NSW clubs to scrap 5km entry rule - Bars + Pubs

Sep 25, 2024

I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, because the club just 5 kays down the road just wouldn’t let me in the door.

If you’re looking for a semi-decent feed and cheap beer, the local bowlo or RSL is always guaranteed to hit the spot. However, if you happen to live within 5km of the club and aren’t a card-carrying member, these thrifty delights might have been close by, but they’ve also been way out of your reach. A rule has long been in place that has prevented people living within 5km of a club from signing in without first becoming a member.

This rule is not just annoying for local residents who might only want to drop in to their local club once or twice a year. Having to show ID to prove where you live when signing in can also be frustrating for people like me – who no longer have a driver’s licence, are too old to get ‘carded’, and therefore never really need to think much about carrying ID.

The last time I visited a club was in 2023, and the staff on the reception desk treated me like I was some kind of racketeering hoodlum for daring to take my elderly mother out for a nice lunch without showing up with a full legal team and a leather-bound dossier of evidence to prove that I didn’t live around the corner.

So it was with great delight that I learnt such humiliating encounters will soon become a thing of the past, as this stupid, outdated rule gets relegated to the dustbin of history.

A glass half filled with beer being poured from a silver tap.

NSW Vibrancy Reforms – what is changing?

The NSW Government is finally scrapping this antiquated 5km rule in a move that aims to reinvigorate the state’s nightlife and cut back on needless red tape (and red faces). The new development comes as part of the Minns government’s ‘Vibrancy Reforms’. These reforms, which sound like they should be accompanied by a set of jazz hands, have also canned the rule that you can’t stand while drinking outside a licensed premises and have permanently relaxed the rules surrounding outdoor dining. And in a blow to NIMBYs everywhere, single noise complaints will no longer be enough to shut down pubs and other licensed venues.

Are clubs open on the October Labour Day public holiday?

Some clubs will be open on the October Labour Day public holiday on Monday, October 7, some clubs will be open with reduced hours, and some clubs will be closed. Check with your local before you head up there. There will also be extended trading hours for the NRL Grand Final on Sunday, October 6.