If you're considering purchasing a licensed business, you must apply for a temporary authority to operate legally until your own licence has been approved. A temporary authority application takes at least 10 working days to process.
Before a temporary authority can be issued, the applicant must employ a certified manager. A Police report will be conducted on all applicants named in the application.
- Temporary Authority Application (522Kb PDF)
- Manager's Certificate Application (142Kb PDF)
Operating Hours
A temporary authority will not automatically authorise the same operating hours held by the previous licensee. We suggest you contact the DLA to discuss operating hours before you enter a binding purchase agreement for the business.
Applying for Your Own Liquor Licence
If you are granted a temporary authority, you have 15 working days to lodge an application for your own liquor licence.
If you're making any alterations to the premises that require a building consent, your own licence cannot be approved until you have been issued a Code Compliance Certificate for those alterations.
Application Requirements
In addition to the 'Temporary Authority Application', you will need to provide:
- Three copies of application and all documentation.
- A $132 fee.
- A copy of the current on or off licence.
- A written statement from the owner of the building giving consent to the applicant to sell liquor on the premises.
- A letter detailing reasons for the temporary authority, applicant's experience, qualifications and training in the sale of liquor, any alterations - cosmetic or structural - planned for the premises, any previous convictions, the date you will apply for your own on or off licence.
- Signatures of either the single applicant, all members of a partnership, the principal director of the company or the applicants' solicitor.
Department Details:
Building Consents & Licensing Services
