Tony Schwartz

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Director AND Lawyer

Tony oversees the Liquor Licensing and Gaming Department at BSV.  What sets him (and our team) apart is that he cares about the outcome and the consequences for his clients. Tony provides prompt and where necessary very urgent advice.  He is dedicated to working very hard in the interests of his clients to achieve the best result.

Tony is a recognised industry expert in this field, with over 42 years of experience (30 where he also authored McDonald’s Licensing and Gaming Laws NSW textbook). 

Tony is passionate about not only providing accurate, prompt and cost-effective advice, but importantly finding practical solutions for his clients. Due to Tony’s unparalleled experience in liquor and gaming laws, he has built a solid reputation and long list of satisfied clients (many who are repeat clients).  As a result, Tony is sought out by many hospitality industry operators, other legal firms, architects, interior designers and planning experts.

Contact

Phone: (02) 8383 3777

Email:  tschwartz@bsv.com.au

Overview

Tony holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Sydney (1979). His authorship of McDonald’s Licensing Laws and Gaming Laws places him in a unique position where he is constantly across the continuous changes in the legal and practical requirements of the liquor and gaming laws. His Lexis Nexis profile can be found at LexisNexis. Examples of Media coverage surrounding involvement in a matter curtailing the power of the NSW Police in approving managers of licensed premises is found here and of his representation of a hotel client’s interests at a hearing with the NSWL&G on a substantial disturbance complaint can be found here. Many of his clients simply find it difficult to navigate the NSW licensing laws and therefore seek his specialist assistance to undertake the process in the most efficient way, as noted in this link.

Tony’s clients range from small restaurants or café operators through to developers who require assistance with the licensing of major sites, to multinational companies who run a significant number of licensed venues throughout Australia.  His clients operate (or propose to operate) hotels, bars, clubs, bottle shops, restaurants, catering services, wholesale businesses, resorts, internet businesses, entertainment and accommodation venues, and producing businesses (i.e. beer, wine or spirits). He has represented the interests of the Woolworth Group Limited since 1996 (and now the Endeavour Group Limited) in their significant portfolio of BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores.

Tony and his team are enthusiastic in assisting the growth of those chains in NSW.  The projects recently completed can be found on our Latest News page.

Experience

  • Acquisition and disposal of assets. Tony provides expert advice (including to other law firms) on the commercial aspects of a transaction when selling or acquiring a liquor licence. This work includes the due diligence exercise, advice on financing, advising on (or redrafting) special conditions for leases, contracts for sale or security documents (such as charges), and arranging the transfer of the licence at settlement.

  • Acting in and assisting with advice in the most complicated and difficult licensing and gaming related matters before different legal, statutory or public authorities, tribunals and Courts.

  • Applications for new grants of liquor licences (or the removal of existing licences), change of boundaries, change licence conditions, extended trading authorisations, minor area authorisations, primary service authorisations and the like matters.

  • Gaming related matters including sales, acquisitions, associated operational matters, increasing gaming machine thresholds, transfer of gaming machine entitlements and the like matters.

  • He has prepared countless community impact statements, social impact assessments, public interest assessments and local impact assessments. These documents have covered a broad jurisdiction (including Western Australia) and have been lodged with local consent authorities (to support the issue of a planning approval) or the applicable Licensing Authority.

  • Preparing submissions opposing an application (i.e why an application should be refused).

  • Defending parties in investigations, complaints or prosecutions instigated by the NSW Police, the NSW Liquor and Gaming or NSW ILGA, together with acting on other operational issues including compliance and regulatory matters, lease disputes, gaming machine entitlement issues, trading hour disputes, disputes involving restrictive conditions and the like matters. These are matters that are before either the local consent authority, NSW Liquor and Gaming or the NSW ILGA.

  • Appearing before the NSW NCAT on reviews, or appeals before the NSW Supreme Court.

  • Expert witness in proceedings involving liquor or gaming practice and procedure.

  • Providing lectures or hosting seminars on licensing and gaming law (for other law firms, the Young Lawyers of NSW, the NSW State Legal Conference, the Regional Law Society, Liquor Accords and to private industry conferences and groups).