Liquor licence renewal fees

Each licence or permit will be charged a base fee based on the category of licence that you hold.

In addition to your base fee, you may incur an additional fee based on your trading hours, particularly if you supply liquor late at night.

The renewal fees for the following licence categories do not have a trading hours risk fee:

• BYO permit.
• Full club or restricted club licence.
• Producer’s licence.
• Renewable limited licence.
• Pre-retail licence.

Some licence categories have a maximum patron capacity specified as a condition on the licence. This is the maximum number of patrons you are allowed to have in your venue at any one time.

You will be charged on the maximum number of patrons on your licence, even if you do not have this number of people at your venue regularly.

If you hold one of the following licence categories, you may be charged a venue capacity risk fee based on the number of patrons:

• General licence (including late night)
• On-premises licence (including late night)
• Restaurant and cafe licence
• Full club licence
• Restricted club licence.

The renewal fees for the following licence categories do not have a venue capacity risk fee:

• BYO permit
• Packaged liquor or late night (packaged liquor) licence
• Pre-retail licence
• Producer’s licence
• Remote seller’s licence
• Renewable limited licence.

When you will be charged a venue capacity risk fee

A general, on-premises or late night licence will always be charged a venue capacity risk fee, regardless of any other risk fees.

A restaurant and cafe licence will only be charged a venue capacity risk fee if you have incurred at least one demerit point in the last 3 years or if you trade after 1am.

A full club or restricted club licence will only be charged a venue capacity risk fee if you have incurred at least one demerit point in the last 3 years.'

How much you will be charged for a venue capacity risk fee

If you are charged a venue capacity risk fee, the amount you will be charged can change if you are a prescribed venue type. This amount will be charged in addition to any other risk fees you may be charged.

If you are a prescribed venue type, you must tell us before 31 December for it to change your renewal fee.

For more information, visit how to reduce your renewal fee.

Packaged liquor (including late-night), remote seller’s and producer’s licences are charged a risk fee based on the size of the licensed premises. This is the area included in red on your plan and is measured in square metres (m²).

This fee is charged in addition to any other fees you may be eligible for.

If you are unsure on the areas that need to be included in your red line plan, visit Red line plan for licensed premises.

For remote seller’s licence, if you have multiple licensed locations, the floor space of all your locations will be added together to make one total floor space amount.

The Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 has a number of breaches. However, 6 specific offences will result in you getting a demerit point. If you have incurred a demerit point in the last 36 months, you will be charged at least one non-compliance risk fee. For the 2026 renewals cycle, this is if you incurred a demerit point between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2025.

Learn more on what breaches result in a demerit point in the demerit point system.

If you incurred any demerit points between 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, you will be charged a non-compliance risk fee for demerit points incurred within the last 12 months:

• $12,609.50 if you incurred 1-2 demerit points
• $25,219.20 if you incurred 3 or more demerit points.

If you incurred any demerit points between 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2024, you will be charged a non-compliance risk fee for demerit points incurred within the last 13 to 36 months:

• $6,304.80 if you have 1 or more demerit points.

These risk fees can stack. For example, if you have incurred 2 demerit points: one from 6 months ago and another from 18 months ago, you will be charged $12,609.50 (being the non-compliance risk fee for demerit points incurred within the last 12 months) and an additional $6,304.80 (being the non-compliance risk fee for demerit points incurred within the last 13 to 36 months).

As your licence has sexually explicit entertainment (SEE) conditions, your renewal fees are set under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998, rather than the Liquor Control Reform Regulations 2023.

Licences with SEE conditions fall outside of the star rating system and are not charged different fees based on licence category, trading hours or patron capacity.

They are also not eligible for star rating discounts.

You will be charged the following amounts for 2026 renewals, based on your compliance history:

• The minimum renewal fee for a venue with SEE conditions is $43,139.50.
• If you have incurred 1 or 2 demerit points within the last 12 months (1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025) you will be charged $64,709.09.
• If you have incurred 3 or more demerit points within the last 12 months (1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025) you will be charged $86,278.84.

You are required to notify us if you provide sexually explicit entertainment within 21 days of starting to provide the entertainment.

Each licence or permit starts with a 3 star rating. If you do not incur any demerit points, over time your star rating will increase.

• Venues with a 4 star rating receive a 5% discount
• Venues with a 5 star rating receive a 10% discount

To find your star rating you can look up your licence at Liquor Licences and Applications Online.

Learn more about how your venue’s star rating is calculated.