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Temporary limited liquor licence

Supply alcohol in a limited way, including at a one-off or short run of events.

On this page

We receive a large number of temporary licence applications. We will contact you if we need more details. Otherwise, you may not hear from us until we have processed your application.

Apply at least 8 weeks before your event. If you apply less than 3 weeks out, we may not process your application in time.

Key features

Who this licence suits

This licence type is designed to be flexible and suit a wide range of needs.

It is often a good option for caterers who want to supply alcohol at public events.

It may suit if you want to supply alcohol at a:

Alcohol producers

If you have a producer’s licence, and you want to sell your alcohol at markets or festivals, check if you have promotional event authority. If you do, you are already allowed to sell at these events. If you do not, you can apply to have it added to your licence permanently. Use this form to apply:

Variation of conditions for an existing producer licence form PDF 1.47 MB (opens in a new window)

Application fees

You may need to pay a non-refundable application fee.

If you already have a permanent licence or BYO permit, the fee is is $252.20.

If you do not have a permanent licence or BYO permit, the fee is $100.90.

If you do not have a liquor licence or BYO permit, and are an entity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, there is no application fee. This does not apply if your entity has deductible gift recipient status on the Australian Business Register.

Know your event type

The application form will ask for your event type.

You can only pick one and the questions will change based on what you tell us in your application.

These are the event types you can choose from on the form.

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You can pick up to 3 event dates on one application. The event type and location must be the same for all 3 events.

One-off events can include:

If you already have a liquor licence, you can apply to increase your trading hours or licensed area for a one-off event.

For example:

The location and type of event must the same for all 3 events.

You can choose this option if you are having a one-off event at a location that is not your usual venue.

Trading hours

If you want to increase your trading hours, you only need to tell us the additional hours you want.

Size of your licensed area

If you are applying to increase the size of your licensed area, you need to:

Choose this option if your live show, such as a theatre production, runs for a number of weeks (up to 8 weeks maximum).

You can supply alcohol for one hour before and after the show and during a 30-minute interval.

This event type may suit if you want to supply alcohol at an away game and you do not have a current liquor licence.

Point-of-sale allows you to serve during the game and up to 30 minutes after, but not in the club rooms after a match.

You must stop supplying alcohol either 30 minutes after the game ends, or when your trading hours end, whichever comes first.

You can apply for a short season or one-off events.

We’ll ask for your trading days and hours.

This lets you sell a few bottles of alcohol online via a website or mail order.

It also caters to people hosting wine or alcohol drives, giveaways and gift hampers for special occasions.

You can apply for a maximum of 6 weeks at a time.

Choose this option if you want to sell alcohol at markets, festivals, food and drink events.

In the form, be ready to tell us:

Choose this option if either you:

This event type allows you to supply alcohol at:

The maximum season length is 6 weeks.

If you are applying for one-off events, confirm the event dates under ‘Additional information’ .

As part of your application, you need to provide an event management plan.

Before you apply

Complete these steps before you start your application.

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  1. 1Check who needs to be licensed (for events with multiple suppliers)

Events like fetes, markets and festivals may have a number of businesses or producers supplying their own products.

In these situations, common licence arrangements are:

If more than 5,000 people will attend the event, you may need a major event liquor licence.

  1. 2Organise staff training

If your licence is granted, the licence conditions will tell you how many staff serving alcohol will need a valid RSA certificate.

This can range from one staff member through to all staff members serving alcohol at the event. We strongly advise that all staff serving alcohol have a valid certificate.

Read about RSA training and find a list of approved course providers.

  1. 3Check who can apply

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

If you are applying as:

  1. 4Get your information ready

You’ll need to describe how you will supply alcohol in a limited or restricted way. For example, limited products, trading hours or customers.

Have these details and documents ready:

Apply now

Complete the application form on the Liquor Portal.

The form takes about 20 minutes to complete.

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

Apply now

After you apply

We will email you if:

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.

In a small number of cases, we send your application to Victoria Police. If we do, they may contact you about your application.

Change of event details

Contact us if you want to change:

You cannot change your licence if the event date has passed.

When you get your decision

It can take about 8 weeks to get your decision.

It may take longer if we needed to ask for more information.

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We email to advise that we are granting your licence.

The email will include documents you must print out and keep at the event location during the event:

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

You can appeal the:

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)

  1. Send the form to us either by:
  1. We will email you with next steps. This may take a few weeks.

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