10 hours Ago By Emma Breheny
A wave of younger small business owners could soon burst onto Victoria’s restaurant and bar scene, as the state government simplifies a liquor licensing system that many have expressed frustration with over the past two years. From July next year, cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants will no longer need to seek permission from both local and state government to sell alcohol. Currently, businesses must have a planning permit approved or at least lodged with their local council before they can apply for a licence from Liquor Control Victoria.
That requirement will be scrapped, in a move the government claims could save businesses up to six months and $7000. Restaurant and bar owners have welcomed the changes, hoping it will lead to the reductions in processing times the government is promising. “It’s good that it’s going to be centralised,” says Top Piyaphanee of Thai restaurants Soi 38 and R.
Harn . Piyaphanee has seen the benefits of a more streamlined system. His two businesses are located in the Capital City Zone of City of Melbourne, which automatically exempts any restaurant or cafe from the need for a planning permit to sell alcohol.
But other business owners have felt the burden of the current system. “You have two concurrent applications going at the same time and [the two bodies] are not talking to each other,” says Cam Miller of Abbotsford venues Cam’s Kiosk and Julie. If either application runs into hurdles, delays are compounded, something Miller and others hope is somewhat alleviated by the changes.
He was told by an independent liquor licensing consultant that changing the patron numbers of his existing licence at Cam’s Kiosk might take six to 12 months to be approved. “It’s ridiculous. It never used to be like this,” says veteran restaurateur Con Christopoulos.
Christopoulos, who owns venues including The European, Kirk’s and Kafeneion , says that 30 to 40 years ago the process of applying for a licence was far more straightforward, even without the aid of technology. “There were no consultants, there were no crazy expenses, and more importantly, there wasn’t a delay. You could get your licence way before you finished renovating your bar,” he says.
Piyaphanee applied for a restaurant licence for his new La Trobe Street venue R.Harn on October 5 and hopes to have it just before Christmas. But in other municipalities, where a planning permit is required, he would have to choose between trading without alcohol sales for several weeks or remaining closed until he obtained his licence.
‘Cancer to business’: Liquor licence delays are having a sobering effect on the hospo industry “If you’re a bar or restaurant, that’s your bread and butter,” says Miller. “It’s an industry that relies on liquor sales to be viable nowadays, with costs being so expensive.” The average processing time for new permanent liquor licences is 84 days, or around 12 weeks, according to public documents.
Businesses spoken to by this masthead said that 22 to 26 weeks was a routine estimate given by LCV staff. A notice has been on the LCV website since at least February that states: “We are currently processing a high volume of applications. Some applicants are experiencing extended processing times.
” The body’s most recent annual report shows that only 20 per cent of calls to LCV were answered within 60 seconds, well short of the 80 per cent target. The shortfall, which follows a 17 per cent rating the previous year, was attributed to increased demand. Last year, it was put down to high staff vacancies.
“As welcome as these changes are, the liquor commission needs to significantly upgrade their resources,” Christopoulos says. LCV currently employs around 54 staff in its licensing team after a recruitment drive and says it has cut processing times for all applications (including temporary licences) by 27 days. It did not respond to questions on whether it would be recruiting more staff ahead of the July 1 changes.
Christopoulos is hopeful that the changes will herald a new era in hospitality led by younger business owners. “They’re courageous, they’re enthusiastic, they’re willing to work a lot harder, and they have to be creative because they haven’t got the funds.” Miller believes the benefits of the new system will range from fewer upfront losses for tenants to a greater variety of hospitality businesses.
Neighbours will still be able to raise objections to licensed premises in their area, but this will be handled via the liquor licence application process..
