Victorian Coroner Recommends Alcohol Delivery Restrictions After Tragic Death

A coroner urges reforms to limit rapid alcohol deliveries following the death of a woman who ordered over 300 alcoholic products in six months.

Kathleen Arnold, a 30-year-old woman with a history of substance misuse, died in September 2023 with a blood alcohol level of 0.54 after extensive use of alcohol delivery services.
The Coroners Court of Victoria found Arnold ordered 319 alcohol products through delivery platforms over 182 days, often outside legal hours and without proper ID checks.
Coroner Ingrid Giles recommended prohibiting alcohol deliveries between 10pm and 10am and enforcing a two-hour delay between orders and dispatch to reduce harm.
The coroner highlighted the lack of a current alcohol action plan in Victoria, with the last strategy expiring in 2013, and called for a new 10-year plan to address alcohol-related harms.
Advocates emphasized the need for stricter regulation, noting that alcohol-related treatment requests have risen 50% since the pandemic and that alcohol is a factor in 60% of family violence cases.