Minimum unit pricing: what’s all the fuss about?

In early 2025, the Northern Territory (NT) removed minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol.

Why did it cause so much debate? And why does alcohol policy remain such a contested issue?

MUP is often misunderstood, despite strong evidence that it can reduce alcohol-related harm.

This article explains what MUP is and why many public health experts support it as a tool for reducing harm.

What is minimum unit pricing?

MUP sets a minimum price for a standard unit (standard drink) of alcohol sold in bottle shops and other retail outlets. It’s sometimes called a ‘floor price’.¹

The policy mainly affects cheaper products sold in bottle shops, particularly cask and boxed wines.

It generally doesn’t affect most beers, ciders, spirits or alcohol sold in bars, pubs or nightclubs. These are often already sold at prices above the MUP.¹

In the NT, the minimum price was set at $1.30 per standard drink. This meant a unit of alcohol could not be sold for less than that amount.

How does a minimum unit price reduce harm?

Alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs in Australia.² It’s also one of the most harmful.³

Research shows that cheaper alcohol is linked to higher levels of risky drinking. And, people who drink heavily are also more likely to choose low-cost alcohol than people who drink occasionally.^{1, 4}

MUP stops bottle shops from selling alcohol at ultra-cheap prices. By increasing the price of these products, MUP encourages people who are drinking harmful amounts of alcohol to cut back.¹

Alcohol-related harms can affect anyone, but they often have a greater impact on disadvantaged communities.¹

The World Health Organization says price-based policies like MUP are one of the best ways to reduce alcohol-related harm.¹

Early indications of success in the NT

Early evidence showed that MUP was helping to reduce alcohol-related harm in the NT.

Purchases of cheap, high-alcohol products – especially cask wine – fell after it was introduced.

Alcohol use also decreased among people drinking at risky levels.^5-8

Research found it reduced other alcohol-related harms, including:

• road crashes that caused injury or death
• assaults
• ambulance attendances
• emergency department presentations.^{5, 9-11}

Why was minimum unit price removed in the NT?

The Northern Territory's MUP was repealed for a range of reasons, including political opposition, pressure from the alcohol industry, and debates around its impact.

One key challenge was demonstrating MUP's effectiveness in isolation.

The MUP was introduced in 2018 alongside other harm reduction measures, which included Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors (PALIs) and the Banned Drinker Register. This made it difficult to show how much of the positive change was due to MUP alone.¹²

There were also concerns it became less effective over time as the policy was not adjusted for inflation. The MUP remained at $1.30 despite recommendations to increase it to $1.50.¹²

The level at which an MUP is set matters – if it’s too low, it might not impact alcohol use and related harms. If it’s too high, it may lead to unintended consequences.¹²

This includes concerns that it could lead people to:

• spend money on alcohol instead of other essentials like food or rent
• switch to illicit drugs or other alcohol products
• commit crimes to get alcohol.^{13, 14}

But, current evidence does not support these impacts at a population level.^{13, 14}

MUP also faced strong opposition from the Country Liberal Party (CLP) and the alcohol industry.

They argued the policy wasn’t effective, and that people switched from buying cheap cask wine to spirits, which increased alcohol-related assaults.

These claims are not supported by evidence.¹⁵ Despite this, the CLP removed the policy after they were elected in 2024.

The MUP repeal reflects the broader disagreement on how to reduce alcohol harm in the NT, and an ongoing pattern where successive governments regularly change alcohol policies over time.¹⁶

Unsurprisingly, the alcohol industry also has a long history of opposing policies when they are likely to reduce alcohol sales, even if they improve public health.

You can read more on the influence of the alcohol industry in our article Public health vs ‘Big Alcohol’ profits.

Success in Scotland for minimum unit price

In May 2018, Scotland introduced a minimum unit price (MUP) of 50p per unit of alcohol. This is equivalent to about A$1.11 per standard drink.

While this was lower than the NT's MUP of $1.30, it affected a much larger share of the alcohol market in Scotland.

Before the policy, around 44% of alcohol sold for consumption off premises was priced below the Scottish MUP, compared with 19% in the NT.¹²

An independent evaluation found the MUP:

• is estimated to have saved 156 lives and prevented 411 hospital admissions each year
• reduced overall alcohol consumption by around 3%
• reduced heavy drinking, especially among people who bought the most alcohol
• helped reduce alcohol-related harm in communities experiencing disadvantage
• achieved high compliance among retailers, with no major impacts on alcohol businesses
• did not cause any unintended social harms, such as increased drug use, illicit alcohol use or impacts on household spending.¹⁴

Inflation, changing drinking habits and the COVID-19 pandemic began to reduce the initial positive impact of Scotland's MUP over time. In response, the minimum price was increased to 65p per unit to keep pace with inflation and strengthen the public health impact.

Read more: Minimum Pricing | Alcohol Focus Scotland

Why minimum unit pricing matters

Governments and public health organisations have long worked to reduce alcohol-related harms.

MUP is a tool that can help address health inequities, and works best alongside other measures such as alcohol taxes, support services, limits on alcohol advertising, and stricter rules for alcohol sales.^{3, 16}

Very cheap alcohol is more likely to be bought by people who drink heavily. By reducing access to these products, MUP can target harmful drinking while having little impact on people who drink moderately.