Binge drinking, inequitable gender norms and sexual risk behaviour are closely interlinked. This study aims to model the potential effect of alcohol counselling interventions (in men and women) and gender-transformative interventions (in men) as strategies to reduce HIV transmission. The study found that although binge drinking and inequitable gender norms contribute substantially to HIV transmission in South Africa, recently-trialled alcohol counselling and gender-transformative interventions are likely to have only modest effects on HIV incidence. Further innovation in developing locally-relevant interventions to address binge drinking and inequitable gender norms is needed.