Is alcohol too cheap in NSW?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-12-12 03:00

Australia; NSW; VIC; TAS; NT

Photo by Celeste Horrocks on Unsplash

While a pint at the pub is getting increasingly expensive, there are still a wide range of very cheap alcohol options sold for at-home consumption around NSW, according to Australian research. The team monitored the prices of five major alcohol websites in three NSW locations to see how they changed over time, varied between city and regional locations and were impacted by different tax systems. Looking at the price per standard drink, the researchers say bulk wine and high-strength cider were generally the cheapest options, with 6% of wine sold under 80c a standard drink. They say beverages under the Wine Equalisation Tax were usually the cheapest, and higher-strength products were often cheaper per standard drink than lower-strength alternatives. The researchers say the price of alcohol often drives purchasing and consumption, and the price of these products needs to be monitored on an ongoing basis.

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Journal/
conference: Drug and Alcohol Review

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), Menzies School of Health Research, National Drug Research Institute (NDRI), La Trobe University, University of Tasmania

Funder: This work was supported by NSW Health.

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