When a residence may be a licensed premises

Purpose

This policy explains the limited circumstances in which the Director of Liquor Licensing (DLL) will allow a residential premises to become a ‘licensed premises’ under the Liquor Control Act 1988 (LC Act).

Background

A liquor licence is always associated with a licensed premises. Before the DLL will grant a liquor licence, they must be satisfied that the associated premises is of a sufficient standard, and suitable for the proper conduct of a business.¹ A residential premises is unlikely to be suitable for the purpose of supplying drinks to patrons for consumption on or off the premises as it is not of a sufficient standard or suitable for the proper conduct of a business under any class of liquor licence or permit² and patron’s expectations of a licensed venue would not be met.³

A residence may be a licensed premises if an approved premises exists

The DLL may allow a residence to become a licensed premises when it is being used as a home office, in association with an ‘approved premises’, which is a type of storage facility.

An approved premises is a non-licensed premises, such as a warehouse, from which alcohol can be supplied or delivered to a customer to fulfil online orders or telephone sales. The only licence types which can be granted an approved premises are a:

• wholesaler’s licence
• producer's licence
• special facility licence granted for tourism, auctions or online wine sales.⁴

For more information on approved premises, see the factsheet Off-site storage of liquor.

Under the LC Act, a liquor licence must always be associated with a licensed premises.⁵ The DLL will consider approving a residence as a licensed premises only when a licensee has, or will have, an approved premises, and:

• the licensed premises (the residence) is used for administration purposes, such as to process phone and internet orders, and alcohol is not supplied to patrons from this location
• alcohol is supplied to patrons from the approved premises (the warehouse), for example deliveries are dispatched from the warehouse via courier to a customer.

The applicant must occupy the premises to the exclusion of others,⁶ and if they vacate it, they must either surrender their licence, or apply to have it transferred to a different premises (which is called the removal of a licence under the LC Act.)⁷

Additional guidance

Further information on licence requirements is available, or contact 61 8 6551 4888.

Disclaimer

The policy on this subject is general information and is not professional advice or a legal opinion. The information is provided on the understanding that any person reading it must take responsibility for assessing its relevance and accuracy.

Notes

1. LC Act s37(1)(e) and (f)
2. LC Act s33(7)
3. LC Act s33(7)(b)
4. LC Act 4(6) and Liquor Control Regulations 1989 (WA) r5C
5. See definition of licensed premises in s3(1)
6. LC Act s37(5)
7. LC Act s31(1)(b).