# Liqour License Demystifying?



## seravitae (9/6/09)

Hey there,

Just out of curiosity I've been reading liquor licensing, I'm trying to understand how people in the industry have to deal with things and how they are regulated.

If anyone has any experience in this area and can answer a few questions, i'd appreciate it.

P.S i'm in QLD.

Now, I have never made a drop of (good) beer, but im sure a lot of brewers our there with a proud drop have been asked about selling it. Naturally you need a liquor license (and abn). However, say someone is operating a small business selling local beer from a hypothetical microbrewery, what license class does that fall into? According to the latest draft guidelines for qld, if no liquor is being consumed in the brew area (ie all beer sold is for take-home only), then apparently one falls into the category of "Commercial Hotel - Bottle shop - sale of takeaway liqour only". However this sounds wierd, because I'm...not running a hotel with a bottle shop. Also, there is a license for "commercial other license (producer/wholesaler)". Since one would be producing, does this mean you need two licenses, a producer *and* commerical hotel license?

Also, the fees for a hotel and bottle shop are different. Does this mean that their prior description "commercial hotel - bottle shop" actually means either, not both? If so, that makes a bit more sense. Which would bring the base fee for the license to $3000. Trades would only occur during standard hours, so that would not include any other fees.

How long does a liquor license last? Is it per year, ie would that be $3000 per year, or $3000 flat out for registration and that's it - so long as i dont modify the premisis/business activity (and thus the license agreement)?



cheers.

(maybe someone should turn this into a wiki?)


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## fraser_john (9/6/09)

Also have to include council implications, they "may" not allow you to produce liquor for sale in a residentially zoned area.

Waste all of a sudden becomes commercial waste as well.


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## Cummins (9/6/09)

Have a look at THIS thread, different state but should be similar process.


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## PostModern (9/6/09)

Just did a couple mins searching and spoke to a licence guru. Seems you don't need a brewers licence in Qld. You would of course need a federal liquor excise licence and possibly a liquor wholesale licence (that only allows you to sell liquor to licenced people). You would also probably need a food production licence in the council area in which you work. 

It is different in every state. NSW has not forgotten the rum rebellion, so we still have a few extra hoops to jump thru.

A good search of this site will give you more ideas. The topic comes up from time to time.


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## bigfridge (9/6/09)

Sera

Maybe somebody should use the search function ... <_< This has been well covered before on AHB.

Unless you have $50,000 to $100,000 to spare don't bother reading any further :lol: 

You have to submit your 'commercial' operation to each of the 3 levels of government.

The Council will need to approve a DA and you will need to get a Construction Certificate for your 'food manufacturing' premises. This includes tiled surfaces, hand washing facilities, waste disposal, fire safety, employee toilets etc.

Next you need to apply for the producers license (to manufacture alcohol) which will allow you to sell to liquor license holders, and one of the sales licences if you want to sell to the public. This will include various advertising and local impact statements, court appearences etc.

Finally you need to apply for an excise license from the ATO so that you can pay excise on the alcohol you produce. This will require you to get all your tanks calibrated (costs around $2,000 each) plus submit to a site review where they examine everything from your physical security (locks on doors and windows), your purchasing and goods control policies, accounting systems etc.

If all goes well this will take 12-18 months. They say you don't have to be mad to start a brewery in this country but it certainly helps !

Dave






sera said:


> Hey there,
> 
> Just out of curiosity I've been reading liquor licensing, I'm trying to understand how people in the industry have to deal with things and how they are regulated.
> 
> ...


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## Jono_w (9/6/09)

bigfridge said:


> Sera
> 
> Maybe somebody should use the search function ... <_< This has been well covered before on AHB.
> 
> ...



Sounds like fun...


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## seravitae (9/6/09)

thanks dave, that really cleared things up.

I pretty much knew from the start that it would be a pipedream for most, except only the bravest. must say, good luck to anyone out there trying to step up to those challenges


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## /// (10/6/09)

Unfortunately Sera, as I slip on my NSW Brewers Guild Presidential Fez, you have indeed been given some very poor information.

In most States in Australia, you can be a retailer, wholesaler or manufacturer (some lines can be blurred). Most States make a definition of business intent; that being wholesale of liquor to another license holder or sales to the public or both. (known in NSW as Off- or On- premise) Retention of a license will not equal the wild amounts listed above, it will vary based on your State, the individual legislature permissible to the activity and the legal work required. A new NSW Guild member recently obtained a NSW Off-License Wholesale for the license cost ($2000) and about $1500 in legal fee's within 6 weeks. Pretty cheap anyones books. For this license type, no DA was required, similarly with public interest advertising.

NSW has perhaps the strictest licensing conditions in Australia, the rum rebellion is not forgotten. The NSW Liquor Act 2008 did introduce some measures to simply the process, and some items to complicate the process. It is poor form to compare NSW lemon with a QLD orange as NSW is very dependent on a local council DA and the physical area where business will be undertaken (in NSW speak, a defined license area). i.e. the license is attached to an area and the business. In Victoria, liquor licenses are in general attached to a business with less consideration of the physical area. 

As a further example, Vic producer licenses allowed for cellar door sales where NSW licenses did not allow such facility. With so many permutations, it is wrong to generalize. The easiest and quickest method to find out the correct licensing to suit your situation is to contact the respective authority. If you are unsure where to Start, google for the Authority/Department or check with your local cop-shop. The constabulary will have the initial points of contacts, and within the respective authority there will be staff able to answer your questions and maybe even some legal experts in the feild. As law by its nature is a changing medium, I would not rely on information from a website like AHB (due to age and accuracy for eg), and check direct with the govering body.


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## gibbocore (10/6/09)

How does contract brewing affect that process? So say you had perfected your fav drop on you home made herms and wanted to upscale to commercial quantities and decided to go down the contract route?


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## /// (10/6/09)

In NSW, a Off-License Wholesale license is appropriate. This can be attached to a place of business, which may be your study! It has and is being done in NSW.

But, this is in NSW. Again, each Local and State is different.

Scotty


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## gibbocore (10/6/09)

Very interesting, cheers. So i gather you can skip all the DA council business then?


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## /// (10/6/09)

For an Off-License wholesale, and in NSW State at present, yes. Best to find good advice from those that have spent time studying it though. A fella like Grant Cussack and Associates comes with recommendation.

Scotty


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## gibbocore (11/6/09)

cool, thanks mate, much appreciated.


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