Level 35
201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Level 4
99 William Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Level 5
231 North Quay
Brisbane QLD 4000
Level 5
1 Farrell Place
Canberra ACT 2601
Level 10
111 St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000
Whilst licensed premises are designed to provide patrons with entertainment and good times, they don’t have to put up with certain behaviour.
We all know someone (or have been that someone) who has been asked to leave a licensed premises, just when they were getting ready to pull some moves or take on the reigning champ on the pool table.
It can be terribly difficult to understand at the time (usually due to that extra tequila shot you just sculled) but under the Liquor Control Act 1992 the law allows an authorised person to remove a patron from a licensed premises under numerous circumstances.
These include if the patron is unduly intoxicated, disorderly, creating a disturbance, a minor, has entered the premises despite being refused entry or refuses to provide evidence of their age when requested. In other words, any employee of that licensed premises can require you to leave without doing too much wrong at all.
Further to this, if you refuse to immediately leave after being requested, you are committing an offence liable to a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units (currently just over $6,300).
To matters worse, the law allows the authorised person to use ‘reasonable and necessary force’ to remove you from the premises. So, if you haven’t already learnt your lesson and left the premises, the authorised person (and no doubt several friends) can “escort” you out.
And if you think about taking on the bouncers, think again. Resisting this “escort” will result in a further offence and yes, a further maximum penalty of 50 penalty units.
The moral of the story is, “If you are being asked to leave a licensed premises, you are more than likely asking to be kicked out”.
Image Credit – Elizabeth Engle © 123RF.com
Contact Armstrong Legal:
Sydney: (02) 9261 4555
Melbourne: (03) 9620 2777
Brisbane: (07) 3229 4448
Canberra: (02) 6288 1100