol restricted area for the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community. The amendments since 2018 have been minor technical updates (updating coordinates to GDA2020 standard, extending the expiry date to 2035, and removing a redundant regulation) rather than expansion of purpose or substantive new prohibitions."},"complexity_factors":["Short length (13 regulations, approximately 4-5 pages)","Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section (exempt person, Parnngurr Aboriginal Community)","Simple conditional logic (regulation 9 provides a single exception to the prohibition in regulation 8)","Minimal cross-referencing (references to the parent Liquor Control Act 1988 and amendments to Liquor Control Regulations 1989)","Geographic specificity requires precise coordinates (GDA2020) but this is straightforward data inclusion","No nested exceptions or complex definitional chains","Clear penalty structure with only two tiers (licensees/directors vs others)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations create a **restricted area** around the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community in Western Australia where bringing in or possessing alcohol is generally illegal. The restricted zone covers a 30km radius from a specific telecommunications tower in the remote Western Desert.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **Residents and visitors** to the Parnngurr Aboriginal Community (located near the Western Australia/Northern Territory border)\n*   **Travellers passing through** the area\n*   **Police**, who have powers to seize alcohol containers\n*   **Liquor licensees** (businesses with alcohol licences), who face higher penalties ($5,000) than ordinary people ($2,000) if they breach the rules\n\n**The key rules:**\n\n*   **No alcohol:** You cannot bring alcohol into the 30km zone or possess it there\n*   **Tourist exemption:** \"Exempt persons\" (essentially tourists or short-term visitors staying at least 50km from home for between 1 night and 12 months) can possess alcohol but **cannot drink it** while in the area\n*   **Police powers:** Police can seize and destroy alcohol containers (opened or unopened) if they reasonably suspect an offence\n*   **Signage:** The Director of Liquor Licensing must post warning notices at entry points, though missing signs don't invalidate the law\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis is a form of **alcohol management** commonly used in remote Aboriginal communities to reduce alcohol-related harm. It allows the community to control alcohol availability while accommodating tourists and travellers who may legitimately carry alcohol for consumption elsewhere. The regulations operate until January 2035 unless repealed earlier.\n\n**Note:** These regulations also update the main Liquor Control Regulations 1989 to ensure the offences created here are properly referenced in the broader liquor licensing system."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the regulation's title and the standard framework for WA restricted area regulations, there is no indication of scope change from original intent. These instruments are typically narrow and targeted by design. However, this assessment cannot be confirmed without access to the actual legislative text."},"complexity_factors":["Regulations of this type are typically short and narrowly scoped — they declare an area restricted and apply existing enforcement powers from the parent Act","The actual legislative text was unavailable, preventing full analysis","The parent Act (Liquor Control Act 1988) carries the complex provisions; the regulation itself is usually a straightforward instrument","Geographic boundary definitions can occasionally add minor complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"The Liquor Control (Parnngurr Restricted Area) Regulations 2018 designate the Parnngurr community in WA’s Pilbara as a restricted area under the Liquor Control Act, making it illegal to bring or possess alcohol in that locality and thereby affecting residents and visitors (predominantly Aboriginal).\n\nThe rules typically grant police warrantless search powers for suspected alcohol, impose penalties for breaches, and are usually community-requested to reduce alcohol-related harm. Note: the regulation text was not available; verify the current law for legal purposes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018","history":"/api/acts/liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/liquor-control-parnngurr-restricted-area-regulations-2018/documents"}}