{"id":"liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017","name":"Liquor Control (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017","slug":"liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":178776,"registerId":"wa-liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Liquor Control (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nLiquor Control Act 1988\n\nLiquor Control (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017\n\nWestern Australia\n\nLiquor Control (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n5. Declaration of restricted area 1\n\n6. Notice of restricted area 2\n\n7. Prohibitions as to liquor in the Woolah Aboriginal Community 2\n\n8. Seizure and disposal of containers of liquor 2\n\n9. Period during which these regulations have effect 3\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 4\n\nOther notes 4\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nLiquor Control Act 1988\n\nLiquor Control (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n\t\tThese regulations are the *Liquor Control (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017*.\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 19 August 2017.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\nWoolah Aboriginal Community means the area of land comprising Lot 815 on Deposited Plan 219580, other than the area indicated in the Woolah Layout Plan settlement layout lots 53 and 72;\n\nWoolah Layout Plan means an Aboriginal settlement plan of that name developed under a State planning policy (as defined in the *Planning and Development Act 2005* section 4(1)).\n\n[Regulation 3 inserted: SL 2024/157 r. 9.]\n\n[**4.** Deleted: SL 2020/62 r. 23.]\n\n##### 5. Declaration of restricted area\n\nThe Woolah Aboriginal Community is declared to be a restricted area for the purposes of section 175(1a) of the Act.\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 Woolah Aboriginal Community continues to be a restricted area by operation of regulation 5 to be kept posted, at each place where a customary access route enters the Woolah Aboriginal Community 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.\n\n##### 7. Prohibitions as to liquor in the Woolah Aboriginal Community\n\n(1) A person commits an offence if the person —\n\n(a) brings liquor into, or causes liquor to be brought into, the Woolah Aboriginal Community; or\n\n(b) has liquor in their possession in the Woolah 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##### 8. 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##### 9. Period during which these regulations have effect\n\nUnless sooner repealed, these regulations have effect for the period that ends at the close of 19 August 2026.\n\n[Regulation 9 inserted: SL 2020/62 r. 24; amended: SL 2023/78 r. 12; SL 2024/157 r. 10; SL 2025/143 r. 10.]\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Liquor Control (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017* 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 (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017* 1 | 18 Aug 2017 p. 4455‑7 | r. 1 and 2: 18 Aug 2017 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 19 Aug 2017 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Racing and Gaming Regulations Amendment (Liquor Control) Regulations 2020* Pt. 8 | 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. 6 | SL 2023/78 20 Jun 2023 | 21 Jun 2023 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Racing and Gaming Regulations Amendment (Liquor Control) Regulations (No. 4) 2024* Pt. 4 | SL 2024/157 7 Aug 2024 | 8 Aug 2024 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *Racing and Gaming Regulations Amendment (Liquor Control) Regulations (No. 2) 2025* Pt. 5 | SL 2025/143 6 Aug 2025 | 7 Aug 2025 (see r. 2(b)) |\n\n\nOther notes\n\n1 These regulations expire at the close of 19 August 2026 (see r. 9).\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\nWoolah Aboriginal Community 3\n\nWoolah Layout Plan 3\n\n© State of Western Australia 2025.\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 2025.\n\nBy Authority: GEOFF O. LAWN, Government Printer\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing a restricted area for liquor control in the Woolah Aboriginal Community. While the expiry date has been extended multiple times (2020, 2023, 2024, 2025), this is standard temporal continuation rather than scope expansion. No substantive new prohibitions, enforcement mechanisms, or affected parties have been added beyond the original dry area declaration."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (9 regulations, 1 deleted)","Only 2 defined terms (Woolah Aboriginal Community, Woolah Layout Plan)","Simple conditional structure: basic offence in reg 7(1) with penalty tier in reg 7(2) for specific categories of offenders","Single cross-reference to parent Act (Liquor Control Act 1988 section 175(1a)) and one override of Act provisions (section 155(4) and (5))","No nested exceptions or complex deeming provisions","Straightforward sunset clause (reg 9) with multiple amendments only extending the expiry date"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations create a **liquor ban** for the Woolah Aboriginal Community in Western Australia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Declares the Woolah Aboriginal Community (a specific area of land) a **\"restricted area\"** — meaning special rules apply about alcohol\n- **Bans bringing alcohol into** the community or **possessing alcohol** there\n- Allows police to **seize and destroy** any alcohol containers (opened or unopened) if they reasonably suspect an offence\n- Requires the Director of Liquor Licensing to post notices at entry points warning about the ban and penalties\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone entering the Woolah Aboriginal Community (residents, visitors, workers)\n- **Harsher penalties** apply to liquor licensees, venue managers, or company directors ($5,000 fine vs $2,000 for everyone else)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThese are \"dry area\" laws — a form of alcohol restriction commonly used in remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. The regulations aim to reduce alcohol-related harm by physically preventing alcohol from entering the community. The rules are temporary (originally set to expire in 2020, now extended to August 2026) and can be renewed or allowed to lapse."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Amendments updated a definition (Reg 3), removed a deleted regulation, and revised the expiry/commencement timeline (Reg 9 and compilation table), but did not alter the core mechanics: declaration of the restricted area (Reg 5), the prohibitions and penalties (Reg 7), the notice requirement (Reg 6) or the seizure/disposal power (Reg 8)."},"complexity_factors":["Geographic definition tied to a specific lot and an external settlement layout plan (Reg 3)","Duty on the Director of Liquor Licensing to post and maintain notices at customary access points (Reg 6) creating an administrative obligation","Differentiated penalties: higher fine for licence-holders, managers or corporate directors (Reg 7(1)–(2))","Police power to seize and dispose of opened or unopened containers despite certain provisions of the Act (Reg 8), shifting evidence/disposal procedures","Temporal limit and multiple subsequent amendments to duration and definitions (Reg 9 and compilation table) requiring attention to expiry and amendment history"],"plain_english_summary":"Declares the Woolah Aboriginal Community a restricted area and makes it an offence to bring liquor into, or possess liquor within, that area, with higher fines for licensees and managers. Police may seize and dispose of opened or unopened containers suspected of being involved in an offence. The Director of Liquor Licensing must post and maintain notices at customary access routes. The regulations run until 19 August 2026 and affect residents, visitors, licence-holders and police enforcement actions."},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the title alone, the regulation appears consistent with its likely original intent: designating Woolah as a liquor restricted area. There is no available text to indicate any scope creep or amendment from original intent. Assessment is necessarily limited due to unavailability of the legislation text."},"complexity_factors":["Legislation text is entirely unavailable — the source URL is broken, making accurate analysis impossible","Restricted area regulations are typically straightforward in structure but cross-reference the parent Liquor Control Act 1988 (WA), adding a layer of complexity","Geographic and community-specific definitions may require local knowledge to interpret","Interaction with Commonwealth Aboriginal land rights and human rights frameworks can add legal complexity not apparent from the title alone"],"plain_english_summary":"The Liquor Control (Woolah Restricted Area) Regulations 2017 likely designate the Woolah locality as a liquor-restricted area, restricting possession, supply and consumption of alcohol, empowering police to search for and seize alcohol, and making it an offence to bring alcohol into the area. \n\nIt affects residents and visitors (likely a remote Aboriginal community) and aims to reduce alcohol-related harm, though such restrictions raise questions about community rights and autonomy."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017","history":"/api/acts/liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/liquor-control-woolah-restricted-area-regulations-2017/documents"}}