If licence fees are not paid by 31 July, and the licensee has not entered into an approved instalment payment plan (see below), the licence for the premises will be automatically suspended for 28 days. If the fees are not paid by the end of the suspension period, the licence will be automatically cancelled. If your licence is suspended, you must cease trading in liquor or you risk a fine of more than $2,500.

Please note: because these dates fall on a weekend this year, OLGR will accept payments on the next business day – so the relevant dates are really 2 & 30 August 2021.

OLGR has sent licence fee notifications to all licensees by email and/or post. If you have not received a notification, please contact OLGR on 1300 072 322, or log into your client portal to assess and pay your fees.

Payment by Instalments

The Liquor Act provides an option to pay annual licence fees by instalments if the licensee is unable to pay in full by the due date because:

• the business has been affected by natural disaster; or
• the licensee has suffered personal or financial hardship.

It is fair to say that COVID-19 is a natural disaster which has affected the operation of licensed premises and many licensees have suffered financial hardship as a result. Although we have not received guidance from OLGR, we believe there is an opportunity to obtain an approval to pay your licence fees by instalments. To begin the process, please complete this form.

OLGR distributes a licence fee flyer indicating the option to pay by instalments is only available if licence fees exceed $1,000. We are unaware of a supporting provision in the legislation and licensees may make an application for any amount. However, as the Commissioner must be satisfied the licensee is ‘unable to pay the fee in full’, licensees may find this difficult to prove for smaller amounts.

Generally, if the application is approved the fees must be paid in equal quarterly instalments, with the first payment due immediately.

Since the passing of the Liquor Act 1992, Queensland has seen substantial change, not the least of which is the growth in the hospitality and dining sector. Queenslanders, and visitors to the Sunshine State, have embraced the al-fresco dining experience and it is not uncommon for a restaurant, cafe, or bar to have most, or even all, of its seating outdoors. However, for as long as we can remember (and that is a long time) the following standard condition has been endorsed on liquor licences in Queensland: 

LL253 – Speakers used to amplify entertainment/music noise or non-amplified entertainers must not be located in any outdoor/patio area of the premises.

Of course, many premises with outdoor seating have speakers in their outdoor areas. Where these speakers are providing background music, they have little negative effect on residents or businesses nearby, and receive limited attention from OLGR or police, despite clearly contravening a condition of the licence. However, when noise from the speakers causes complaints, the regulator need only refer to this condition to compel the licensee to remove them. 

Recently, OLGR have adopted a policy which will see this condition only endorsed on new licences when justified by specific circumstances. Whilst OLGR have provided no definitive guidance, applicants for new liquor licences who are not providing an acoustic report, and will therefore be subject to the standard noise limit of 75dB(C), will generally not have the condition endorsed on the licence. 

For licensees with the standard condition currently endorsed, the options are a little more complex. If the premises are operated in contravention of the condition, that is, with speakers or entertainers in outdoor areas, and have not been the subject of complaints, it’s unlikely that anything will change in terms of enforcement action by OLGR or Police. This notwithstanding, it is clearly risky to ignore licence conditions, and not something most licensees would contemplate. The on-the-spot fine for a breach of a licence condition is 5 penalty units ($667 in 2021). 

To have the condition changed requires a “variation of licence”. A variation application in its complete form is quite complex and an OLGR representative has told us that applications of this type would be dealt with in the usual way. However, we believe there is an argument to have the more onerous requirements waived in almost all cases, reducing the costs and processing times significantly. If you want to know more about this option, our consultants are available to look at any licensee’s individual circumstances and provide obligation-free advice. 

Update 12 March 2021

The bill has been passed without amendment. They are not expected to be available until early May, but OLGR are currently accepting applications for artisan licences. Existing licensees who want to move to the new licence type can do so free of charge so long as there will be no material changes to the way the business operates, and the application is made before 30 June 2021.

---

The bill to introduce the artisan producer licences has been released and we have set out the key features below.

Definition of Artisan Distillery

An artisan distillery is licensed premises producing up to 450,000 litres of spirits per financial year, whether that is under the authority of an artisan producer licence; a producer/wholesaler licence; or an equivalent licence issued under the law of another state. This is a similar principle to that used in the existing definition of a craft brewery.

Interim Arrangements for Artisan Distilleries

Amendments to the Liquor Act have already commenced to allow artisan distilleries whose annual production is within the thresholds below to sell their own product, for consumption on or off the licensed premises, free of the restrictions under section 75.  These arrangements will discontinue once the artisan producer licence is available.

New Licence Types

The amendments will create a new licence type, artisan producer, with subcategories of beer and spirits. Interestingly, a licensee can hold a licence that is in either or both categories. The introduction of the new licence is aimed at promoting the commercial viability of local craft brewers and artisan distillers. Although the process was started in 2017, the proposed changes are also intended to assist with economic recovery in this sector post COVID-19.

To be eligible for this licence an applicant’s production must sit within the following thresholds each financial year:

• Beer – at least 2,500 litres at the licensed premises, but no more than 5 million litres at the premises or elsewhere through a related body corporate.
• Spirits – at least 400 litres at the licensed premises, but no more than 450,000 litres at the premises or elsewhere through a related body corporate. Artisan spirits includes liqueur produced using spirits produced in an artisan distillery. Therefore, premises may be eligible for an artisan producer licence (spirits) without distilling spirits on the premises.

A related body corporate, which is defined in the Corporations Act 2001, essentially means companies that are connected to each other through their ownership structure. For example, a holding company and its subsidiary company are related bodies corporate, as are companies that have the same holding company.

Additionally, a licensee company must not be related to a large brewer (producing more than 40 million litres each financial year, e.g. Lion Nathan or Carlton United) or a large distiller (producing more than 2 million litres each financial year, e.g. Diageo, owners of Bundaberg Rum, Johnny Walker and Smirnoff). For the purposes of this provision, an artisan producer will be “related” if 20% of its shares, or 20% of the votes that may be cast at its general meeting, are owned or controlled by the large brewer or distiller.

Authority of Licence

On Premises Consumption

The licence authorises the sale of the following liquor products for consumption on the premises:

1. The licensee’s craft beer or artisan spirits produced on the premises;
2. RTD products made from artisan spirits produced on the premises;
3. Craft beer or artisan spirits produced by another artisan producer licensee or a relevant producer/wholesaler licensee;
4. Wine produced under the authority of a licence issued under the Wine Industry Act 1994 (Qld);
5. Cocktails using at least one of the licensee’s artisan spirits (spirits producer only).

A relevant producer/wholesaler is a licensee whose premises meet the definition of an artisan distillery or craft brewery and who has a condition on their licence authorising the sale of artisan products to artisan producers.

Off Premises Consumption

The authority of the licence limits off premises sales to the licensee’s products produced on the licensed premises, including RTDs. Orders for off premises consumption can be taken through the licensee’s website.

Sale of Liquor at Promotional Events

There are provisions for the sale of takeaway liquor at promotional events. This authority must be endorsed as a condition of the licence and will allow sales of up to 9 litres of beer or 1.5 litres of spirits per transaction, unless a different amount is specified on the licence or in the regulations.

Notably, licensees will be able to charge for samples to be consumed at promotional events, which is specifically prohibited under the current craft beer provisions. This approval may include a limit on the volume that may be sold to each person and the volume in each individual sample. The bill is silent on what these limits will be but 15ml for spirits and 150ml for beer appear reasonable.

Artisan Product as a Percentage of Sales

In each financial year at least 70% of the total liquor sales (by value) must be artisan product produced on the licensed premises. The total sale price of a cocktail is used for this calculation.

Standard Trading Hours

Standard trading hours for the licence are:

• On-premises consumption: 10am to midnight;
• Off-premises retail: 10am to 10pm;
• Off-premises wholesale: the trading hours of the premises under the Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990.

The restrictions on Christmas Day, Good Friday and Anzac Day (no off-premises retail, and on-premises consumption only in association with a meal), and the extension on New Years’ Eve, apply to an artisan producer licence.

Extended Trading Hours Available

An artisan producer licensee can apply for permanent extended trading hours approvals to allow:

• On-premises sales until 1am, subject to public interest requirements;
• On-premises or off-premises sales from 9am, subject to demonstrated community need;
• On-premises sales between 7am and 9am to people attending a function on the licensed premises.

The licensee can apply for a temporary extended trading hours permit to allow trading to 5am for an occasion or event subject to the usual requirements.

Next Steps for Licensees

The bill provides for eligible licensees to convert an existing producer wholesaler licence to one of the new licences without charge. Licensees who meet the criteria are likely to be contacted by OLGR once the bill passes into law.**

Wholesale authority under an artisan producer licence is limited to products produced on the licensed premises. Therefore, licensees who meet the definition of artisan distillery or craft brewery, but wish to maintain a wholesale business selling product other than that produced on the premises, must decide whether to:

• Keep their existing licences – in which case they may wish to obtain a condition allowing the sale of artisan products to artisan producers; or
• Split production and wholesale operations and operate under separate licences – this will bring new retail opportunities without limiting wholesale operations, but creates additional administrative requirements for the business owner, including maintaining separate areas for each licence.

Timing

The bill is due out of committee on 12 February 2021. As the amendments are uncontroversial the bill should pass quickly after that. Parliament’s next sitting date is not until 23 February 2021, so commencement will hopefully be shortly after that.

** Liquor & Gaming Specialists will also provide an opportunity for eligible licensees to register their interest. It is unlikely that applications for new licences will be accepted prior to the bill’s passage into law, but again, LGS will accept instructions to prepare applications either for the existing producer wholesaler licence or in advance for the new artisan producer licence.