The Northern Territory government will deny takeaway alcohol to problem drunks with its rebooted Banned Drinkers' Register.
Repeat drink-drivers and domestic violence offenders will be among 1000 drinkers forbidden from buying booze when the $17 million measure is launched on September 1.
That figure is expected to grow by 500 a month, tapering off as the bulk of problem drinkers are identified, NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles says.
"The rates of crime, violence and harm associated with takeaway alcohol and problem drinkers are staggering. It has to stop," she said.
Ms Fyles said alcohol-related harm costs the Territory $642 million each year.
The BDR is an electronic system where customers must present photo identification before buying alcohol and those on the banned list won't be able to purchase.
The former Country Liberal government scrapped the BDR upon taking office in 2012, less than a year after it was first introduced.
As such there's no hard evidence that the measure worked last time, so it will now be reviewed after 12 months.
An initial BDR ban is three months long but breaches will increase the ban to six months and then one year.
Some $15.5 million dollars has been allocated in the 2017 budget for a 40-bed sobering up shelter and expanding rehabilitation services.
A further $1.7 million dollars will also be used to roll out the BDR technology.
The CLP's alcohol mandatory treatment scheme will be dumped.
Under the scheme, anyone who is drunk and detained by police three times in two months goes before a tribunal and could be forced into rehabilitation.
Temporary beat locations, where police stand outside liquor stores to stop intoxicated people buying alcohol, will continue at the discretion of police.
TERRITORIANS WILL GO ON THE BDR IF:
- They have any combination of three protective custodies or alcohol infringement notices in two years
- They have two low range drink-driving offences or a single mid-range or high-range drink driving offence
- They are the defendant on an alcohol-related domestic violence order
- They have an alcohol prohibition condition on a court order (including child protection orders), bail or parole order
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