The ever-chang­ing land­scape of hos­pi­tal­i­ty laws in Aus­tralia can be chal­leng­ing. At Swaab we work with hotel pro­pri­etors, fran­chisors, and pri­vate busi­ness own­ers to ensure their needs are being met and so they can remain ahead of the game.

The hotel and hos­pi­tal­i­ty indus­try in Aus­tralia is gov­erned by numer­ous Acts and legal frame­works, stay­ing updat­ed with these laws is cru­cial, espe­cial­ly with recent changes like the ​‘lock-out’ laws and liquor licence freeze in parts of Sydney.

Under­stand­ing your legal oblig­a­tions is essen­tial to pro­tect your busi­ness from poten­tial legal issues. If you’re enter­ing the hos­pi­tal­i­ty indus­try, buy­ing, or rede­vel­op­ing a hotel, seek­ing the right legal advice can help you cost effec­tive­ly man­age all your com­pli­ance and trans­ac­tion­al obligations.

Our Team

Portrait photograph of Julie Briscoe
Julie Briscoe
Partner
Portrait photograph of Gerald Carides
Gerald Carides
Partner
Portrait photograph of Mary Digiglio
Mary Digiglio
Managing Partner
Portrait photograph of Michael Byrnes
Michael Byrnes
Partner
Portrait photograph of Carly Lennan
Carly Lennan
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Madeleine Lipman
Madeleine Lipman
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Stevie-Lee Nobbs
Stevie-Lee Nobbs
Associate
Portrait photograph of Peter Bournas
Peter Bournas
Special Counsel

We spe­cialis­es in hos­pi­tal­i­ty leg­is­la­tion and reg­u­la­tions. Our team is well-versed in the issues affect­ing the indus­try and can pro­vide com­pre­hen­sive legal advice. 

Our ser­vice offer­ing includes:

  • Liquor Licens­ing
  • Buy­ing Busi­ness­es with Exist­ing Liquor Licenses
  • Gam­ing Laws
  • Employ­ment, Work­place Health and Safe­ty, and Anti-Dis­crim­i­na­tion Laws
  • Con­tract Draft­ing and Review
  • Advice on Hos­pi­tal­i­ty Indus­try Award and Wage Rates
  • Food Safe­ty Stan­dards Compliance
  • Hotel Lia­bil­i­ty Issues
  • Com­mer­cial Leases
  • Prop­er­ty Transactions
  • Noise Restric­tions

Use­ful links:

No mat­ter how rou­tine or com­plex the busi­ness issues you face, Mer­i­tas’ net­work of law firms is with you every step of the way. Mar­ket-lead­ing firms offer a full range of legal ser­vices, which enable you to do busi­ness any­where. Wise coun­sel and prac­ti­cal solu­tions are just a phone call or e‑mail away. Dis­cov­er the breadth and depth of the prac­tice and indus­try sec­tor capa­bil­i­ties avail­able to you through Meritas.

Publications

Baby Priya’s Bill: Land­mark Fair Work Amend­ment Pro­tect­ing Paid Parental Leave After Child Loss

Baby Priya’s Bill amends the Fair Work Act to pro­tect employ­er-fund­ed paid parental leave for par­ents after child loss, still­birth…

Stra­ta Law Changes — Effec­tive 27 Octo­ber 2025

What do the lat­est NSW stra­ta law changes mean for own­ers and com­mit­tees? On 27 Octo­ber 2025, the next stage…

How does statu­to­ry inter­pre­ta­tion impact build­ing dis­putes in NSW?

How does statu­to­ry inter­pre­ta­tion impact build­ing dis­putes in NSW? Writ­ten laws like the Home Build­ing Act, build­ing codes, and indus­try…

In the News

Michael Byrnes on Ris­ing Unfair Dis­missal Claims | Lawyers Weekly

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Why are unfair dis­missal claims on the rise?”, pub­lished in Lawyers Week­ly on…

Con­grat­u­la­tions Michael Byrnes for being recog­nised as a Mon­daq Thought Lead­ing Author for Employ­ment and HR, Aus­tralia in the Autumn 2025 awards.

Mondaq’s Thought Lead­er­ship Awards, released twice a year in Autumn and Spring, cel­e­brate authors whose insights have attract­ed the high­est read­er­ship…

Can you dis­miss an employ­ee for look­ing for anoth­er job?

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Can you dis­miss an employ­ee for look­ing for anoth­er job?”, pub­lished in HRM…