Overview of the incentives
There are a range of incentives for venues hosting live music or performance. Below is an overview of the incentives.
There are some upcoming changes to the eligibility requirements coming into effect from 15 March, 2026. In addition to these new eligibility requirements, licensees should keep accurate records of their live performances that qualify them to be a Live Music and Performance venue, with new abilities for L&GNSW to request these records to ensure venues are meeting the performance minimums.
| Category | Requirements to qualify | Available incentives | Changes implemented from 15 March, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live music venue |
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| Live performance venue |
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Check if your venue is eligible
To access these incentives, your venue must be one or more of the following:
- a live music venue
- a live performance venue
- a participating venue in a Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP).
If your venue meets the eligibility criteria and is approved by L&GNSW, it will appear on the published list of venues.
Eligibility for live music venues
To become a Live Music Venue, you must hold a specific licence type, and host live music performances.
A live music venue must hold one of the following liquor licences:
- a hotel licence
- a club licence
- a small bar licence
- an on-premises licence
- a producer/wholesaler licence.
Live music performance must form a significant part of your venue’s normal operations. A ‘live music performance’ is an event where a venue engages one or more persons to play or perform live or pre-recorded music in person. To meet this test, you must be able to show your venue:
- Holds a minimum number of live music performances. Currently this is 2 live music performances per week. From 15 March 2026, new performance requirements will come into effect. From 15 March 2026, metro venues will be required to hold at least 10 live music performances per month. Regional venues will continue to be required to hold at least 104 live music performances per year. Metro areas include the Greater Sydney Region, as well as the local government areas of the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, and Wollongong.
- Has a room or space to host live music performances. For metro venues, this room or space must be a significant part of the venue and contain the infrastructure to support the regular performances. Venues in regional areas must have part of the venue predominantly or frequently used for live music performances.
To show you are continuing to meet these standards, the Secretary may request records of live music performances held over the past 12 months.
Eligibility for live performance venues
To become a Live Performance Venue, you must hold an on-premises public entertainment venue licence, and your venue must be primarily used for live performances or other cultural events.
The venue must be mainly used for live performances or other creative or cultural events. An ‘arts and cultural event’ may include a focus on creative and artistic disciplines that relate to a cultural theme. For example:
- other types of performance arts like theatre shows
- visual arts like an art exhibition
- literary arts events.
Venues likely to meet this requirement include music, concert and dance halls or theatres.
Incentives for eligible venues
Live music and performance venues have access to the following incentives:
- an 80% reduction on annual liquor licence fees, including base fees and trading hours risk loading
- an 80% reduction on permanent extended trading application fees
- if permitted by your venue's development consent, a 2-hour liquor trading extension on nights with 45 minutes or more of a live music performance after 8pm.
Under upcoming changes, the times for an eligible live music performance event will change. From 15 March 2026, the time for an eligible event will be 45 minutes or more of live music held after 6pm on weeknights, and midday on weekends.
Eligibility for participating venues located in a SEP
A Special Entertainment Precinct (SEPs) is a designated area that has special sound and trading conditions. They are governed under section 202 of the Local Government Act 1993. SEPs help support live entertainment by providing extended trading hours for live music venues and fee reductions for participating venues.
Venues interested to participate in a Special Entertainment Precinct must notify Liquor & Gaming NSW through an application.
Incentives for SEP venues
Participating venues in Special Entertainment Precincts may be eligible for:
- 80% reduction on annual liquor licence fees, including base fees and trading hours risk loading
- 80% reduction on permanent extended trading application fees
- 1-hour liquor trading extension on all nights of the week on nights where certain criteria is met.
You can learn more about SEPs on the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner website.
Accessing the 2-hour trading extension within a SEP
Being registered as a participating venue in a Special Entertainment Precinct only gives access to the 1-hour liquor trading extension. If you meet the eligibility for the live music venue or live performance venue scheme you can access the 2 hour trading extension.
See the live music and performance venue list for more information.
How to apply
If your venue meets the eligibility requirements for one or more of these categories, you can apply to join the list of venues accessing the incentives.
To apply, submit an application to L&GNSW.
View the current list of approved venues.
Mandatory recordkeeping
Under section 130M of the Liquor Act 2007, venues with extended trading under these Live Music and performance incentives must keep records of each live music performance or other arts and cultural event held or provided on the licensed premises.
A licensee must follow any conditions to which the licence is subject.
The licensee must keep these records for at least one year, with the below information for each event:
- date of the event
- type of event (either a live music performance or other arts and cultural event)
- a brief description of the performance or event
- start and finish times for the event
- main contact details for the event organiser, including name and phone contact
- if a live music performance, the name of the performer/s or act/s.
Venues can maintain a register in either hard-copy or digital format. Venues must make it available to Liquor & Gaming NSW compliance officers or the NSW Police Force if requested.
From 15 March 2026, licensees should keep evidence of all relevant live performances held at your venue. Liquor & Gaming NSW may request a licensee of a listed live music and performance venue to provide evidence that they have held the required amount of live events at the premises to qualify for the incentives.
The notice may require evidence in the form of:
- records that show the live events held at the licensed premises during a specified period, or
- a declaration by the licensee that specifies the live events held at the licensed premises during a specified period
If the requested evidence is not provided, the incentives including the fee discount may not be applied, and the venue may be removed from the Live Music and Performance Venues list.
Excluded venues
L&GNSW has discretion to not apply these incentives in a range of circumstances, including:
- For any venues with a poor compliance record. This includes where the licensee has been liable for compliance history risk loading in the last two years or will be liable in future. Venues can check the L&GNSW Demerit Point Register to see if there are any demerit points currently attached to their licence. Demerits are incurred for committing demerit offences, or via a prescribed complaint, and result in additional loadings attached to a venue’s annual liquor licence fee.
- Where the venue is operating as a karaoke bar or primarily provides adult entertainment of a sexual nature.
We will remove a venue from the list if its business model changes and it no longer meets the eligibility criteria. We may also remove a venue if it doesn’t meet its obligations, such as keeping the required records.
Once removed, the venue will no longer be able to access the incentives.
Common questions
What if I can’t use the liquor trading extension due to my development consent conditions?
Venues can only make use of the liquor trading extensions if their development consent (or Precinct Management Plan in a Special Entertainment Precinct) permits the venue to stay open during the extended time.
Venues should contact their council if they need to change their development consent trading hours.
Will I pay extra trading hour risk loading if using the liquor trading extension?
No. There are no additional charges.
What happens if I am applying for a licence to establish a new venue with a focus on live music and performance? Am I eligible for these discounts?
Once your application for a new liquor licence has been granted, you may apply for the live music discount.
I have paid the full fee for an extended trading authorisation (ETA) and I am also on the list of live music venues. How do I get the 80% fee reduction?
We can refund 80% of the application fee for a permanent extended trading authorisation, if your venue appears on the list within 12 months of making the application.
What if I stop providing live music or performances due to changed operations?
If you are no longer eligible to access these incentives, you must email Liquor & Gaming NSW as soon as possible.
Liquor & Gaming NSW will also rely on operational information to make assessments about ongoing eligibility from time to time.
We will remove venues that are no longer eligible from the list and we will confirm this with the licensee.