Published on 23/10/2020 by Any Business.Com.Au

Australian Cafe Licences and Permits

Australian Café Licences and Permits You Can't Go Without

When opening your new café, it can be easy to get distracted by all the glamorous things like taste-testing your menu and redesigning the décor. But to make sure you can legally open your doors to the public, you will need to ensure you have all the right licenses in place to operate your café.Every business in Australia requires a number of licences to operate within the bounds of Australian law, and as a café owner, there are a broad range of licences which cover your business activities, with everything from serving food to playing music covered by a licence.

What is a licence?

A licence is a government approval, registration or permit which regulates the activities, events, services, locations, equipment and operations of your café. In other words, it's one of the most important parts of your business.With each licence, regulating authorities permit your café to partake in certain activities such as selling food, supplying alcohol, or having outdoors seating. There are thousands of Australian licences, each one specific to an industry, service, product or location.A licence allows your café to do things within certain rules and regulations. Break the rules and you risk losing your licence. And if you perform an activity without permission, you could face hefty penalties and your business can be forced to close until you've successfully obtained the appropriate licences. So don't be caught out!

Which licences do I need?

Sadly, this isn't an easy question to answer. Licences differ from state to state and within councils. Some licences are established by federal bodies, but most are at a state level, and many licences regarding property and development are governed by your local council.The best place to find out exactly which licences you need is to conduct a search with the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS). An ABLIS search will specify what licences you need in your area, so you can narrow this down by state or postcode to see what applies at each government level.For more direction on which licences you need and how to apply for them, it's important to consult a lawyer or business advisor who can help you identify which licences your business needs and help you with your application. The following are a summary of the types of licences your café will need:

Food standards code & food business licence

To produce, prepare and sell food you must to adhere to the food standards code, and also carry the relevant food business licence for your state. You may need separate licences to sell packaged or unpackaged foods.Generally your local council will manage the licencing for your food business. As a licence holder you will be subject to food safety checks, and you'll be responsible to ensuring the food safety of your café is of the highest standards.

Approval for outdoor dining in a public place

If you intend on using the footpath or an adjoining outdoor area as an alfresco dining space for your café you must apply with your local council to use this space.The council will check the suitability of the space for use, and provide limits and regulations to how you can use these spaces.

Waste disposal

Depending on your council, you may need to gain approvals for how and when you can dispose your café's waste, and whether you can leave it on the street to be picked up or will need to discard it yourself.If you have a contractor who collects your waste you may need to talk to the council about how and where they pick your waste up from, and if you plan to leave waste in a public space for collection your council may require you to have a permit to do so.

Music Licences

If you plan on playing background music in your café or having live performances, you'll need to apply for a music licence with Australasian Performing Right Association/Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (APRA AMCOS).APRA AMCOS licences are valid Australia-wide, with a background music (general) license covering most activities. It will protect you from breaking copyright laws by playing copyrighted music in a public place.

Liquor Licence

If you want to sell alcohol in your venue, you should ensure you hold the appropriate liquor licences. And don't forget, if you sell liquor to your customers, your staff serving the alcohol must hold Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) qualifications.

Where do I get the licences I need?

The ABLIS search will generally direct you to an online application form or provide a PDF version of each form to print, complete and mail to the relevant body. Remember when searching with the ABLIS search to keep your location ultra-specific – by just specifying your state you will only see licences at national and state level and may miss important council licences.Licences do cost money to apply for and renew, so make sure you budget their purchase and renewal each year so you aren't caught out. This is especially important before you open as the process of obtaining licences can be quite expensive.To ensure you've dotted all your I's and crossed all your T's, it's best to consult a lawyer or business advisor about the licences you need before you open. They may also be able to help you with the application process to increase your chance of success!

Ready to Buy Your Business?

Ready to launch yourself into the next step? Start searching for a café business today in your chosen location. Head over to our search page to discover the options out there for you.To learn more about owning a café, check out the following articles:Handy Hints for Marketing Your CaféTop Café Industry Bodies in Australia You Need to Know About*Keep 'Em Happy: Hiring and Managing Café Staff

AnyBusiness.com.au

Mary is the founder of AnyBusiness.com.au. She has a degree in Business from Monash University and been helping showcase businesses for sale for over 10 years. In the course of running her own business and working daily with business owners and brokers she has developed a keen sense of the Australian market for businesses for sale and shares her knowledge on this blog and others such as female.com.au

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