The final stage of the reform to liquor licensing laws in South Australia came into operation on 18 November 2019, with the last tranche of those legislative changes having now being implemented.

Under the final stage of these reforms, current licences transitioned to their new category on 18 November 2019 and a risk-based annual licensing fee has been adopted.  As part of this process, licensees were issued updated licences (including a new licence number) and signage.

Any licensee or real estate agent looking for clarification on these fundamental changes to the liquor licensing regime in SA are welcome to contact the team at Eckermann Lawyers with any queries.

Licensees can calculate their new annual licensing fees using a fee calculator available as part of the new ‘online portal’ service. The new fee structure commenced on 18 November 2019 but will not affect existing licences until the annual fee renewal period in mid-2020.  We would not recommend licensees seek to vary their licence fee for a perceived ‘monetary benefit’ without first considering the true impact on trading rights, capacities and trading hours which may all be altered automatically. This is especially so in any leased premises where it is quite likely that any such changes made without landlord consent will be a breach of lease.

For further information on the Liquor Licensing Act changes, we invite you to read our previous overview Liquor Licensing Act changes – a slow pour until now, but are you ready for major changes? published on our website in May.

 


Caderyn McEwen
Director, Eckermann Lawyers

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Danny Nemer
Legal Practitioner Director, Eckermann Lawyers

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