Under-18s at licensed venues or locations

It’s against the law to supply alcohol to people under the legal drinking age of 18 years.

Minors at licensed venues

A minor is allowed at a licensed venue if they are in the company of a responsible adult.

Who is a responsible adult?

A responsible adult is a person who is 18 years or older and is either:

the minor’s parent, step-parent, guardian or grandparent. These automatically meet the legal requirement.
the minor’s spouse. This is an adult legally married to the minor, not a de facto or domestic partner.
an adult acting in place of a parent.

What ‘acting in place of a parent’ means

When at the licensed venue or location, this adult must be able to:

take responsibility for the minor and their physical care
oversee their activities
ensure they follow venue rules. They take this responsibility in the way that a parent would do under similar circumstances.

Adults of similar age to the minor

If the adult is a similar age to the minor, they may not qualify as responsible adults.

As the licensee or staff member, you must assess each situation individually.

For example, if a 17-year-old is accompanied by a 19-year-old, you should:

make further inquiries
consider the context to decide if the adult is acting as a parental figure or a peer.

Important considerations for licensees

The responsible adult must be capable of:

actively supervising the minor
taking responsibility for them just as a parent would. This is key to determining if the adult qualifies.

If there is any doubt, it is your responsibility to make:

further inquiries
a reasoned and justified decision on the suitability of the adult.

Unaccompanied minors

If a minor is not in the company of a responsible adult they are called an unaccompanied minor.

Unaccompanied minors can be at your licensed venue if any of these apply:

Your licence has a condition that allows minors to be there (for example, you might be a junior sports club with a restricted club licence).
You have a restaurant and cafe licence or an on-premises licence with restaurant conditions (until 11 pm).
The minor is having a meal.
The minor is staying at the accommodation, if the licensed location is an accommodation provider.
The minor is employed by the licensee but not involved in the supply of alcohol.
The minor is completing an approved training course in hospitality that we have approved.

Compliance checklist

Check if you are doing these things to help you comply with the law:

Our staff check ID for anyone who looks under 25.
Our staff know about the approved forms of ID, including security staff.
Our staff check for fake IDs and know what to do if an ID is fake.
Our staff look who is in the group to see if anyone looks under 18 before we serve or sell alcohol.
Our staff check outside to see if any people who may be under 18 are waiting nearby.
Our delivery drivers ask for ID when required.
Our venue or location has a ‘we don’t deliver to minors‘ message on our website.
We follow the Responsible Alcohol Advertising and Promotion Guidelines:

Responsible Alcohol Advertising and Promotion Guidelines PDF 825.51 KB (opens in a new window)

Our advertising or promotion of alcohol does not encourage under-age drinking or use images of people drinking alcohol who are, or appear to be, under 18 years.

A minors checklist for managers and staff PDF 114.06 KB (opens in a new window)

Underage events

Depending on the event, you must notify us or apply to hold an event that minors can attend at your licensed venue.

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Mixed-age live music events

A mixed-age live music event is one where sound is:

manipulated for artistic, cultural or religious purposes
performed to an audience that includes under-18s. You may have minors at your licensed venue if:
you are holding a mixed-age live music event
alcohol is not supplied, consumed, displayed or made available in that part of your venue. Notify us at least 7 business days before the event. You can include up to 3 events on the form. There is no fee.

You must comply with prescribed conditions for these events, as outlined on the form.

To notify us, submit this form:

Notification form for conducting a mixed-age live music event/s where minors will be present on licensed or authorised premises PDF 232.31 KB (opens in a new window)

Underage or youth events (no live music)

You need to apply for our permission if you want to host an underage or youth event that:

does not have live music
minors will attend without a parent, spouse, legal guardian or responsible adult. There is a non-refundable application fee of $252.20.

Apply at least 45 calendar days before the event. You can notify us of up to 3 events in the form.

We consult with Victoria Police on these applications.

If we grant approval, adults cannot attend the event unless they:

are members of staff or a responsible adult
wear wristbands identifying themselves as being 18 years or older. Complete and submit this form to apply:

Underage or youth events - Temporary approval of unaccompanied minors on licensed premises PDF 478.29 KB (opens in a new window)

Lower risk ‘fast track approval’ underage or youth events (no live music)

Some events are considered lower risk to the community and are eligible for faster approvals. We call these ‘Fast Track, Low Risk’ events.

Similar to other underage or youth events, these:

do not have live music
allow minors to attend without a parent, spouse, legal guardian or responsible adult. These applications are faster to process because we don’t ask Victoria Police to comment on them.

However, police may have already advised us that some licensed venues, locations or events are considered high risk and not eligible for fast tracking.

Who can apply

To find out if your underage or youth event can apply for fast-tracking, you must be able to answer ‘yes’ to all questions on the eligibility checklist.

You can find this in the application form. There is a non-refundable application fee of $252.20.

If you meet the criteria, apply for your event at least 20 calendar days before the event.

If we grant approval, adults cannot attend the event unless they:

are members of staff or a responsible adult
wear wristbands identifying themselves as being 18 years or older. Complete and submit this form to apply:

Fast track, low risk underage events - Temporary approval of unaccompanied minors on licensed premises PDF 344.58 KB (opens in a new window)

Employing minors

A minor can be employed at a licensed venue or location to do tasks that are not associated with the supply of alcohol.

Tasks they can do

For example, a minor is allowed to:

prepare food
take orders for anything other than alcohol (they cannot take combined orders of food and alcohol)
take payment for anything other than alcohol
clear empty glasses, bottles, cans or other containers used for alcohol. Whether a glass is empty is a matter of common sense. If you’re not sure, ask adult staff to do this task.
move sealed alcohol (for example, bottles of wine) if the alcohol is not in view of customers. For example, they can stock shelves in a storeroom. Make sure an adult staff member supervises them.
take alcohol to a customer’s car, if they work in a bottle shop.

Tasks they cannot do

A minor must not do these tasks:

sell alcohol through a checkout
take orders or serve alcohol from a bar
take orders or serve alcohol to a customer’s table, including when clearing empty drinks
clear the table of glasses that have any alcohol in them
stock display fridges or shelves with alcohol, if these are within public view.

Minors in training programs

Minors can only be involved in the supply of alcohol if they are part of a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training program that we have approved.

Training providers can ask for our approval to allow a minor to supply alcohol as part of their hospitality training program.

To request this, email lcv.education@justice.vic.gov.au and include details of the training program, including its location.

If you are under 18, you can complete RSA training but must wait until you are 18 to serve alcohol.

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Under-18s at licensed venues or locations

On this page

Minors at licensed venues

What ‘acting in place of a parent’ means

Adults of similar age to the minor

Important considerations for licensees

Unaccompanied minors

Compliance checklist

Underage events

Who can apply

Employing minors

Tasks they can do

Tasks they cannot do

Minors in training programs

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