Make a complaint about the liquor industry

We work to support a compliant liquor industry, but sometimes a licensee, employee or customer may breach Victoria’s liquor laws.

If you identify a breach, you may want to make a complaint.

There are strict guidelines for the types of complaints we can consider.

Our approach to complaints

We take a risk-based approach to complaints. This means we focus on matters that may involve:

a breach of Victoria’s liquor laws
a credible risk of harm
ongoing impacts on local amenity (such as persistent noise or disorderly behaviour).

Most problems can be resolved faster by raising them directly with the venue or contacting the right agency first.

We only assess complaints that are within our responsibilities under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998.

Before you make a complaint

Complete these steps before you make a complaint.

Some matters are handled by other authorities.
For example:
- Victoria Police handle crime, violence or safety concerns.
- Local council handles planning-related matters, including land use, planning permits and amenity impacts (for example, noise from a business, footpath trading, parking and traffic.
- Consumer Affairs Victoria handles consumer or business disputes.
If your matter is covered by another agency, contact them first.
We cannot assess your issue if it is not part of our responsibilities under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998.
We can consider complaints about:
- suspected breaches of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998
- serious or ongoing amenity impacts linked to alcohol-related activity, such as music-related noise, drunkenness or anti-social behaviour at a licensed venue
- alcohol advertising or alcohol-related promotions
- licensee operations, including Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA)
- underage drinking or alcohol supply
- footpath obstructions and littering.
We cannot consider complaints:
- relate to matters managed by another agency (for example, relating to local planning permits, public order offences or criminal offences)
- that do not include enough detail to verify or act on
- about customer service at a venue or other issues unrelated to liquor laws
- about businesses licensed outside Victoria, even if they are advertising here
- if the person making the complaint has been barred by a licensed venue or Victoria Police
- about debt recovery or breach of civil contract.
We do not usually consider complaints that have not been raised with the venue first.
We need specific, factual and actionable information to assess your complaint.
You will need to provide:
- dates
- times
- location of the incident
- a description of what happened
- any supporting material (for example photos, videos or documents).
Noise complaints
If your complaint is about noise, you can contact us or your local council.
Local councils handle noise complaints that relate to planning issues. For example, if a business has a planning permit to bottle beer and the bottling machine is too loud, the local council is the right place to raise the complaint.
If you raise a complaint with us, we may ask you to complete a detailed noise logbook over a number of weeks. Without this, we cannot progress your noise complaint.
When we assess a noise complaint, we may also consider:
- any previous complaints, investigations or outcomes
- where the venue is located (for example, entertainment areas generally allow for higher noise levels)
- whether the venue was operating before nearby homes were built.
Use this logbook to record noise incidents:

Record of noise incidents logbook
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(opens in a new window)

Make a complaint

Complete the application form if:

you have already tried to resolve the issue
the complaint is within our responsibilities under the Act.

Make a complaint

After you make a complaint

Providing a complaint does not guarantee an investigation.
We use your information to decide whether the matter:
- meets our risk-based thresholds
- should be monitored
- should be redirected to another agency
- should be closed with no further action
We may close the complaint if it is:
- unclear
- unable to be proved
- outside our responsibilities under the Act.
We will email to let you know:
- when the matter is finalised or closed
- the outcome
- the general reason for the outcome (if appropriate).
Due to privacy laws, we may only be able to provide limited information about the outcome.

Complaint form

About your complaint

What is your complaint about? (You can select more than one) * If your complaint is not listed below, it may not be a matter we can help you with. You may need to direct your complaint to a different authority.

Advertising and promotions (alcohol)

Amenity (noise)

Amenity (other)

Change of directors

Character suitability of a licensee (e.g. criminal record)

Drunk or Intoxicated Patrons

Licence conditions in breach (e.g. trading hours, customer numbers, crowd control)

Minors being supplied alcohol

Minors supplying alcohol

Red Line Plan

Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA)

Selling alcohol without a licence

Sexually explicit venues

Signage

Water supply

Other

Please specify

Details of your complaint

Where did the incident take place? (You can select more than one) *

Inside a licensed venue

Directly outside a licensed venue

In a public area (such as a park or on the street)

In an unlicensed premises

On social media

On a website

What is the person, business, or organisation name? *(Required)

What is the address? *(Required)

Do you know the date of the incident?

Yes

No

Do you know the time of the incident?

Yes

No

What happened? tell us about the incident.

Please provide as much detail as possible.(Required)

When, and how, did you raise your concerns?(Required)

Did you notify anyone in charge at the site about the incident?(Required)

Yes

No

Tell us about yourself

What role are you making this complaint? *

Customer of the business

Employee of the business

Member of the liquor industry (e.g. a licensee or manager)

Member of the public

Police officer

Written statement *

If the complaint is substantiated, are you willing to provide a written statement regarding the matter?

Yes

No

About you

Would you like to make this complaint anonymously? (Required)

No

Yes

Title(Required)

Given name(Required)

Surname(Required)

Street number(Required)

Street name(Required)

Town/City(Required)

State(Required)

Postcode(Required)

Preferred contact number(Required)

Email address(Required)

Additional information

Please use the space below if you require more space for additional information

Acknowledgment(Required)

I declare that the information contained in this online form is true and correct and I acknowledge that enforcement action may be taken by Liquor Control Victoria as a result and that I am prepared to appear in court as a witness if required. I further understand that by giving false or misleading information on this document I may be held accountable before a court of law. Heavy penalties apply.

Acknowledgment

Important email

Make a complaint about the liquor industry

On this page

Our approach to complaints

Before you make a complaint

Make a complaint

After you make a complaint

Complaint form