Guideline 68: Late-night extended hours permit

This guideline provides advice about the considerations of the Commissioner for Liquor and Gaming regarding late-night (between midnight and 5am) extended hours permits under the Liquor Act 1992 (the Act), as related to the administration of the relevant legislative criteria.

Legislative requirements

Under s.103IA of the Act, an applicant may apply for 6 temporary permits to extend trading hours on a particular trading day between midnight and 5am, each calendar year. These applications must satisfy the following legislative criteria:

  • there must be a special occasion
  • the special occasion is for a person independent of the licensee or owner/occupier of the licensed premises
  • the extended hours applies to either
    • the time when the special occasion is happening
    • a reasonable time before or after when the special occasion is happening.

Under the Act, a 'special occasion' means either:

  • a special public event
  • a private event, such as a wedding or birthday, that is not open to the public.

The Act states a 'special public event' includes a unique or infrequent event of local, state or national significance, such as a local music festival happening over a weekend or a televised, international sports match involving an Australian team.

Public events accepted as special occasions

To provide transparency to industry, eligible licensees will not need to give evidence demonstrating how the following categories of special public events constitute a special occasion for the purposes of seeking extended trading hours.

Although examples are provided for reference, they are not intended to be exhaustive in nature.

For example:

  • Australia Day
  • Labour Day
  • King’s Birthday

This includes the morning of and morning after a public holiday, but excludes any periods where the general sale of liquor is prohibited under the Act (i.e. Good Friday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day).

Licensees who can apply

All eligible licensees

For example:

  • Birdsville Big Red Bash
  • Agnes Blues
  • Roots and Rock Festival
  • CMC Rocks QLD
  • Winton's Way Out West Fest
  • Blues on Broadbeach Music Festival

Licensees who can apply

All eligible licensees in the local community area surrounding the event

National level sporting events featuring Australian-based teams:

  • NRL and NRLW
  • State of Origin
  • AFL
  • A-League
  • Super Rugby
  • Sheffield Shield and BBL

International level sporting events where a national team or individual representative is participating:

  • Olympics and Paralympics
  • Commonwealth Games
  • FIFA, Rugby and Cricket World Cups
  • Australian Open
  • Australian Grand Prix
  • Tour de France
  • The PGA
  • Cricket test matches (including The Ashes)

Other finals-level sporting match between non-Australian teams or participants, such as the NFL Superbowl and NBA Finals.

Licensees who can apply

  • Regular season events—all eligible licensees in the local community area surrounding the event
  • Finals or playoff games—all eligible licensees in the local community area surrounding the event and in the local community area where the competing teams are based
  • State of Origin and similar national and international level sporting events—all eligible Queensland licensees
  • Sporting match between non-Australian teams or participants—all eligible licensees who will broadcast the event live at the premises during the (proposed) extended trading period

For example:

  • St Patrick's Day
  • Lunar New Year
  • Halloween
  • Valentine's Day
  • Oktoberfest

Licensees who can apply

All eligible Queensland licensees

For example:

  • Valley Fiesta
  • Riverfire
  • Woodford Folk Festival
  • Jumpers and Jazz Festival
  • Jungle Love Music and Arts Festival
  • Eurovision (only if Australia is participating)
  • Regional events—all eligible licensees in the local community area surrounding the event
  • International events—all eligible licensees who will broadcast the event live at the premises during the (proposed) extended trading period

Licensees who can apply

  • Regional events—all eligible licensees in the local community area surrounding the event
  • International events—all eligible licensees who will broadcast the event live at the premises during the (proposed) extended trading period

For example:

  • Mount Isa Rodeo
  • Port Douglas Carnivale
  • Golden Mount Festival (Mt Morgan)

Licensees who can apply

All eligible licensees in the local community area surrounding the event

Persons who are considered as independent of the licensee

Any event held for the benefit of the licensee's customers will be considered as sufficiently independent from the licensee.

This means licensees are not required to submit evidence demonstrating the independence of the person(s) wishing to celebrate the special occasion at their venue.

Reasonable time before and after the special occasion

For public holidays, the eve of a public holiday (from midnight) and the morning after the public holiday are considered as occurring during a reasonable time before and after the special occasion.

For other special occasions, 'reasonable time' can be considered as including any time after an event (e.g. a stadium concert or a professional sporting event) that concludes at 8.30pm or later, as well as any related after-parties, award ceremonies or similar events hosted by a licensed premises.

Other considerations

While this guideline clarifies various requirements for an application for a late-night extended hours permit, it does not mean the permit is granted as of right.

The Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation will continue to assess the merits of each application, including the licensee's compliance history and any comments received from the Queensland Police Service.

Issued 30 August 2023

Also consider...

  • Last reviewed: 31 Aug 2023
  • Last updated: 6 Feb 2024