New licence applications lodgement guide

Application prerequisites

Before making an application, it is important to understand what entities can apply for a licence and what probity requirements might preclude you from applying, or your application from being considered. These requirements and other significant application information is contained within the new licence applications bulletin.

Steps to apply for new liquor licence application

Who cannot apply for the grant of a licence

Section 34 of the Liquor Control Act 1988 sets out that applications cannot be granted if the applicant is:

• bankrupt or has assigned his/her estate for the benefit of his/her creditors;
• incapable of managing his/her affairs because of a mental disorder;
• under sentence of imprisonment;
• under receivership or official management, or is in liquidation (companies only);
• disqualified from holding a licence, or holds a licence which has been suspended, as a result of previous disciplinary proceedings;
• a juvenile (for example less than 18 years of age); or
• a Commonwealth or State public servant (including employees of Crown instrumentalities), unless the licensing authority is satisfied that there is no conflict of interest between the applicant’s employment and the operation of the licence.

Applications that cannot be considered/granted

Section 36B of the Act provides that the licensing authority is not able to hear or determine an application for a new licence for a liquor store, tavern or hotel if the retail section of the proposed premises exceeds 400m² and an existing packaged liquor outlet with a retail section that exceeds 400m² is located within 5 kilometres (metropolitan) or 12 kilometres (regional). The distances are calculated using the shortest route by road.  

In addition, section 36B(4) of the Act sets out that the licensing authority must not grant an application for a packaged liquor outlet of any size unless it is satisfied that local packaged liquor requirements cannot reasonably be met by existing packaged liquor premises in the locality in which the licensed premises are or will be situated.

Lodgement checklist

Downloads

Lodging your application

To apply for a permanent liquor licence, applicants can now complete an online application form. The online form is designed to be intuitive; it will change to reflect the options you select as you proceed. This process will provide greater visibility of the overall application process to all applicants and aims to reduce determination times.

In order to access this application you have to create an account. Once you have created an account you will be able to lodge the initial grant application, once approved you can then use this account to update the licensee contact details, submit annual liquor returns (if applicable), view your annual licence fee invoice and lodge any future applications for extended trading permits.

The department is committed to ensuring that information on our website is widely accessible. If you require a manual copy of the new application form to be emailed or posted to you, please contact the department on 61 8 6551 4888.

Please note that the time taken to process an application will vary depending on a range of factors including the complexity of the application, advertising times and any objections which may be raised.

How to lodge an application

Applications for a permanent liquor licence must be lodged under the name of the proposed licensee. The proposed licensee is the individual, partnership or company who will be profiting from the sale of liquor under this licence. The applicant must also have (or will have) exclusive tenure to the premises in be considered the licensee in respect of permanent liquor licences.

Please refer to the following steps to lodge your application:

1. Create an Account
   
2. Complete the Liquor Licence Applicant Details form
   
3. Complete the Liquor Licence Application form
   
4. Make payment

Step 1: Creating an account

1.  Creating an account

First you must create an account. This account will be used to submit your applications, returns and change your address details.

• Visit the online portal (opens a new window)
  
• Select Create Account.
  
• Add all required fields and click Register.
  • The username must be in lowercase letters and cannot contain spaces or symbols such as @, !, &.
  • The password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 uppercase and 1 lowercase letter.
• An email will be sent to the email entered when completing the required fields.
  • Go to your email account and locate the registration email and click on the registration link to complete your account creation.
  • If copying the registration link please ensure you copy and paste the entire link into your internet browser.
• To complete the account verification, log into your account when prompted by entering your username and password.
• Click Register to finalise and activate your account.

Once your details have been entered and registered, you will not be required to register your details again. You can amend your details at anytime by logging into your account.

If you experience any issues with the account creation process please contact our department on 61 8 6551 4999.

Step 2: Completing the applicant details

Now that you are set up with an account you can start the application. Whenever you start an application for the first time in a new account it will automatically divert you to an Applicant Details form. This must be completed prior to starting any application types and once created cannot be changed. If you are using an existing account you will be given an option to skip this form if your contact information has not changed.

1. In the menu bar at the top of the page click on New Lodgement to locate the online application forms
   
2. From the drop down menu select the Group as Liquor and then the Type as Permanent Liquor Licence Application. Click on Submit to start the form.

3. Complete the Liquor Licence Applicant Details form
   • Ensure you read the Instructions page carefully
     
   • Please refer to the New Licence Applications Online – Information Bulletin and Application Checklist for a detailed list of what information you will need to supply when completing the Liquor Licence Applicant Details
     
   • Please note that if this is a new account you cannot Save this form and return to it at a later date, it must be completed in full and submitted the first time around to properly set up the account. If you have to exit the form for whatever reason you will be required to restart the application to return to this point.

4. Click on Submit to complete the form. You will then get your Applicant Reference Number. If you need to contact us you can use this number as a reference to assist us with any enquiries.
   
5. Click on Continue to proceed through to the Liquor Licence Application form. If you click on continue and it does not automatically start the next form please return to New Lodgement, select the form type again, and choose to skip the Applicant Details form to proceed.

Step 3: Completing the application form

The application form works the same way as the Liquor Licence Applicant Details form, just with different questions. Read through each question carefully and remember to save your form often.

This form is designed to be intuitive, when you answer a question it will change the form to allow you to provide more information. Please be sure to give the pages a few moments to update when you select an option in case it needs to create more fields for you to fill out.

If you do not have the information required at hand you can save your form and return to it later via the My Account page. Clicking on Save will create a link on the My Account page under Saved Forms. You can click on Resume to proceed or Delete to remove the saved form.

If you wish to keep a copy of the application form for your records you can only do this prior to submitting the application. Clicking on the PDF button will create a PDF of the application form in its current state for you to save to your computer.

Please refer to the application checklist for a detailed list of what information you will need to supply when completing the Liquor Licence Application form.

Step 4: Making payment

Upon submission of the form click on the Pay Fee button to view the payment options and make payment.

Payment for online lodgement can be made online via BPOINT. To pay via any other method, including BPay, please click the View Quote button. This will generate a quote with payment details and your unique application number.

Please make sure to quote the Application Reference Number when submitting any enquiries or manual documents in relation to this application.

When the fee is paid the date of lodgement will be the date the payment is receipted by the licensing authority. It generally takes 1-2 business days for the fee to register on our system. Please be aware that we will be unable to issue you with an official receipt until the fee has fully registered. When you make payment online you will instead be offered a payment confirmation slip which you can retain as evidence of payment if required.

For a full list of the fees and charges please refer to the fees and charges page.

What happens next

If your application is submitted successfully, you will be emailed an acknowledgment letter. This will confirm that the department has received your application. It will also outline any further information required for this application and the date by which it must be submitted.