NSW LOOKS TO MAJOR LIQUOR LICENSING REFORM

The NSW regulator is putting to parliament a new demerit-based scheme for regulating licensed venues, combining three existing systems and rewarding good operators.

Late 2019 the NSW Parliament Joint Select Committee released its report on Sydney’s night time economy, with the Government response in November announcing changed would be completed in stages.

Stage One saw the 1:30am lockouts and many other restrictions on Sydney CBD venues relaxed mid-January, and the draft Liquor Amendment (24-hour Economy) Bill 2020 is part of Stage Two.

Currently three different schemes, instigated separately since 2009, govern breaches of the Liquor Act 2007, including:

1. Three Strikes Scheme
2. Declared Premises Scheme, commonly known as the Violent Venues Scheme
3. Minors Sanctions Scheme

The Joint Select Committee recommended Government incentivise and reward licensees for ongoing good behaviour, and appropriately sanction venues that do not comply. This gave rise to the demerit system.

Most breaches, including serving an intoxicated person and issues relating to violence or safety, will incur one demerit point.

The sale of alcohol to children, seen as one of the most serious breaches, will incur two points and likely draw greater monitoring by Liquor & Gaming.

As per the system used for drivers’ licences, demerit points last three years before automatically expiring.

If four points are accrued during three years, the venue faces a seven-day closure.

If six or more points are accrued, closure may be extended to two weeks, and a licensee or club secretary might be permanently disqualified.

The Department of Customer Service will also be producing an online register available to the public listing venues that have incurred points.

Conversely, operators accruing no points for three years receive a five per cent discount on licence fees, applied to the base fee and trading hours risk loading. Those achieving five years or more without a point receive a 10 per cent discount.

Demerit points will be automatically imposed when a penalty is paid, court convicts or an enforcement order issued, unless the matter is contested in court. They can be removed earlier pending a successful application to the Authority.

In line with the 2017 changes to the Three Strikes scheme, points will be put against the licensee or club secretary, not the venue, and three serious offences could see the licence revoked. Operators will receive information on their responsibilities when issued points.

Each point will also incur a one-off payment of $4,000 on the venue’s next compliance history risk loading fee.

The draft bill also includes:

• a new evidence-based approach to managing the density of licensed premises
• tighter regulations on same-day alcohol delivery, with new offences detailed
• further small bar reform, including allowing accompanied minors onsite until midnight
• coordinated responsibilities in compliance and enforcement in relation to noise
• supporting live music, removing license restrictions without any action required by the venue, including limits on genres, instruments or number of performers

The changes will soon be presented to NSW Parliament, and may still require amendment to pass in the upper house.