The MCEC (Venue) has sole rights for the sale and distribution of any article of food or drink for consumption on-site however the Venue understands that sampling is a key part of the exhibition experience.

The sampling of alcohol is permitted at the venue provided exhibitors notify the Organisers of their intent to sample and ensure that they meet all local and state government liquor and food safety regulations and prepare all the necessary forms.

The MCEC has sole rights for the sale and distribution of any article of food or drink for consumption on-site.

Exhibitor’s wishing to sample wine, beer or spirits at any Diversified show in Melbourne must do the following:

1. Login and complete the Sampling Alcohol Form no later than Monday 22, July 2024 
2. Complete a Major Event Licence Application online and upload licence to the Online Exhibitor Manual no later than Monday 22, July 2024.
   – Exhibitor MUST upload a red line plan as part of the Major Event License Application. Please email [email protected] to request your unique red line plan to upload to your application.
   – An example template of what information to submit can be downloaded here to assist you in completing the application
3. Upload copies of all staff RSA Certificates
4. Log onto FoodTrader and complete a Certificate of Temporary Food Registration and lodge a Statement of Trade

Applications must be submitted by Monday 22, July 2024. Applications made after this date are not guaranteed to be processed by Liquor Control Victoria.

The final hard copy of licenses will be distributed to the respective stall-holders onsite.

Vigneron or Wine and Beer Licenses 
Please note that exhibitors with a Vigneron or Wine and Beer Licence will still need to apply for a Major Event License.

NOTE: Any exhibitor found sampling portions larger than the venue guidelines above will be charged a fee per day by the venue.

Sampling is providing any food or beverages to visitors for consumption (i.e., a small ‘taste’).

Note: the word selling and sampling in all Local Council food safety information refer to the same – i.e. money does not need to exchange hands for it to be considered sampling.

Please Note:

• Water must be available on your stand if you are sampling alcohol
• All items being sampled must be directly related to the exhibitors core business
• Sale of alcohol onsite is forbidden, however orders can be taken and fulfilled at a later date. Exhibitors are also allowed to display their product
• Exhibitors who submit forms late risk not being able to sample their products
• Extra cleaning charges incurred through spillage or the removal of food/wet waste will be the responsibility of the Exhibitor

RSA is compulsory for anyone serving alcohol.

Victorian Exhibitors
For a Victorian RSA qualification to be valid it must have been issued within the last 3 years. If your RSA was over 3 years ago you must complete a new RSA course.

The approved RSA course in Victoria is SITHFAB021. If you have completed Provide responsible service of alcohol (RSA) course (SITHFAB002) these certificates are still valid.
Your RSA does not expire, but you need to refresh it every three years via https://liquor.justice.vic.gov.au/rsa_refresher 

Interstate Exhibitors & Bridging Courses 
Provided your RSA certificate has been issued in the past 3 years, interstate exhibitors can complete a bridging course to obtain a Victorian RSA by using the link below and following the directions:
• Access the RSA bridging course at https://liquor.vcglr.vic.gov.au/rsa_refresher/BridgingCourseApplication.aspx
• When you successfully complete the course, save your certificate of completion and upload to the Online Exhibitor Manual Alcohol Sampling Form

NOTE: Interstate staff who are supplying liquor at producers events, which are one-off or short-term events are no longer required to apply for mutual recognition if they have either a current Victorian RSA certificate or a Statement of Attainment from the Nationally Accredited Training unit, either SITHFAB009A, SITHFAB201 or SITHFAB002

For more information visit https://www.vic.gov.au/responsible-service-alcohol-training

For all liquor related incidents (underage drinkers, visitors helping themselves to alcohol, aggressive behaviour, intoxication) please ensure all incidents are noted on the Incident Register located on your stand, and RSA Manager is contacted immediately.

All exhibitors will need to display a copy of their liquor licence on their stand at all times during the event and all relevant liquor licensing signage. All exhibitors will need to bring a quantity of the relevant liquor licensing signage on site for display on their stand.

Download & Print Liquor Licensing Signage

FoodTrader is the Victorian registration database for Temporary Food Premises (TFP) and Mobile Food Premises (MFP). Offering a sample of a food or beverage in the furtherance of trade (as a promotion of product/business) is deemed a sale of food under the Victorian Food Act 1984. Once the FoodTrader registration becomes active, the account holder will then be able to lodge a Statement of Trade (SOT) for the event.

Applying for a Registration
All exhibitors sampling food, beverage or alcoholic products must hold a current FoodTrader registration within the State of Victoria. Registrations are valid across all Victorian municipalities.
To apply for a registration go to FoodTrader and follow these steps.

• IMPORTANT: New registration applications generally take up to 15 business days to process. Once processed and paid for, you can then lodge your SOT.  
• For interstate or international exhibitors, register your business under the council where the event will take place – Melbourne City Council.
• For traders that have previously been registered on Streatrader, there is a process you need to follow to ensure you log on to FoodTrader and claim information that was previously stored on FoodTrader. Please reference the process in the FoodTrader User Guide in order to log on and claim information. For returning businesses that no longer have access to the email account linked to the FoodTrader account or previous Streatrader account will need to lodge new applications as FoodTrader no longer have the ability to reset email addresses linked to accounts.
• Businesses that are already registered with a council in Victoria do not need to do this step, but it is important to keep your registration up to date.

Fees
A fee is charged when an exhibitor registers their business. The fee charged is dependent upon the council where the food premise is located.

• There will be price changes on FoodTrader from the 1st of July 2024 which may effect some exhibitors.
• There is no fee associated with the lodgement of a Statement of Trade (SOT).

Statement of Trade (SOT) 
Once you have lodged and paid for your registration, or for those exhibitors who already have a registration, you will need to lodge a Statement of Trade notifying your council that you will be operating a temporary premise. To do this please follow these steps.

• IMPORTANT: All Statements of Trade must be lodged no later than Wednesday 28th August 2024. 

Help or Further Assistance

• Click here to review the Temporary Food Premises Guidelines.
• For more detailed information regarding these regulations please contact FoodTrader or your Local Council if located in Victoria.

Exhibitors sampling alcoholic products are responsible for adhering to Government regulations and responsible service of alcohol guidelines. Staff working on the stand must also be aware of and abide by these regulations at all times.