South Sydney Graphic Arts Club has been forced to shut for 24 hours after being caught serving minors alcohol.
The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority suspended the club’s liquor licence for the offence, which was detected by NSW Police on August 4, 2018. This meant the club was prevented from trading on Monday, January 27.
During a covert operation, police identified three young patrons aged 16 and 17 sitting in a restricted area drinking bottles of beer.
Police questioned the young patrons, resulting in one aged 16 stating he’d bought the beers at the bar, and the staff member failed to ask for identification.
Two other staff members indicated to police they were suspicious as to the age of the minors but acknowledged they did nothing to ascertain their age.
The staff member responsible for serving the minor was issued a penalty notice by the NSW Police. None of the staff members involved are now employed by the club.
Under the Minors Sanctions Scheme, the Authority can hand out escalating penalties to venues found guilty of serving minors alcohol, which includes licence suspensions of up to 28 days.
In handing out the penalty, the Authority noted that the venue had no adverse history of compliance issues with its liquor licence. Further, the police were of the opinion that the offence was a result of individual failing, not a managerial or cultural issue.
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