If you are granted a liquor licence from Saturday 16 March 2019, you may be required to pay part of the Annual Liquor Licence Fee. The fee is calculated on a quarterly basis and reflects the amount of time you use the licence before the next billing cycle (on 15 March the following year).
This pro-rata liquor licence fee applies to most liquor licences and will be issued on the date your licence is granted. Eligible licence types include:
The fee is calculated on a quarterly pro-rata basis as outlined in the table below
Quarter licence is granted in
% of annual liquor licence base fee payable on grant of licence
16 March - 15 June
75%
16 June - 15 September
50%
16 September - 15 December
25%
16 December - 15 March (the next year)
No liquor licence fee is payable
Estimate how much your pro-rata liquor licence fee will be in the 2019-2020 assessment year:
Example: if your hotel liquor licence is granted on 12 June 2019, you will pay $407.
Base fee
75% of base fee
(16 Mar-15 Jun 2019)
50% of base fee
(16 Jun-15 Sept 2019)
25% of base fee
(16 Sept-15 Dec 2019)
0% of base fee
(16 Dec 2019 -15 Mar 2020)
Hotel
$543
$407
$272
$136
$0
General bar
$204
$68
Club
Small bar
$218
$164
$109
$55
On-premises
$435
$326
Packaged liquor (depending on number of outlets)
$543-2166
$407-1625
$272-1083
$136-542
Producer/wholesaler
Multi-function limited
$110
$83
$28
The pro-rata liquor licence fee has been introduced to enable new licensees to contribute fairly and reasonably to the costs of serving and regulating our vibrant industry. This approach means greater equity between new operators entering industry and existing businesses.
This change was introduced as part of the 2018 Liquor Regulation on 1 September 2018, with a delayed commencement date of 16 March 2019.
Read: annual liquor licence fees for existing licensees.
Your licence application fee covers the cost of processing and granting your licence. The pro-rata fee is a part payment of the annual liquor licence fee. It is adjusted so you only pay for the part of the year that you’re in operation. In your second year of operation, your licence fee will reflect an annual fee, which may include risk loadings.
When your licence is granted, your pro-rata fee is calculated and you will be sent an invoice with the amount due.
In your second year of operation a full year will be calculated and you will be sent an invoice with the amount due.
Your invoice will provide a due date. The pro-rata fee should be paid 60 days from the date your notice is issued.
It benefits you and your business’s budget to pay the pro-rata fee within the 60 day period. The pro-rata fee will be a much reduced figure than your second year’s annual liquor licence, depending when your application is granted.
If the licence fee isn’t paid, it will be rolled over and added to your next year’s annual liquor licence fee. It will also increase for inflation, in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI).
We strongly encourage you to pay the fee by the due date to ease your second year’s financial outlay.
Read: Risk based loadings and exemptions
