Compliance check

Who it's for

A liquor licence compliance check is a walk-through of your venue against its licence. We read the licence and conditions, check signs and records, compare your red line plan (the plan showing where liquor can be served) with the real layout, and ask staff what an inspector would. You get a written report listing what to fix, in order. Some call it a licensed venue compliance audit. The point is to fix things, not grade you.

• You've taken over a venue and inherited its licence and its habits.
• You've added tables outside, a new bar or longer hours, and aren't sure the licence kept up.
• You've had a warning, a complaint or a visit from police or Liquor Control Victoria (LCV).
• You're selling the venue and want it in order before a buyer looks.

Not you? If an inspector has already found a breach, see LCV inspections and breaches.

What a liquor licence compliance check covers

• Licence and conditions — are you trading within your licence type, hours, patron numbers and every condition?
• Red line plan against reality — do people drink only inside the licensed area? Courtyards and footpath tables are common gaps. Footpath service needs council's footpath trading permit and the area on your licence.
• Patron capacity — as a guide, LCV allows about one person per 0.75 m² of licensed floor area. We check your number against the space.
• Signs and records — the signs your licence type must display, and your training, incident and refusal records.
• Staff knowledge — can the manager on shift tell you the closing time, the capacity and what to do with an intoxicated patron?
• Planning permit — do permit conditions limit hours, patrons or music? Council enforces those, not LCV.

An LCV inspection checklist, applied to your venue

A generic checklist tells you what an inspector might look at. It doesn't tell you what your conditions say, or whether your floor matches your plan. We build the checklist from your own licence and permit, then walk the venue with it, during trading where we can.

The red line plan is the usual gap. If people are drinking outside the area on your red line plan, fixing it means a new plan and a variation.

Better we find it than an inspector. A problem you find is fixed on your timeline. A problem an inspector finds is fixed on theirs.

How it works

A check takes four steps.

1. 15-minute call Tell us about the venue and anything you're unsure of. We fix the fee.
2. You upload your documents Licence, red line plan, planning permit, venue management plan and staff certificates, through your client portal.
3. We walk the venue We read everything first, then check the floor, signs and records, and talk to the manager on shift.
4. You get a written report What's fine, what needs fixing, how urgent it is and how to fix it. If a fix needs a licence variation, we'll say so and quote it.

Fees and timing

A compliance check is a fixed fee, quoted after the first call and agreed before we start.

Fee

Fixed, quoted before we start

Timing

Around 10 days, depending on how quickly documents come back from council, LCV and you

Fixes

Any licence or permit change is quoted separately, as a fixed fee

First call

15 minutes, free

What we need from you

Bring what you have; gaps are part of what we look for.

• Liquor licence, conditions and red line plan
• Planning permit and endorsed plans, if any
• Venue management plan, if you have one
• RSA and new entrant training certificates
• Incident and refusal records, however you keep them
• Any letters from LCV, council or police
• Access to the venue and a manager on the day

Questions