Quite often, the licensing work we (DWS) complete for our clients includes long-term or ongoing projects that require us to work in close contact with the venue's Management, Committee or Board, OLGR and many other stakeholders.

So when we get to the end of that road, it's nice to be able to celebrate the success of our clients!

Here are a few recent licensing 'wins' we would like to share.

Commercial Hotel Licence for Stumps Hotel in Ipswich

We would like to offer our congratulations to Stumps Hotel, a brand new dining, function and bottle shop venue located on Brisbane Street in central Ipswich. Those of you who are familiar with the Ipswich area may recall the old venues located at this site including “Settlers Inn”, the “Shamrock Hotel” and the hotel also commonly known simply as the “Club”. This premises previously operated as a licenced dining and gaming venue at its “top of the town” location for over 150 years until its recent closure.

Unfortunately, during the period of closure prior to the current owner acquiring the venue, the Commercial Hotel Licence at the premises was allowed to lapse. As the process of acquiring a new Commercial Hotel Licence can be quite lengthy and includes in-depth community consultation and advertising an application was lodged with OLGR to waive the requirement for a full Community Impact Statement based on the previous operating history of the venue and its central proximity to other licenced operators. In this instance this application was denied given the length of time since the venue had operated as a licenced venue and a completely new application and full Community Impact Statement was requested by OLGR.

DWS worked very closely with the new operator to draw up the applications in time for the scheduled July opening. The full CIS was completed and lodged in record time gaining considerable support from the local community and community representatives.  After lodgement, the case officers at OLGR were outstanding in processing the applications and helping to ensure the Stumps Hotel was ready for its grand opening.

If you are considering a new licence application or a new bottle shop facility at your venue please contact Danny Nixon-Smith Danny@dws.net.au or Anna Davey anna@dws.net.au

Brothers Leagues Club Townsville

Congratulations are in order for all the team at Brothers Leagues Club in Townsville who have taken on the challenge of a second community club. The second site is a 30 machine bowls club located less than 5km from Brothers. Thuringowa City Bowls Club has been established since 1975 and Brothers Leagues Club have worked closely with them for a number of years.

DWS worked closely with the Board and Management at both Clubs to ensure the smooth transition of both liquor and gaming licences under the new ownership. We would like to wish Brothers the best of luck at this second site.

If you are considering acquiring an additional licenced site please contact Geoff Wohlsen geoff@dws.net.au or Anna Davey anna@dws.net.au

Eagle Tavern

In line with recent legislative dispensations permitting hotels to go from 40 to 45 machines, DWS has gained approval for an application lodged on behalf of Eagle Tavern to acquire 5 additional authorities. A number of venues are currently undergoing this process and it is pivotal that the correct documentation is lodged with OLGR to ensure the application can be processed quickly and effectively.  This application is not difficult however, an incomplete or incorrect application can slow the process right down and result in the application either being rejected or a series of back and forth follow up with OLGR.

If you require assistance to apply for additional machines at your venue please contact Geoff Wohlsen geoff@dws.net.au or Anna Davey anna@dws.net.au