Annual licence fees must be paid by 1 January 2020. Penalties may be imposed for late payment. Non-payment can result in more serious consequences.
Additional trading hours apply for packaged liquor sales under hotel, tavern and liquor store licences on 22 and 29 December 2019. Early this year the Director of Liquor Licensing issued a blanket ETP for some licences to trade either earlier or later this coming weekend and next weekend. Click here for full details.
The licensing authority has called for feedback on the Course in Management of Licensed Premises (52473WA).
The Hospitality Messenger intends to provide comments and will be happy to collate and forward opinions from readers. You may provide your comments to any of the email addresses at the bottom of the next page. Please do so by no later than 6 January 2020.
Inadequate toilet facilities have again been the reason for the refusal of a licence.
The latest decision, handed down in August 2019 but only published mid-December 2019, involved an application for a new restaurant licence in South Perth.
It was summarised in the Decision that “[i]n this case, the premises to which the application relates do not include toilet facilities, the toilets proposed are not on the same level, but located two levels down in the basement , over 80 metres away and are only accessible by an elevator”.
The applicant was given the opportunity to address the issue of toilets and to persuade the licensing authority that the toilets were adequate. In doing so the applicant provided evidence of support for the application from the Member for South Perth and a building surveyor. The surveyor stated in a letter that from his perspective the toilets comply.
The decision maker reiterated the discretion of the licensing authority, referred to the relevant policy of the Director of Liquor Licensing and confirmed that the policy “has been established for many years”.
The decision maker went on to find as follows:
“[i]n my opinion, toilet facilities are a related service which should be provided by licensees and that it is an expectation of consumers who resort to licensed premises that toilets facilities are provided thereon or at least in respect of restaurants in close proximity”.
In considering the applicant’s submissions and taking into consideration the location of the proposed licensed premises… I am not satisfied that any public interest reason exists to satisfy me to exercise my discretion under s 33 of the Act to depart from the Director’s policy and find the premises suitable to be licensed.
Accordingly, as I concluded that the proposed premises are not suitable, the application was refused.”
A full copy of the decision is available here.
This year we have assisted our clients achieve many positive developments in respect of existing and new businesses in the liquor, hospitality, event and tourism industries. The following are just some of those achievements:
During the current peak trading period it is essential that licensees and staff remain vigilant to not sell or supply liquor to juveniles and anyone who could be suspected of passing that liquor onto a juvenile.
Licensees and staff are reminded that the acceptable forms of identification are set out in the Liquor Control Regulations, which are as follows and must be current and include a photograph of the person:
Licensees retain the right to refuse entry or service to anyone who does not satisfy them as being over the age of 18.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE HOSPITIALITY MESSENGER PDF
