As featured in the latest edition of Club Insight Magazine
Queensland’s hospitality sector is continuing to evolve, with several recent changes including how regulators are approaching compliance, how government is interacting with the industry, and how regulators are approaching renovations and changes to licensed areas in a bid to modernise regulation, reduce red tape and regulatory burden, and respond to practical concerns raised by industry stakeholders.
OLGR Compliance Approach
As you may recall from our recent article, in response to a comprehensive review of its practices, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) is now rolling out a modernised compliance program model as part of its commitment to adopting a more balanced, industry-focused approach to compliance practices.
This modernised approach aims to reduce the regulatory burden on licensees, particularly in how compliance inspections are conducted by:
- Streamlining processes; and
- Focussing on high-risk/critical issues such as:
- Preventing supply and consumption offences involving minors;
- Monitoring responsible service of alcohol (RSA) practices;
- Ensuring proper supervision of gaming machine areas, particularly for excluded patrons;
- Safety issues.
This means that low-risk issues will be addressed during pre-arranged off-peak inspections to allow licensees sufficient time to prepare and allocate resources.
However, for venues with persistent non-compliance, such as insufficient controls/practices or showing an unwillingness to work collaboratively with the OLGR, you will likely continue to experience inspections during peak trading periods.
Updated Guidelines for Alterations
As a result of a review by the OLGR, Guideline 40 (for applications to alter, rebuild, change or increase the area of a licensed premises) was identified as having outdated thresholds resulting in unnecessary compliance barriers for venues seeking to renovate or upgrade their premises.
Accordingly, under the updated Guideline 40, licensees can now undertake a broader range of works without prior approval, including:
- renovations with a cost of less than $500,000.00;
- renovations which are only cosmetic (i.e. carpeting, tiling, painting, and decorating irrespective of cost);
- renovations which are limited to like-for-like replacements (i.e. replacing bar tops or refrigeration equipment irrespective of cost); and
- works which do not fall within the listed criteria, which don’t adversely affect the local community amenity.
Government Reforms
The State Government has also introduced reforms aimed at modernising payment methods and addressing security concerns with effect from 1 December 2025. In particular:
- cheques will no longer be the default method for certain gaming machine payouts, and the keno licensee will also be able to pay unclaimed prizes and unused keno dollars to the Government by methods other than cheque, which aligns with Australia’s broader move away from cheques; and
- venues will be permitted to leave gaming machine doors open after daily shutdown to deter break-ins, theft, and damage to machines by demonstrating that machines are or have been emptied.
Conclusion
Considering these recent changes, there has never been a better time to review policies and procedures, ensure staff are properly qualified/trained for their roles, and consider reinvestment into your premises through renovations, alterations, or other changes to fit out.
If you would like assistance or advice for your venue, please feel free to contact me on 07 3224 0353.
Mullins Lawyers has over 30 year’s specialist experience in the hospitality, liquor, and gaming industry and is well-placed to assist you with any of your needs.
