Bendigo Community Health Services' Supply Monitoring Project saw three volunteers appearing 'underage' visit 30 of the city's bottle shops to buy alcohol without identification.

Sixteen sold alcohol without requesting identification and two outlets asked, but sold alcohol despite the buyer saying they had no ID on them.

However, it appears awareness is rising as a similar 2019 project found 86 per cent of bottle shops visited by the BCHS volunteers sold alcohol to the young person without identification.

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Health promotion team member Kahla Else said bottle shops had a responsibility to ensure liquor licensing laws were followed to protect young people.

"We're about raising community awareness by sending out a letter to the bottle shops who we found aren't asking for ID and we repeat the process each year to see how attitudes have changed," she said.

"If we are serious about reducing the impact alcohol has on communities then it's essential that the practices and laws put in place to protect young people and stop habits being formed are strictly followed.

"It was encouraging that 12 bottle shops followed the law to the letter but really disappointing 18 did not."

The project found 41 per cent of the 'chain' stores visited sold alcohol without seeing ID which rose sharply to 66.6 per cent of 'independent' and 90 per cent of 'franchise' alcohol outlets.

"It's concerning that some outlets are just not abiding by liquor licensing laws," Ms Else said.

"If we are to truly stop the impact alcohol is having on our communities then everyone must play their role.

"Most of the stores were 'nearly empty' when the sales were made so 'too busy to ask' is not an excuse.

"Sixty per cent of businesses not asking for ID is still way too high and we really hope to get this number as low as possible."

The Victorian Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 states it is illegal to supply alcohol or permit liquors to be supplied to a person under the age of 18 years.

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The Supply Monitoring Project comes as a Coroner's report found alcohol was a bigger killer than illicit drugs, being listed as the primary cause of 482 deaths in Australia and a contributing factor in 968 deaths.

New research by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation concluded young Australians were of particular concern as they were not making a link between alcohol and illness or physical harm.

One in five of 1000 Australians polled in the survey was still ignorant of the harms caused by drinking alcohol, with young people especially oblivious to the risks.

Ms Else said it was important that young people understood the effects alcohol could have.

"We're always looking for opportunities to educate young people the effects of alcohol on them," she said.

"The brain is still developing until the age of 25 and alcohol can have long-term effects like injury or mental health issues.

"It's important to ensure education is always there as alcohol can have such a detrimental impact on young people particularly.

"It's also important that parents support their children. Parents should rolemodel good habits and teach the impacts of alcohol."

The federal government is planning to make reducing alcohol consumption a key feature of a new preventative health strategy.

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