The department will be closed from Wednesday 27 December 2023 to Monday 1 January 2024. We will respond to queries in the New Year. Best wishes for a safe and happy festive season.
Intro
Effective date: 30 September 2011 Last amended: October 2018 Next review: December 2020
This policy is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered, and with the understanding that the Director of Liquor Licensing is not passing legal opinion or interpretation or other professional advice. The information is provided on the understanding that all persons undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its contents.
For the purposes of the Liquor Control Act 1988 (“the Act”) a juvenile is a person under the age of 18 years.
This document provides guidance on the legislative provisions relating to:
Employing juveniles to undertake tasks related to the sale, supply and service of liquor, where the juvenile is not enrolled in an approved training course, is not permitted. For example, a juvenile cannot be employed as a ‘glassie’ on licensed premises, as clearing glasses is seen as a component of serving liquor. Other examples of tasks that are viewed as components of serving liquor include (but are not limited to):
However, juveniles can be employed on licensed premises to undertake tasks that are not associated with the sale, supply or service of liquor, such as preparing food, taking orders (for anything other than liquor), cleaning etc.
Pursuant to section 121(11) of the Act, a juvenile may, with the prior approval of the Director of Liquor Licensing, be employed or engaged at a licensed premises in the service of liquor ancillary to a meal. This authority is subject to the conditions that the juvenile is:
In this regard, the presence of the juvenile on the licensed premises must be a requirement of the course (that is; hands-on experience in the service of liquor must form part of the competency requirements on which the student’s final assessment will be made).
Following successful completion of the approved VET course, a juvenile may continue to work on a licensed premises and be involved in the sale and supply of alcohol provided:
The Vocational Education and Training Act 1996 sets out the requirements relating to approved VET courses. Section 5(1) defines an approved VET course as a course that:
Once a course has been accredited it is listed on the official national register, www.training.gov.au. In this context, an approved VET course for the purposes of section 121(11) of the Act, includes Certificates, Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas in Hospitality, as listed on the website www.training.gov.au
The Higher Education Act 2004 sets out the requirements relating to accredited higher education courses. In the Higher Education Act, a higher education course provided by a recognised Australian university is accredited for the purposes of that Act. Furthermore, a higher education course provided by an overseas university or a non-university institution is accredited for the purposes of the Higher Education Act if a ministerial accreditation is in force for the course.
Licensees seeking to obtain approval for the employment of a juvenile under section 121(11) will be required to provide the following information to the licensing authority:
In considering applications under section 121(11) of the Act, the Director will have regard to the reputation, management practices and history of the licensed premises.
Section 121(5)(c) of the Act permits an unaccompanied juvenile to be on licensed premises where the juvenile is engaged in a training course approved by the Director of Liquor Licensing and their presence on the premises is in accordance with the requirements of the course.
For the purposes of this provision, these courses are considered to be part of school work experience programmes and the students must be at least 15 years old.
Applicants (which can be either the licensee or the relevant training institution) must lodge with the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, certain information prior to an application being considered.
In this regard, the following will be required:
Once approval is given, a letter from the Director will be issued to the school or training institution advising that the named juveniles engaged in the particular course are granted approval to be on licensed premises in accordance with section 121(5)(c) of the Act.
This approval is subject to the condition that it only permits the juvenile to be present on licensed premises for the purposes of training. Approval under section 121(5)(c) does not permit the juvenile to be involved in the sale, supply or serving of liquor.
Each student should be issued with a copy of the Director's letter of approval, together with a letter from their school evidencing the student’s enrolment in the course and their attendance pattern at the premises (that is; the days and times).