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Home > Liquor > Resources > Incident register

Incident register

Late trading venues

By law, the licensee of any licensed premises that is authorised to sell or supply liquor after midnight at least once a week on a regular basis, is required to maintain an incident register, and record the details of any incident referred to in section 56 of the Liquor Act 2007 (and clause 27 of the Liquor Regulation 2008) that occurs outside of the standard trading period. The licensee must also record the details of any action that was taken in response to any such incident.

Declared premises

In the case of a venue that is listed as a declared premises under Schedule 4 of the Liquor Act 2007, the licensee must maintain an incident register and also record the details of any incident referred to in section 56 (or clause 27 of the Liquor Regulation 2008) that occurs at any time when the venue is trading. The licensee must also record the details of any action that was taken in response to any such incident.

Limited licences

In the case of a limited licence, the licensee must also maintain an incident register and record any incident (as referred to above) that occurs between midnight and 3am.

In all circumstances, the incident register must be in a form approved by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority.

All licensees of licensed premises are encouraged to maintain an incident register at all times. They are a useful compliance tool, and can form part of a venue’s responsible management and/or liquor accord practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an incident register?
Why do I need an incident register?
How do I make sure my venue’s incident register is properly maintained?
Is there a compulsory format?
What is the approved format?
Who views an incident register?
What should be put in an incident register?
Where do I buy an incident register?

What is an incident register?

An incident register allows licensees to record incidents involving violence and anti-social behaviour, as well as people being turned out of the premises under the provisions of the liquor laws.

Why do I need an incident register?

If you are the licensee of a venue that is authorised to sell or supply liquor after midnight at least once a week on a regular basis, or a venue that is listed as a declared premises under Schedule 4 of the Liquor Act, or you are the licensee of a limited licence that trades after midnight, you are required to maintain an incident register by law.

However, a licensee that maintains an incident register at all times should gain a better and more detailed understanding of events that may impact adversely on the safety of your venue and patrons. It will also help you to develop appropriate strategies to reduce the risk of alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour at your venue as well as improving responsible service of alcohol practices.

How do I make sure my venue's incident register is properly maintained?

If you are a licensee of a venue that is required by law to maintain an incident register, it is your responsibility to ensure that procedures are put in place to ensure that the incident register is being properly maintained. This may require you to delegate responsibility to duty managers or other key staff at your venue. If you do this, you should emphasise your legal obligations and the importance of maintaining the register in accordance with the requirements of the law.

It is also useful to educate all your staff as part of an induction or ongoing staff training program of the importance and value of maintaining an incident register so that they understand its importance in supporting a safe and responsible venue.

Regularly reviewing the recording of incidents with staff, as soon as possible after each incident, will help to ensure that incidents are recorded in a consistent and accurate manner.

Is there a compulsory format?

Yes, an incident register must be in a format approved by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority. The approved format is either the incident register available from OLGR or a bound book that has pre-numbered pages and the same incident report content areas as the OLGR-issued incident register.

What is the approved format?

There is now a new format as incident registers were updated in early April 2009. The new format was developed in consultation with the liquor industry and is designed to be more user-friendly. The latest version has two parts: the incident log book and the incident report book. Registers are A4 size and wiro bound for durability. They are produced with a flexible plastic cover to protect against spillages or damp surfaces.

Who views an incident register?

OLGR inspectors and police regularly review incident registers as part of their audit of a licensed premises. If you are required to maintain an incident register by law, failure to properly maintain an incident register may result in enforcement action.

What should be put in an incident register?

Sections 56 of the Liquor Act (and clause 27 of the Liquor Regulation) details the types of incidents that need to be recorded in the Incident Register. These include any incident:

However, licensees are encouraged to record any incident that they feel would be useful in gaining a better and more detailed understanding of events that may impact adversely on the safety of your venue and patrons. This may include any incident:

Where do I buy an incident register?

The register can be ordered from OLGR by:

Incident registers cost $20 each.

Bulk orders

Discounts are available for bulk orders of 100 or more – contact our Customer Service Team if you wish to make a bulk order.

Phone the Customer Service Team on 02 9995 0300 or visit Level 6, 323 Castlereagh St, Haymarket, Sydney (Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.30pm).