Trading on public holidays for liquor licensees
Trading hours on Good Friday, Anzac Day and New Year’s Eve can vary between liquor licences.
On this page
Good Friday
Trading hours on Good Friday are as written on your licence.
If you have a:
- general, on-premises or restaurant and cafe licence you can trade between 12 noon and 1 am the following morning (unless your licence says otherwise)
- club (full or restricted) or producer’s licence or BYO permit, your trading hours are as shown on your licence
- packaged liquor licence, you cannot trade on Good Friday unless your licence says you can.
You need a temporary limited licence if you want to:
- trade on Good Friday and your current licence does not allow it
- extend your trading hours on Good Friday.
We will only grant extended hours to packaged liquor licences under exceptional circumstances.
Anzac Day
Special trading hours apply to all licence types on Anzac Day (25 April).
Unless you have an exemption, you cannot trade between 3 am on the morning of Anzac Day and 12 noon on Anzac Day if you have a:
- restaurant and cafe licence
- club licence (full or restricted)
- late night (general, on-premises or packaged liquor) licence
- renewable limited licence
- BYO permit (customers cannot bring or drink alcohol at your venue).
Check your licence to see if you have any special conditions in relation to Anzac Day hours.
These examples show how Anzac Day restrictions might affect your usual trading hours:
Example 1:
Anzac Day falls on a Thursday and you have a restaurant and cafe licence with these trading hours:
- Good Friday and Anzac Day: Between 12 noon and 1 am the following morning
- on any other day: between 7 am and 1 am the following morning.
This means you can trade:
- on Wednesday (the day before Anzac Day) from 7 am to 1 am the following morning (the morning of Anzac Day) as usual
- on Thursday (Anzac Day) from 12 noon (not your usual start time of 7 am) to 1 am the following morning.
Example 2:
Anzac Day falls on a Saturday and you have a late night (on-premises) licence that allows you to trade on any day between 7 am and 4 am the following morning.
This means you can trade:
- on Friday (the day before Anzac Day) from 7 am to 3 am (not your usual close time of 4 am) the following morning (the morning of Anzac Day)
- on Saturday (Anzac Day), you can trade from 12 noon (not your usual start time of 7 am) to 4 am the following morning.
Exemptions
The requirement to not trade before 12 noon does not apply to:
- Returned and Services League (RSL) clubs and sub-branches
- duty-free shops or aircraft
- accommodation where alcohol is supplied to residents
- wineries
- pre-retail licences
- temporary limited licences issued specifically for Anzac Day events.
Application to trade before 12 noon
If you want to trade before 12 noon on Anzac Day, you’ll need a temporary limited licence.
We can only grant this if the event:
- relates to Anzac Day commemorative activities
- is consistent with the solemn observance of the day.
You need a letter from your local RSL or RSL Victoria confirming the event relates to Anzac Day commemorations unless you are applying as an RSL club or sub-branch. Add this letter to your application when asked if you want to upload additional information.
Applications for a temporary limited licence can take up to 8 weeks to process, so apply early.
New Year’s Eve
Some licence types are automatically allowed to trade later on New Year’s Eve.
If this applies to you, be aware that:
- it’s your decision whether to trade later
- your licence conditions apply at all times.
You do not get an automatic extension if you have either a:
- restricted club licence
- renewable limited licence
- producer’s licence.
If you do not get an automatic extension, or want to trade later than your extension allows, read about a temporary limited licence. Allow at least 8 weeks for us to process your application.
Automatic extension to 1 am
Your trading hours are extended until 1 am on 1 January, within a venue only, if you have a:
- on-premises or late night (on-premises) licence
- general or late night (general) licence
- BYO permit
- full club licence.
Automatic extension to 3 am
Your trading hours are extended until 3 am on 1 January, if you have a restaurant and cafe licence.
Daylight saving
Twice a year, clocks change in Victoria at 2 am for daylight saving.
When the clocks go forward an hour (October), if you normally trade until:
- 2 am, when the clocks change at 2 am to make it 3 am, you have to close
- 3 am, when the clocks change at 2 am to make it 3 am, you have to close.
When the clocks go back an hour (April), if you normally trade until:
- 2 am, when the clocks change at 2 am to make it 1 am, you get the extra hour (you can trade until 2 am daylight saving time)
- 3 am, when the clocks change at 2 am to make it 1 am, you can trade until 3 am daylight saving time.
Updated 20 November 2025
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