Applying for a liquor licence involves a number of steps that can take a significant amount of time which needs to be considered prior to lodging the application.
Community Impact Statement = 30 days: Some licences require a Community Impact Statement (CIS) to be conducted prior to applying, which takes at least 30 days to complete.
Development Approval / Development Consent = 30-100 days: You may need development approval (DA) from your local council for the proposed operation of your business. Approval can take 30 – 100 days depending on your council and the complexity of the development you’re proposing. Your DA application can be in process at the time of lodging your licence application, however your application for a liquor will not be determined until you have provided an approved DA.
Noticeboard consultation = 14 or 30 days: Once you’ve lodged a complete licence application, it will be advertised on the Liquor and Gaming Application Noticeboard for 30 days. This allows the community, including your local police and council, an opportunity to comment. The only exception is for an On-Premises Restaurant application, without authorisations, which is advertised on the Noticeboard for 14 days.
Determination = up to 12 weeks: Your licence application will take up to 12 weeks to be determined for grant or refusal once the Noticeboard consultation period has ended. This timeframe is highly dependent on various factors including comments or issues submitted through the Noticeboard. High risk venue applications may have a longer assessment and determination period as they are considered by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA).
A CIS is a written summary that describes the potential impact that a liquor licence may have on a neighbourhood and the measures put in place to manage these risks.
A CIS is required if you’re applying for any of these licence types:
If you are applying for a different licence, you don’t automatically need to conduct a CIS. However, we may request one on a case-by-case basis. Small bar licences in particular may be required to conduct a CIS. This is usually the case when an existing DA for a small bar is already in place.
When preparing any application that requires a CIS, we strongly encourage you to read Guideline 6: consideration of social impact under Section 48(5) of the Liquor Act 2007 PDF, 336.99 KB
There are two types of community impact statements:
Visit community impact statements (CIS) to see what type of CIS you need to conduct for your licence. Your application cannot be accepted if you don’t conduct the correct CIS.
As part of the CIS requirements, you may need to consult with particular members of your local community, including:
If your application is for a small bar licence and you are exempt from conducting a CIS, you only need to notify the local police.
Your application will be considered when all your documents are lodged.
Preliminary risk assessments for applications for liquor licences are assessed for the relative risk posed in terms of potential community harm, social impact and regulatory non-compliance.
Assessments are based on the risks typically associated with the licence type and authorisations applied for; and may be subject to change following review by a licensing officer. This preliminary assessment of your application is based on information you provided about your proposed business model, trading hours, patron capacity and the licence type.
You must notify your community within two days of lodging your application with L&GNSW. This must be completed before your application will be considered.
Depending on which type of application is being made, you may need to let your community know about your application by notifying:
You can apply for all new liquor licences online.
Applying online saves you time and 10% off your processing fee.
Your application will be considered when all your documents are lodged:
Once you lodge a complete application, we’ll post it on our Liquor and Gaming Application Noticeboard for 14 or 30 days which gives the public an opportunity to comment.
Once the submission period ends, your application will be determined within 12 weeks. We’ll send you an email advising you of the outcome. The decision will also appear on the Liquor and Gaming Application Noticeboard and the Decisions page of our website.
Once your licence is granted, you can begin selling liquor as soon as you:
Your application can take longer to review if we don’t have all the details we need to assess it. We will come back to you to obtain the missing information to progress your application. You can help us speed up the process by:
You can apply to the ILGA to review a decision made by L&GNSW in relation to the:
Apply for a review on a decision: APP998 Review of delegated ILGA decisions made by L&GNSW. PDF, 342.96 KB
