Most Queensland licensed venues must have an individual licensee or an approved manager on duty whenever they trade. From 10am to midnight, and from 7am in any approved early hours, that person can be on site, or contactable by staff and no more than an hour's travel away; after midnight, in any approved hours, they must be on site in person. If the licence is held by a company, that person has to be an approved manager the company employs.
"Approved manager's licence" is the name most people use. Officially it is an approval as an approved manager, granted under the Liquor Act 1992 through the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR).
Key takeaways
- Bars, pubs, larger clubs, nightclubs and most other licensed venues need an individual licensee or approved manager present or reasonably available from 10am to midnight, and from 7am in any approved early hours.
- After midnight, in approved late hours, that person must be on site, not just reachable.
- Low-risk venues, such as restaurants and cafes licensed for meals, need no cover before 10pm, and none in ordinary hours if they close by midnight, unless a licence condition says otherwise.
- A company licensee must use approved managers it employs. Only an individual licensee can cover the hours personally or apply for an exemption.
- Approval lasts 5 years and costs $611.90 for 2026-27. The manager's RMLV certificate lasts 3 years and must stay current.
Which venues need an approved manager
The rules are in sections 155AC to 155AF of the Liquor Act 1992. They apply to licensed premises and permit premises while they are open for business, with a short list of exceptions:
- premises where liquor is served only by volunteers under a community club licence, community other licence, community liquor permit or restricted liquor permit;
- craft beer producer permits and artisan spirits producer permits;
- a boat licensed under a subsidiary on-premises licence.
Everyone else is covered, but where the person must be depends on the licence. Under OLGR's Guideline 43, a commercial hotel needs its approved manager at the main premises, not at a detached or attached bottle shop. A producer/wholesaler licence needs one at the main licensed premises, not the storage facility. A commercial special facility needs cover for each separate outlet in the licensed area.
Some venues are treated as low risk, which changes the hours they must cover:
- a subsidiary on-premises licence where meals are the principal activity (a restaurant or cafe);
- a community club licence with 2,000 or fewer members;
- a community other licence;
- a restricted liquor permit.
The approved manager hours: present or reasonably available
Ordinary trading hours for most licensed premises are 10am to midnight. During those hours, and during any approved extended hours from 7am to 10am, an individual licensee or approved manager must be present or reasonably available.
- Present means at the premises, acting as the approved manager and in control of the premises.
- Reasonably available means readily contactable by every person serving or supplying liquor there, and no more than 1 hour's travel away. The commissioner can extend that travel time for a particular licensee or manager.
After midnight the rule tightens. In approved extended hours the person must be present on site until:
- 2am, for most venues;
- 3am, for premises in a safe night precinct;
- 5am, under a commercial special facility licence for an airport or casino, or under an extended hours permit.
Low-risk venues follow two variations:
- Closed by midnight: no approved manager is required in ordinary trading hours or from 7am to 10am.
- Open past midnight: cover starts from 10pm, and someone must be on site in the approved hours after midnight.
| Hours | Most venues | Low-risk, closes by midnight | Low-risk, open past midnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7am to 10am (approved extended hours) | Present or reasonably available | Not required | Not required |
| 10am to 10pm | Present or reasonably available | Not required | Not required |
| 10pm to midnight | Present or reasonably available | Not required | Present or reasonably available |
| After midnight (approved hours) | Present on site | Not open | Present on site |
Even then, the commissioner can put a condition on a licence that requires an approved manager to be present, not just reachable, in ordinary hours, and that power applies to low-risk venues too. Your licence conditions are the final word for your venue. If you are planning later hours, our extended trading hours page and our guide to one-off or permanent late hours explain the applications.
What an approved manager's licence costs in Queensland
A new 5-year approval costs $611.90, and renewal costs the same, according to the Australian Government's ABLIS listing for the OLGR approval, which gives these as the fees for 2026-27 (checked 11 November 2026). The Liquor Regulation 2002 sets both at 540.10 fee units, and at the 2026-27 fee unit value of $1.133 that works out to $611.93, within a few cents of the listed figure.
RMLV training is arranged directly with an approved training provider and is not part of the OLGR fee. Fees are reset each financial year, so check the current amount before you lodge.
How a manager gets approved
Under Part 5C of the Liquor Act 1992, the applicant must be an individual, must not be a licensee, and must hold a current Responsible Management of Licensed Venues (RMLV) certificate. That rules out an individual licensee: they cover the hours themselves instead. The ABLIS listing adds that the applicant must be 18 or over.
- Complete RMLV training. It is run only by OLGR-approved trainers, takes at least 10 hours, and is delivered in person over 2 days or by videoconference within 7 consecutive days. See OLGR's RMLV training page.
- Apply to OLGR. Apply through OLGR's online portal, or post Form 82, the Application for liquor and gaming individual employees, with a copy of the RMLV certificate and the fee.
- Suitability check. The commissioner approves only a suitable person and may consider the applicant's knowledge of the Act, their understanding of an approved manager's obligations, their reputation and any prescribed convictions. OLGR can obtain a police criminal history report.
- Approval for 5 years. The approval lasts 5 years unless cancelled, and it cannot be transferred to another person.
- Renew on time. A renewal can be lodged from 4 months to 2 months before the approval ends. Lodged in that window, the approval stays in force until OLGR decides, unless the application is withdrawn or lapses.
The two clocks catch people out. The approval runs for 5 years, but the RMLV certificate is current for only 3, so a manager has to redo RMLV partway through the approval to stay eligible.
GET HELP WITH YOUR LICENCE
Opening, buying or restructuring a venue? We can look at how your licence, hours and staffing fit together as part of your application, starting with a free initial consult.
How many approved managers to roster
The Act does not set a number. It asks the licensee to take reasonable steps to have an approved manager present or reasonably available during the required hours, and OLGR assesses those steps case by case. Guideline 43 adds that a separate approved manager or individual licensee must be on duty for each day a premises trades, and should be present for most of the operating hours, especially the higher-risk periods.
In practice that means rostering enough approved managers to cover every trading day, late shifts and leave, not only the busiest nights. Take a hypothetical bar that trades seven days a week to midnight, with approved hours to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays: it needs an individual licensee or approved manager present or reachable every trading day and on site after midnight on those two nights. With one manager on each shift, a single approved manager leaves no cover for days off, sickness or leave, so a roster like that usually rests on more than one.
Keep the paperwork at the venue too. The licensee must hold copies of each approved manager's current RMLV certificate at the premises and show them to an investigator on request. The maximum penalty is 50 penalty units ($8,635 at the 2026-27 penalty unit value of $172.70) for missing approved manager cover, and 100 penalty units ($17,270) for not having the certificate copies. A simple register of each manager's approval and RMLV expiry dates helps you avoid both.
When the venue needs more than a manager's approval
Some situations need an application to OLGR or a careful look at the licence. These are the ones worth talking through with us:
- An owner-operator who needs to be away. Under section 155AF, an individual licensee can apply to the commissioner for an exemption from the presence requirement for a continuous absence of up to 3 months. The commissioner decides, and grants it only after reasonable but unsuccessful efforts to engage approved managers, and only if the licence and the venue's risk-assessed management plan will still be followed. Guideline 43 (2022) gives the example of a remote or rural licensee who regularly travels to a nearby town during trading hours and nominates an RSA-trained person to be in control while away. It also says a licensee with no compliance issues may apply for an ongoing exemption for absences such as annual leave, subject to the commissioner.
- A regional or remote operator. The commissioner can extend the 1-hour travel time for a particular licensee or manager, considering the venue's principal activity, the nature and extent of the business, its location and the availability of trained staff.
- A condition on your licence. If your licence already requires an approved manager to be present, the roster has to meet the condition, not just the Act's general rule. Changing a condition is its own application to OLGR, and our page on changing a liquor licence or its conditions explains how we help with it.
- A new licence, a transfer or a purchase. When you are applying for a liquor licence, taking over a licence through a transfer or working through our checklist for buying a licensed venue, it pays to settle who will hold approval and cover each trading day before you start trading.
What to send us
Send these details and we can talk you through what OLGR guidance expects for your licence:
- your licence type (or the licence you are applying for);
- your ordinary trading hours and any approved extended hours;
- the number of sites, and any bottle shops or outlets;
- whether the licence is held by a person or a company;
- how many approved managers you have, and each one's RMLV expiry date.
Frequently asked questions
Our licence is held by a company: who has to be on site?
An approved manager the company employs. Under section 155AD(2) of the Liquor Act 1992, a company licensee must take reasonable steps to ensure a person it employs as an approved manager is present or reasonably available in the required hours, and present after midnight. A director who wants to cover shifts needs their own approval and must be employed by the company as an approved manager. The 3-month exemption in section 155AF is for individual licensees only.
Do I need an approved manager if I hold the licence myself?
Not if you cover the hours yourself. An individual licensee can be the person present or reasonably available, and must hold a current RMLV certificate. You cannot also apply for an approved manager's approval, so for any hours you are not there, you need approved managers on the roster.
Can I get an exemption if I run the venue myself?
You can apply, if you are an individual licensee. The commissioner decides, and grants an exemption for a continuous absence of up to 3 months only if satisfied you have made reasonable but unsuccessful efforts to find approved managers, and that the licence and your risk-assessed management plan will still be followed.
Does a restaurant or cafe need an approved manager?
A restaurant or cafe on a subsidiary on-premises licence (meals) is low risk. If it closes by midnight, no approved manager is required in ordinary hours. If it trades past midnight, cover is needed from 10pm and on site after midnight. A licence condition can still require more. Our restaurant and cafe licence checklist covers the rest of that licence.
How long does approval last, and how do I renew?
Five years. Lodge the renewal between 4 months and 2 months before it ends, and keep the RMLV certificate current along the way, because RMLV lasts 3 years.
Do I need RSA as well as RMLV?
No. OLGR's mandatory training page treats an RMLV holder as already trained in the responsible service of alcohol, so a separate RSA course is not needed.
This guide is general information about Queensland's rules as at 11 November 2026, not legal advice. Fees and guidance change, and your licence conditions may set stricter requirements, so check them against your own licence before you rely on them, or ask us to look at them with you.
GET HELP WITH YOUR LICENCE
Tell us your licence type, trading hours and who is on your roster. We will look at what OLGR guidance expects and what your application involves, starting with a free initial consult.
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