Roxburgh Holdings Pty Ltd v Pierce

Roxburgh Holdings Pty Ltd sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia. The dispute concerned an application made by Roxburgh Holdings for a hotel licence under section 26 of the *Liquor Licensing Act 1985* (SA) for a high-quality tavern and cocktail bar facility, with the specific intention of not selling packaged liquor for consumption off the premises. The Licensing Court had granted the licence, but the Full Court, by a majority of two to one, allowed an appeal by the respondents and dismissed the application.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Licensing Court had the power to impose a condition prohibiting the sale of liquor for consumption off the premises as part of a hotel licence granted under section 26 of the Act. This issue arose from the majority decision of the Full Court, which held that such a condition could not be lawfully imposed. The applicant argued that section 50 of the Act, particularly section 50(4)(c), provided the necessary statutory authority for the imposition of such a condition.

The applicant contended that section 50 of the *Liquor Licensing Act 1985* (SA) conferred power on the Licensing Court to attach conditions to licences, and that this power extended to prohibiting off-premises sales for a hotel licence. The applicant highlighted that this section was a significant departure from previous licensing legislation in South Australia. The majority of the Full Court, however, concluded that the Licensing Court lacked the power to impose the specific condition prohibiting off-premises sales on a section 26 hotel licence. The applicant sought special leave to appeal on grounds related to this determination.