26
Mar 2020
LEASES – COVID-19 IMPACT
As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread across Australia its impact on commercial arrangements is a serious concern for landlords and tenants alike. The mandatory closure of licensed premises and various quarantining measures have resulted in landlords and tenants discovering that their commercial and retail lease agreements do not deal with unprecedented events like COVID-19. Force majeure clauses in leases are rare to find and rent abatement clauses are generally
The highly anticipated Liquor Control Amendment Bill 2018 was presented to Parliament on 20 February 2018, and passed the lower house on 10 April 2018. In keeping with his election commitment, Premier Mark McGowan introduced a range of improvements in the way liquor outlets around the state are controlled. There are a number of key changes proposed which impact on liquor stores, in particular the larger liquor barns. As a result,
11
Apr 2018
IS A TRADE MARK WORTH IT?
Registration of a trade mark offers different, and important, protections to the registration of a business name. Whilst both can be used to identify your business, registering your business name does not give you legal proprietary rights over that name. Business Name A business name is the name under which your business operates. You only need to register a business name if you are trading under a name that is
06
Sep 2017
Restaurants selling liquor without a meal
Pursuant to the Liquor Control Act 1988 (WA) the primary and predominant purpose of a restaurant must be the regular supply of meals to customers seated at a dining table (or similar fixed structure). However, restaurants can obtain an extended trading permit to serve liquor without a meal. If the capacity of the premises is less than 120 persons, then the process for obtaining an extended trading permit is relatively
29
Jun 2017
DO YOU NEED TO RENEGOTIATE YOUR RENT?
If leasing a hospitality premises, it is critical to get the lease right or your business will suffer. Whilst recent data is showing a slow and stagnant market, one thing remains constant with any business, rent. Behind staffing costs, rent is one of the largest expenses for any hospitality venue. Therefore, it is critical that the rent payable is sustainable and the other terms and conditions of the lease are
10
Jun 2016
Sunday Extended Trading Permits
Sunday Extended Trading Permits Currently the Liquor Control Act 1988 (WA) does not authorise non-metropolitan liquor stores to trade on a Sunday, as a result, many country communities have to travel long distances in order to obtain packaged liquor. Currently the Perth metropolitan area extends from Two Rocks (just north of Yanchep) to Singleton (just south of Rockingham) to the The Lakes (just east of Mundaring). A licensee can, however,
Changes to Entertainment Consent Rules in South Australia Recent changes to the entertainment consent rules in South Australia have cut red tape and reduced the costs to licensee to provide entertainment until midnight. In a bid to encourage more live music, a licensee will no longer require consent of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner to provide entertainment between 11am and midnight on any day. However, a licensee will still