Negotiating hospitable space with regulation in communication: Liquor licensees’ display choices that comply with and resist Queensland Government policy-mandated signage

Signage is a popular communication medium used to regulate and govern people in public spaces. The Queensland Government mandates the display of Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) signage in licensed venues as an intervention into alcohol-related harms. As intermediaries in policy communication, venue licensees have a degree of control over how they engage with this signage. This research examines RSA signs ‘in place’ across a variety of venues within the Fortitude Valley Safe Night Precinct. We identified how the communication choices reflected in each venue's selection of signage and displays represented each venue's resistance or compliance with the Queensland Government's approach to alcohol-related harms, using signage as a solution. Analysis revealed themes of venue compliance with the Queensland Government's constructions of the problems of alcohol-related harms, including ownership, permanence, and gatekeeping; as well as themes of resistance, including obscured placement, clustering, and graffiti. We draw two main conclusions from this research. Firstly, licensees appeared to prioritise their venue's hospitable space over the communication of Queensland Government messages within some RSA signage displays. Secondly, licensees’ control over RSA signage display extended beyond the Queensland Government's display mandates; licensees modified prescribed messages on RSA signage and used display choices within their control. This research builds on existing research on linguistic landscapes by introducing the displayer as an intermediary between authors and readers in signage. It also has implications for how policy interventions, such as signage, can be critically reviewed.