When new owners take over a business that has a liquor licence, the new owners must apply to transfer the licence.
The new owners can't sell or supply liquor until the application has been approved and the licence has been transferred to them.
It's not possible to transfer a club licence or a short term (5 year) licence.
When applying you'll need to meet certain requirements and provide a range of documents.
Fee: $687.00
Approval of a person in a position of authority (Gaming) $160.00
Approval of a person in a position of authority (Liquor) $150.00
What you'll need
Documents
To transfer a liquor licence you'll need to upload these documents:
- consent from the current licensee of the licence - Licensee consent template
- permission from the landlord if you don't own the property - Landlord’s consent
- a certificate of title (a legible photo is acceptable)
- If you're applying as:
- a partnership, you'll need a copy of the partnership agreement
- a company, you'll need an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) extract
- a trustee of a trust, you'll need a copy of the relevant trust deed.
Positions of authority
You'll need to determine who holds a position of authority within your corporate structure or trust, and have them approved as part of the application. All listed directors are required to be approved as a position of authority.
Responsible persons
At all times that the venue is open for trade to the public, it will need to be supervised by a responsible person. This is:
- the licensee
- a director of the licensee (where the licensee is a company)
- a person approved by the commissioner as a responsible person.
If the person you want to supervise the venue isn't approved as a responsible person, you can apply for them to be approved in a separate application.
If a person has already been approved under another current liquor or gaming licence in South Australia, an application is only required if their circumstances have changed since their last approval.
Check if someone is approved as a responsible person - you'll need the ID number from their RP badge.
After submitting your application
After submitting your application you must:
- confirm settlement date of the business
The documents must be lodged seven days before the date that your application will be considered. You'll be advised of this date after you submit your application.
What happens next
You can log in to LGO at any time to track the progress of your application.
Some applications are sent to the South Australia Police Licensing Enforcement Branch.
Some are also required to be advertised.
CBS will advise you of the next steps and what you need to do.
Submissions and interventions
If your application needs to be advertised, anyone will be able to submit their concerns and object to the application.
For example, if your neighbours think your business is going to be noisy or if they are concerned your business will have an impact on the neighbourhood they may consider lodging a submission with the commissioner.
The police may also intervene in your application if they have concerns about public safety and disturbance or the fitness and propriety of any person holding the licence.
If all the approvals are in place and there are no concerns raised by any member of the public (submissions) or police (interventions), the application process will take approximately six to eight weeks.
Submissions or interventions must be lodged at least seven days before the determination date.
If anyone submits a concern regarding your application you'll receive a copy.
You may then be asked to submit a response to the commissioner.
In some rare circumstances, you may also be asked to:
- take part in a conciliation conference with SAPOL (or anyone else who submitted their concerns) and the commissioner or a delegate
- attend a hearing before the Licensing Court.
When determining a matter, the commissioner or delegate must consider all submissions, interventions and responses.
Contact CBS Liquor and Gaming
Email: liquorandgaming@sa.gov.au
Phone: 131 882
Post:
GPO Box 2169
Adelaide SA 5001
