Mar 2020
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,
Sep 2017
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
Jan 2017
WHAT IS THE PUBLIC INTEREST TEST? In June 2016, the review of the Liquor Licensing Act 1997 was completed and 129 recommendations were presented to the Attorney General. One key recommendation, which has been substantially accepted by the South Australian Government, is the replacement of the needs test with a Community Impact and Public Interest Test to apply to certain high risk categories of licence. The needs test has been
Jun 2016
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