Home
Liquor Licensing and Hospitality Lawyers

Liquor Licensing and Hospitality Lawyers

Contact us
Running a venue comes with unique challenges, and managing your liquor licensing shouldn’t be one of them.
Contact us

Quick Links

Management Plans and Policy Documents
Noise Complaints, EPA & Acoustic Testing
Defending Infringement Notices and Written Warnings
Liquor Licensing Advice & Compliance Training
Liquor Licence Applications & Variations

Hospitality Law & Liquor Licensing Lawyers

Sanicki Lawyers pride ourselves on guiding licensees through every step of the liquor licensing process because we have been through it ourselves. From planning disputes at local council level to liquor licence applications with Liquor Control Victoria, we offer full support and advocacy. We also assist with responding to objections and complaints by authorities and neighbours, handling compliance notices and defending clients against allegations of licence and planning breaches in the Magistrates’ Court, the Liquor Commission and VCAT.

What We Do

  • Applications
  • Defence
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Advice
  • Expert Evidence
  • Training

 

We provide a wide array of legal services tailored specifically for businesses in the licensed hospitality sector. These services include assistance with lease agreements, contract negotiations, intellectual property matters, and resolving disputes. We partner with leading professionals outside of the legal field—such as acoustic engineers, town planners, and surveyors—whose expertise ensures that any reports or expert testimony we provide are credible and defensible in front of regulators, courts, and tribunals.

Defence Services

Our team frequently represents clients in cases where regulators claim violations of liquor or planning laws. With over 15 years of experience, we’ve successfully defended almost every offence under the Liquor Control Reform Act, covering everything from noise complaints, exceeding background music levels, amenity breaches, underage drinking and illegal liquor supply. We have seen every step of the enforcement process both as operators of venues and as advocates defending them.

Experience that Matters

What truly sets us apart is our deep experience within the hospitality industry. Having managed venues and dealt directly with liquor and council inspections, we understand the ins and outs of the sector like few others. To learn more about how our industry expertise can benefit your business, contact Terence O’Brien for a personalised consultation.

Testimonials

Terence is an exceptional lawyer with deep expertise in liquor licensing. His expertise in licensing, compliance, and regulatory matters has been invaluable to our business. Always available, highly efficient, and incredibly knowledgeable, he translates legal complexities into clear, actionable advice. His professionalism and personable approach make him a trusted partner in our business.
More
— Good Company Bar Group
We really value training at HQ Group. It’s so obvious to ensure our teams are armed with first aid, food safety and leadership development. After completing our first Liquor License Masterclass the feedback has been phenomenal, you provided our team with the knowledge and confidence to manage licensing inspections. You read the room, our team were totally engaged with your delivery, humour and insight into navigating legal jargon. Thank you Terence & Grace.
More
— HQ Group

Liquor Licensing Disputes and Litigation

Licence Breaches and Infractions

We offer guidance on defending your venue against alleged breaches and work to mitigate penalties.

Community and Council Objections

When objections to your licence arise, we advocate for your venue and negotiate to find favourable outcomes.

Regulatory Investigations

Our experienced lawyers represent your interests before liquor licensing authorities and manage the complexities of regulatory investigations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When you receive an infringement notice from the Police, Liquor Control Victoria (LCV) or Local Council your options are to pay the infringement notice, apply for an internal review of the decision to issue you the infringement notice, or elect to have the infringement offence heard by a Court. Once you pay an infringement notice you cannot deny your guilt of the infringement offence at a later date. For this reason many licensees defend infringement notices in Court to avoid the infringement offence later being used as evidence of the licensee breaching the licence and supporting disciplinary action. However, it is important to consider whether you can defend the infringement notice offence.
It is a condition of every liquor licence in Victoria that: “the licensee shall not cause or permit undue detriment to the amenity of the area to arise out of or in connection with the use of the premises to which the licence relates during or immediately after the trading hours authorised under this licence”. Amenity is defined in the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (Vic) as “the quality that the area has of being pleasant and agreeable”. Licensees may be issued with infringement notices for behaviour of individuals (including non-patrons) including patron queuing, entry refusals, outdoor drinking/smoking areas, patron language and music noise, and attempting to manage the behaviour of just about everyone in the vicinity of the premises (and cleanliness of the area) during the hours of operation and immediately after closure.
If you are found to have breached your liquor licence the Police, LCV Inspectors or Local Council can apply to the Liquor Commission to conduct an inquiry into whether there are grounds for taking disciplinary action against a licensee. “Grounds for disciplinary action” include that the licensee has contravened the Act, been found guilty of an offence against the Act or has paid a penalty infringement notice for an offence under the Act. If the Liquor Commission finds that a ground for taking disciplinary action exists it may impose penalties including a fine in excess of $49,000, vary suspend or cancel a liquor licence and also determine that the licensee or a related person (including directors and managers) be disqualified. Additionally, an inquiry may be on amenity grounds that the operation of the licence is detrimental to the amenity of the area which can result in variation and or cancellation of the liquor licence if the amenity breach cannot be remedied.
The predominant activity carried out on the premises at all times, for a restaurant and cafe licence, is the preparation and serving of meals to be consumed on the licensed premises. This means tables and chairs must be placed in position so as to be available for at least 75% of the patrons attending the premises at any one time, the meals offered must be substantial and not just snacks, and the majority of customers must be there to eat or have eaten a meal. This licence type does not permit the performance of music or the playing of recorded music on the premises at higher than background level at any time outside ordinary trading hours, and with this licence type you cannot operate as a restaurant or cafe during the day and become a bar at night.

Learn more from a Sanicki lawyer today