Overview

Alcohol affects everyone a little differently. Some people laugh a lot, some become sad and depressed, some become less inhibited and others show aggressive and violent behaviour. The one thing in common is that alcohol does affect behaviour.

Regardless of the behaviour, continued abuse of alcohol can lead to emotional, physiological, financial and physical problems that not only affect you but also those closest to you and the community around you.

Responsible service of alcohol (RSA) is part of the hospitality industry’s response to changing community attitudes towards alcohol abuse. It is not acceptable behaviour to drink as much as you can, shout obscenities, fall over, vomit and annoy everyone around you. Customers don’t want to be in a bar that nurtures this behaviour.

The approach by the relevant liquor licensing authorities is part of the industry selfregulation aiming to stamp out this behaviour and make not only the customer, but also the server and the licensee responsible for drinking behaviour within establishments. Everyone has a duty of care.

Completion of this unit will provide you with the skills and knowledge to responsibly sell or serve alcohol and to satisfy the requirements for responsible sale and service of alcohol (RSA) under state and territory legislation.

In this unit you will learn how to:

• Sell or serve alcohol responsibly
• Assist customers to drink within appropriate limits
• Assess alcohol-affected customers and identify customers to whom sale or   service must be refused.
• Refuse to provide alcohol.