Overview

The Inner East councils  and community health services have identified reducing alcohol related harm as a priority in their Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plans and Integrated Health Promotion Plans. The Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2019 – 2023 has also identified reducing harmful alcohol use as a priority.

The Action on Alcohol Flagship group is a consortium of representatives from the seven local governments of the Eastern Metropolitan Region (EMR), community health agencies, Inner East and Outer East Primary Care Partnerships and the Dalgarno Institute. The partnership is committed to taking midstream and upstream action, to reduce the harmful impacts of alcohol in local communities.

The role of the Flagship is to establish a common and consistent agenda, with short, medium and long-term goals for the group and the region, to reduce harms related to alcohol.

Why is alcohol misuse a priority?

Key research across the EMR identified increasing alcohol related harm and use between 1999 and 2007. In particular;

• Upward trends in alcohol-related hospital admission rates
• Upward trends in alcohol-related assaults
• Upward trends in alcohol ambulance related attendances,
• Upward trends in alcohol related courses of treatment
• Upward trends in liquor licensing with outlet density for the region increasing by about 30%.

Increasing availability of alcohol in the community is linked to the increasing burden of harms, including chronic disease, and domestic and general violence. The burden of harm from alcohol is also unevenly distributed across the community, with disproportionate harms affecting disadvantaged population groups.

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