Curfews, time delays on alcohol delivery urged after woman drank herself to death

Victorians may see major changes in the way they can access alcohol delivery services after a 30-year-old woman drank herself to death.

Kathleen Arnold, from Heidelberg in Melbourne’s north-east, was able to order the delivery of more than 300 alcoholic products, such as wine and vodka, over 182 days, before she was found dead by her mother in September 2023.

The Coroners Court of Victoria investigated Kathleen Arnold’s alcohol-related death.Credit: Joe Armao

She had a blood-alcohol level of .54.

Coroner Ingrid Giles is calling for major reforms of the state’s alcohol regulations, including restricting access to delivery services, in the hope of saving lives.

The coroner is calling for reduced access to rapid alcohol delivery services such as Uber Eats, Jimmy Brings and Dan Murphy’s, which, she said, would prevent people ordering alcohol to their homes or workplaces after 8pm. Orders would also be delayed from being delivered for two hours if the state government accepts the recommendations.

“The circumstances in which Kathleen died tragically illustrate the consequences of Victorians being able to have alcohol delivered to them swiftly, easily, and late at night,” Giles said.

A coroner has called for reduced operating hours for alcohol delivery services such as Dan Murphy’s.Credit: Louie Douvis

“This is an area where relatively straightforward reform has the potential to significantly reduce the burden of harms associated with alcohol accessed via delivery provider platforms.”

Drug and alcohol advocates said major changes to online ordering currently meant people could order alcohol, including bottles of spirits, until 2am. Online ordering boomed during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Experts said the state’s most recent alcohol strategy finished in 2013, and there are renewed calls for a new plan to be formulated to tackle alcohol-related issues including family violence and related harm and health issues.

Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association chief executive officer Chris Christoforou said almost one in three presentations to the association for treatment were alcohol-related.

Requests for alcohol support had risen 50 per cent since the pandemic, he said.

Christoforou said delivery services were transactional, which meant there were no opportunities to assess a person’s wellbeing, which could be done at by staff at bottle stops.

“This poor person had chronic alcohol usage issues and was able to feed that through a lack of regulation,” Christoforou said of the finding into Arnold’s death.

“As the coroner pointed out, there’s been no plan for more than a decade in Victoria to tackle alcohol usage issues. We need the creation of an alcohol taskforce to help access concerning patterns of behaviour to themselves and others.

Each year, about 150 deaths involving acute alcohol use are reported to the coroner’s office.Credit: Tamara Voninski

“About 60 per cent of family violence cases involve alcohol. It’s a problem that needs action.”

Arnold’s mother told coronial investigators that easy access to alcohol through food and drink delivery platforms had impacted her daughter’s efforts to maintain sobriety.

This issue, the coroner said, had been first raised in 2022, when Arnold’s mother contacted her local MP with concerns about how food delivery services had provided alcohol to her daughter.

This, the mother believed, was often outside legislated alcohol delivery limitations and hours, including as late as 4am, without proper ID checks and at times while Arnold was connected to medical equipment.

Giles’ findings said that in late 2023, a Liquor Control Victoria inspector conducted investigations into Arnold’s access to alcohol using delivery services. Two restaurants were found to have supplied Arnold with alcohol in volumes exceeding delivery restrictions, and one supplied alcohol to her outside its licensed hours.

In the six months before Arnold’s death, she requested 213 food delivery orders over 182 days. Of these, 98 orders contained alcohol, for a total of 319 alcohol-based products including wine, vodka and cider.

The coroner noted the 30-year-old had a complex history of mental health issues and substance misuse since she was as teenager. As an adult, she presented to hospitals about 50 times for treatment of conditions including alcohol and drug use, an eating disorder, depression and liver cirrhosis.

Arnold was also engaged with alcohol and drug services, and had reduced her drinking at times, but was unable to stay sober.

Each year, about 150 deaths in Victoria involving the acute toxic effects of alcohol are reported to the coroner’s office.

However, Giles found these deaths represent only a proportion of all alcohol-related deaths, as most deaths resulting from chronic alcohol use are not reportable to the coroner because they are considered to be due to natural causes.

To identify further potential harm-reduction opportunities, Giles reviewed various state and federal policies and inquiries addressing alcohol-related harms, including submissions made to the current national inquiry into the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs in Australia.

Giles said consistent themes across the submissions suggested a range of areas must be targeted to reduce alcohol-related harms. These include pricing, regulation, advertising, healthcare, education and social attitudes towards alcohol.

The coroner said Victoria’s alcohol action plan had expired 12 years ago and there was no follow-up plan to build on what was trialled, implemented and achieved.

While the state announced plans to develop a new 10-year strategy to address alcohol and other drug harms in April 2024, Giles noted this work was still in the early stages.

Her recommendations include prohibiting the home delivery of alcohol between 10pm and 10am, and requiring a minimum two-hour delay between the order and dispatch of alcohol for home delivery. She also called on the state government to develop a new alcohol action plan.

State Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the government would now consider the findings and recommendations. “If changes are needed, we’ll be making them,” she said on Tuesday.

For support, contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug hotline on 1800 250 015.

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