The art of community alcohol management

What is it?

The art of community alcohol management guide has been developed by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) and VicHealth to explore what Victorian local government can do to prevent and minimise alcohol-related harm and create safe and healthier communities.

Local governments are in a unique position to work with residents in their local community to prevent and minimise alcohol-related harm.

The ‘How to Guide’ is a practical resource to support Victorian local governments to implement relevant actions to prevent and minimise alcohol-related harm. It can be used by local governments to get some quick wins, build the foundation of a strong plan or fine-tune current strategies.

Who is this resource for?

This guide is primarily aimed at health and social planners and other local government staff who are responsible for developing Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plans, supporting them to incorporate effective actions to reduce alcohol harm into their Plans.

It contains ideas, sample actions, case studies, tips and tools that will be useful for a broader audience who work on alcohol-related harm prevention and other complex social topics.

What are the benefits to local governments and their communities?

Some of the benefits to local governments delivering the alcohol prevention actions outlined in The How to Guide include:

• Fewer alcohol-related risks and liabilities, waste collection and cleaning, complaints (e.g. noise, antisocial behaviour), alcohol-related crime (e.g. physical and sexual assault, property damage)

• Changing social and cultural norms to promote activities that do not feature alcohol consumption as a central component

• Cost savings (e.g. property damage, insurance costs and legal costs associated with alcohol-related injuries) and sharing resources and improved revenue for council (e.g. through application process, festival sponsorship)

• Legislative compliance.