TWO TOWNSVILLE SALES AND AN EXIT FOR REDCAPE
Redcape has further tweaked the portfolio, divesting two pubs in Townsville to the Queensland-based Falvey family as its rolls capital into upgrades and acquisitions where it sees its opportunity. The MA Financial hospitality fund has parted with the Hermit Park
ELECTION PLEDGES TO BOOST VICTORIA’S PUBS
Victorian Labor has unveiled a suite of proposed reforms to help pubs “get on with business” ahead of the November state election, heralding later closing times and allowing customers to bring canine companions. Ben Carroll’s Victorian government has issued
PUBS FACE BACKPACKER CRUNCH
Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program is about more than migration numbers. For pubs and hotels across regional Australia it is also about having enough people behind the bar, in the kitchen, cleaning rooms and keeping the doors open. Regional hospitality
AVC TAKES TWO IN THE SUNSHINE
Australian Venue Co has further consolidated its outlook in the Sunshine State, acquiring two prominent licensed venues from the same private operator. Both considered local landmarks, AVC is taking over operations at Bartlett’s Tavern in Rockhampton and the Black Nugget
TABCORP PENALISED OVER CUSTOMER PROTECTION
The Victorian regulator has fined Tabcorp for failing to meet the standards expected in customer protection by not having mandatory multi-factor authentication controls in place, designed to safeguard wagering accounts. The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) found Tabcorp
LORD NELSON’S BREWERY HITS 40
It has been 40 years since The Lord Nelson started brewing its own beer, and this October long weekend Sydney’s historic pub is raising a glass to four decades of brewing in The Rocks. From Saturday, 3 October to Monday,
QUESTIONS OVER PLAN TO RAISE RAZED ICON
A Townsville man is attempting to rally the locals to raise $4.5 million to restore and revive the city’s legendary, beleaguered and burned Great Northern Hotel, despite skeletons in the closet. The grand Federation-style Hotel opened in 1901, offering
HONOURS FOR CLASS ACT
Over 400 industry and community leaders gathered at QT Canberra Tuesday night to honour the biggest and brightest names in Canberra hospitality at the 2026 AHA ACT Awards for Excellence. The gala ceremony spanned 49 awards for the best pubs,
THE WAKEFIELD HAS WELCOMED A COLOURFUL NEW ADDITION
Adelaide has a new cocktail bar, and it has brought a serious dose of disco glamour with it. Velvet Violet opened above the Wakefield Hotel last Saturday, transforming the pub’s upstairs space into a colourful late-night destination built around cocktails,
RYAN LISTS BANKSIA IN BLOOM
Energised by the recent high-profile purchase of the Royal Oak in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, veteran hotelier Patrick Ryan has listed Top150 performer the Banksia Hotel, in Sydney’s south. The big Hotel occupies a prominent 1,037sqm corner on the arterial Princes

