Venues located within the Brisbane City Council area that are authorised to trade past 1am must operate CCTV. Other licensed venues in Queensland must operate CCTV if it is a specific condition of their licence. These venues are required to comply with the obligations placed on Brisbane City Council licensees.

CCTV legal requirements checklist

Use the checklist below to understand and comply with your obligations under the Liquor Act 1992 and the Liquor Regulation 2002.

Operation and placement of CCTV:

• CCTV is installed and operating at each entry and exit point.
• Patrons are recorded entering and exiting the venue, and in all their interactions with staff and crowd controllers at these points.
• CCTV is operating from 8pm to 1 hour after the close of business.
• Liquor and business service ceases if CCTV is inoperative after 1am.

Technical requirements for CCTV equipment:

• Recordings are embedded with the recording time and date.
• CCTV equipment is able to produce a digital copy of recordings.
• Daily CCTV equipment checks are performed.
• Malfunctions are recorded.
• Equipment is checked and certified by an appropriately qualified person every 6 months.

Privacy and CCTV recordings:

• Only the licensee and approved manager are permitted to operate and access CCTV recordings.
• Only the licensee, approved manager, Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulations (OLGR) compliance officers and police officers are permitted to view the CCTV recordings.
• Patron safety signage is used to inform patrons that CCTV is operating.

Storage and retention of CCTV recordings:

• CCTV recordings and CCTV equipment review registers are stored securely.
• Recordings containing incidents required to be kept cannot be deleted earlier than 1 year after the 28 day retention period.
• A recording that has previously been provided to an investigator cannot be destroyed until an investigator has confirmed by written notice that the recording is viewable.
• Recordings that do not show an incident required to be recorded are to be kept for a minimum of 28 days, and deleted within 30 days after the retention period by a the licensee or approved manager.

Also consider...

• Learn about compliance inspections at licensed venues.
• Download our CCTV signage.
• Read the Liquor Act 1992.
• Read the Liquor Regulation 2002.
• Learn about OLGR's Liquor Compliance Strategy.
• Download the CCTV guide.

Licensees that are required to operate CCTV at their venue must ensure the equipment is properly maintained.

Your CCTV equipment must be maintained by an appropriately qualified person. An appropriately qualified person is a security provider who holds a current security equipment installer licence issued by the Office of Fair Trading.

Search the security provider register to check if a provider is licensed.

CCTV equipment review register

Download a copy of the CCTV equipment review register and use it to record your equipment checks. You may be required to produce this register during an inspection by a compliance officer. Ensure that CCTV reporting documents are stored securely.

Daily CCTV equipment checks

During each trading period your licensed premises is open for business:

• check by no later than 12.30am that your CCTV equipment is working properly
• record the following details
  • date and time the equipment was checked
  • name of the person who checked the equipment
  • whether the equipment was operating effectively.

CCTV obligations when equipment malfunctions

If your CCTV equipment is not operating effectively, or it otherwise malfunctions, you must arrange for it to be repaired within 48 hours. At this time, you must also record:

• the date and time the equipment malfunction was identified
• the name of the person who identified the malfunction
• details of arrangements made to repair the equipment, including the
  • date and time the arrangements were made
  • name of the person who made the arrangements
  • nature of the arrangements made to repair the equipment
  • date the equipment is repaired.

You must continue to comply with your CCTV obligations if your CCTV equipment is under repair. This includes ensuring that CCTV is operating (at the required times) if the premises is open for the sale of liquor. This may require you to repurpose other CCTV equipment you operate or use temporary replacement equipment.

6-monthly CCTV equipment checks

At least every 6 months, your CCTV equipment (and any related device) must be checked and certified by an appropriately qualified person. The certification must be recorded in a CCTV equipment review register. The register must detail that the equipment and any related device is able to:

• record images clearly
• store each recording made by it for at least 28 days
• store each recording made by the equipment for at least 1 year
• produce a digital copy of each recording stored on the equipment or device.

Also consider...

• Find out more about additional compliance for liquor licensees in the Brisbane City Council area.
• Learn about OLGR's Liquor Compliance Strategy.
• Read the Liquor Act 1992.
• Download the CCTV guide.

Licensees who do not have a specific condition to operate CCTV on their licence may also like to use the CCTV guide for tips to adopt best practice standards for CCTV systems.

The CCTV guide is designed to supplement legislation and provide best practice tips in relation to cameras and lighting, CCTV storage, retention and availability, and security and privacy.

Legislative standards are recognised and incorporated within the guide; however, licensees must at all times ensure that they are complying with the law.

Also consider...

• Contact the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulations (OLGR).
• Read the Liquor Act 1992.
• Download the Liquor Regulation 2002.

Licensed crowd controllers may be required to screen patrons entering and exiting the premises. They also control patron behaviour in and around the premises to ensure the safety of patrons and staff.

A licensed premises that engages a crowd controller must maintain a register to record which crowd controllers are on duty and any incidents that occur. Crowd controllers must sign in and out at each shift. You may be asked to produce this during a compliance inspection.

Crowd controller requirements for venues in the Brisbane City Council area

Within the Brisbane City Council (BCC) area, crowd controllers must maintain order in and around the licensed premises:

• from 11pm on nights when the premises trades after 1am
• for at least 1 hour after the premises closes.

When venues remain open after liquor consumption and sales have ceased (for example to provide gaming or entertainment to patrons) crowd controller requirements still apply.

Licensees that trade after 1am within the Brisbane City Council (BCC) area must comply with crowd controller to patron ratios under the Liquor Regulation 2002. (This condition does not apply on nights where the premises close by 1am.)

Crowd controller requirements for venues outside the Brisbane City Council area

Licensees operating outside of the BCC area must comply with crowd controller requirements as per the conditions of their individual licences. Your licence will be checked during a compliance inspection to ensure the conditions are being met.

Employing licensed crowd controllers

When employing any crowd controllers, ensure that they:

• are licensed under the Security Providers Act 1993
• dress in a way that distinguishes them from the crowd while working on the premises (for venues within the BCC area)
• have completed responsible service of alcohol (RSA) training (for venues within the BCC area).

Note: It is best practice to employ security staff that have completed responsible service of alcohol (RSA) training and who dress in a manner that distinguishes them from patrons, whether the licensed premises is in the BCC area or not.

Also consider...

• Read about patron and staff safety on licensed premises.
• Download printable compliance signage for licensed venues.
• Learn more about compliance for liquor licensees.

If you do not comply with CCTV and crowd controller legislation, you may be penalised.

CCTV

Failing to comply with a CCTV requirement can result in a maximum penalty of $16,690. This applies to venues both in and outside of the Brisbane City Council (BCC) area.

Crowd control

Failing to comply with a licence condition regarding crowd controllers within the BCC area can result in a maximum penalty of $16,690.

Failing to comply with a licence condition about crowd controllers outside the BCC area can result in a maximum penalty of $16,690.

Employing an unlicensed crowd controller can incur a maximum penalty of $16,690 for a first offence.

Also consider...

• Contact the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulations (OLGR).
• Read the Liquor Act 1992.
• Learn more about liquor fines and penalties for licensees and their staff.

Take our quiz to test your knowledge on complying with legislation for licensed venues.

It's a great refresher for licensees and staff to ensure you are following the law at your venue.