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: 11 July 2018Last amended: 20 October 2020Next review: October 2022
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.
Broadly speaking, a temporary bar operates in conjunction with an event or function such as an exhibition, festival, performance or show to provide refreshments that may include the sale and supply of liquor to people attending the event. The event must be the primary and predominant purpose for a temporary bar application to be approved, specifically to cater for attendees of that event.
To cater for community expectations in relation to temporary bars, the Director of Liquor Licensing (the Director), in consultation with key stakeholders, has established a policy which provides guidelines for both existing licensees and persons seeking to be temporary licensees, to sell or supply liquor at a temporary bar/s ancillary to an event. Specifically, this policy seeks to provide guidance on:
For the avoidance of doubt, this policy does not apply to applications lodged by licensees of established venues to activate spaces adjacent to its licensed premises.
Temporary bars operate to provide liquor at short-term events and an approval for a temporary bar is not a means for a person to sell or supply liquor on an ongoing basis. Accordingly, the Director may approve applications to permit the sale of liquor at a temporary bar/s, which must be ancillary to an event, for up to a maximum period of three (3) weeks. An approval will only be granted for the advertised duration of the event.
In exceptional circumstances for events of cultural and artistic significance, the Director may consider a period exceeding three (3) weeks, however, the applicant must provide submissions that demonstrate that exceptional circumstances apply. Furthermore, the Director may require a public interest assessment and the application may be advertised pursuant to section 67 of the Liquor Control Act 1988 (the Act).
To be exceptional, circumstances must be out of the ordinary, or unusual, or special as determined by the Director.
The Act does not specifically define an event, however, section 3 of the Act does define a function as:
Function means 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.
To provide greater clarity for applicants, a bona fide event should fall under one of the following categories. Some examples of the types of events that fall under the categories have been provided:
Furthermore, the following criteria may be taken into consideration in determining the bona fides of an event:
It is important to note that the licensee must be responsible for the business conducted under the licence including the responsibility for employing/engaging the security/crowd controllers at an event1. These arrangements should be taken into consideration when determining what type of application to lodge i.e. if the event organiser/promoter (who is not the applicant) is engaging the security/crowd controllers, consideration should be given to applying for an occasional licence to be held jointly by both parties.
Furthermore, approval to share in the proceeds or profit from an event will require the approval of the Director and the applicant must demonstrate that the application is in the public interest.
An applicant’s experience and compliance history will also be considered when determining applications.
Section 60 of the Act provides for the Director to grant an extended trading permit (ETP) to authorise a licensee to sell and supply liquor under the licence, in circumstances in which that licence would not otherwise allow.
Section 60(4)(a) of the Act specifically identifies that one of the purposes for which an ETP may be granted is to allow catering, that is, authorising a licensee to sell liquor as a caterer. Under such an approval the licensee is authorised to sell and supply liquor at unlicensed premises, where it has been engaged and has agreed as a caterer to provide liquor, whether with or without food, for consumption by persons on those premises only, subject to the requirement that the consent of the owner or occupier of the premises has been obtained.
Further information about the Director’s policy – Extended Trading Permits/Variations – ‘One-off’ Events or Functions.
Any person may apply for an occasional licence to sell or supply liquor from a temporary bar/s at an event.
An occasional licence may be required where the person selling or supplying liquor does not hold an existing licence or where some of the responsibility for the conduct of the event rests with a person other than the licensee.
Further information about the Director's Policy - Occasional Liquor Licence.
Holders of special facility licences (catering) may apply to sell or supply liquor at a function where the caterer has been engaged, by a person organising the function, to provide liquor for consumption by persons at that premises.
Further information about the Director's Policy - Special Facility Licence - Catering.
Section 33(1) of the Act provides that the licensing authority has the absolute discretion to grant or refuse an application under the Act, on any ground or for any reason that it considers to be in the public interest.
A key factor when considering an application for a temporary bar is whether the proposal incorporates a genuine event or function. Where an event organiser engages a prospective liquor licensee to sell or supply liquor at the event, the sale of liquor should be ancillary to the event.
Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with existing licensees to actively promote events being held in partnership.
In cases where over 500 persons are expected to attend2 and the event is proposed to be held over a period longer than one (1) calendar week, a public interest assessment is required demonstrating that the event is in the public interest, including having regard to the proper development of the industry, and details of how the event will not have an adverse impact on the surrounding community.
Furthermore, for events where a public interest assessment is required, the onus rests with an applicant to also demonstrate:
Due to the high concentration of existing licensed premises in the Perth CBD and Northbridge, in these areas applicants will also be required to:
Applications must be accompanied by the relevant documents at the time of lodgement as pursuant to section 67 of the Act, the Director may require an application to be advertised on the department’s website. An advertised application or an application where an affected area has been determined by the Licensing Authority will be open to submissions or objections. If an applicant wishes to amend an application that has already been advertised, consideration will be given as to whether or not the amended application needs to be re-advertised which may create a delay in the processing of the application.
Applicants must not lodge any documentation which they consider to be confidential as any document that the decision maker will have regard to must be available for inspection by any person. Parties who wish to lodge documents containing confidential information must redact the relevant sections.
Further information about the Director's Policy – Inspection of Records and Access to Documents.
Licensees should be aware that the approval can be withdrawn. If a licensee makes substantive changes to the event or fails to comply with the conditions of the permit or licence, the licensing authority may:
Information on how to lodge an application can be found on the department’s website or by telephoning the Regulatory Services Division on 61 8 6551 4888.
Lodgement periods for applications depending on the size and duration of the event are outlined in the Director's Policy - Special Facility Licence - Catering and Director’s policy – Extended Trading Permits/Variations – ‘One-off’ Events or Functions.
For the purposes of this policy, the Perth CBD and Northbridge are defined as the suburbs of Perth, East Perth, West Perth and Northbridge but does not include Kings Park.
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.