When large licensed venues qualify for lower fees
Some large licensed venues can qualify to pay lower annual renewal fees.
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As part of calculating annual renewal fees, we consider your venue type’s risk of alcohol-related harm.
If your venue holds 801 customers or more, you’re normally charged a higher risk fee.
You can reduce this fee if you meet the requirements for a prescribed venue type.
You must notify us you are a prescribed venue type by 31 December for it to lower your annual renewal fee.
Who is eligible
You meet the requirements if all of these apply:
- your venue capacity is 801 customers or more
- you have an eligible licence type
- your business model meets the requirements of a prescribed venue type.
These licence types are eligible:
- General licence
- Late night (general) licence
- On-premises licence
- Late night (on-premises) licence
- Restaurant and cafe licence
- Full club licence
- Restricted club licence.
Prescribed venue types
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- Venue mainly used for functions, conventions or conferences
Your liquor licence must be for a venue that’s mainly used to host functions, conventions and conferences.
For example, the Royal Exhibition Building or a large purpose-built function or conference centre.
A restaurant, cafe, pub or sports club that only occasionally hosts private functions would not meet the primary use requirement.
Primary use is defined by the regular use of the premises, not financial turnover.
- Venue (other than a nightclub) that regularly holds live music events
Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998, a live music event is when sound is created or altered for artistic, cultural or religious purposes and performed to an audience.
To meet the requirement, all of the following must apply:
- Sound is being created or altered.
- It is for artistic, cultural or religious purposes.
- It is performed to an audience.
- Your venue holds live music events regularly as part of its normal schedule (for example, live bands every Friday and Saturday night).
- Venue on a university or TAFE campus or where uni or TAFE is licensee
You meet the requirements if:
- the venue is on the campus of a tertiary education provider (for example, TAFE, university), even if the education provider does not own the venue
- a tertiary education provider is the licensee, even if the venue is not located at their campus.
- Venue that is part of an accommodation provider
If your venue is part of a hotel, motel, holiday resort or other type of accommodation provider, you may meet the requirements.
To qualify, your accommodation rooms must be included in your licensed area (red line plan).
If you have a separate licence for your bar or restaurant, those areas do not qualify as a prescribed venue type.
- Food truck park
You meet the requirements if you have a liquor licence for an established venue where multiple mobile kitchens gather to sell food to the public.
For example, a large venue that provides communal tables and seating, hosts multiple mobile kitchens and has its own bar on site.
Mobile kitchens could be a converted caravan, truck, van or trailer.
- Cultural venue, zoo or aquarium
If supplying alcohol complements or supports your main business activity, you may meet the requirements.
Your main business activity must be one of these:
- art gallery
- cinema
- museum
- theatre
- aquarium
- zoo.
- Sports or games venue
If supplying alcohol complements or supports your main business activity, you may meet the requirements.
Your main business activity must be one of these:
- bowling alley
- electronic video gaming venue (not including electronic gaming machines like poker machines)
- golf club
- ice skating rink
- sports stadium (venue for sports with tiered seating for spectators, including racing venues)
- indoor sports venue (for example, badminton, squash, table tennis)
- venue where customers play pool, darts or similar sports.
How to notify us
You can notify us that you are a prescribed venue type when either you:
- apply for your licence
- have an existing licence and notify us that your situation has changed.
If you have a liquor licence, you notify us on the Liquor Portal:
- Log in to the Liquor Portal
- In the left menu, click eLicence.
- Find the licence you want to update (if it’s not listed, you will need to associate your licence first. Go to ‘Associate licences’ and follow the prompts. You need your PIN, which is on your renewal notice or grant email).
- On the right, click Actions next to the licence.
- Select Notification obligations.
- Under Notification of Prescribed Venue Type, choose your venue type from the drop-down menu (if there’s no drop-down and a venue type is already shown, email contact@liquor.vic.gov.au and explain your situation. We will update it for you).
- Click Update venue type. This completes the process.
You must tell us by 31 December for it to affect your next renewal fee.
Updated 22 September 2025
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