The Liquor Control Amendment Bill received Royal Assent on Tuesday 18 December, providing police with the power to ban troublesome persons from certain premises or areas for 24 hours, and even shut down licensed premises for 24 hours, effective from New Years Eve.
These changes aim to reduce instances of alcohol related violence or disorder and enhance community safety and enjoyment in entertainment precincts.
The Director of Liquor Licensing now has the authority to designate areas where police can impose banning notices on persons suspected (on reasonable grounds) of committing an offence in the designated area. The banning notices prohibit the individual from the designated area or from all licensed premises in the designated area as set out in the notice. The banning notice would be limited to 24 hours from the time the notice is served.
The Minster for Police, Bob Cameron, announced that 24-hour banning notices from entertainment precincts and police powers to shut licensed venues for 24-hours would begin on New Years Eve.
Two designated entertainment precincts, Melbourne’s CBD and Chapel Street in South Yarra and Prahran are the first areas in the initiative, with more to follow in the future.
Some of the offences that could result in a banning notice include: persons found drunk and disorderly; drunkards behaving in a riotous or disorderly manner; and obscene, indecent or threatening language and behaviour.
An Assistant Commissioner of Victoria Police will also be given the power to suspend a liquor licence for up to 24 hours enabling police to respond to immediate threats to public safety.
The Bill also inserted additional conditions under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, relating to the playing of live and recorded music at on-premise licenses where the permitted use of the premises is a restaurant. The conditions prohibit live musical performances and the playing of recorded music on the premises at levels higher than background music* level at any time outside ordinary trading hours.
However, these new conditions do not apply to music played at a private function held outside ordinary trading hours when such a function is held in an area of the restaurant set aside for the function and is attended only by those persons and guests.
The potential ramifications of this legislation are not yet fully known, however Restaurant and Catering Victoria is in ongoing discussions with Liquor Licensing Victoria to determine how this will affect operators in the industry. Restaurant & Catering Victoria will continue to monitor this situation and provide more information to members in the New Year.
*Background music is defined as a level whereby partons are able to conduct a conversation at a distance of 600 millimetres without having to raise their voices to a substantial degree in order to be heard.
