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: 22 January 2008 Last amended: 30 September 2021Next review: 30 September 2023
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 59 of the Liquor Control Act 1988 (the Act) provides that an occasional liquor licence authorises the licensee to sell or supply, or allow the consumption of, liquor :
The term 'occasion' refers to a gathering, function 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 and consumed. In this regard, an occasional liquor licence enables people who do not have the authority to sell and/or supply liquor, to seek the authority to do so.
The holding of another liquor licence does not necessarily preclude the applicant from the grant of an occasional licence. However, it should be noted that the Act specifies, under section 59(2)(a)(ii), that if an extended trading permit or the variation or cancellation of a condition on a licence is considered more appropriate to achieve the purpose for which the occasional licence is sought, then an occasional licence shall not be granted.
Further, Section 59(2) of the Act is mandatory in its terms and provides that:
An occasional licence shall not be granted if, in the opinion of the Director:
In regard to section 59(2)(a)(v), where the applicant is the holder of a licence of another type, and the Director of Liquor Licensing is of the opinion that the grant of a further occasional liquor licence would allow that licensee to operate their premises in a manner which would not ordinarily be permitted under their licence, the occasional licence application may be refused.
In addition, it should be noted that subsection 33(1) of the Liquor Control Act 1988 gives the licensing authority the absolute discretion to grant or refuse any application on any ground or for any reason that the licensing authority thinks is in the public interest.
As a general principle, occasional liquor licences may be granted up to 24 times within a 12 month period.
Before lodging an application for an occasional licence, applicants should refer to the policy titled Exemptions to the Liquor Control Act 1988 to check whether the event or function falls within those situations whereby the sale, supply and consumption of liquor is exempt from the application of the Act.
Section 59(3) of the Act provides that the Director may authorise an arrangement where the licensee is to share the proceeds from the operation of an occasional licence. For example, the licensee may wish to share the proceeds from the sale of food with a caterer; or it may wish to share part of the entry fee with the entertainers.
In this regard, the applicant for an occasional liquor licence must seek approval from the Director of Liquor Licensing prior to the function, if they intend to share any profits with another person, organisation or body.
Not-for-profit organisations can apply for an occasional licence whereby the organisation proposes to sell and supply liquor in conjunction with a special event such as a fundraising event or celebration, for example, a 50th anniversary. In such cases, additional to consumption on the premises during the event, consideration may be given to the sale of packaged liquor as part of the fundraising activity.
In these instances, the applicant will need to demonstrate why the grant of the licence for packaged liquor sales is in the public interest.
As a standard condition, adult entertainment will not be permitted at functions requiring an occasional licence.
Adult entertainment includes any indecent activities and requires that no one be immodestly or indecently dressed. In this regard, strippers, topless female staff and R rated films are not permitted. Decisions made by the licensing authority, as constituted as the Liquor Licensing Court, determined that ‘immodest’ includes, but is not limited to, bare breasts and bare buttocks. Consequently, the exposure of breasts and/or buttocks (including by way of see through material, nipple stickers or G-string) is not permitted.
Should an applicant request adult entertainment be permitted at a function requiring an occasional licence, a submission demonstrating why the adult entertainment is in the public interest is required to be lodged.
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.
In this regard, 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.
Applications for temporary or pop–up type events will only be considered when there is a genuine function or occasion. In these instances, the applicant will need to demonstrate what the function or the occasion is and why the grant of the occasional licence is in the public interest. Please see the Director of Liquor Licensing’s Temporary Bars policy for further information.
A person seeking the issue of an occasional licence under the provisions of the Act will be required to lodge an application online, via the department’s website. Any additional information required can be attached to the application when prompted.
Depending on the anticipated attendance, there are different lodgement periods for applications:
Failure to lodge applications within these timeframes can result in the refusal of the application.
Outside the metropolitan area, an application for an occasional liquor licence can be lodged with the managing registrar of the local courts located throughout the State. This option may suit applicants located in rural and remote locations
Where the anticipated attendance at the function or event is more than 500 people, or the duration of the function or event will be longer than seven (7) days, the application must be lodged online, via the department’s website.
Prior to approval of an application for an occasional liquor licence, the licensee/s, crowd controllers and any person engaged in the sale, supply and service of liquor must, unless otherwise determined by the Director, have successfully completed a course of training in responsible practices in the sale, supply and service of liquor (further details are contained in the Director’s policy Mandatory Training) in accordance with the following criteria:
In addition to the above requirements, irrespective of the number of people attending the function, every Occasional Licence must be managed by the holder of a Restricted Managers Approval. In order to obtain a Restricted Managers Approval, the applicant must have completed a course of training in responsible practices in the sale, supply and service of liquor. Applications for approval as a manager can be lodged on the department's website.
In some cases, the Director may determine that an Occasional Licence must be managed by the holder of an Unrestricted Managers Approval. Please refer to the Director’s policies Mandatory Training and Managers at Licensed Premises for further guidance on applying for an Unrestricted Managers Approval.
The licensee will be required to maintain a training register to record each staff members name and training details.
The Director of Liquor Licensing is empowered to waive or modify these requirements if the circumstances in a particular case warrant such an approach.
For further information on the mandatory training requirements and the register, please refer to the Director’s policy titled Mandatory Training.
Director of Liquor Licensing
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.