{"id":"liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014","name":"Liquor Control (Spinifex Restricted Area) Regulations 2014","slug":"liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":178713,"registerId":"wa-liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Liquor Control (Spinifex Restricted Area) Regulations 2014","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nLiquor Control Act 1988\n\nLiquor Control (Spinifex Restricted Area) Regulations 2014\n\nWestern Australia\n\nLiquor Control (Spinifex Restricted Area) Regulations 2014\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n5. Declaration of Restricted Area 2\n\n6. Notice of Restricted Area 2\n\n7. Prohibitions as to liquor in *Restricted Area* 2\n\n8. Defences for tourists 3\n\n9. Seizure and disposal of containers of liquor 3\n\n10. Period during which these regulations have effect 4\n\nSchedule 1 — Spinifex Native Title Determination Area\n\nSchedule 2 — Map of Restricted Area\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 7\n\nOther notes 7\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nLiquor Control Act 1988\n\nLiquor Control (Spinifex Restricted Area) Regulations 2014\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n\t\tThese regulations are the *Liquor Control (Spinifex Restricted Area) Regulations 2014*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThese regulations come into operation as follows —\n\n(a) regulations 1 and 2 — 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\nRestricted Area means the area declared to be a restricted area under regulation 5(1);\n\nSpinifex Native Title Determination Area means the area described in Schedule 1;\n\ntourist means a person who is —\n\n(a) staying at a place that is at least 50 kilometres from his or her usual place of residence for a period of at least one night; and\n\n(b) intending to stay away from his or her 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 his or her usual place of residence or his or her place of work or education; and\n\n(d) travelling in the course of a holiday or for leisure, business, to visit friends or relatives or for any other reason; and\n\n(e) not usually resident in the Restricted Area.\n\n[Regulation 3 amended: SL 2024/109 r. 6.]\n\n[**4.** Deleted: SL 2020/62 r. 19.]\n\n##### 5. Declaration of Restricted Area\n\n(1) The Spinifex Native Title Determination Area, excluding the portion that is within Reserve 17614, is declared to be a restricted area for the purposes of section 175(1a) of the Act.\n\n(2) The map in Schedule 2 shows the Restricted Area crosshatched.\n\n##### 6. 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 Restricted Area continues to be a restricted area by operation of regulation 5(1) to be kept posted, at each place where a customary access route enters the Restricted Area a notice —\n\n(a) describing the offences set out in regulation 7; 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 5(1).\n\n##### 7. Prohibitions as to liquor in *Restricted Area*\n\n(1) Subject to regulation 8, a person who —\n\n(a) brings liquor into, or causes liquor to be brought into, the Restricted Area; or\n\n(b) has liquor in his or her possession in the Restricted Area,\n\ncommits an offence.\n\nPenalty:\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##### 8. Defences for tourists\n\n(1) A tourist to whom this regulation applies does not commit an offence under regulation 7.\n\n(2) This regulation applies to a tourist if —\n\n(a) the tourist is in the portions of the Restricted Area that are within 50 metres either side of the Anne Beadell Highway (also known as the Serpentine Lakes Road), and continuously maintains possession of, or consumes, the liquor in his or her possession; or\n\n(b) the tourist is in any other part of the Restricted Area and continuously maintains possession of, but does not consume, the liquor in his or her possession.\n\n(3) The map in Schedule 2 shows the Anne Beadell Highway.\n\n##### 9. 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 7.\n\n##### 10. Period during which these regulations have effect\n\nUnless sooner repealed, these regulations have effect for the period that ends at the close of 2 July 2034.\n\n[Regulation 10 inserted: SL 2020/62 r. 20; amended: SL 2023/78 r. 8; SL 2024/109 r. 7.]\n\nSchedule 1 — Spinifex Native Title Determination Area\n\n[r. 3]\n\n[Heading inserted: SL 2024/109 r. 8.]\n\nAll those lands and waters bounded by a line —\n\n(a) commencing at the westernmost north‑western corner of unnumbered unallocated Crown land (formerly Yowalga Location 7) as shown on Deposited Plan 220992 and extending east along the northernmost northern boundary of that location and east and south‑easterly along the boundaries of Class “A” Reserve 17614 being Lot 9 on Deposited Plan 91722 (formerly Milyuga Location 20) to the Western Australian‑South Australian Border;\n\n(b) then southerly along that border to latitude 29.5° South;\n\n(c) then west to the south‑eastern corner of Lot 9 on Deposited Plan 220922 (formerly Delisser Location 9);\n\n(d) then west and north along the boundaries of that location and north along the western boundary of Lot 8 on Deposited Plan 220992 (formerly Delisser Location 8) to the south‑western corner of unnumbered unallocated Crown land (formerly Yowalga Location 7);\n\n(e) then generally northerly along the boundaries of Lot 8 on Deposited Plan 220992 (formerly Delisser Location 8) to the commencement point.\n\nNote for this Schedule:\n\nThe Deposited Plans referred to in this Schedule are held by the Western Australian Land Information Authority established by the *Land Information Authority Act 2006*.\n\n[Schedule 1 inserted: SL 2024/109 r. 8.]\n\nSchedule 2 — Map of Restricted Area\n\n[r. 5(2) and (4)]\n\n![]()\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Liquor Control (Spinifex Restricted Area) Regulations 2014* 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 (Spinifex Restricted Area) Regulations 2014* 1 | 1 Jul 2014 p. 2341‑4 | r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2014 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 2 Jul 2014 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Liquor Control (Spinifex Restricted Area) Amendment Regulations 2017* | 2 Jun 2017 p 2751-2 | r. 1 and 2: 2 Jun 2017 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 3 Jun 2017 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Racing and Gaming Regulations Amendment (Liquor Control) Regulations 2020* Pt. 7 | SL 2020/62 22 May 2020 | 23 May 2020 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Racing and Gaming Regulations Amendment (Liquor Control) Regulations (No. 3) 2023* Pt. 4 | SL 2023/78 20 Jun 2023 | 21 Jun 2023 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Racing and Gaming Regulations Amendment (Liquor Control) Regulations (No. 3) 2024* Pt. 3 | SL 2024/109 26 Jun 2024 | 27 Jun 2024 (see r. 2(b)) |\n\n\nOther notes\n\n1 These regulations expire at the close of 2 July 2034 (see r. 10).\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\nRestricted Area 3\n\nSpinifex Native Title Determination Area 3\n\ntourist 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":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not retrievable from the provided source. The URL is no longer active on the Western Australian legislation website. No comparison between original intent and final form is possible."},"complexity_factors":["The actual legislative text is unavailable — only an error page was provided","Cannot assess true complexity without the regulation text","Regulations of this type are generally straightforward in structure (geographic boundary definition plus prohibition/restriction rules)","Minimal scoring possible given absence of substantive content"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian regulation, made under the Liquor Control Act 1988, appears to designate the Spinifex (Pila Nguru) area as a liquor-restricted zone, meaning possession, supply, or consumption of alcohol in that community would be prohibited or tightly controlled.  \n\nIt primarily affects residents and visitors to the Spinifex region and matters because such restrictions aim to reduce alcohol‑related harm — though the actual regulatory text could not be verified from the provided source."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument's scope has been altered by post‑enactment amendments that refined definitions and the geographic description and added temporal provisions. Notably the tourist definition was amended (Regulation 3 amended: SL 2024/109 r.6), Schedule 1 (the detailed land/water boundary) was inserted or clarified (SL 2024/109 r.8), and the time limit was added/adjusted (Regulation 10 inserted: SL 2020/62 r.20; later amendments noted in the compilation table). Those changes affect who qualifies for defences and the precise area captured."},"complexity_factors":["Geographic precision: restricted area defined by Schedule 1 using deposited plan references and a map (Schedule 1; Schedule 2) which requires spatial interpretation.","Multi‑part statutory definitions: the tourist definition is detailed and conditional, affecting who benefits from defences (r 3; r 8).","Differential penalties and actor‑specific exposure: higher fine for licensees/managers/directors (r 7(2)), ordinary offenders face a lower fine (r 7).","Operational requirements on regulator: Director must post and maintain notices at customary access routes (r 6), creating administrative duties.","Enforcement discretion and departure from parent Act: police may seize and promptly dispose of containers despite s.155(4)–(5) of the Act (r 9), altering usual seizure/disposal mechanics.","Temporal limit and amendment history: fixed expiry date (r 10) and multiple amendments across years add interpretive layers (compilation table).","Cross‑references to the Liquor Control Act (s.175(1a) and s.155) require reading with primary legislation (r 5; r 9)."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations declare the Spinifex Native Title Determination Area (excluding Reserve 17614) a liquor‑restricted area, make it an offence to bring or possess liquor there with fines up to $5,000 for licensees and $2,000 otherwise, and allow police to seize and dispose of containers (regs 5, 7, 9). They set narrow tourist defences, require notices at customary access routes, and run until 2 July 2034; the burden of compliance falls on persons with liquor while enforcement discretion lies with police and the Director (regs 6–10)."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing a restricted area for liquor control in the Spinifex Native Title Determination Area. Amendments since 2014 have been procedural — extending the sunset date (now 2034), updating the geographic description in Schedule 1 to use current deposited plan references, and deleting an obsolete regulation. There has been no mission creep into unrelated policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 defined terms in the interpretation section (regulation 3)","Straightforward conditional logic: general prohibition in reg 7, with a single exemption scheme for tourists in reg 8","Minimal cross-referencing — only references to the parent Liquor Control Act 1988 for seizure powers and the restricted area declaration power","Geographic description in Schedule 1 requires reference to deposited plans and latitude coordinates, but this is standard for land boundary legislation","Simple penalty structure with only two tiers (general public vs licensees/directors)","No nested exceptions or 'exceptions to exceptions' — the tourist defence in reg 8 is clearly structured with two alternative conditions (highway corridor vs elsewhere)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this does:**\nThese regulations create a **liquor ban** across a large area of remote Western Australia known as the **Spinifex Native Title Determination Area** (roughly 65,000 square kilometres in the Great Victoria Desert, near the South Australian border). \n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Local residents** — generally cannot bring liquor into or possess liquor in the area (maximum fine: $2,000, or $5,000 for licensed venue operators).\n- **Tourists** — get limited exemptions. If you're travelling on the Anne Beadell Highway (also called Serpentine Lakes Road), you can possess and drink alcohol within 50 metres of the road. If you're elsewhere in the restricted area, you can possess alcohol but cannot drink it.\n- **Police** — can seize and destroy any alcohol they reasonably suspect is in the area illegally, whether opened or unopened.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a **harm minimisation measure** targeting alcohol-related problems in remote Aboriginal communities. The Spinifex area includes several Indigenous communities where alcohol restrictions have been requested or supported to reduce violence, health problems, and social disruption. The tourist exemption acknowledges that travellers crossing the desert need access to supplies while keeping the ban tight for local consumption.\n\n**Key details:**\n- The ban excludes **Reserve 17614** (a specific area carved out from the restriction).\n- Signs must be posted at entry points warning people of the offences and penalties.\n- The regulations automatically expire on **2 July 2034** unless repealed earlier.\n- The rules have been updated several times since 2014, mainly to extend the expiry date and refine the area description."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014","history":"/api/acts/liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014/history","analysis":"/api/acts/liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/liquor-control-spinifex-restricted-area-regulations-2014/documents"}}