For the second consecutive year, around 80 per cent of packaged liquor retailers across New South Wales will be forced to shut their doors on Anzac Day — while hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants, and cafes are permitted to trade and sell takeaway alcohol without restriction. That asymmetry is now drawing a formal and increasingly pointed response from the industry.
Retail Drinks Australia, the peak body representing packaged liquor retailers, has called on the NSW Government to address what it describes as “discriminatory and anti-competitive” trading laws that single out bottle shops while leaving their direct competitors free to operate. The organisation argues the financial and competitive damage is real, compounding, and structurally unfair.
What the NSW Anzac Day Trading Laws Actually Require
Under current NSW legislation, Anzac Day carries specific trading restrictions that do not apply uniformly across the liquor sector. Packaged liquor licences — the category that covers most standalone bottle shops — are prohibited from trading on the day. Other licence categories face no equivalent restriction.
This means a customer who cannot buy a six-pack from their local bottle shop on Anzac Day can walk into a pub, club, or restaurant and purchase takeaway alcohol without issue. The practical effect is a direct transfer of trade from one part of the industry to another, not a genuine restriction on alcohol access.
The distinction matters commercially. Bottle shops, particularly independent and family-owned operators, rely on consistent weekly trading to cover fixed costs. A forced closure on a public holiday — especially one that falls alongside an additional public holiday — removes a full trading day with no mechanism for recovery.
The Competitive Distortion Retail Drinks Is Calling Out
Retail Drinks CEO Michael Waters has been direct about the industry’s position. “These are discriminatory and anti-competitive laws that single out small, family-owned businesses while allowing their direct competitors to operate freely,” he said. “That is not fairness, it’s distortion.”
Waters was equally clear that the objection is not about disrespecting the day. “We respect Anzac Day deeply, and our members commemorate it appropriately and support their local communities. But respect for the day should not mean punishing one part of the liquor industry while exempting others.”
The compounding effect is a key part of the argument. When Anzac Day falls adjacent to another public holiday, operators absorb two consecutive days of penalty rates, reduced or zero trading revenue, and fixed overhead costs that do not pause. For smaller independent retailers already navigating rising input costs and softening consumer spending, that combination creates genuine financial strain.
How NSW Anzac Day Rules Compare Across Licence Types
| Licence Category | Permitted to Trade on Anzac Day | Permitted to Sell Takeaway Alcohol |
|---|---|---|
| Packaged liquor (bottle shops) | No — approximately 80% must close | No |
| Hotels | Yes | Yes |
| Clubs | Yes | Yes |
| Bars and restaurants | Yes | Yes |
| Cafes | Yes | Yes |
The table makes the structural problem visible. This is not a blanket restriction on alcohol sales — it is a selective closure that applies to one licence category while competitors in the same market operate without constraint.
What the Laws Do Not Address
It is worth being precise about what Retail Drinks is and is not arguing. The industry body is not calling for unrestricted trading across all licence types on Anzac Day. The ask is equity — that if other licence categories are permitted to trade and sell takeaway alcohol, packaged liquor retailers should not be singled out for closure.
The NSW Government has not announced any review of the current framework, and no legislative change is confirmed. The advocacy effort is ongoing, and the outcome for this Anzac Day remains unchanged from last year. Operators in the packaged liquor category should plan accordingly.
The laws also do not affect all bottle shops equally. Larger chains with diversified revenue streams and corporate support structures absorb a forced closure differently to a single-site independent operator running on thin margins. The burden falls hardest on the businesses least equipped to carry it.
Who Carries the Cost and Who Benefits
Independent and family-owned bottle shops bear the sharpest impact. They lose a full trading day, pay penalty rates for any staff required for compliance or preparation, and watch direct competitors capture the trade they cannot. Hotels and clubs with packaged liquor sales capability are the clearest commercial beneficiaries of the current arrangement.
Why This Matters Beyond One Public Holiday
The Anzac Day trading dispute is a specific instance of a broader tension running through Australian liquor retail regulation — the question of whether licence category distinctions drawn up decades ago still reflect the competitive reality of the market. Bottle shops and hotels now compete directly for the same takeaway alcohol dollar. When regulation treats them differently without a clear public interest rationale, it creates distortions that accumulate over time.
Retail Drinks’ decision to escalate publicly for a second consecutive year signals that internal advocacy has not produced movement. The next step, if the NSW Government does not engage, is likely to be a more formal regulatory or political campaign ahead of the next state budget cycle.
If you work in liquor retail, wholesale, or FMCG distribution in NSW, this is a regulatory environment worth tracking closely. The outcome of this advocacy will shape trading conditions not just on public holidays but in any future review of the state’s liquor licensing framework. Stay across the Retail Drinks Australia submissions and watch for any NSW Government response in the coming months.