The Brumby Labor Government’s risk-based liquor licence fee structure has been refined to carve out businesses posing less risk to community safety, Member for Northern Victoria Region, Candy Broad said today.
Ms Broad said the changes to the fee structure were made after extensive community and industry consultation.
“The Brumby Labor Government is reforming the liquor licensing system because we want Victorians to be able to enjoy a night out in safety,” she said.
“The purpose of the risk-based fees is to make venues associated with the most harm to the community pay the most, to recover the real cost of regulating and policing the industry and keeping our venues safe.
“We have listened to the community and have adjusted the fee structure so large, late night venues will continue to pay the highest fees while smaller, earlier closing venues will pay commensurately less.”
Under the finalised fee structure:
- Venues with a patron capacity below 200 will not pay a risk fee based on patron numbers;
- Venues open until 1am will not pay a risk fee based on patron numbers;
- Venues with function centres closing at 1am will be able to apply to the Director of Liquor Licensing to have their function room capacity excluded from their total patron numbers, reducing the cost of their fee; and
- Sexually explicit entertainment venues will pay around $30,000.
Ms Broad said consultations with the community and industry showed widespread support for a new fee structure that targeted the venues that cost more to police and regulate.
“From our consultations, it was clear the community expected more policing and regulation of sexually explicit entertainment venues than venues like restaurants and cafes,” she said.
“Late night, large capacity pubs and nightclubs will pay more, no matter where they are in Victoria, because they present the biggest threat to community safety and cost more to keep safe.”
Ms Broad said all licensees were on notice that poor compliance histories would increase the cost of liquor licences from 2011.
“After next year, breaches of Victoria’s liquor laws will add to the cost of a licence, so licensees of poorly managed venues will find themselves paying significantly higher fees,” she said.
To assist small and not-for-profit venues, the Director of Liquor Licensing will have the discretion to reduce or waive fees for premises with less than five employees.
For more information about liquor licensing in Victoria, visit www.consumer.vic.gov.au/liquor