Alcohol home delivery: which liquor licence is required and how do you obtain one?

29 Mar Alcohol home delivery: which liquor licence is required and how do you obtain one?

It is increasingly becoming popular to order alcohol online and get it delivered to your door-step. For consumers, alcohol-delivery is another convenience in our on-demand culture. For businesses, alcohol-delivery expands their business opportunities in the industry.

So, if you wish to run a home delivery alcohol business, which liquor licence would you need and how would you obtain one?

Licence required to run a home delivery alcohol business:-

A packaged liquor licence permits you to sell alcohol to the public, to be consumed away from the licensed premises. This licence also permits you to hold tastings on the licensed premises with or without charge.

Types of businesses that can hold a packaged liquor licence:-

The types of businesses that can hold a packaged liquor licence are as follows:-

1. bottle shops;
2. supermarkets or general stores with a retail space of over 240 square metres selling packaged liquor on site; and
3. online and mail order businesses where customers do not attend the licensed premises and the alcohol is delivered to the customers’ home.

There are certain businesses that are not eligible for this licence and they are as follows:-

1. service stations;
2. take away food shops;
3. general stores including convenience stores, mixed business or milk bars with a retail floor area of 240 square metres or less which are used primarily for the sale of groceries; and
4. storage units or self-storage facilities.

How to apply for a packaged liquor licence:-

The steps to obtain a packaged liquor licence are as follows:-

1. Prepare a Community Impact Statement (CIS)

If you are applying for a packaged liquor licence, a CIS must be completed before you can submit your application to Liquor & Gaming NSW.

A CIS is a written summary that describes the impact a liquor licence will have on a neighbourhood. The process of preparing a CIS requires you to consult with and notify your community and key stakeholders of your application, such as your neighbours, your local council and local police. This helps you to identify ways to amend your application and business model to reduce any negative impacts to your community.

There are three (3) steps to planning a CIS which are as follows:-

• step 1: notify the community and key stakeholders by serving a Notice of Intention to apply for a new liquor licence and invite feedback;
• step 2: gather feedback from the community and key stakeholders and arrange further consultation if necessary (you must give them at least 30 days for their feedback); and
• step 3: prepare CIS based on the feedback.

There are two different types of CIS (category A or category B) depending on the nature of your business.

2. Development Approval / Development Consent

You may need development approval (DA) from your local council before your application can be granted. Your DA application can be in process while your application is being considered by Liquor & Gaming NSW. Your application for a packaged liquor licence however will not be determined until a DA has been approved.

A DA approval can take 30-100 days depending on your council and the complexity of your DA application.

3. Noticeboard consultation

When the CIS is ready, you can make your application to Liquor & Gaming NSW. Liquor & Gaming NSW will publish your application on the Liquor and Gaming Application Noticeboard for 30 days to allow your community an opportunity to comment on your application.

4. Determination

Once the Noticeboard consultation period has ended, it can take up to 12 weeks for Liquor & Gaming NSW to determine your application. The timeframe of 12 weeks is dependent on various factors, such as comments or issues raised by your community during the Noticeboard consultation period and whether you need to address any issues or concerns raised by Liquor & Gaming NSW.

If you have any questions regarding the above information or require legal advice in relation to obtaining a liquor licence, please contact Grant Hansen (ghansen@harrisco.com.au) or Mina Yu (myu@harrisco.com.au).