Intro
Effective date: 11 July 2018Last amended: 20 October 2020Next review: October 2022
This policy is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered, and with the understanding that the Director of Liquor Licensing is not passing legal opinion or interpretation or other professional advice. The information is provided on the understanding that all persons undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its contents.
Broadly speaking, a temporary bar operates in conjunction with an event or function such as an exhibition, festival, performance or show to provide refreshments that may include the sale and supply of liquor to people attending the event. The event must be the primary and predominant purpose for a temporary bar application to be approved, specifically to cater for attendees of that event.
To cater for community expectations in relation to temporary bars, the Director of Liquor Licensing (the Director), in consultation with key stakeholders, has established a policy which provides guidelines for both existing licensees and persons seeking to be temporary licensees, to sell or supply liquor at a temporary bar/s ancillary to an event. Specifically, this policy seeks to provide guidance on:
For the avoidance of doubt, this policy does not apply to applications lodged by licensees of established venues to activate spaces adjacent to its licensed premises.
Temporary bars operate to provide liquor at short-term events and an approval for a temporary bar is not a means for a person to sell or supply liquor on an ongoing basis. Accordingly, the Director may approve applications to permit the sale of liquor at a temporary bar/s, which must be ancillary to an event, for up to a maximum period of three (3) weeks. An approval will only be granted for the advertised duration of the event.
In exceptional circumstances for events of cultural and artistic significance, the Director may consider a period exceeding three (3) weeks, however, the applicant must provide submissions that demonstrate that exceptional circumstances apply. Furthermore, the Director may require a public interest assessment and the application may be advertised pursuant to section 67 of the Liquor Control Act 1988 (the Act).
To be exceptional, circumstances must be out of the ordinary, or unusual, or special as determined by the Director.
The Act does not specifically define an event, however, section 3 of the Act does define a function as:
Function means a gathering, occasion or event (including a sporting contest, show, exhibition, trade or other fair, or reception) at which it is proposed that liquor be sold or supplied to those present.
To provide greater clarity for applicants, a bona fide event should fall under one of the following categories. Some examples of the types of events that fall under the categories have been provided:
Furthermore, the following criteria may be taken into consideration in determining the bona fides of an event:
It is important to note that the licensee must be responsible for the business conducted under the licence including the responsibility for employing/engaging the security/crowd controllers at an event1. These arrangements should be taken into consideration when determining what type of application to lodge i.e. if the event organiser/promoter (who is not the applicant) is engaging the security/crowd controllers, consideration should be given to applying for an occasional licence to be held jointly by both parties.
Furthermore, approval to share in the proceeds or profit from an event will require the approval of the Director and the applicant must demonstrate that the application is in the public interest.
An applicant’s experience and compliance history will also be considered when determining applications.
Section 60 of the Act provides for the Director to grant an extended trading permit (ETP) to authorise a licensee to sell and supply liquor under the licence, in circumstances in which that licence would not otherwise allow.
Section 60(4)(a) of the Act specifically identifies that one of the purposes for which an ETP may be granted is to allow catering, that is, authorising a licensee to sell liquor as a caterer. Under such an approval the licensee is authorised to sell and supply liquor at unlicensed premises, where it has been engaged and has agreed as a caterer to provide liquor, whether with or without food, for consumption by persons on those premises only, subject to the requirement that the consent of the owner or occupier of the premises has been obtained.
Further information about the Director’s policy – Extended Trading Permits/Variations – ‘One-off’ Events or Functions.
Any person may apply for an occasional licence to sell or supply liquor from a temporary bar/s at an event.
An occasional licence may be required where the person selling or supplying liquor does not hold an existing licence or where some of the responsibility for the conduct of the event rests with a person other than the licensee.
Further information about the Director's Policy - Occasional Liquor Licence.
Holders of special facility licences (catering) may apply to sell or supply liquor at a function where the caterer has been engaged, by a person organising the function, to provide liquor for consumption by persons at that premises.
Further information about the Director's Policy - Special Facility Licence - Catering.
Section 33(1) of the Act provides that the licensing authority has the absolute discretion to grant or refuse an application under the Act, on any ground or for any reason that it considers to be in the public interest.
A key factor when considering an application for a temporary bar is whether the proposal incorporates a genuine event or function. Where an event organiser engages a prospective liquor licensee to sell or supply liquor at the event, the sale of liquor should be ancillary to the event.
Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with existing licensees to actively promote events being held in partnership.
In cases where over 500 persons are expected to attend2 and the event is proposed to be held over a period longer than one (1) calendar week, a public interest assessment is required demonstrating that the event is in the public interest, including having regard to the proper development of the industry, and details of how the event will not have an adverse impact on the surrounding community.
Furthermore, for events where a public interest assessment is required, the onus rests with an applicant to also demonstrate:
Due to the high concentration of existing licensed premises in the Perth CBD and Northbridge, in these areas applicants will also be required to:
Applications must be accompanied by the relevant documents at the time of lodgement as pursuant to section 67 of the Act, the Director may require an application to be advertised on the department’s website. An advertised application or an application where an affected area has been determined by the Licensing Authority will be open to submissions or objections. If an applicant wishes to amend an application that has already been advertised, consideration will be given as to whether or not the amended application needs to be re-advertised which may create a delay in the processing of the application.
Applicants must not lodge any documentation which they consider to be confidential as any document that the decision maker will have regard to must be available for inspection by any person. Parties who wish to lodge documents containing confidential information must redact the relevant sections.
Further information about the Director's Policy – Inspection of Records and Access to Documents.
Licensees should be aware that the approval can be withdrawn. If a licensee makes substantive changes to the event or fails to comply with the conditions of the permit or licence, the licensing authority may:
Information on how to lodge an application can be found on the department’s website or by telephoning the Regulatory Services Division on 61 8 6551 4888.
Lodgement periods for applications depending on the size and duration of the event are outlined in the Director's Policy - Special Facility Licence - Catering and Director’s policy – Extended Trading Permits/Variations – ‘One-off’ Events or Functions.
For the purposes of this policy, the Perth CBD and Northbridge are defined as the suburbs of Perth, East Perth, West Perth and Northbridge but does not include Kings Park.