Liquorland (Aust) Pty Ltd v Woolies Liquor Stores Pty Ltd

Liquorland (Aust) Pty Ltd and Woolies Liquor Stores Pty Ltd were the parties involved in this matter before the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia. The dispute concerned an application for a liquor licence, specifically the determination of the relevant "locality" for the purposes of assessing the impact of the proposed licensed premises on the neighbourhood.

The court was required to determine the geographical boundaries of the locality relevant to the application for a liquor licence. This involved considering how to define the "neighbourhood or locality" in the context of liquor licensing, and whether the proposed premises fell within that defined area, taking into account the expected patronage of the existing and proposed licensed premises.

The court considered evidence from local residents and previous Licensing Court decisions that had defined the locality in earlier, related matters. However, it noted that significant changes had occurred in the area since those earlier decisions, including commercial expansion and demographic shifts, diminishing their direct applicability. The trial judge favoured an approach that identified the locality by reference to the catchment area of the existing supermarket at the Athelstone Shopping Centre, deeming it more logical than an alternative approach that proposed a fixed radius. This approach focused on the physical locality of potential patrons, excluding transient trade, and assessing whether the proposed premises were within the same community.