Anyone worried about overdoing it on Melbourne Cup Day and getting into trouble for being drunk in public doesn’t need to worry – unless they’re in Queensland.
From Tuesday, November 7 – Melbourne Cup Day – public intoxication will be decriminalized in Victoria.
The only Australian state where public intoxication remains a criminal offense is Queensland.
Four years ago, the Victorian government committed to moving from a criminal justice response to the issue to a public health approach, although significant progress was set aside by the Covid pandemic.
There will still be a heavy police presence at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday, including general duty officers, members of the Highway Patrol, Mounted Branch and the Public Order Response Team.
“Now that public drunkenness has been decriminalized on Cup Day, members will continue to encourage intoxicated people to seek support and help from family or friends,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
Anyone worried about overdoing it on Melbourne Cup Day and getting into legal trouble for being drunk in public has no need to worry anymore – unless they’re in Queensland. Pictured are revelers on Derby Day on November 4
From Tuesday, November 7 – Melbourne Cup Day – public intoxication will be decriminalized and will no longer be a criminal offense in Victoria. Racegoers are pictured at Flemington on Saturday, November 4
‘There will also be the possibility to refer them to the public drunkenness service under the supervision of the Ministry of Health.
‘But if they refuse and pose no risk to others, there is no longer a role for the police.’
However, being drunk in public does not mean that someone can commit another crime.
“If a drunk person commits a criminal offense, he will be dealt with quickly by the police,” the spokesperson said.
Police will also set up drug and alcohol testing sites around the racecourse and high-risk areas to identify impaired drivers and ensure everyone gets home safely.
Below, Ny Breaking Australia takes a look at the November 7 changes and what you need to know.
What are the new rules?
From Tuesday, November 7, public intoxication will no longer be illegal in Victoria.
Police will not be able to arrest and detain people for being drunk in public and place them in cells while they are sober.
However, they still have the power to arrest people for other crimes that may be related, such as nuisance, assault, vandalism or public safety.
If the police encounter someone in a public environment who is clearly intoxicated and needs help, they can refer them to a ‘sobering center’, which is not a police cell, and no criminal offense will be recorded.
Victorian police officers and racegoers are seen at the end of Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Saturday, November 4, 2023
The law in Victoria will be changed on Melbourne Cup Day to decriminalize drinking in public (Photo: A model celebrates the opening of the 2023 Spring Racing Carnival)
Why Melbourne Cup Day?
Rather than the Victorian government relaxing the rules for the state’s largest party, the date has more to do with red tape.
The laws were due to be changed on November 7 last year, specifically the Monday after Melbourne Cup weekend, but were pushed back a year due to Covid-related delays.
What is a ‘sobering center’?
The government intended for a 20-bed facility in Collingwood to join the health service on November 7, but construction work will not be completed until the end of November.
The facility is a repurposed retirement home in a residential neighborhood near a school, which has sparked opposition from residents in the area.
Sharrie Harrol, mother of two teenagers living on the streets, told The Age there was no consultation with residents and she was concerned for her children.
Neighbor Francesca Rush said the facility would be better connected to a hospital than in her “quiet community.”
The laws were supposed to be changed years ago, but have been postponed due to Covid disruptions
Private service provider Cohealth has been contracted by the government to run the center as part of a three-pronged approach that also includes street teams and transport services to take people home.
Each team will have a nurse, a drug and alcohol specialist and a vehicle that will feature signage, official badges and uniforms.
“The vast majority of people who are on the road just need a little support to get home, and that will happen in the vast majority of cases,” Prime Minister Jacinta Allen said.
“Whether it’s through the police or through ambulance services, that support will be there.”
What is the reason for the change in law?
The Victorian Government says a police response to public intoxication is ‘inappropriate and inconsistent with current community standards’.
There is particular concern that the laws have a disproportionate impact on the Indigenous community.
The Victorian Government has committed to decriminalizing public drunkenness as it launches an investigation into the 2017 death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day.
She was arrested on a train for being drunk in a public place and died after hitting her head in a concrete cell at Castlemaine police station.
A coroner found she was not adequately monitored and her death was preventable.
“Treating public intoxication for what it is – a public health problem that requires a public health response – ensures we keep the community safe and reduces the risk of people dying in police custody,” Ms Day’s family said in a statement.
The racing season in Melbourne started on Tuesday with the ‘race that stops a nation’
“As our mother’s case and all others like it show, police cells are dangerous places for drunk people.”
Cohealth will continue to operate a six-bed pilot site on Gertrude Street in Collingwood and mobile vans until the expanded site opens.
“We are not going to continue where we have laws in this state that are causing Indigenous Victorians to disproportionately end up in prisons and there are very seriously significant consequences associated with that,” Ms Allen said.
The Victorian Opposition previously introduced legislation in the House of Commons to delay the decriminalization of public intoxication, but it was blocked by Labor.