The CCV office regularly receives calls from member clubs with questions about their liquor licence. Committee members of licensed clubs have certain obligations associated with theclub’s liquor licence.

Firstly, it is important to ensure all staff and committee members of the club are familiar with their obligations under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 and understand the consequences of breaches. We suggest that all committee members are provided with a copy of the club’s liquor licence and ensure that it is appropriately displayed with all the required signage. CV also recommends that all Committee members undertake Responsible Service of Alcohol training.

Below is a summary of the most frequently asked questions over the past 12 months.

Q:​ Who can be served liquor in licensed club premises?

A:​ Members, guests of members and authorised gaming visitors.

Q:​ When must a club renew its licence or BYO permit?

A: ​Licence renewal fees are due for payment on 31 December each year. If the renewalfees are not paid by 31 March, the licence or permit ceases to be in force and you can nolonger serve or consume alcohol on the club premises.

Q:​ How does a club change its days and hours of operation on a permanent basis?

A:​ The club will need to complete a variation application for different trading hours.

Q:​ Can a club sub-let the right to supply liquor?

A:​ No, unless an application to sub-let has been submitted and approved. It is anoffence for a licensee to permit other persons to carry on a business without consent. An example of letting/sub-letting could be where a club wants to bring in an experiencedcaterer to run the kitchen. The external caterer would lease the kitchen from the club.The licensee would need to apply for permission to allow this to occur.

Q:​ ​What does a club need to do to increase the size of its approved licensed area?

A:​ The club is required to submit an application for variation of its licence.

Q:​ ​How can we sell liquor in our club rooms to opposing teams and officials?

A:​ ​This may be handled in two ways:

The rules of the club can make provision for opposition teams and officials to be honorarymembers for the day of competition.

Alternatively, the club may make provision in their rules to enter into reciprocal arrangements with clubs against whom they compete. Members of opposition clubswith whom the club shares reciprocal rights can use the club facilities as they would their own.

Q:​ ​​There are 3 separate clubs that use the premises- who holds the Liquor Licence?

A:​ ​The Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 requires a single licensee or nominee to be responsible for a liquor licence. When 2 or more clubs share the same premises over a 12-month period, they each hold their own liquor licence, and both pay the costs of an annual liquor licence.

Clubs interested in reducing the cost of holding a liquor licence could consider the following options:

• Option 1 – Amalgamate the clubs that jointly use the facilities. A number of clubs are now taking this step to more efficiently manage a range of activities and responsibilities, including those relating to the supply of liquor.