There has generally been tougher restrictions on taking bottles onto Auss bound flights for some time. HKG, where I travel via several times a year always has screening just before boarding the plane to Auss, but not going the other way ie to London. But the nature of security checks is to be random, levels of paranoia change each day !!, however this doesn't excuse shops etc in transit areas from selling you something they know has a good chance of being confiscated. Best advice I can give is what I do. Take a couple of small empty plastic bottles with me, and get the cabin crew to fill them for me. Fairly often the crew have actually given me a new sealed bottle on the plane to keep, when I say I drink a lot..(water)..it saves them from serving you numerous times in the flight.!!
