Things to consider before applying - Bar or night club

Ordinary trading hours for an on-premises licence are:

• 7am to 11pm, Monday to Saturday (excluding ANZAC Day and Good Friday)
• 10am to 11pm on Sunday
• 12 noon to 11pm, ANZAC Day and Good Friday.

Applicants may also apply for additional trading hours.

If you want to extend your trading hours after 1am, you will need to apply for a late night (on-premises) licence. 

Note that a freeze is currently in place on granting applications to trade after 1am in the local government areas of Melbourne, Port Phillip, Stonnington and Yarra unless there are exceptional circumstances. 

For information about the application fee for a general licence, see Application fees and timing.

Licensed venues that supply alcohol for consumption onsite are required to provide free drinking water to their patrons. See Free water for patrons.

Training for licence applicants helps potential licensees to understand their obligations under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998.

Applicants must complete mandatory training requirements, including Responsible Service of Alcohol, before a liquor licence is granted.

See new entrant training for more information.

For a licence to be issued, the applicant must have the right to occupy the premises. A right to occupy the premises may arise from:

• being a tenant under a lease agreement
• as a freehold owner of the property, or
• through some other legal arrangement.

A declaration can be found in the liquor licence application kit (PDF, 2.8MB).

One of the following documents is required to determine a maximum patron capacity:

• the most recently issued planning permit which contains a maximum patron capacity, or
• a copy of an occupancy permit showing a prescribed patron capacity, or
• a report from a registered building surveyor.