Liquorland (Australia) Pty Ltd v Woolworths Limited

Liquorland (Australia) Pty Ltd appealed to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia against a decision of the Licensing Court to refuse its application for a retail liquor merchant’s licence. The proposed licence was for a Liquorland store to be located within the Park Holme Shopping Centre, which already housed a Coles supermarket and various other retail outlets. The respondents included existing liquor retailers and hoteliers in the vicinity.

The primary legal issue before the Full Court was whether the Licensing Court Judge had correctly applied section 58(2) of the Liquor Licensing Act 1997 (SA). This section requires an applicant for a retail liquor merchant’s licence to demonstrate that existing licensed premises in the locality do not adequately cater for public demand for liquor for off-premises consumption, and that the licence is necessary to satisfy that demand. A related issue concerned the Judge’s failure to specifically define the "locality" for the purposes of this assessment.

The Full Court considered the evidence presented regarding the existing retail landscape and public demand. While acknowledging the Judge’s omission in failing to define the locality, the Court found this did not affect the outcome, as the boundaries proposed by the parties' planning experts were largely consistent. The Court reasoned that refusing an application based on a trend towards larger discount liquor stores would unfairly skew the competitive market. It held that if a retailer seeks to compete by meeting a specific demand, such as "one-stop shopping" for convenience, this should not be denied simply because larger stores exist.

By majority, the Full Court allowed the appeal. Kourakis CJ and Parker J concluded that the evidence clearly established the necessity of the proposed licence to satisfy public demand for off-premises liquor consumption in the locality. Peek J, however, would have dismissed the appeal, agreeing with the reasoning of Parker J.