With thousands of licensed venues operating across every state and territory, liquor licence data rarely sits still for long. New licences are granted, existing ones are transferred, suspended or surrendered, and ownership changes hands. Staying on top of that movement is exactly what the Drinks Association's National Liquor Licence Database is built for.
One place for the full national picture
Rather than piecing information together state by state, the database consolidates liquor licence activity from every state and territory into a single, easy-to-use platform, updated daily. Users can search and filter directly within the database, download the LicenceDetailSummary.csv file, or connect via API to feed the data straight into their own systems.
The scale of the movement
The volume of activity the database tracks each month gives a sense of why a consolidated, daily-updated source matters. In July, 1,504 licence movements were recorded nationally, up from 1,460 in June. Transfers were the biggest driver of that increase, rising from 227 to 323 across the month, while 335 new licences were added and 200 licences moved into suspended status. It's this kind of month-to-month shift, across every licence type and every state, that the database is designed to track continuously so users don't have to chase it themselves.
That detail extends down to the state level too. Victoria recorded the most new licences in July (103), ahead of New South Wales (71) and Queensland (60). It's also worth noting where surrenders and suspensions were concentrated: New South Wales accounted for 27.7% of July's combined total, whereas in June it was Western Australia that led the way, at 26.2%.
Reports that do the tracking for you
The Weekly Licence Movement Report is published every Friday, alongside a Monthly Licence Count and a Monthly Banner Movement Report and Banner Count. These give a structured, recurring update on exactly the kind of activity outlined above.
Put to work across the business
Subscribers use the database in a range of ways, including to:
- maintain accurate customer master data and CRM records
- identify and resolve duplicate records in ERP systems
- verify active licence status during customer onboarding
- reconcile rebates and wholesaler claims with confidence
- track name, ownership and banner changes as they happen
- identify new business opportunities through location and licence data
- support retail expansion and e-commerce planning with reliable geographic data
Accessing the database
The National Liquor Licence and Retail Banner Database is a Core Service available at no additional cost to all Category One Members of the Drinks Association. It is also available as a standalone subscription for suppliers, wholesalers and other businesses.
To find out more or arrange an obligation-free session with the Drinks Association's Services Team, contact Kylie Le Lievre at kyliel@drinks.asn.au.