There is a reason one heeds drink spiking prevention advice in Australia; the risk is there, you can overlook the signs and a good evening can be ruined in short order. We will get into how to stop it from happening, the venues’ part in it, what the protective products on offer are for, and the immediate course of action should you or an associate be made a target.
My name is Rhys Parker. I have put in my time at hotels and hospitality desks, in function rooms and with late check-ins, and seen enough people trying to pull themselves together after a bad night to know this: much of the safety talk makes sense until you are under the weather, tipsy and looking for your coat. So any drink spiking tip worth having has to be practical, not a sermon.
Night Time Risks
You have the live music, the rooftop drinks, the midnight feed and the inevitable debate over a last round; Australian nightlife has its merits. To ensure a memorable experience, here are some tips for safe Melbourne nights out. But the kind of place where a spiked drink is not noticed till someone is poorly is a festival, a private party or a crowded bar where group plans are in flux.
It is not always dramatic when it happens. You may see someone more in their cups than they ought to be, or there is the dizziness, the confusion, the memory lapses and the vomiting. Then again it could be that the strength of the alcohol was not as represented.
Smartraveller, the Australian Government’s authority on nightlife safety, would have you “never leave food or drinks unattended” and to be observant while they are being made. It is a current piece of advice and you should consider it a given.
A Melbourne Safety Checklist
For the abridged version, here are some no-fuss tips for a safe night in Melbourne. This is the sort of thing that is not particularly glamorous but gets results.
- Only take a drink you have seen opened or made.
- Don’t let go of it, be it in the loo queue, the smoking area or on the dance floor.
- No swapping cups “for a sec” and don’t share.
- Put it down if it fizzes or looks cloudy or for some reason you do not trust it.
- Should a friend become unwell or unduly intoxicated, stay with them.
- Any suspicion of spiking and you make it known to the bar staff or security without delay.
- Make sure you have transport you can rely on to get home and do not split up without saying so.
- If someone is unrousable, seizing or has difficulty breathing, ring 000.
The Habits That Will Do The Job
Prevention in the end is rather boring, which is as it should be. It is a matter of routine and making it hard for anyone to interfere, not of paranoia or thinking every stranger means harm.
Watch The Pour
Make your own order and see it done. If an offer is made to fetch you something in a full house, you can be awkward for five seconds and walk to the bar with them or say no. Twelve hours of feeling ill is not worth it.
People make the mistake of supposing the danger is only once the drink is in hand. The hand-off is the vulnerability. Leave it on a table to catch up with a mate and it is open to tampering.
Hold It Or Bin It
Let a drink out of your sight and you are finished with it. Wasteful? Perhaps. And at AUD $12 to $28 in most of the better venues in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne, it is not cheap. But then neither is a trip to hospital or a phone you can’t find, let alone a night you will not recall. There are any number of sensible adults I have seen put a glass down on a table, step out for a call and return to put in a hopeful sip. It is a small gamble and not one that is worth making. The rule is plain: hold your drink or put it in the bin. That is as good a way of warding off spiking as you will find.
Know Your Own Baseline
The difficulty with a spiked drink is in the recognition; all too often the first indications are put down to something else. A person will say they are under the weather from stress or dancing, or put it to strong cocktails, the heat, having skipped lunch or being tired. In some cases they are justified, in others not.
Be mindful if you are disoriented after only a modicum of alcohol when normally a standard drink has a mild relaxing effect. Or when a friend is as flat as a pancake over an amount he would ordinarily have no trouble with. You see that disparity between consumption and condition in many of the Melbourne reports on drink spiking.
Protective Products In Australia
You will not have much trouble locating anti-spike drink covers these days which is to be recommended. They are no substitute for caution nor are they some kind of magic shield, but at a festival, student function or other large affair where the nightlife is busy they put up a practical barrier.
People want to have something in their hand and so there has been an increase in searches for things like drink scrunchie products, anti-spiking lids and the like. There is nothing wrong with that. At times a physical prompt to look after your glass is as effective as the cover.
What These Are
Take the drink scrunchie, a piece of fabric you wear that can be unfurled to go over a cup, complete with a place for a straw. Nightcap is the most recognised name in this and talk of the product is mostly about its convenience, it is an unassuming accessory until called for.
Then you have StopTopps (or stoptopps Australia) which are anti-spiking lids to give a more secure seal on the opening of a cup. Safer Sips and Renton’s are also to be found, with styles running the gamut from stretch-fit fabric to reusable silicone.
Their Limitations
They do make it more of an effort for someone to put something in your drink without you seeing it. Useful in a crowded bar or a standing-room gig where you are being jostled. They will keep a drink from sloshing about too, which is handy when your shoes are already suffering for the evening even if it is not a matter of safety per se.
Yet nothing is a full prevention. Leave the drink and a cover can be done away with or circumvented. And they are of no use if tampering has already taken place. So the best anti-spike cover is the one you will put to proper use and pair with good sense.
| Product Type | How It Works | Best For | Main Limitation |
| Drink Scrunchie | Stretches over the glass as a wearable cover | A night out at the club or bar | You must not let the drink out of your sight |
| Anti-Spiking Lid | Fits close over the top of the cup | Dance floors and outdoor events | Dependent on the size and style of cup |
| Reusable Drink Cover | A barrier, may have a slot for a straw | Travel and general nightlife | Will not protect the drink prior to service |
In reality they are more of a seatbelt than an invisibility cloak. Sensible to have but don’t let them lull you into inattention.
Onus On The Venues
A venue should be doing more than turning down the lights and serving drinks. Safety ought to be part of the way they staff and run their service. Individual vigilance is one thing, but with trained staff and security a bar can mitigate risk for hundreds of patrons in an evening.
Staff Training
Any guidance for a licensed venue needs to cover how to spot a spiked drink and deal with it, not to mention preserving evidence and getting medical care and transport to a patron. Galaxy Training and others are involved in the discourse on responsible service and incident awareness though one finds variation from state to state and venue to venue.
At the better clubs there is a clear line of escalation: move the individual to somewhere safe, put a supervisor in the picture, have CCTV secured if need be and make a record of it. What you do not want is the shrug and “I suppose you had a bit too much” along with a free water. Such a response is a waste of time.
A venue will do its part by seeing to it that drinks are put in the purchaser’s hand, not left at some unattended collection point, and by way of checking on any patron who looks vulnerable. They should also be at pains to let their security know when a welfare issue is to be given precedence over crowd control. Then there are festivals where the job is harder; between the noise and heat, portable bars and poor lighting, and a mobile signal you can only count on in patches, monitoring is not as straightforward.
You can tell if a place is serious about welfare. The staff will know what to do with an unwell person, managers are to be seen and they will not make you feel like a nuisance for voicing a concern.
Spotting Trouble Early
Hesitation is understandable since a spiked drink has all the hallmarks of being drunk or dehydrated, or under the influence of something else. But one should not ignore it if it seems at odds with what has been imbibed.
Warning Signs
Dizziness that comes on fast, confusion, slurred words, no coordination, vomiting, drowsiness or agitation out of the ordinary, blackouts, a collapse. Or the person may remark the taste of the drink is odd, or in the space of minutes go from fine to very unwell.
It is not always easy to put a timeline on things. With alcohol and not much food on a hot night, symptoms have a way of blurring. So make the comparison: is this in proportion to the time and the quantity consumed and the person’s tolerance? If the answer is no, act on it.
What To Do
When spiking is suspected, do not worry about appearing calm, get on with it. Safety is the priority, not playing detective. See the person to a safe spot with friends or security and put aside any embarrassment.
- Make it plain to the staff that you think the drink has been spiked so they do not put it down to drunkenness.
- Should the person be unconscious, semi-conscious, having fits or hard to rouse, call 000.
- And do not rule out urgent medical attention even if there is some improvement, substances can be unpredictable.
- Put the container to one side if you can, and make a note of the time and what was had.
- Leave the person to it or put them in a taxi by themselves and you are making a mistake.
Some people wait for certainty. There is no need for laboratory proof. If your companion is not making sense after a tinnie or a mixed drink, trust your instincts and get some help.
Reporting And Support
One should report spiking even in the absence of surety. It allows the police and the venue to put away any CCTV or witness information before it is lost in the weekend rush and patterns come to light.
Who To Call
000 for anything serious or dangerous. For non-urgent matters the state or territory police, Victoria Police in Melbourne or the region for instance. Health services and the Alcohol and Drug Foundation are good for advice and to put risks in perspective. Travellers would do well to consult Smartraveller for nightlife precautions. Do not be put off from reporting for fear of not being able to prove it. A toxicology result is not forthcoming in many cases, particularly with any delay, but the incident is no less real for that.
Why Evidence Is Lost
In a busy venue the drink is gone in a moment, the body expels the substance, CCTV gets written over and by tomorrow a witness will not be so sure. Make your notes then and there: the venue, the time, who was there and the symptoms.
A Safer Plan for the Group
There is value in looking after yourself but a good group strategy is what makes for a trouble free night. Have a proper buddy system, not to be overbearing with your friends but so that nobody is left in the dark on the assumption another was minding them.
Rules of Thumb
Before you set off have a rough plan of the route, where you are likely to end up second and how you will be getting back. A typical night in Melbourne could have you on the train, a tram to get from one inner-city place to another and a taxi or rideshare pre-arranged for the journey home. For those driving to something in the suburbs, it is better to have parking and a sober driver in hand before any alcohol is consumed, not after midnight when all your decisions seem sounder than they are.
Then there is the matter of timing. What was supposed to be a quick Friday drink has a way of turning into five hours and no one is the wiser. Put some check-ins in your schedule at logical junctures: once you have left the first venue, prior to making a move, or before the group splits up. Should someone be more under the influence than you thought, so much for the plan.
When you are in town for a day and fancy an uncomplicated evening, make a point of sticking to a good precinct instead of criss-crossing the city. You will have fewer transport gaps and less risk of anyone getting left behind with the reduced number of venue changes. It may lack a certain spontaneity but for the most part it is smoother going.
Who This Is Aimed At
We put this guide together for all comers in Australia, be they students, travellers, those in hospitality, festival crowds or the sort who like a bar but do not want to be on minder duty for the evening. Younger adults and solo travellers will find it of use, as will groups that are moving about a lot between venues and drinking.
Some should be more circumspect. Anyone in a city they do not know, or at a big event where mobile service and access are spotty, and anyone who is having to put faith in a stranger for a ride. We would say it is not for the novice to wing the whole night on the assumption that vibes will keep them safe; they will not.
Rhys Has The Last Word
Preventing drink spiking does not have to be made into a military operation. It is a question of using habits to put the odds on your side even when the bar is as crowded as a sardine can and the music is deafening and your phone is running on fumes.
Take nothing else from this then watch what is being poured and put in your hands, and do not be slow to act if you or a friend are not feeling right. I would say the ones in hospitality with the most sense are not the fearlessness type but those who see trouble coming and deal with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where to source anti-spike drink covers in Australia?
Australian retailers and marketplaces will have their products online, as will some in the event safety business. Nightcap, StopTopps and Safer Sips are some of the product names you will come across, along with reusable drink covers. Do check if the cover is for a glass or a cup and whether it is single-use before you part with your money.
What is a drink scrunchie?
It is a hair scrunchie of sorts that you wear and then put over your drink as a fabric cover, leaving room for a straw. It is an easy way to put up a barrier on a night out but it is no substitute for keeping an eye on your drink.
Which is the best anti-spike cover?
The one you actually use and carry. A drink scrunchie is popular for being easy to remember since it is wearable, whereas for a festival or the outdoors a sturdier lid may be called for. In the end convenience and how well it fits your drinkware trumps any marketing.
How to put a cap on your drinking?
Have a figure in mind before you set out and put some water in between. If rounds are likely to see you go over what you intended, stay away from them. Make early plans for your trip back; once you have transport covered you are less inclined to think “ah well, one more”. And you will have a clearer head to tell if a drink has been tampered with.
Will you taste a spiked drink?
It might be bitter or just not right, but more often than not there is nothing to see or taste. To put your trust in that is risky. If the hand-off or the way you are feeling puts you off, put the drink down and get some help.