The NDARC-NDRI investigation, published in Drug and Alcohol Review, represents an observational audit rather than an RCT, with an initial convenience sample of only four Melbourne bottle shops that was later expanded but still lacks randomization details or power calculations. This design limits causal claims yet reveals a clear pattern: illicit vodka mimicking legal packaging evades excise, food-safety, and labeling rules. Two of three tested samples contained methanol below acute-lethal thresholds but above Australian food standards, plus plasticizers, consistent with unsafe distillation documented in prior European outbreaks (e.g., the 2016–2018 Czech methanol poisonings reported in The Lancet). The original MedicalXpress release correctly flags public-health risk to low-income drinkers but understates enforcement fragmentation; state liquor regulators and the ATO operate in silos, allowing products without barcodes or resealable caps to reach shelves. Cross-referencing with the 2023 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare National Drug Strategy Household Survey shows heavy episodic drinkers in the lowest income quintile already report higher rates of unrecorded alcohol use, amplifying exposure. No conflicts of interest were declared by the UNSW-Curtin team, strengthening credibility despite the modest sample.