New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1993 - SECT 632A

632A Confiscation of alcohol in certain public and other places

(1) A police officer or an enforcement officer may seize any alcohol (and the bottle, can, receptacle or package in which it is contained) that is in the immediate possession of a person in an alcohol prohibited area if the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person:

(a) is drinking, or

(b) is about to drink, or

(c) has recently been drinking,

alcohol in the alcohol prohibited area.

(2) Any alcohol or thing seized under this section is, by virtue of the seizure, forfeited:

(a) if seized by a police officer-to the State, or

(b) if seized by an enforcement officer-to the council that employs the officer.

(3) Any alcohol seized under this section may:

(a) be disposed of immediately by tipping it out of the bottle, can, receptacle or package in which it is contained, or

(b) be otherwise disposed of in accordance with directions given by the Commissioner of Police or the council (as the case requires).

(4) A council may declare any public place (or any part of a public place) in the council’s area to be an "alcohol prohibited area" for the purposes of this section. However, an alcohol prohibited area cannot be established in relation to a public place that is a public road (or part of a public road) or car park.

Note: Alcohol-free zones can be established under Part 4 of this Chapter in relation to public roads or car parks.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), a "public place" includes any land comprising open space on public housing land. However, an alcohol prohibited area can only be established in relation to any such land if:

(a) the open space is adjacent to an existing alcohol prohibited area (other than an alcohol prohibited area situated on public housing land) or alcohol-free zone, and

(b) the open space is a common area (other than a common area within the curtilage of any building) that is available to the public housing tenants, and

(c) people can readily gain access to the open space from the adjacent alcohol prohibited area or alcohol-free zone, and

(d) the New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation has approved of the open space being established as an alcohol prohibited area.

(6) An alcohol prohibited area operates, in accordance with the terms of the declaration establishing the area, during such times or events as are specified in the declaration.

(7) An alcohol prohibited area operates only so long as there are erected at the outer limits of the area, and at suitable intervals within the area, conspicuous signs:

(a) stating that the drinking of alcohol is prohibited in the area, and

(b) specifying the times or events, as specified in the declaration by which the area was established, during which it is to operate.

(8) An alcohol prohibited area cannot be established without the approval of the Local Area Commander of Police for the area in which the proposed alcohol prohibited area is situated.

(9) If a council is required by the guidelines in force under section 646 to provide the Anti-Discrimination Board with a copy of the council’s proposal to establish an alcohol-free zone, the council cannot establish an alcohol prohibited area unless the council has complied with the consultation requirements set out in those guidelines.

(10) For the purposes of subsection (9), the guidelines in force under section 646 apply, with such modifications as are necessary, in relation to a proposed alcohol prohibited area in the same way as they apply in relation to a proposed alcohol-free zone.

(11) An alcohol prohibited area is taken to have been established for the public place to which an existing alcohol prohibition notice applies. An "existing alcohol prohibition notice" is a notice erected under section 632, and in force immediately before the commencement of the Local Government Amendment (Confiscation of Alcohol) Act 2010 , prohibiting the drinking of alcohol in a public place.

(12) In this section:
"enforcement officer" means an employee of a council authorised in writing by the Commissioner of Police to be an enforcement officer for the purposes of this section.
"public housing land" means any land on which public housing within the meaning of the Housing Act 2001 is situated.