Under s 38 of the Liquor Licensing Act 1988 (WA), the licensing authority must confine its inquiry to the requirements of the public within the specified affected area and may not consider requirements outside that area. Account customers who order by telephone or facsimile from outside the affected area do not 'resort to or pass through' it within the meaning of s 38(2)(b). For special facility licence applications where the proposed customer base extends beyond a narrow geographic area, the affected area must be specified in a way that allows a realistic judgment to be made within the confines of s 38.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 5 later cases that cite this judgment.