The Victorian Government has extended the freeze on the granting of new liquor licence applications to trade after 1am in inner-city Melbourne to 30 June 2021.
The new Ministerial Decision Making Guidelines set out how the freeze applies to venues seeking to trade after 1am in local governments areas of Melbourne (including Docklands), Stonnington, Yarra and Port Phillip.Changes under the new guidelines include:
- applicants are no longer required to secure a letter of support from their local council in applying for an exemption to the freeze (however councils may still object to an application)
- live music venues of up to 500 patrons can apply for an exemption to the freeze (an increase from 200 patrons) subject to the Commission being satisfied that the impact on amenity and harm is low
- licence applications seeking to supply liquor after 1am on New Year’s Eve will not be subject to the freeze
- the new guidelines make it clear that an applicant can seek an exemption to supply alcohol for a one-off event where the event relates to the broadcasting of a live major international sporting event.
The new Ministerial directions will apply to any application not yet determined by the VCGLR.