Licensees need to be aware of changes to the Security Providers Act 1993 (Security Act) that came into force on 1 July 2008 in Queensland.

From 1 July the Security Act will be amended to include the following classes of security providers that must be licensed:

  • in-house security guards;
  • security equipment installers;
  • electronic surveillance providers;
  • dog handlers; and
  • security advisors.

The second reading speech in the Queensland Parliament stated that the purpose of the amendment to the Security Act was to:

"...expand the current licensing categories to capture security equipment installers, electronic surveillance operators, dog handlers, in-house security guards and security advisors as well as broadening the definition of security officer so as to capture a broader range of persons and firms who work in security along with other duties."

So What Does That Mean For Licensees?

Many Licensees in the Brisbane City Council area (BCC Area) engage the services of crowd controllers for their busy periods from Thursday to Sunday, in order to comply with the provisions of the Liquor Act 1992 (Liquor Act). As the Licensees would know, it is compulsory under the Liquor Act to provide crowd controllers after 1:00am if a licensed premises is located in the BCC Area.

Those licensed premises not in the BCC Area must also carefully monitor their use of crowd controllers, as the Liquor Act contains positive obligations on all licensed premises to ensure that persons entering or leaving licensed premises are not causing any annoyance, disturbance or causing disorderly conduct. This invariably requires the licensed premises to engage crowd controllers.

Those crowd controllers are generally provided by contract security firms that take care of the licensing arrangements for crowd controllers under the Security Act.

Security during the "quiet" trading hours has traditionally been provided by "in-house" security personnel. Bar or management staff generally stand in as "quasi crowd controllers" to ensure that the Liquor Act is not breached. It is generally not worth the cost of engaging crowd controllers during those quiet trading hours.

In the past these "in-house" crowd controllers were not required to be licensed under the Security Act.

From 1 July 2008, any person principally engaged as a crowd controller for keeping order in licensed premises must be licensed under the Security Act. The "key" to determine whether your "in-house" crowd controlling staff member is engaged principally for keeping order in the licensed premises is to determine whether that staff member is:

  • screening the entry of persons into the premises;
  • monitoring or controlling the behaviour in the premises; or
  • removing persons from the premises.

[Please note that these are examples only. It is possible that the Office of Fair Trading will determine other indicators of who is "principally" engaged.]

If your "in-house" crowd controller is engaging "principally" in this capacity then he or she must be licensed under the Security Act.

So What Do Licensees Need To Do To Satisfy The Requirements Of The Security Act?

From 1 July 2008, the Security Act will also provide for "restricted" security licences. A restricted security licence can be issued to a person who wants to work as a crowd controller but has not yet satisfied the training requirements under the Security Act.

The standard probity checks will still be undertaken, which ensures that only crowd controllers that are fit and proper are licensed.

Please note that a restricted crowd controller may only provide security services if he or she is supervised by an unrestricted licensed crowd controller. Licensees may need to engage additional security staff until such time as the "in-house" personnel receive their unrestricted licences.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.