ROGUE NSW nightclubs and pubs with poor compliance records will be slugged with thousands of dollars of yearly licensing fees, the state government has announced.
Venues currently pay a small one-off application fee for a new or existing liquor licence, regardless of how long the licence remains in existence.
From July, venues will have to pay a yearly fee, which will be calculated based on a number of risk factors, such as the venue's capacity, location and operating hours.
Venues with a poor compliance history will also pay more.
The announcement has been slammed by clubs and bottle shops as being unfair but welcomed by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) which hailed it as a positive move against alcohol-fuelled violence.
State Hospitality Minister George Souris says the changes will make licensed venues safer.
"This scheme will hit bad venues where it hurts most - the hip pocket - and encourage good operators to stay on their game," Mr Souris said on Friday.
Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing executive director Paul Newson said the plan targets "rogue licensees" with bad records and could have some venues paying up to $24,500 in fees a year.
"Do the right thing and you will pay a modest annual fee," he told reporters.
"Do the wrong thing and you will pay more."
Mr Souris stressed that three-quarters of the state's 18,400 licensees would only pay a base fee of between $100 and $500 a year.
AMA NSW president associate professor Brian Owler said the announcement was a positive move towards combating drunken violence.
"There is now a financial incentive to make sure venues do comply with the responsible service of alcohol and in reducing the number of violent incidents that occur in their premises and around them," he told AAP.
But ClubsNSW chief Anthony Ball said the industry could not understand why registered clubs were being treated the same as pubs and nightclubs under the changes.
"Venues which fail to comply with the law should be the main focus of any licensing system which aims to tackle anti-social behaviour," he said.
"Those venues deserve to be targeted, but punishing good community clubs simply doesn't make sense."
John Green, from the Australian Hotels Association, hoped the money raised from the licensing fees would go towards improving infrastructure for the late night economy, including on more transport, policing and on better lighting.
The Liquor Stores Association of NSW said the "disappointing" changes penalise responsible packaged liquor store owners "simply for having more than three stores".
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