Later and louder: NSW rips up regulations in pursuit of vibrant summer

NSW venues offering live music or entertainment will be able to trade later and avoid vexatious noise complaints under a suite of reforms aimed at boosting vibrancy in the night-time economy ahead of summer.

The package, to be introduced in parliament on Thursday, attempts to stop noise-averse neighbours from pestering bars and pubs with complaints by putting Liquor and Gaming NSW in charge and simplifying a system that can involve as many as seven agencies.

The Duke in Enmore. Labor wants to double the number of suburban and regional live music venues in four years.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

Subjective environmental planning laws that shield residents from noise they find offensive will be replaced by an objective decibel test, and five individual complainants will be required to trigger a review of a venue’s licence.

“We are stopping the great NSW sport of single-neighbour, serial complaints that close down venues,” Arts, Music and Night-time Economy Minister John Graham said.

Statewide, venues with live music will be allowed to stay open two hours later than their licence otherwise allows – up from the current one-hour bonus, which few venues actually utilised. This applies to venues with live performances, art or cultural events after 8pm at least twice a week.

COVID-era changes that made outdoor dining easier and cheaper will become permanent, such as removing the need for al fresco areas to go through a full development application process.

The government also wants to export the success of the Enmore Road “special entertainment precinct” to other Sydney suburbs by making the model more appealing to local councils. Chiefly, councils won’t need to handle noise complaints and can refer them to Liquor and Gaming.

But the liberalisation won’t come for free: the government is preparing to increase fees in the hospitality and entertainment sector to help cover the $58 million cost of the changes.

“As a government we know we need to change the laws in this state to value music, to value creativity, to support community and to bring back vibrancy,” Graham said.

James Thorpe, whose Odd Culture Group owns venues such as The Duke of Enmore and the Old Fitzroy, said the reforms would give operators more protection and certainty. “They are not complete, but it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.

The moves follow a survey undertaken by the government in September which found only half of NSW residents had participated in the nighttime economy in the preceding week. That included simply going to a bar or restaurant.

Publican James Thorpe said the package was a good start but there is more to do.Credit: Cole Bennetts

Asked whether they had participated in a leisure or entertainment activity outside the home after 6pm in the past seven days, 48 per cent said they had, rising to 54 per cent in Greater Sydney. The figure was higher (64 per cent) for 18 to 39-year-olds and lower (33 per cent) for those over 60.

The government has an ambitious goal of doubling the number of live music venues across NSW after the state lost about half of those venues over the past 10 years of lockouts and lockdowns.

Thursday’s package stops short of major reforms to liquor licensing, which the government has in mind for a second tranche of reforms next year. But it will remove some duplications in the liquor licence consultation process, and extend the standard Sunday closing time from 10pm to midnight, in line with the rest of the week.

Alison Flett, owner of the Great Club in Marrickville.Credit: Steven Siewert

The Great Club in Marrickville was subject to a formal disturbance complaint which led Liquor and Gaming to ban outdoor speakers at the venue in July. Owner Alison Flett said the planned changes were exciting, but would not amount to much if authorities continued to indulge complainants.

“It’s one thing to be listened to, and another thing to act on it and waste people’s time and their resources,” she said.

Pat Bates, director of Wollongong live music venue La La La’s, said the easing of outdoor dining regulations during COVID showed how quickly the rules could be thrown out “when everybody’s willing to be in the same room and make things happen”.

The usual approach involved “very little guidance, a lot of fees and a lot of paperwork”, he said.

Incidents are rare at Bates’ venue, but he still has to adhere to strict licensing rules, such as a mandate for two security guards if more than 100 people are in the venue, and a ban on people standing up outside after midnight.

“There’s a significant financial burden which comes from those,” he said.

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