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Objective: From October 1, 2018, the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia introduced a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol of AU$1.30 per standard drink. The MUP was introduced to address the high alcohol consumption rates and harms within the NT. This study aimed to investigate the unique short-term impact of the MUP on alcohol-related assaults across the NT, for the NT overall and separately for four key regions (Darwin and Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, and Tennant Creek); which allowed for the consideration of differences in concurrent alcohol interventions and population (e.g., Alice Springs had Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors (PALIs) introduced on October 1, 2018, whereas Darwin and Palmerston only had the MUP introduced in this period). PALIs effectively equate to a police officer being stationed in every off-premise liquor vendor., Method: Using data from January 2013 to September 2019, interrupted time series (ITS) analyses assessed the short-term impact of the MUP on the monthly rate of police-recorded alcohol-related assaults., Results: A 14% reduction ( B = -3.07 [-5.40, -0.74], p < .010) was found for alcohol-related assault offenses per 10,000 in Darwin/Palmerston. Significant reductions were also noted in Alice Springs and the NT overall, although PALIs are likely to have contributed to these reductions in addition to the MUP., Conclusions: This short-term impact warrants longer-term follow-up to determine whether the reductions in alcohol-related assaults following the introduction of MUP are maintained, and the extent to which assault rates are influenced by other alcohol-policy interventions in the NT.

Introduction: The Banned Drinker Register (BDR) was reintroduced in the Northern Territory (NT) in September 2017. The BDR is a supply reduction measure and involves placing people who consume alcohol at harmful levels on a register prohibiting the purchase, possession and consumption of alcohol. The current study aims to evaluate the impacts of the reintroduction of the BDR, in the context of other major alcohol policy initiatives introduced across the NT such as Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors and a minimum unit price for alcohol of US$1.30 per standard drink., Methods and Analyses: The Learning from Alcohol (policy) Reforms in the Northern Territory project will use a mixed-methods approach and contain four major components: epidemiological analysis of trends over time (outcomes include health, justice and social welfare data); individual-level data linkage including those on the BDR (outcomes include health and justice data); qualitative interviews with key stakeholders in the NT (n≥50); and qualitative interviews among people who are, or were previously, on the BDR, as well as the families and communities connected to those on the BDR (n=150). The impacts of the BDR on epidemiological data will be examined using time series analysis. Linked data will use generalised mixed models to analyse the relationship between outcomes and exposures, utilising appropriate distributions. Qualitative data will be analysed using thematic analysis., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethics approvals have been obtained from NT Department of Health and Menzies School of Health Research Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), Central Australia HREC and Deakin University HREC. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, we will report our findings to key organisational, policy, government and community stakeholders via conferences, briefings and lay summaries., Competing Interests: Competing interests: PM has received funding from Australian Research Council (ARC) and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), grants from NSW Government, National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), Cancer Council Victoria, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Northern Territory Government (NTG), Australian Rechabites Foundation, Northern Territory Primary Health Network (NTPHN), Lives Lived Well, Queensland Government and Australian Drug Foundation (ADF), travel and related costs from Queensland Police Service, Queensland Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing and the Australasian Drug Strategy Conference. He has acted as a paid expert witness on behalf of a licensed venue and a security firm. KC has received funding from the ARC, Queensland Government, Northern Territory Government, FARE, Australian Rechabites Foundation, Lives Lived Well, and Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation. JS has received funding from ARC, NHMRC, ADF, NTPHN, NTG, Australian Government Department of Health, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Movember and NT Mental Health Coalition. He is the Deputy Chair of the NTPHN Community Advisory Council and has acted as an unpaid Expert Witness to the NT Liquor Commission. ML has received funding from the ARC, NHMRC, FARE, VicHealth, the Western Australian Mental Health Commission, Systembolaget (the Swedish alcohol monopoly), The Sax Institute and The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. He is a board member of the Australian Rechabites Foundation. MS has received funding from the NTG, the NTG Community Benefit Fund which receives money through a hypothecated tax on Electronic Gambling Machines in the NT. He has also received money from the NHMRC, the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and Gambling Research Australia. SG has received funding from ARC and NTG. RR has received funding from ARC, NHMRC, FARE, VicHealth, the US Institutes of Health and the World Health Organisation. CJCW has received funding from ARC, NHMRC, FARE, VicHealth, Australian Government Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Gandel Philanthropy, Victorian Transport Accident Commission, the Jack Brockhoff Foundation and the Australian Government eSafety Commissioner. SD has received funding from ARC and NTG. KEG has received funding from the ARC, NHMRC, Medical Research Futures Fund (MRFF), Australian Government Department of Health, Australian Government National Indigenous Australian Agency, Perpetual (Ramaciotti Foundations), Cardiovascular Research Network & National Heart Foundation, The Lowitja Institute. SC is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship and a Menzies School of Health Research Top-Up Scholarship DS has received funding from the ARC, Victorian Department of Health, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Traffic Accident Commission., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)