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Temporary limited licences are often required by persons or organisations holding a one-off event such as a ball, a presentation or an event that needs an extension of trading hours or an increase in size of the licensed premises temporarily.
Read the Liquor licensing fact sheet - Temporary limited licence for more information about when a temporary limited licence is required.
Contact the VCGLR whilst planning an event and before you apply for a new licence. Event organisers and managers can coordinate with a Licensing Officer who will provide direction on application requirements, content and approval timelines. The Licensing team can be contacted via completing the contact us form.
If your event is held outdoors, you'll need to provide a plan of the site with the proposed licensed area outlined in red, with your application. For more information download the Plans for Temporary Limited Licence Fact Sheet (PDF, 122.26 KB).
Applicants are advised to lodge liquor licence applications at least eight weeks in advance. The time taken to process an application will vary depending on a range of factors including the complexity of the application and any objections which may be raised.
Find out how to apply below.
You should specify the hours you want to operate in your application form.
Note that if you're seeking to trade past 1am, we require a minimum of 50 days to process the application. You may be required to display a public notice at the venue for 28 days. Victoria Police and the local council may review your application.
If you're seeking to trade past 1am in the municipalities of City of Yarra, City of Port Phillip, City of Melbourne (including Docklands), or City of Stonnington, you're also required to satisfy the VCGLR that:
For more information, see late night freeze.
If you would like to apply for a temporary limited licence to run an event (such as a fete or fundraising event) at a school, make sure you apply under the right organisation/entity. You should apply under the entity (organisation) that will be responsible for the purchase, supply and sale of the liquor and who will be receiving the funds raised.
For example, if the “ ABC Kindergarten Association Inc“ or the “Friends of Animals Charity Inc” is applying to run an event at the ABC Primary School, the licence should be applied for by (in the name of) the “ABC Kindergarten Association Inc” or the “Friends of Animals Charity Inc”. On the other hand, if ABC Primary School is running the event on its own behalf, it should apply under the name “ABC Primary School”.
The following restrictions apply to the issuing of temporary limited licences:
A temporary limited licence can't be granted for events held at a premises used primarily by people under the age of 18 years. For example, indoor play centres.
A major event licence applies to events that are likely to have a significant impact, such as those:
For more information see Apply for a major event licence (Event with more than 5000).
Events such as fetes, markets and festivals can often include the supply of liquor by more than one party. This may include licensees seeking to supply liquor that they have produced themselves or where several businesses have been engaged to supply liquor to attendees. The most common licensing arrangements for multiple suppliers at an event are outlined in the scenarios below.
Scenario 1: Both the event organiser and individual suppliers are already licensed.
In this scenario the event organiser can apply for a temporary limited licence, or if the event involves more than 5000 patrons, a major event licence.
Individual suppliers at the event would also apply for a temporary limited licence, or a major event licence, allowing the licensee to supply liquor at the point of sale (such as from a booth or similar) for consumption in the area licenced by the event organiser.
The event organiser is responsible for maintaining an environment that encourages and ensures liquor is consumed responsibly within the event. The event organiser is also responsible for submitting a red line plan as part of their application. The event organiser’s responsibilities might include engaging crowd controllers, providing barriers to licensed areas, and ensuring that persons aged under 18 either do not enter the premises or are clearly identifiable as being underage if they do.
Individual suppliers who attend the event are not required to submit a red-line plan with their application, but they are responsible for ensuring that they supply liquor in a responsible manner.
Importantly, in this scenario both the event organiser and the individual suppliers can be held liable for any breaches of their responsibilities as licensees.
Scenario 2: Only the event organiser is licensed
In scenario 2 the event organiser can obtain a temporary limited licence or major event licence that covers all liquor supplied at the event. This means that the event organiser is responsible for ensuring that the supply of liquor occurs responsibly and they must also maintain an environment that encourages the responsible consumption of liquor.
At events licensed in this way suppliers can display their products however, they must not supply any liquor directly to patrons. As the event organiser is the only licensee, they are the only business or person which can supply liquor to patrons.
In this scenario, if individual suppliers supply liquor to the event organiser who in turn supplies liquor to patrons, the supplier must ensure that they already have a permanent licence which allows them to do this.
Scenario 3: Only suppliers (not event organiser) are licensed
For some events, like a small daytime market or school fete, it may be possible for only the individual suppliers to be licensed.
In this scenario individual suppliers should apply for a temporary limited licence that allows for point of sale supply and there is no need for the event organiser to have a liquor licence. Individual suppliers will be responsible for ensuring that liquor is supplied in a responsible manner and a red line plan is not required.
It should be noted that this scenario can only apply if the event occurs in a space where the consumption of liquor is already permitted.
If you are unsure which licence you need for your event, phone 1300 182 457 or email contact@vcglr.vic.gov.au
Licensed venues that supply alcohol for consumption onsite are required to provide free drinking water to their patrons. It will be left to the discretion of the licensee how water is supplied.
Failure to supply free drinking water will attract substantial fines. For more information, see Free water for patrons.
If you have a credit card, you may apply via the temporary limited licence online form.
Applications can be made from mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, as well as traditional computers, anytime. All information transmitted via the portal is encrypted and secure.
Applications for a limited licence should still be lodged at least eight weeks before the event, as lodging an application doesn't automatically mean it will be approved. Certain applications need to be reviewed by Victoria Police and local councils, which have their own time frames.
If you would like a copy of any of these documents in a more accessible format, please submit an enquiry via the contact us form.
Renewable limited licences authorise the supply of liquor where the scale and scope of the supply is substantially restricted or limited.
For information about the application fees associated with temporary limited licences can be found in the Liquor licence fee fact sheet.
Transcript for Temporary licences for limited events video.
