Several changes to the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 passed by the Victorian Parliament in late 2021 came into effect on 15 March 2022. One of these changes is the automatic extension of trading hours to 1 am for certain liquor licence categories.
Licence categories affected by extension of trading hours
The extension to 1:00 am trading applies to the following licence categories:
- Restaurants and cafes
- On-premises
- Late night (on-premises)
- General
- Late night (general).
Venues with licences in the categories listed above are authorised to trade until 1:00 am every day.
If you hold one of the affected licence categories, you do not need to contact us about your licence being updated as we will provide you with an updated licence once it is available. You must ensure you have planning permission from your local council that permits you to operate to 1:00 am as well. This is discussed in more detail below.
The extension of trading hours for the above licence categories also does not apply in certain circumstances. Make sure you read all the information below to understand how the extension of trading hours to 1:00 am impacts your licence.
Planning permit obligations
While the trading hours on restaurant and cafe, general, late night (general), on premises and late night (on-premises) licences have been extended to 1:00 am, licensees have separate obligations under planning laws. In particular, some planning permits specify conditions regarding the hours during which a venue may operate. These hours may be different to the hours authorised under your liquor licence.
This means that even if you are authorised to trade to 1:00 am under your liquor licence, you will need to ensure you can also trade to 1:00 am under your planning permit before operating during these hours to avoid breaching planning laws.
If your planning permit currently specifies lesser trading hours than 1:00 am, planning laws prohibit you from operating your venue to 1:00 am until you obtain relevant approval from your local council. Please contact your local council for any questions about your planning permit, including how to apply to vary the conditions on your planning permit.
No 1 am extension to supplying liquor for off-premises consumption
The extension of trading hours to 1:00 am trading only applies to supplying liquor for consumption on the licensed premises. If you hold a general or a late night (general) licence, the extension to 1:00 am does not apply to supplying liquor for consumption off your licensed premises.
Similarly, the extension does not apply to supplying packaged liquor together with takeaway or home-delivered meals under a restaurant and cafe licence. Any packaged liquor supplied together with takeaway or home-delivered meals under a restaurant and cafe licence must cease by 11:00 pm.
Differences between restaurant and cafe licences and on-premises licence
Holders of a restaurant and cafe, on-premises and late-night (on-premises) licence may have an area depicted as an 'authorised area' on their red-line plan. This area is separate to the licensed premises and typically relates to a footpath trading area.
If you hold a restaurant and cafe licence, the extension of trading hours to 1 am applies to the licensed premises and any 'authorised area' marked in your red-line plan, including a footpath trading area. However, you still need to comply with planning laws. You should check that the footpath trading permit issued by your local council allows you to supply liquor until 1:00 am in that footpath trading area before operating during the extended hours to avoid breaching planning laws.
If you hold an on-premises or a late night (on-premises) licence, the extension of trading hours to 1:00 am only applies to the licensed premises and does not apply to any 'authorised area' marked in your red-line plan. If specific trading hours currently apply to the authorised area on your on-premises or late night (on-premises) licence, those hours will remain unchanged.
Venues with separate trading hours for specific areas
Some licences currently have separate trading hours listed for specific areas within the licensed premises. Licensees should note that the extension to 1:00 am trading does not apply to an area of their venue for which separate trading hours are currently specified on their liquor licence, compared to the overall trading hours (except for an 'authorised area' in a restaurant and cafe licence, as discussed above). Separate trading hours typically apply to external areas of a licensed premises, such as a beer garden or a balcony, which are different to the trading hours for the internal area of the licensed premises.
Examples
Here’s an example of trading hours on an on-premises licence before and after 15 March 2022.
Trading hours before 15 March 2022
- In the external areas:
- Sunday: between 10:00 am and 11:00 pm
- Good Friday and ANZAC Day: between 12 noon and 11:00 pm
- on any other day: between 7:00 am and 12 midnight.
- In the remainder of the premises:
- Sunday: between 10:00 am and 12 midnight
- Good Friday and ANZAC day: between 12 noon and 11:00 pm
- on any other day: between 7:00 am and 12 midnight.
Trading hours after 15 March 2022
- In the external areas:
- Sunday: No change from the above
- Good Friday and ANZAC Day: No change from the above
- On any other day: No change for the above
- In the remainder of the premises:
- Sunday: Between 10:00 am and 1:00 am
- Good Friday and ANZAC Day: Between 12 noon and 1:00 am
- On any other day: Between 7:00 am and 1:00 am
The extension to 1:00 am trading only applies to trading hours that apply 'in the remainder of the premises.' The extension to 1:00 am trading does not apply to the separate trading hours listed for the external area. Those trading hours remain unchanged unless the licensee seeks our approval to extend them.
Extension applies to all days of the week
The extension to 1:00 am trading applies to all days of the week. This means that if a licensee holds a licence in the categories above that currently has shorter trading hours for specific days of the week and 1:00 am or longer trading hours for other days, the shorter trading hours will extend to 1:00 am from 15 March 2022.
Similarly, the trading hours on a liquor licence for Good Friday and ANZAC Day are typically until 11:00 pm. Trading hours for these days are also extended to 1:00 am for holders of impacted licence categories.
Updated