Limited liquor licence – Single function

Not for profit organisations may be eligible to sell alcohol at up to 6 fundraising functions a year without needing a limited licence. 

Find out more: Liquor licence exemption for not for profit organisations.

There are also other circumstances where a licence isn't required to sell liquor. 

Find out more: when a liquor licence is not required.

Before considering a single function, consider the following alternatives:

• A limited licence - multiple functions is available to not for profit organisations to sell alcohol at up to 52 functions a year.
  Learn more: Limited licence - multiple functions
• A limited licence - special event is available to organisations who are organising major events that will have significant social or economic impact on the area.
  Learn more: Limited licence - special event
• A limited licence - trade fair is available to organisations and businesses to sell or supply alcohol at industry specific fairs - for example: wine shows, food shows, travel shows etc.
  Learn more: Limited licence - trade fair

• This licence does not allow for takeaway sales.
• You need to give local police at least 14 days notice of a proposed function for the area where the function is being held. You can submit your notice online through service.nsw.gov.au. You need to allow a minimum of 18 days to lodge online or the system won't accept it. We recommend, however, 28 days to ensure we can meet demands.
• Liquor may only be sold at a function if the licensee is present or a person nominated by the licensee is present to supervise.
• There is no restriction on anyone under 18 attending a function held under a limited licence, but they are not eligible to be served alcohol. When granting an application, we may consider restrictions for anyone aged under 18 years, particularly to minimise potential problems at large events.
• The licensee, supervisors and everyone serving liquor will need to have completed an approved RSA course. This applies to anyone serving liquor in a voluntary capacity as well as any security officers with crowd control duties.
• Free drinking water and food must be available.
• Security or RSA-certified individuals are required to monitor the function for any concerns such as levels of intoxication, anti-social behaviour, underage drinking and ensuring liquor is not taken from the licensed area.
• Consideration will be given to any submissions made by police, councils and other stakeholders. You will have the opportunity to respond to any submissions or recommendations made by other parties before a decision is made.

The law requires that all types of licensed venues display liquor signs. This includes a number of compulsory signs, depending on which licence and authorisations you have.

• Find out what signs you need

The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and/or its delegates may impose conditions on a liquor licence.

It is recommended you use the Conditions form PDF (PDF 268.02KB) to discuss the conditions with NSW Police prior to lodging your application. See How to Apply.

A 6-hour closure period applies to all liquor licences, including those with extended trading hours. It usually starts at 4.00am and ends at 10.00am each day.

In your application you can request a different 6-hour closure period.

If requesting hours other than 4.00am - 10.00am, please include in your application:

• proposed closure hours (must be 6 hours)
• the reason why this is being requested
• ways the proposal will not detract from the amenity of community life.

Resources

• More information on changing the 6-hour closure period
• Application form to change your closure period  (PDF 685.47KB)

Licensees and all staff involved in the selling, service or supply of alcohol need to have completed a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) course and hold a valid NSW competency card. This requirement also applies to security staff and promotional staff conducting tastings on the premises.

The Liquor Regulation 2018 introduced an additional two compulsory courses for licensees and managers: Licensee training and Advanced licensee training.

Your application can take longer to review if we don’t have all the details we need to assess it. We will come back to you to obtain the missing information to progress your application. You can help us speed up the process by:

• Providing all the correct information at the time you apply
• Responding to our request for missing information as soon as possible after we contact you.

What you'll need

• ABN, ACN or Y/INC for the non-profit organisation
• evidence of your Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) qualifications
• a floor plan clearly showing the proposed boundaries for the licensed area and key features, including entry/exit points, bar areas, any adjoining streets and the direction North
• a copy of development consent or approval
• proposed liquor trading hours
• details about the function and the venue where the function will be held including main purpose, number of guests, estimated quantities of alcohol to be sold, whether entertainment is provided, availability of food and risk mitigation such as security or RSA
• contact details for you or a person authorised to submit your application
• if lodged by someone other than the proposed licensee, a completed applicant declaration (TDEC5) (PDF 237.41KB)
• licence payment fee (See Liquor Fee Schedule to calculate your application and processing fee)

Access: Forms for a limited licence

Conditions

The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and/or its delegates may impose conditions on a liquor licence.

See Conditions form (PDF 268.02KB)

It’s recommended that you discuss the conditions with NSW Police before lodging your application.

Lodging the form with your liquor licence application will reduce the processing time

Once your application is lodged, we will advertise it on the Liquor and Gaming Application Noticeboard for a minimum of 14 days. The community can comment on your application, as well as people who were consulted as part of the Liquor & Gaming NSW notification process, if applicable.

• We will assess your application.
• If additional information is required, we will contact you via the details provided in your application.
• Once determined, we will notify you of the outcome which will be published on the L&GNSW Noticeboard.

For details on this, and what happens if your application is approved or rejected, see What to expect at Apply for a liquor licence in NSW