Bendigo Community Health Services has called on bottle shop owners to ensure staff remain vigilant in checking identification when selling alcohol.

The call comes as The First Quarter and BCHS take a lead role in reducing underage drinking by joining Deakin University’s national Smart Generation Program.

A Deakin University Communities That Care youth survey in Bendigo during 2016 found 39 per cent of year eight students and 67 per cent of year 10 students had consumed alcohol.

The survey found 47 per cent of year 10 students had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days with eight per cent of year 8 students and 29 per cent of year 10 students admitting to binge drinking in the previous two weeks.

An Australian Government survey in 2014 found 68 per cent of adolescents aged between 12 and 17 obtained alcohol from home, friends or purchased themselves from a bottle shop.

The Smart Generation Program works with schools to educate students and parents but BCHS community co-ordinator Anne-Marie Kelly said monitoring bottle shop sales was another key component.

BCHS engaged two 18-year-olds who looked underage to visit 28 bottle shops in Bendigo to buy alcohol without identification.

Only 61 per cent of the 28 bottle shops visited asked for ID from the young person.

“Our recent research showed that while some staff in Bendigo bottles shops are complying with the law, others need to do much more,” Ms Kelly said.

“As part of the program we have sent letters to all licensees and managers, either congratulating them for not selling alcohol to a young person or reminding them of the law and of best-practice in the service of alcohol.

“We want licensees and managers to be very clear in their feedback to staff: ‘When you sell alcohol to teenagers, you are failing in your job and putting their health and future at risk’.’’

Ms Kelly urged parents and other adults not to supply alcohol to children under 18.

“To reinforce the Smart Generation Program, we encourage parents to prevent their children or their children’s friends from consuming alcohol. Parents sometimes fear that if they don’t allow alcohol use at home, their children may rebel and use alcohol behind their backs,” she said.

Ms Kelly said research showed lower alcohol use in families where parents banned drinking with heavy and harmful drinking more likely in families where parents allowed moderate use.

The First Quarter is an unfunded group of Bendigo health, education, justice, welfare and local government organisations working to create a local community where children and youth can grow and thrive.