Increasingly the licensing authority is imposing unique conditions or restrictions on the grant of new licences. The conditions are tailored to ensure licensees conduct their businesses strictly in the manner portrayed in their application documents.
Examples of some of these customised conditions recently applied to tavern licences include:
- limiting the number of persons allowed on the licensed premises (limited to 125 in one instance);
- specifying a minimum number of seats to be available at all times;
- increasing the number of licensed security personnel to be employed by the licensee above what is required under the Director’s policy;
- stipulating where licensees must source their liquor from; and even
- imposing a restaurant style condition which only allows patrons to consume liquor while seated at a table.
The licensing authority has also identified liquor store licences as requiring more stringent conditions and on occasion has:
- dictated where certain products can be stocked within the store;
- restricted where advertising of the store, as well as the liquor products sold there, can be displayed;
- forced licensees not to allow persons wearing specific school uniforms from loitering or congregating near the store; and
- required CCTV systems to be installed and operational during all hours of trade.
With respect to new small bar licences, the licensing authority has in some instances:
- severely restricted the number of patrons permitted on the licensed premises at any one time (in one case the maximum number was restricted to only 50 persons);
- conditioned the licence to ensure the bar remains consistent with the theme proposed in the public interest assessment; and
- prohibited the sale of tap beer.
This new approach to restricting new licences should cause applicants to put considerable thought into their intended manner of trade documents and to ensure their applications do accurately reflect the way in which their proposed businesses will operate.
If you have any queries about the article, please do not hesitate to contact partner Dan Mossenson on (08) 9288 6769 / dan.mossenson@lavanlegal.com.au or solicitor Alec Weston on (08) 9288 6873 / alec.weston@lavanlegal.com.au.
