The liquor legislation amending bill has passed the lower house of Parliament, however, is yet to be tabled in the Legislative Council. It remains to be seen whether the bill will face significant opposition in the
upper house where the McGowan Government does not have a majority. At this stage, there does not appear to be any indication as to when, or even if, the legislation will be passed and various sectors of industry continue to lobby against aspects of the bill.
The licensing authority has been in consultation with various industry stakeholders to develop a new policy aimed at addressing the rise of pop up bars. The new policy is currently being drafted and is likely to be published before next summer. It is expected to provide greater clarity around what may be considered an “event” and how long occasional licences will be issued for.
Lavan recently undertook a review of the 617 liquor store licences issued in WA. It revealed that Coles and Woolworths’ entities combined account for approximately 40% of all liquor store licences.
This figure does not include the packaged liquor outlets that form part of hotel or tavern licensed premises.
Unless a licence has a specific condition restricting trading hours on the day, the usual trading hours permitted under the liquor legislation should apply. The 4 June public holiday does not relate to one of the public holidays specified under the legislation which attracts restriction.
Given JumpClimb’s recent demise, it is relevant to report about some impending changes to the legislation governing corporate insolvency.
Generally speaking, when a company is placed into external administration (for example, voluntary administration, receivership or liquidation), third parties that have contracts with that company may be able to terminate their contracts. Clauses that allow a party to walk away from a contract if an insolvency event occurs are known as “ipso facto” clauses.
However, from 1 July 2018 enforcement of ipso facto clauses that allow a party to terminate (or alter the terms of the contract) on the basis of some particular insolvency events will be stayed under the Corporations Act. These changes will only affect contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2018.
Lavan’s Recovery, Reconstruction and Insolvency team has written a detailed paper on the topic. If you would like further information about the impending changes. Please follow this link to access the paper.
Recent decisions of the Alcohol Advertising Review Board have determined, in separate cases – one in Bentley near Curtin University and one in Osborne Park - that advertisements of Millers and Coopers products on a bus and bus stop respectively, contravened the advertising Placement Code. The issue being that the advertisements would likely be seen by young people. The matters were instigated by complaints to the Board. Read the full decision regarding the Bentley advertisement here and the Osborne Park advertisement here.
Hibernian Place and the Westin officially open!
Brought to Perth by BGC Development, Hibernian Place is home to the eagerly awaited 368 room, five star Westin Perth as well as Uber’s Perth headquarters, Bodhi J Wellness Spa and a mix of hospitality features including:
Follow this link to learn more about this exciting new precinct in the eastern end of the Perth CBD.
