Occasional Liquor Licence information and lodgement guide.
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The Liquor Control Act 1988 defines a sale as:
It is an offence to sell liquor without a relevant licence issued under the Act. A conviction for selling liquor without a licence carries a penalty of up to $20,000 per offence.
Section 35 of the Act provides for the entity types who may apply for an occasional licence. An application can be made by-
Natural Person: A natural/individual person may apply for the application if they intend to be solely responsible for the licence including purchasing the liquor themselves and retaining the proceeds. If you are the approved manager, volunteer or an employee assisting with the application, please refer to the other entity types below as the application must be made in the name of the entity who is ultimately in control and will retain the proceeds from the sale and supply of liquor.
For example, you are an approved manager at a local football club who is responsible for organising a fundraising event on behalf of the club. All proceeds from the sale and supply of liquor are retained by the club. In this case the club would be the correct applicant entity.
Partnership: Where two or more entities are responsible for the conduct of the licence and intend to share proceeds from the sale and supply of liquor. Please note, all parties under this category will be jointly and severally liable in respect of any civil or criminal liability that attaches to the licensee.
Body Corporate: A legal entity such as an association, company, government agency, or institution identified by a particular name.
Unincorporated Body: A group or committee of like-minded individuals who are not registered as a legal entity but are instead represented by an individual person. You will be required to nominate a natural person as a trustee to hold the licence on its behalf
There will be seven event categories to select from when completing the application. It is important to select the category which aligns with your event. This will ensure the relevant information is requested.
The time frame required for the licensing authority to process the application before the commencement of the event depends on the number of patrons anticipated to attend.
If your application is lodged outside of these times you will not be able to proceed without contacting the licensing authority. See exemptions for late applications below.
The purpose of an occasional liquor licence is to allow the applicant to sell and supply liquor at a genuine one-off event that cannot be covered under a permanent liquor licence. The sale of liquor must be ancillary to the purpose of the event. Occasional liquor licences cannot be used to operate a business in place of a permanent licence.
An occasional liquor licence authorises the licensee to sell or supply, or allow the consumption of liquor: a) at such times, and on such occasion, or during such period not exceeding three weeks, as may be specified; b) at such places, and within such designated area as may be specified; and c) subject to terms or conditions as may be specified.
Occasional liquor licence applications must be lodged online via the department’s portal. If you require assistance with the lodgement of your application you can either contact the department on 61 6551 4999 or attend the department’s office and seek assistance from the front counter reception staff. For events being held in regional areas, occasional liquor applications for fewer than 500 persons can be lodged on paper through the local courthouse.
For small occasional events please review the Exemptions to the Liquor Control Act 1988 policy as there are certain instances where the sale or supply of liquor is exempt from the Liquor Control Act 1988 (the Act).
If an application is deemed late you may not be able to proceed with the online form and you must contact our E-Business section on 61 8 6551 4999 to seek the department’s approval to accept the application. Please have your client reference number and/or username available so that the e-business officers can locate your application. Please note, late applications will generally only be considered if the Department has the ability to assess the application within the afforded timeframe. In addition, providing you with an exemption code does not guarantee a late application will be assessed and determined in time for the event.
Trading beyond 12 midnight on Mondays to Saturdays or 10pm on Sundays will generally not be approved unless there are special circumstances. You may be asked to provide further submissions if you indicate that your event will go beyond these hours.
Will there be another entity obtaining proceeds from the event, such as entry tickets or a percentage of the proceeds from liquor? If yes, please ensure that profit sharing is declared in the application including a description of the profit sharing arrangement and contact details of Profit sharer is required. If another person/entity is receiving proceeds from the sale of liquor, it is important to establish who will be responsible for the licence when choosing the correct entity type.
If the proposed licensed area is outdoors or partly outdoors, a map of the defined licensed area is required to accompany the application. A hand drawn floor plan or existing building plan will suffice including an additional screen shot from google maps or Landgate to illustrate the location. The map must include any nearby buildings or rooms you wish to use, nearby roads and other identifying features, and the location of bar areas within the desired licensed area. Please make sure to highlight the boundary of the licensed area where liquor will be sold, supplied and consumed.
The acceptable formats for uploading maps are:
Figure 1 Example of proposed licensed area
Depending on the nature of an event, the holder of a permanent liquor licence may be authorised, under an occasional licence, to attend an event to exhibit their own produce. Generally, these type of applications are lodged by the event organiser. The type of permanent liquor licence held by an exhibitor will be taken into consideration when assessing the application and as a general principle, an exhibitor will not be permitted to trade in a manner contrary to their existing licence. Should exhibitors wish to trade in a manner not authorised under their permanent licence, a submission should be lodged demonstrating why the application is in the public interest.
A spreadsheet will be required which should contain a full list of all participating licensed premises/licensees including the liquor licence number and proposed manner of sale and supply i.e. tastings, by the glass, packaged liquor. Please see below for example of approved exhibitor list template.
The purpose of crowd controllers at occasional licensed events is to manage the number of people within the licensed area as well as usual crowd control requirements. High risk events such as concerts benefit from good crowd controllers as they can make the difference between a well managed event and possible disaster.
The term ‘crowd controllers’ refers exclusively to licensed crowd controllers only. Bar staff or local volunteers offering to manage crowds is not acceptable as crowd controllers under the Security and Related Control Act.
If deemed necessary you may be requested to hire crowd controllers if your event is considered high risk despite the number of patrons.
In this regard, the crowd control requirements will be determined on the merits of the application and the level of risk to the community the premises/events may present. Consideration of such applications and the crowd controller requirements will be subject to the initiatives the applicant proposes to implement to minimise risk.
Crowd controller requirements will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the licensed premises/event and the initiatives proposed by the applicant to mitigate risk. The licensing authority may determine that the security requirements can be met through the use of a combination of: licensed crowd controllers, licensed security officers, approved managers or responsible service of alcohol marshals. However, a minimum number of crowd controllers determined by the licensing authority may be required.
An approved manager is an authorised person who has been pre-approved by the department to manage licensed venues across Western Australia. It is a requirement under the Act that every occasional licence is supervised by the holder of a restricted or unrestricted manager approval at all times.
The approved manager is not required to be a member of the organisation or company and any person who carries the approved manager ID card may be hired or engaged to manage the sale and supply of liquor at your proposed event. If you are interested in applying for the approved manager ID card please refer to the Approved manager lodgement guide on our website.
Applications sought in regional areas for a period of up to seven days and where no more than 500 patrons are expected to attend on any one day can be lodged manually through the local court house.
Effective date: 18 July 2011 Last amended: 2 July 2019Next review: July 2021
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.
Section 6(1)(o) of the Liquor Control Act 1988 (the Act) states that the Act does not apply:
“where the sale or supply of liquor is to, or the consumption of liquor is by, a person who is at least 18 years of age and that sale, supply or consumption is exempted by the regulations from the application of this Act”.
This document provides guidance on the specific circumstances whereby the sale, supply and consumption of liquor is exempt from the application of the Act under the Liquor Control Regulations 1989 (the regulations).
The definition of ‘sell’ under section 3 of the Act includes:
Regulations 8, 8B, 8C, 8D and 8E of the regulations prescribe the situations whereby the sale of liquor (as per the above definition) is exempt from the Act. Regulations 8A and 8F prescribe the situations where the consumption of liquor (brought to the premises by the customer) is exempt from the Act. Regulation 8G of the regulations prescribe exemption of sale, supply or consumption of liquor in relation to liquor competitions.
The Act regulates the sale, supply and consumption of liquor. However, there are a number of situations where the sale, supply and consumption of liquor is specifically exempted from the application of the Act. Such situations involve small amounts of liquor supplied in controlled environments and social situations where relatively few people are in attendance. These prescribed situations are only considered to be exempt from the Act when the exact conditions of the exemptions, as stated in the regulations, are met. The prescribed exemptions and the conditions of each are summarised below:
This exemption applies only when BYO liquor is consumed at a live entertainment venue. “Live entertainment” is defined in regulation 8A for the purposes of this exemption only. Live entertainment is musical, theatrical, dance or comic entertainment provided by one or more persons present at the venue. Live entertainment does not include:
Where the primary purpose of a venue is to facilitate continuous live entertainment, the consumption of BYO liquor on the premises is exempt from the Act, provided this consumption is ancillary to the provision of live entertainment. This exemption does not allow the sale and supply of liquor by the venue operator.
All of the following conditions must be met, in order for the consumption of BYO liquor at live entertainment venues to be exempt from the Act:
Where liquor consumption takes place at alive entertainment venue, the premises is deemed to be a ‘regulated premises’ under section 122 of the Act. Offence provisions under section 122 and section 115 therefore apply to the supply of liquor to juveniles and drunk persons, the consumption and possession of liquor by juveniles and the consumption of liquor by drunk persons on these premises.
Whilst the consumption of BYO liquor is exempt from the Act in many circumstances, it is important to note that section 119(7) of the Act prohibits allowing unlicensed premises “to be kept or used as a place of resort for the consumption of liquor”. The exemption relating to live entertainment venues therefore clarifies that this type of BYO consumption is not a breach of section 119(7).
The ‘small functions’ exemption:
The sale or supply of liquor at a function (where the serving of liquor is ancillary to the purpose of the function) is exempt from the Act, provided:
An “attendee” does not include a person who is:
Additionally, a drunk person is not allowed to consume liquor at the function, nor is liquor to be supplied to a drunk person.
For the purposes of this exemption, a function is defined under section 3(1) of the Act as: “a gathering, occasion or event (including a sporting contest, show, exhibition, trade or other fair, or reception) at which it is proposed that liquor be sold or supplied to those present.”
Where liquor is sold or supplied at a small function, the premises on which the function takes place is deemed to be ‘regulated premises’ under section 122 of the Act. Offence provisions under section 122 and section 115 therefore apply to the supply of liquor to juveniles and drunk persons, the consumption and possession of liquor by juveniles and the consumption of liquor by drunk persons on these premises.
Relevant only to the gratuitous supply of liquor when it is provided ancillary to the purpose of a customer’s attendance at a business.
This exemption provides that businesses may supply liquor to customers, provided it is gratuitous (without charge) and ancillary to the purpose of the customer’s attendance at the business. However, the quantity of liquor supplied can not be more than two standard drinks for consumption on the premises or one litre of packaged liquor for consumption away from the premises.
For example, a hair salon may wish to offer a complimentary glass of wine or champagne to a client; or a real estate agent may wish to offer a complimentary bottle of champagne to a home buyer.
A standard drink is defined as a drink containing no more than 10 grams of ethanol measured at 20°c. The Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol, published by the National Health and Medical Research Council in February 2009 provide further guidance on the Australian standard drink size.
Where gratuitous liquor is supplied by a business in these circumstances, the business premises is deemed to be ‘regulated premises’ under section 122 of the Act. Offence provisions under section 122 and section 115 therefore apply to the supply of liquor to juveniles and drunk persons, the consumption and possession of liquor by juveniles and the consumption of liquor by drunk persons on these premises.
This exemption does not provide the means by which an entity can establish a permanent business in the sale and supply of liquor. In these instances, it would be necessary to obtain a permanent liquor licence.
The gratuitous (without charge) supply of liquor by a tourism business, either on the business premises or during the course of a tour, is exempt from the Act under the following conditions:
For the purpose of the regulations, the person who supplies the liquor to the customer is taken to mean the person in charge of the business such as the owner/manager and the tour leader. Staff that are involved in serving liquor (such as pouring glasses of wine for guests) will also require training, however staff who simply place liquor in a room or on a table for example, do not require training.
The ‘Provide Responsible Service of Alcohol’ course (SITHFAB002) is a nationally accredited course of training in responsible practices in the sale, supply and service of liquor which covers topics such as refusal of service, juveniles, identifying intoxication and refusal of service. Whilst parts of the course will not be relevant (as staff are not selling liquor), it is important that staff are aware of responsible practices so that liquor is not supplied to a juvenile or a drunk person in contravention of the exemption conditions.
The supply of liquor by a person who conducts, supervises or manages a bed and breakfast facility (with a maximum capacity of 8 guests at any one time) is exempt from the Act provided that all of these conditions are met:
The operator of a bed and breakfast facility may instead elect to rely on the tourism operator exemption, if they meet the requirements of that exemption category (see above).
Where one or more liquor producers host a stall at a farmers market, liquor may be sold or supplied where it is no more than 9 litres of packaged liquor per customer or by way of free sample. Orders can also be taken for larger quantities, with the sale or supply of the liquor to take place at a later date.
“Sample sizes” are prescribed in regulation 5A and can not be greater than 100ml for beer, 50ml for wine and 15ml for spirits.
“Farmers’ markets” are those markets where primary producers display and sell their products directly to the public. “Primary producers” include agriculture, pastoral pursuits, horticulture, grazing, dairy farming, bee-keeping, orcharding, viticulture, silviculture or other similar farming activities.
The stall and the area immediately surrounding the stall in which customers congregate to sample or purchase liquor, is deemed to be ‘regulated premises’ under section 122 of the Act. Offence provisions under section 122 and section 115 therefore apply to the supply of liquor to juveniles and drunk persons, the consumption and possession of liquor by juveniles and the consumption of liquor by drunk persons on these premises.
Where the organiser of a function enters into an arrangement with a licensee of an appropriately licensed premises and:
then, the sale or supply of liquor by the function organiser is exempt from the Act, provided that:
The consumption of liquor supplied by the passengers in charter vehicles that are licensed by the Department of Transport, are exempt from the Act, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
*On-demand charter vehicle authorisation is defined in the regulations as "a passenger transport vehicle authorisation that authorises the operation of the vehicle for use in providing an on-demand charter passenger transport service under the Transport (Road Passenger Services) Act 2018.
A ‘responsible adult’ is defined in section 125(2)(b) as:
“...an adult who is a parent, step-parent, spouse, de facto partner or legal guardian of the juvenile, or other person in loco parentis to the juvenile”.
Where BYO liquor consumption takes place in a charter vehicle, the vehicle is deemed to be ‘regulated premises’ under section 122 of the Act. Offence provisions under section 122 and section 115 therefore apply to the supply of liquor to juveniles and drunk persons, the consumption and possession of liquor by juveniles and the consumption of liquor by drunk persons on these premises.
Where a premises is licensed as a warehouse (under the Customs Act 1901) and the sale of liquor in bond by the proprietor occurs with a person who proposes to personally take the liquor outside of Australia, this sale is exempt from the Act.
The sale and supply of liquor is exempt when it occurs:
The sale or supply of liquor together with flowers, food or other products to be delivered by the vendor or supplier as a gift, to a person other than the purchaser, vendor or supplier is exempt from the Act, provided that the following conditions are met:
The value of the liquor and its container is based on the cost of buying that liquor from a liquor store/hotel licence.
The sale or supply of liquor as a prize in a lottery conducted in accordance with the Gaming and Wagering Commission Act 1987 is exempt from the Act.
The retail sale of an alcohol based food essence is exempt from the Act. This is defined as a flavour substance in liquid form, with a concentration of ethanol exceeding 1.15% by volume in a container that has a volume exceeding:
The sale must be authorised in writing by the Director of Liquor Licensing, in order for the exemption to apply.
The sale or supply of liquor is exempt from the Act where it is to a patient or resident at a:
The sale or supply of liquor is exempt from the Act where it is to a patient or resident and their guests at a:
The sale or supply is authorised by the person who conducts, manages, owns or operates the premises or is the approved provider of residential care. In respect of retirement villages, a resident who is a member of the residents’ committee, subcommittee, incorporated association or other body of residents is also authorised to sell/supply liquor.
The sale or supply of liquor and the consumption of liquor in a liquor competition is exempt for a:
as long as the liquor is sold or supplied by way of sample and the sale or supply and consumption of the liquor is incidental to the competition.
Offence provisions
Despite being exempt from the application of the Act, in many of the above situations the venue/premises are deemed to be regulated premises under section 122 of the Act. This means that offence provisions apply if a juvenile or drunk person is sold, supplied or permitted to consume liquor on the premises. The penalty for a breach of these sections of the Act is a fine of up to $10,000.
Section 3A of the Act states that a person is ‘drunk’ for the purposes of the Act if:
Business owners, managers and function organisers are advised to implement strategies to ensure that liquor is not consumed by juveniles or drunk persons on their premises.
The nationally accredited training unit on providing responsible service of alcohol covers topics such as duty of care, harm minimisation, refusal of service, affects of alcohol, juveniles, identifying intoxication and conflict resolution. Whilst this is not compulsory, training may assist with ensuring that liquor is not supplied to or consumed by juveniles and drunk persons, in breach of the Act. Further details regarding the course can be found in the Director’s Policy titled Mandatory Training.
With respect to an Occasional Liquor Licence application sought for a function or event that takes place over a number of dates, the fee will be calculated based upon the total maximum number of persons expected to be present in the licensed area at any one time over the period. For example: if a function or event runs for 2 days and the maximum number of persons expected to be present in the licensed area at any one time is 300, then the fee will be calculated on an attendance of 600 people in total and will be $253.
In addition to the application fee, new applicants in respect of profit sharing agreements or arrangements will pay an additional $166 fee for each individual who is party to the agreement or arrangement and in relation to whom a background check is sought from the WA Police Service.
Please have the following information available for when you commence lodgement of the occasional application form.
Please refer to the following steps to lodge your application:
First you must create an account. This account will be used to submit your applications, returns and change your address details.
Once your details have been entered and registered, you will not be required to register your details again. You can amend your details at anytime by logging into your account.
If you experience any issues with the account creation process please contact our department on 61 8 6551 4999.
Now that you are set up with an account you can start the application. Whenever you start an application for the first time in a new account it will automatically divert you to an Applicant Details form. This must be completed prior to starting any application types and once created cannot be changed. If you are using an existing account, you will be given an option to skip this form if your contact information has not changed.
The application form works the same way as the Liquor Licence Applicant Details form, just with different questions. Read through each question carefully and remember to save your form often.
This form is designed to be intuitive, when you answer a question it will change the form to allow you to provide more information. Please be sure to give the pages a few moments to update when you select an option in case it needs to create more fields for you to fill out.
If you do not have the information required at hand you can save your form and return to it later via the My Account page. Clicking on Save will create a link on the My Account page under Saved Forms. You can click on Resume to proceed or Delete to remove the saved form.
Upon submission of the form click on the Pay Fee button to view the payment options and make payment.
Payment for online lodgement can be made online via BPOINT. To pay via any other method, including BPay, please click the View Quote button. This will generate a quote with payment details and your unique application number.
Please make sure to quote the Application Reference Number when submitting any enquiries or manual documents in relation to this application.
When the fee is paid the date of lodgement will be the date the payment is receipted by the licensing authority. It generally takes 1-2 business days for the fee to register on our system. Please be aware that we will be unable to issue you with an official receipt until the fee has fully registered. When you make payment online you will instead be offered a payment confirmation slip which you can retain as evidence of payment if required.
For a full list of the fees and charges please refer to the fees and charges page.
Once your application is submitted successfully, if further information is required, a Customer Service Officer will contact you, otherwise you will be advised of the outcome of your application via email in due course.