Pre-retail liquor licence

Sell alcohol wholesale to other licensees, anytime and anywhere.

On this page

• Key features
• Who this licence suits
• Application fees
• Before you apply
• Apply now
• After you apply
• When you get your decision

Key features

• Sell alcohol wholesale to other licensees anywhere in Australia.
• Sell alcohol to a person or business who will then export it overseas.
• Cannot sell to the public.
• Trade at any time of day.

Apply at least 11 weeks before you need a licence. It may take longer if we need more information or if there are objections.

Who this licence suits

This licence suits:

• wholesalers
• producers
• manufacturers.

If you want to sell to the public, consider a remote seller’s licence or producer’s licence (if you make your own alcohol).

Application fees

You need to pay a non-refundable application fee when you apply.

The application fee is $336.20.

Read about liquor licence annual renewal fees.

Before you apply

Complete these steps before you start your application.

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1. 1Check who can apply

Only an authorised person can apply for the licence. This depends on who is applying.

If you are applying:

• as an individual, you must apply for the licence yourself. On the form this is called a ’natural person'.
• on behalf of a company, a current director or someone the board has officially authorised to sign documents must apply
• for an incorporated association, an executive committee member must apply
• as a partnership, a partner must apply (partnerships can only be made up of individuals).

2. 2Get your information ready

Have these details ready:

• business name
• business description
• credit card details – to pay the non-refundable application fee (Visa or Mastercard).

Apply now

Complete the application form on the Service Victoria website.

It takes about 20 minutes to complete.

Get help with unfamiliar words and details in the application form.

Apply now

After you apply

Service Victoria will email to acknowledge your application, including a receipt for your application fee.

Liquor Control Victoria will then review your application and email if we need more information. This may take a few weeks.

We send your application to Victoria Police. They may contact you about your application.

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• Respond if we need more details

We will email you if:

• your application has missing or incorrect details
• we need additional information to help us assess your application. Make sure you respond to any request by the date we give in the email.

If you do not, we may refuse your application – you will lose your application fee.

• Respond to any objections

Victoria Police may object to us granting the licence.

We will email you if we get an objection and advise next steps.

When you get your decision

It can take about 9 to 11 weeks to get your decision.

It may take longer if someone objected to your licence or we needed to ask for more information.

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• If we grant your licence

We email to advise that we are granting your licence.

The email tells you how to sign up to our Liquor Portal.

It’s important that you register. It’s where you can:

• access your annual renewal notice
• download a copy of your licence and red line plan
• manage your notifications
• update contact details and other actions. Find out how to manage your licence.

Stay compliant

Be aware of your obligations under the law and as a licensee.

There are serious penalties if you do not comply.

Find out how to stay compliant.

• If we refuse your licence

We will email to advise that we are refusing the licence, including reasons for our decision.

• If you want to appeal the decision

You can appeal the:

• decision to grant or refuse the licence
• details of the licence, for example, the licence conditions.

When to appeal

You must appeal within 28 days of receiving the licence decision.

How to appeal

1. Complete the internal review application form. It has details on the reasons for appeals we can accept.

Internal review application PDF 1.53 MB (opens in a new window)

2. Send the form to us either by:

• Email: secretariat@liquor.vic.gov.au
• Mail: Liquor Control Victoria GPO Box 4356 MELBOURNE VIC 3001

3. We will email you with next steps. This may take a few weeks.

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