All those holding current liquor licenses in South Australia are being urged to check their conditions to reduce new higher fee liabilities by Andrew Williams of Finlaysons’ Liquor Licensing Practice. The specialist law firm’s warning comes as the July 1 deadline draws closer, giving a dire warning to those that fail to consolidate multiple licenses in order to minimise exposure to the reforms.
“They will need to either absorb a substantially higher annual fee in order to preserve a right to trade past 2.00am (even if they might only trade past that time on special occasions or at busy times of the year),” he says. “Or reduce the trading hours of their licence, in circumstances where it might be difficult or impossible to increase the hours again in future if and when customers demand changes.”
Other licensees will need to consider the cost vs. the benefit of maintaining multiple licenses within the new fee structure.
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