The Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing has issued the New England Hotel in Armidale with several penalty notices for serving alcohol to an intoxicated person as well as breaching a licence condition. The sentence, which was decided on Monday, also includes fines of up to $3,000. According to the office, an employee of the New England Hotel was seen serving three vodka based drinks to a male patron who was already ...

A case involving an employee of a large South Australian wine producer last month should have caught the attention of everyone in the drinks trade, because it involved that ever-present industry hazard of an employee being over the limit in the workplace. By Walter MacCallum, Director, Aitken Lawyers The employer had recently implemented a trial workplace drug and alcohol policy at one of its plants in Berri. The policy aimed to maintain a safe environment, compliant with ...

Deputy Premier and Minister for Justice and Police, Troy Grant, has announced that inspectors from the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) will be targeting licensed venues this Christmas and New Year. Mr. Grant said inspectors will be deployed across Sydney and regional locations including the Central West, North Coast and Hunter as part of a ‘festive season blitz’ operation that started over the weekend. Sydney locations to be targeted ...

The Australian Taxation Office has announced that customs warehouse licence fees will increase in 2016. From 1 January, a new, non-refundable fee of $3,000 will be payable when applying for a warehouse licence. The increased fee comes as a result of a comprehensive review of licensing costs that was undertaken by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) in August and September. In addition to the $3,000 application fee, licencees will ...

The Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing has launched a new online contact details form, which will allow liquor licence holders to update their contact details via OLGR’s website. From next year, OLGR will also begin sending liquor licence fee notices by mail, email and SMS, meaning that holders need to ensure their details are up to date - a requirement under the Liquor Act 2007. OLGR says the form will make it ...

It is now almost two years on since the introduction of lockout laws in Sydney and statistics show that alcohol-fuelled violence has lowered in zones where the legislation is effective, but surged in neighbouring suburbs. The legislation has also resulted in the closure of a number of iconic Sydney venues and a drop in the number of hospitality jobs and club music royalties. Over in other states, licensees are worried about the possible introduction of ...

The Government of Western Australia has extended trading hours in the state. The reforms came into effect last weekend and allow hotels, taverns and small bars to trade until midnight on both Saturday and Sunday and nightclubs through to 2am on the following Monday morning. The WA Government hopes the changes, which form part of the 2015 Red Tape Reduction Report Card, will help to increase revenue and tourism for businesses. “The changes recognise modern community expectations and ...

OLGR has said that event organisers need to liaise early with the regulatory body and police when planning significant public events involving alcohol and ensure adequate plans and controls to prevent alcohol-related problems. The warning comes following concerns about the conduct of an Oktoberfest event held in Sydney after multiple serious breaches were detected. OLGR and Police detected heavily intoxicated patrons and observed multiple violent and anti-social incidents as well ...

Retailers are celebrating a significant milestone in NSW, following the passing of a reform by the NSW Government and NSW Legislation Council that will allow all retail in the state to trade on Boxing Day. Many have been calling for the existing trading laws to be reassessed for a number of years, saying they are no longer up to date with today’s retail landscape. Retailers have also called the Retail Trading Act ...

Acting Premier and Minister for Justice Troy Grant announced on Saturday that NSW will be the first state to ban betting on live-odds advertising during sports matches. Effective from 1 March 2016, Grant said the ban will help to reduce gambling problems, with live betting often leading to impulse bets or users spending larger amounts when chasing expected losses during a game. Grant also said in a statement that betting promotions during ...