What the NSW Government’s New Vibrancy Reforms Mean for Your Business

The Vibrancy Reform package (The Reforms) passed by NSW Parliament in December 2023 include diverse changes applicable to many types of licensed businesses. The 24-Hour Economy Legislation (Vibrancy Reforms) Amendment Act 2023 (NSW) implements both immediate and anticipated changes which aim to benefit NSW’s night economy and boost live music, dining and creative sectors.

Licenced businesses can expect these changes to wholistically deliver a more favourable regulatory environment which creates greater operational certainty, particularly for those providing live music or special events. The majority of these changes will gradually come into effect throughout 2024 following consultation, meaning businesses should continue to stay up to date with the rollout’s progress to be best prepared to take advantage of its benefits. To keep yourself informed as the changes come into effect, please visit the Liquor & Gaming NSW website here.

https://www.liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au/resources/vibrancy-reforms-whats-changing

The Immediate Changes to Licensing

Extended Trading

Liquor & Gaming NSW and the licensing framework have undergone immediate changes since the Reforms came into effect on 12 December 2023. Notably, the standard Sunday trading period for on-premises consumption has been changed to 5am-midnight to align it with the rest of the week. Businesses should note that this does not override existing liquor trading times on individual liquor licences, and that the standard six-hour closure period still applies.

For businesses operating under a small-bar licence, the standard trading period has been varied to commence at 10am. This significantly increases the trading options available as businesses may broaden their offerings to cater to a ‘brunch’ demand. To have trading hours amended on an existing licence, businesses are still required to apply to the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (the Authority). To learn more about what is required by your business to take advantage, please click here.

The Reforms’ trading hour extensions also apply to businesses operating under hotel licences, as they are now able to apply to trade between midnight on Sunday and 5am on Monday morning like other venues and other nights of the week. To learn more, please visit this link.

Special Events

There are also incentives for featuring live music and performances. These include maintaining the temporary 80% discount on licensing fees for live music and performance venues, and expanding the types of venues able to access this extended trading for special events to include small bars, general bars and live music and performance venues. For businesses offering live entertainment, this portion of the Reforms represents a sustained reduction on the costs associated with licensing and extended trading, and a greater potential to increase patronage through longer live music events.

The Reforms also introduce a limited licence for special events granted if that event is infrequent or temporary and is genuine and in the public interest, subject to the Authority’s approval. These allow the sale or supply of alcohol at a venue without a licence provided it is not the role reason of the event. To find out more or to apply, please visit this page.

The temporary COVID-19 arrangements for outdoor dining on private land are also made permanent, and your business’ existing temporary liquor boundary change for outdoor spaces will continue indefinitely provided the land use is exempt. New applications will be able to propose an increased patron capacity as long as it is consistent with the development consent or exempt provisions. For information regarding outdoor dining boundaries, please visit L&G NSW’s website here or contact BSV’s licensing team.

Minors and Bottle Shops

Subject to strict, unique situations, the Reforms prohibit minors from entering or remaining in bottle shops or packaged liquor outlets, including inside liquor stores attached to supermarkets. Certain venues may be eligible for an exemption and for minors to be permitted to work inside the licensed premises. To find out if such an exemption may be available to you, visit the L&G NSW website or contact BSV’s licensing team.

Expanded Licences

If your business operates under a producer/wholesaler licence, you may be eligible to operate multiple premises under the one licence, such as Sunday markets, offsite breweries or to sell products that are uniquely your own such as alcohol blended artisanal products. This requires a change of boundaries application to extend the boundary under your licence, and the new address to be added with L&G NSW. To find out whether this licencing option may benefit you, please visit this link.

Regarding a club licence, the definition of “employee” has been expanded to include contract caterers on club premises under the Reforms, meaning contract caterers are permitted to sell alcohol under your premises’ liquor licence. Businesses should consider any trading opportunities which are broadened or staffing efficiencies that are created by the expanded wording. For a tailored explanation or strategy on how a licensing solution could take advantage of this change, please do not hesitate to contact BSV’s licensing team.  

Businesses are also permitted to sell alcohol-free products at licensed and unlicensed premises alike under the Reforms, provided they are labelled as “non-alcoholic.” It is important that businesses ensure they never promote these products in ways considered to specially appeal to minors or pose other unreasonable risk, which poses a challenge for licensees to balance capitalising on this expanded product carriage without breaching the NSW Liquor Promotion Guidelines, found here.

Permanent Outdoor Dining

The temporary outdoor dining exemptions will now permanently apply from 1 January 2024 to permit businesses to use their private land and car parking spaces for outdoor dining as exempt development. The rules also apply to artisan food and drink businesses, including microbreweries. However, it is important to check whether the new development standards aimed to maintain patron safety and accessibility associated with these changes affect your business.

Businesses should also note that there are no changes to the rules for outdoor dining on public land such as roads and footpaths, which are permanent. To use these locations for outdoor dining, venues must apply directly to councils for an outdoor dining permit. For more information and to see how your business may be specifically affected, please visit the Department of Planning and Environment’s page here.

Special Entertainment Precincts

A key addition under the Reforms are Special Entertainment Precincts, which support live entertainment via extended trading hours for live music and favourable noise controls, including 2 hours on nights they offer live music, and 1 hour on other nights. These will be established at the discretion of local councils, with guidelines set to be published by the State Government in the second quarter of 2024. If your business offers live music or entertainment, you should remain up to date with Local Council communications to stay aware of your status within these precincts.

Compliance and Enforcement Changes

The Reforms have also introduced a raft of compliance amendments, including the removal of ID scanner requirements in prescribed precincts, removal of the risk-based loading fee for the Kings Cross and Sydney CBD Entertainment precincts to align fees uniformly with the rest of NSW, and the requirement for incidents to be recorded in a register within 24 hours or as soon as practicable to support more effective remedial action. Further changes include the broadening of community submissions so that any natural person may submit or complain in regard to an application for a liquor licence, or to vary or revoke a licence condition, as well as new powers given to L&G NSW to issue a written direction to a licensee, an employee or agent about any matter relating to the licensed premises, including conduct on the licensed premises.

For live entertainment venues, the Reforms designate Liquor & Gaming NSW as the lead regulator of entertainment sound-related complaints for all licensed premises to ensures that any sound emanating from a licensed premises is regulated solely by the Liquor Act 2007. This means that noise-related conditions of development consent and ‘offensive noise pollution’ laws no longer apply to activities taking place under a business’ liquor licence. If you are a licensed business owner who frequently hosts loud entertainment or events, you should check how these relaxed requirements affect your business model, and consider whether any further trading opportunities open up as a result.

Significant for all licensees and business owners is the new improvement notice framework created under the Reforms which give licensees the opportunity to fix breaches and compliance issues before escalation is taken. These act as improvement-focused approach to minor licence breaches and represent efforts by the NSW Government and L&G NSW to free up the regulatory structure in order to stimulate a night-time economy from an administrative position.  

Your Next Steps

Consequently, this favourable regulatory framework can only be made the most of with well-informed advice and expertise in the wide array of liquor licensing issues. If any part of the Reforms apply to your business, it is important you act confidently to ensure you take the best advantage. If you wish to apply for a new licence or any variations made under the Reforms, please do not hesitate to contact the licensing team at BSV on via email at licensing@bsvliquorlicence.com.au or telephone on (02) 8530 0333.

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