Liquor and Gaming Branch, Department of Treasury and Finance THA Hospitality Review Jonothan Root
The Branch continues to support hospitality business- es in the COVID 19 environment. The Branch has been dealing with an unusually high volume of new liquor licence applications and transfers, which has impacted assessment and determination timeframes. In addition to the more than 75 liquor licences issued since July 2020, the Branch has assessed over 700 spe- cial permits and issued over 1 100 fee refunds since the COVID-19 shutdowns. These numbers well exceed previous experience of the Branch. To address the high volumes, resources have been redeployed with- in the Branch and new resources are being recruited. The Branch is committed to providing a high level of customer service in these challenging and unusual times and your continued patience is appreciated. For the latest COVID 19 licensed venue information, please visit the Liquor and Gaming Branch website (www.treasury.tas.gov.au/liquor-and-gaming/). Permit timeframes I would like to remind everyone to check the expiry date of liquor permits. Please submit permit requests as early as possible but at least seven days prior to the date the permit is required (including for permit re- newals). This time is required to properly assess the application in accordance with the Liquor Licensing Act. Submission less than seven days prior to the date required could mean your permit is not granted in time for your event. Club Permit holders If your club/premises is operating under a Special Per- mit (Club) please note these permits are granted to in- dividuals not to a club or its venue. I would encourage clubs who operate under this type of permit to check who within the club has been granted the permit. If the permit holder has moved on from the club, the permit must be transferred into the name of another club member or employee. Please note that your club cannot continue selling alcohol until the club permit has been transferred. Further information regarding club permits can be found on our website here.
Event planning The Tasmanian Government released the COVID-19 event planning framework to ensure events are run in a safe and controlled environment for patrons. Events are categorised into levels dependent on their size and risk. Level 2 and 3 events need to be lodged with Busi- ness Tasmania and these require assessment and/or approval within 21 days. If alcohol is to be sold, I encourage event planners to submit their liquor permit application to the Branch five weeks before event commencement. This allows for the liquor permit to be assessed first, and then pro- vided to Business Tasmania. Further information regarding event planning and approval can be found here. Tasmanian Gambling Exclusion Scheme The Tasmanian Gambling Exclusion Scheme (TGES) is a protection measure for people at risk from their gambling behaviour. In addition to exclusions initi- ated by a person for self protection, venue exclusions can occur. To assist venue staff in identifying warning signs of people experiencing gambling-related harm, please refer to the Signs of Problem Gambling fact sheet available on the Branch website here. When updating the TGES database with a new or revoked venue exclusion, valid and detailed reasons must be recorded in the database. This information is reviewed by the TGES administrator before authoris- ing the venue exclusion. Reasons recorded in the TGES database should in- clude details regarding the person’s behaviour which prompted a venue exclusion. These details may relate to frequency of visits for gambling purposes, duration of gambling, losing more money than intended, re- actions to gambling loses or distressed behaviour be- fore, during or after gambling. Further information regarding the Tasmanian Gam- bling Exclusion Scheme can be found here. Further information and contacting us Please contact us for assistance by phone 6166 4040 or email licensing@treasury.tas.gov.au or gaming@treas- ury.tas.gov.au.
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