Possession of Liquor by Minors

Possession of Liquor by Minors is an offence under Section 11 of the Summary Offences Act 1988 which carries a maximum penalty of $20.

To establish the offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

1. You were under the age of 18
2. You were in possession of alcohol, and
3. You were in a public place

A defence to the charge is that you were supervised by a responsible adult, or had a reasonable excuse for possessing the alcohol.

A public place is defined as:

A place or part of a premises that is open to, or used by the public, whether or not for payment, and whether or not only open to a limited class of persons.

It includes privately owned places that are open to the public, such as:

1. Shopping centres and stores within them
2. Restaurants
3. Parks and theme parks, and
4. Sporting venues