Liquor Licensing & Planning Approvals

This was a welcome announcement given the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry. 
The NSW Government released a discussion paper in October 2022 on their proposed liquor licensing reforms. ClubsNSW provided a submission on behalf of its members, with 12 key recommendations, outlined below. 

Risk Ratings

The paper proposed risk ratings for licensed venues, with clubs automatically receiving a high-risk rating due to trading hours, patron capacity and location. 

We do not support this proposal and we highlighted that clubs are exceptionally safe and compliant venues. Figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research demonstrate clubs have significantly lower incidents of alcohol-related assaults compared to other licensed venues in the state.

We are recommending that clubs with a history of high compliance and few violent incidents be classified as low-risk, irrespective of trading hours, patron capacity and location.

Gaming Endorsements

The paper suggested businesses that operate gaming machines should have a gaming machine endorsement sitting against a club’s licence. It was not clearly explained nor set out how converting a club’s entitlement to operate machines into an “endorsement” would impact the substantive rules for operating gaming machines and any other legislative implications. 
We do not support this proposal. 

Streamlining Liquor Licence Applications & Domestic Applications 

We have been made aware through discussions with members that the current systems for licensing and planning applications are duplicative, onerous and burdensome. 

ClubsNSW reviewed a number of clubs’ development consent conditions. We identified several areas of crossover between the liquor and planning regimes. These include trading hours, noise limitations, patron capacity, and security guard and CCTV requirements. 

We agreed with the Government’s proposed position that there should be one authority responsible for imposing these conditions and recommended that Liquor and Gaming NSW be responsible, rather than local councils. This would provide clear benefits, including reduced administrative burdens and one set of rules for clubs to follow. 

Next Steps 

ClubsNSW will continue to engage with the Department as well as the new Government as the review progresses.

If you would like a copy of the full submission or have any further questions on the reforms, please contact ClubASSIST on 1300 730 001 and ask to speak to a member of the Policy and Government Team.