The Director of Liquor Licensing recently announced various amendments to liquor policies that have reduced the number of policies from 54 down to 14.

The stated intention of this reduction was to cut red tape and make it easier for licensees and prospective licensees to start and operate their businesses.   A number of policies were found to be unnecessary on the basis that they were deemed to simply duplicate what was already required under the Act.

Liquor policies are internal documents made under delegated authority from the Liquor Control Act 1988. Whilst not legislation, or ‘law’, the policies have always been strictly applied within the Licensing Authority, in addition to express provisions of the Act. For all intents and purposes, they are relevant and binding guidelines on application provisions that must be taken into account when lodging any application before the Licensing Authority.

Examples of some of the amendments include:

BEFORE	AFTER	EFFECT
All staff at licensed Venues handling alcohol required to be 18 years or older	16-year-olds can now be hired as glass collectors, or ‘glassies’	This will encourage Venues to hire younger staff for roles, permitting them to gain valuable industry experience before they turn 18.
Applicants required to prepare and submit, and then implement and maintain, a House Management Policy, a Code of Conduct, and Management Plan at the Venue.	A single document encompassing those principles, a Harm Minimisation Plan, is all that is now required.	Whilst a list of minimum requirements as to the contents of a Plan has been provided, there is greater flexibility in how this is presented.
ETP’s required to be renewed every 10 years by lodging a full renewal application.	Requirement eliminated entirely for most ETP categories.	Will save licensees around $500,000 in fees and Licensing Authority around 4,000 hours of work in the coming decade.
Licensees could apply for an hour of extended trading if an interstate or international artist was performing.	Licensees can apply for extended trading if a Western Australian band is playing.	Venues will be encouraged and incentivised to support local groups and emerging talent.
Vineyard must have 1.5 hectares of vines or produce 5,000 bottles of wine per year.	Requirement removed from current policies.	Deletion will encourage small businesses, new entrants to the industry and boutique producers to enter the market.
Each individual juveniles seeking to work or enter work experience at a licensed Venue was required to gain permission to do so.	The training institute or business hosting juveniles for work or work experience apply once a year for blanket approval to host the juveniles.	Streamlining education and training process in hospitality industry, providing greater opportunities for young people in hospitality.

 

Industry feedback to date has been positive. In a press release dated 29 August 2024 AHA(WA), the collective voice of the hospitality industry, CEO Bradley Woods called the changes positive, noting it had been a long process to get to that point. He highlighted the reduction in real time and praised the changes as reasonable and fit for purpose.

Sandalford CEO Grant Brinklow, speaking to the Echo Newspaper’s Anita McInnes, said the changes had been well considered by all stakeholders, and praised the changes it would give effect to in the Swan Valley region.

Our office is dedicated to remaining full across and in front of all industry changes and amendments, big or small. Please contact our office today if you want or need advice about this process, or how the new amendments affect you or your licence.