From 31 January online applicants seeking to serve liquor in restaurants and cafs under standard trading hours and conditions will be eligible to obtain an interim restaurant authorisation.
An interim restaurant authorisation allows applicants seeking an on-premises liquor licence for a restaurant to begin serving liquor as soon as they have lodged their liquor licence application online (rather than waiting for the processing of the application).
To qualify for this, applicants must meet certain requirements including:
- seeking standard trading hours, with liquor only to be sold with meals
- have planning approval to use the premises as a restaurant or caf, with the local council and community informed of the intention to serve alcohol as part of the public exhibition process
- no authorisations, such as extended trading hours or primary service authorisation, have been applied for
Before restaurants and cafs start serving liquor, they will need to ensure:
- any staff who will be selling or serving liquor have Responsible Service of Alcohol certification, and
- mandatory liquor law signs are on display.
Restaurants and cafs who are granted an interim restaurant authorisation will only be able to be supply and serve liquor between 10.00am to midnight Monday to Saturday and 10.00am to 10.00pm on Sunday.
Once an interim restaurant authorisation has been issued, Liquor & Gaming NSW will continue to assess the liquor licence application as per existing arrangements. This includes assessment of the application, followed by a full grant or refusal of the licence?.
