Parties

Registering your party

Letting the police know of your party beforehand could be helpful if something goes wrong. The police can:

  • Help remove gatecrashers.
  • Tell you of complaints (such as the neighbours complaining about noise) on the phone instead of coming to the party
  • Tell your neighbours that you have notified the police and the party’s duration
  • Drive by to make sure everything is okay

You can notify the police by:

  • Logging onto the website MyNite at www.mynite.com.au/register.php (if it is more than 72 hours before the event)
  • Downloading a ‘mynite Party Notification form’ from the website and post, fax or hand it in person at the Police station closest to the party venue.

Remember to tell the Police if the party gets postponed, relocated or cancelled.

Alcohol

Although there are no laws that make it an offence to drink alcohol in a private home, if your guests are under 18, you can’t serve them alcohol unless you have permission from their parents.

If you supply alcohol to, or obtain alcohol from a pub or liquor store for anyone under 18 you might have to pay up to $5500 or $11,000 and/or 12 months prison in aggravated circumstances (such as when alcohol is supplied to young children or when there is a large amount of alcohol supplied). This applies even if you’re under 18!

It is also illegal for someone under 18 to consume alcohol:

  • at a licensed premises such as a pub, club;
  • at an unlicensed restaurant (unless you are with your parent/guardian); or
  • in a public place (unless you have a reasonable excuse or you are accompanied by a parent or guardian).

Also, if you are under 18, it is illegal to obtain or attempt to obtain alcohol from licensed premises.

Medical Emergencies

If someone has passed out from taking drugs or having too much to drink, or if there is another medical emergency, you should call the ambulance on 000. 

In the case of a drug overdose, and you don’t know whether the amount taken was damaging, you can ring Poisons Information on 131 126, anytime and anywhere in Australia for advice. Be aware that it takes a while for the symptoms of an overdose to appear, so even if the person appears to be all right, get help and advice.

At the ambulance’s arrival, you should tell them:

  • how much the person has drunk; and
  • what substance they took

The ambulance officers do not have to call the police unless:

  • the ambulance officers feel threatened by violence;
  • someone dies;
  • the area is classed as dangerous; or
  • you specifically ask that the police be called.

Noise Regulation

The most common complaint from neighbours is the level of noise at parties. In NSW, it is an offence to create ‘offensive noise’.

An offensive noise is one that, by reason of its level, nature, character or quality, or the time at which it is made, or any other circumstances:

  • is harmful to (or is likely to be harmful to) a person who is outside the premises from which it is emitted, or
  • interferes unreasonably with (or is likely to interfere unreasonably with) the comfort or repose of a person who is outside the premises from which it is emitted, or
  • that is of a level, nature, character or quality prescribed by the law or that is made at a time, or in other circumstances, prescribed by the law.
Additional factors that may be taken into account in deciding whether a noise is ‘offensive’ are:
  • the loudness of the noise, especially compared with other noise in the area,
  • the character of the noise,
  • the time and duration of the noise,
  • whether the noise is typical for the area,
  • how often the noise occurs, and
  • the number of people affected by the noise.

Officers intending to give a warning under the Noise Control Regulation need to satisfy themselves that the noise is audible in the habitable room and is coming from the alleged source outside the permitted times.

If your party is judged to be creating ‘offensive noise’, then the police can order a noise abatement direction to stop the noise. If you continue, this could lead to fines of up to $3,300 and seizure of the equipment that is making the noise for up to 28 days.

In NSW, there are restrictions for the use of musical instruments and sound systems, which are common at parties. The restricted times are:

  • Sunday to Thursday 10pm to 8am
  • Friday, Saturday and days followed by a public holiday: 12 am to 8am

This does not limit when you can play music, but during these times you must ensure that the volume is low enough not to be heard by your neighbour’s house.

If a neighbour comes by your house to complain about noise levels, don’t get aggressive. The best thing to do is be considerate of others and turn the volume down.

Injuries and Damage to Property

Having a party is a lot of responsibility – you owe all your guests a duty of care, so make sure items that can injure your guests are set aside. If your guest is injured, they may be able to sue either you or your parents/guardian for negligence.

It is also good to lock away items that are valuable, like LCD televisions or even mobile phones. Also, if one of your guests damages someone else’s property they will be liable under the law – regardless of how old they are.

If however, it is found that they acted this way because of you or your parent’s breach of duty of care (eg. If you supplied alcohol to them) then you and your parents could be held responsible.

For more information, see Law Topic: Being Sued

Tips

Planning is extremely important in having a successful party. Here are some common problems that arise at parties and remedies that can solve them:

Gatecrashers and unwelcome guests

  • The police may be able to provide you with a poster that signifies that this is a police-registered party.
  • If it is possible, get some kind of security to prevent gatecrashers coming in.
  • Organise the venue so that there are only a small number of entrances and exits into the party.
  • Don’t send invitations via avenues where uninvited people can have easy access to, such as Facebook or SMS.
  • Don’t send open invitations and keep a guest list.
  • Be sure to specify the start and finish times on your invitation.
  • Have adult supervision at the venue that is proportionate to the guests you have invited.

Alcohol

  • Decide early on whether the party will consume alcohol or not. Specify this clearly to your guests
  • Have plenty of food available, as food slows down alcohol absorption in the body. Stay clear of salty foods – which make people thirstier.
  • If you decide to have alcohol, make sure adequate non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic drinks are available.
  • Don’t have BYO and have one area serving all the alcohol. Make sure the area is run by a responsible adult.
  • Plan how your guests will leave your party. P plates cannot drive whilst intoxicated (their Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is 0). Try to organise public transport, parent pickups, sleepovers or for someone who has not taken alcohol to carpool. Remember that Red P-platers under 25 can only carry one passenger under the age of 21 between 11pm and 5am.

For more tips on party planning visit:

Reach Out! at http://www.reachout.com.au/default.asp?ti=2602

MyNite at http://www.mynite.com.au

 

This page last updated September 2009

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