The extension of late-night trading hours for bottle shops in NSW has been linked to an increase in domestic violence assaults.
The state's Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has found the extension of trading hours for takeaway alcohol sales and home-delivered alcohol "was associated with a small but statistically significant increase in domestic violence assaults".
In December 2016, the NSW government allowed bottle shops and alcohol home delivery services across the state to trade for an extra hour until 11pm.
BOCSAR now estimates an additional 1120 domestic violence assaults occurred in the 38 months after hours were extended.
In the case of bottle shops, the change reversed a state-wide ban on takeaway alcohol sales after 10pm, which was introduced alongside the Kings Cross and Sydney CBD lockout laws in 2014.
The bureau's research released on Thursday assessed the impact of the trading hours extension on domestic and non-domestic assaults recorded by NSW Police.
In the three years after the new trading hours were introduced, the rate of domestic assaults increased by 0.4 per cent per month in NSW - translating to the additional 1120 assaults.
The increase was more pronounced after 10pm, lending support to the proposition that the rise was due to the policy change, BOCSAR concluded.
There was no significant change in other assaults.
BOCSAR Executive Director Jackie Fitzgerald said the research added to the "limited knowledge about what might work to reduce domestic violence".
"Many studies have shown that longer trading hours for pubs and nightclubs increases alcohol consumption and related harms," she said.
"However, few studies have examined violence associated with increased trading hours for packaged liquor outlets."
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