The recent amendments to the Liquor Act introduced two new requirements for anyone transferring a liquor licence.
Risk Assessed Management Plan
An application for transfer of a liquor licence must now be supported by a Risk Assessed Management Plan (RAMP) for the premises. The RAMP must contain information, as prescribed by the Liquor Regulations 2002, about the conduct of business at the premises.
The information contained in the RAMP must address areas such as training of staff, surveillance, crowd controllers, measures to minimise noise and adverse impact on the amenity of the locality, lighting, community consultation and how you will ensure conduct of business at the premises complies with the Liquor Act 1992.
The RAMP must be approved by the Chief Executive and an approved copy will be returned to the licensee. Thereafter, the licensee will be obliged to operate the business in accordance with terms of the document
Liquor & Gaming Specialists can provide any licensee with a RAMP which we guarantee will comply with all OLGR requirements. We provide this service on a flat fee basis from $600 plus GST for a low risk licensed premises such as a restaurant with standard trading hours.
For more information on this requirement please download the OLGR Draft Guideline on Risk Assessed Management Plans (RAMP).
Licence Fees on Transfer
A less obvious ramification of the recent reforms is the requirement for an incoming licensee to ensure all licence fees have been paid before the licence is transferred. If the licence fee has not been paid by the due date, the licence will be automatically suspended and may be cancelled if the fees remain unpaid after 28 days.
Anyone applying for transfer of a liquor licence now will have to make a separate application for a Search of the Particulars of the Premises to ascertain whether fees are up to date.
From 1 July 2010 the component of the annual licence fees which relate to compliance history will be due and payable. This additional fee is calculated based on the compliance history in the preceding licence period – 1 July to 30 June. Therefore, incoming licensees are advised to also request details of the compliance history of the premises as any undisclosed adverse compliance could provide a nasty shock for the new business owner at the start of the next financial year.