Abstract
Alcohol is New Zealand’s most harmful drug, costing society more than $9 billion a year. Restricting alcohol availability is proven to reduce harm, but that requires data on who is selling alcohol and where.
The Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority Register (ARLA) is the only nationwide source of this data, yet comparison with council records shows major discrepancies. The latest figures show ARLA’s database undercounted on-licences by 13% (1,097 venues) and off-licences by 15% (587 outlets) compared to council registers, with some areas missing up to 100% of premises, while overcounting others by up to 88%.
The poor quality of national data on alcohol availability undermines research, public health monitoring, and community input into licensing decisions. This Briefing recommends stronger enforcement of council reporting, increased licensing fees to fund compliance, requiring reporting to be submitted by a set date, and implementing a data standard for councils that would improve the standardisation and accuracy of licence details across the country. With these improvements, the ARLA Register would provide a more reliable picture of alcohol availability nationwide.