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 1am for certain liquor licence categories.
Licence categories affected by extension of trading hours
The extension to 1am trading applies to the following licence categories:
- Restaurant and cafe
- On-premises
- Late night (on-premises)
- General
- Late night (general)
Venues with licences in the categories listed above are authorised to trade until 1am 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 need to ensure you have planning permission from your local council that permits you to operate during the extended trading hours. 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 1am 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 1am, 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 a liquor licence.
This means that even if you are authorised to trade to 1am under your liquor licence, you will need to ensure you can also trade to 1am under your planning permit before operating during these hours to avoid breaching planning laws.
If your planning permit currently specifies lesser trading hours than 1am, planning laws prohibit you from operating your venue to 1am 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 1am 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 1am 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 11pm.
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 1am 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 1am 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 1am 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 1am 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 10am and 11pm
- Good Friday and ANZAC Day: Between 12 noon and 11pm
- On any other day: Between 7am and 12 midnight
- In the remainder of the premises
- Sunday: Between 10am and 12 midnight
- Good Friday and ANZAC day: Between 12 noon and 11pm
- On any other day: Between 7am 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 10am and 1am
- Good Friday and ANZAC Day: Between 12 noon and 1am
- On any other day: Between 7am and 1am
The extension to 1am trading only applies to trading hours that apply “In the remainder of the premises.” The extension to 1am 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 1am 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 1am or longer trading hours for other days, the shorter trading hours will extend to 1am from 15 March 2022.
Similarly, the trading hours on a liquor licence for Good Friday and ANZAC Day are typically until 11pm. Trading hours for these days are also extended to 1am for holders of impacted licence categories.
Late night liquor licence applications in inner-Melbourne areas
On 30 June 2023 the Acting Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation issued decision-making guidelines(opens in a new window) that must be considered by the regulator when assessing an application for a new liquor licence or change to an existing liquor licence authorising trading after 1am in the 4 inner city local government areas (Melbourne, Port Phillip, Stonnington and Yarra).
Who is affected by the guidelines?
Applies to:
- Applications in the local government areas of:
- Melbourne
- Port Phillip
- Yarra
- Stonnington.
- Applications for the grant, relocation and variation of the following licence types:
- general
- on-premises
- late night (general and on-premises)
- limited (including renewable).
Does not apply to:
- Application for premises that are or will be used as an accommodation hotel, where the supply of alcohol is secondary to the use as an accommodation hotel.
LCV has produced a Supplementary Form to assist applicants to address the guidelines
Applicants will be required to provide:
- a Venue Management Plan that details how a venue will be managed to minimise the risk of harm from late-night trading. The Plan should also address the matters in section 3 of the guidelines
- a Noise Mitigation Strategy detailing how amenity and noise (including music) will be managed under Environmental Protection Authority regulations and guidelines relating to noise(opens in a new window)
- the applicant’s history of compliance with liquor laws and Environmental Protection Authority regulations relating to noise
- a Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Plan.
Information on what to include in a venue management plan:
Web resources to assist applicants to develop a Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Plan include:
- City of Melbourne: Gender safety audit checklist for licensed venues(opens in a new window)
Other measures that applicants can include in the Prevention and Response Plan:
- Implementing “code words” at a venue for patrons feeling unsafe: see Ask for Angela(opens in a new window)
- Hanging posters throughout a venue to encourage people to seek help: see Promoting 1800RESPECT(opens in a new window)
- Incorporating training on violence prevention and responses into employee training.
More information on WorkSafe-accredited providers and WorkSafe resources and training to assist licensees to prevent and respond to violence(opens in a new window).
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission also has tools to help you meet your obligations(opens in a new window).
Further domestic, family and sexual violence counselling service links are available through 1800RESPECT(opens in a new window).
Security in late-night venues
Late-night liquor licences may have special conditions placed on their licences to install security cameras and employ crowd controllers.
Visit Security in licensed venues to read what the requirements are.
Updated