Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath this morning outlined the details of the Public Health Directions taking effect from 17 December.
From this date, there will be no capacity restrictions on businesses permitted to only allow fully vaccinated people to attend their premises.
People who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 will be unable to:
- visit vulnerable settings, including hospitals, residential aged care, disability care accommodation, and prisons. There will be some exceptions for medical treatment, end-of-life visits, childbirth and emergency situations
- attend hospitality venues such as hotels, pubs, clubs, taverns, bars, restaurants or cafes
- attend indoor entertainment venues such as nightclubs, live music venues, karaoke bars, concerts, theatres or cinemas
- attend outdoor entertainment activities such as sporting stadiums, theme parks or tourism experiences like reef excursions
- attend festivals – either indoor or outdoor – such as musical festivals, folk festivals or arts festivals
- attend Queensland Government owned galleries, museums or libraries.
Checking vaccination status
Hospitality and entertainment businesses need to take reasonable steps to enforce these restrictions. Customers aged 16 years or over must carry proof of their vaccination status and be prepared to show this on request.
You must:
- display the vaccination rules in a prominent location at the entry of your business premises
- use best efforts to ask for proof of vaccination from your customers at the time of check-in (this is a legal requirement) through:
- the Check In Qld app
- an immunisation history statement
- a COVID-19 vaccination digital certificate.
- if a customer cannot or refuses to provide evidence, ask the person to leave the premises
- if the person refuses to the leave the premises and becomes aggressive, phone the police.
More details will be available soon on arrangements that will apply for people who have a genuine medical reason for not being vaccinated, and what proof of exemption they must provide to a business.
We don’t expect business owners or staff to be the police. If customers are refusing to comply and become aggressive, phone the police.
Signage for businesses
Display these signs to clearly show if proof of vaccination is required to enter your business:
- From 17 December – Proof of vaccination will be required sign
- Proof of vaccination required sign
- Proof of vaccination not required sign
- National Retail Association signage is available at nracoronavirus.net.au.
Check In Qld app
If your business is required to use the Check In Qld app, you must still ensure all customers, staff and visitors to your premises are checking in.
Vaccination certificates can now be linked into the Check In Qld app to make it simple for your customers to prove vaccination status.
Learn more about checking vaccination status through the Check In Qld app.
Vaccination requirements for staff, service providers and contractors
If you run a business delivering non-essential leisure services, your staff must be fully vaccinated by 17 December. If a staff member has only had 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine they will not be able to work until they have had their second dose.
Contact NRA Legal for advice on how to manage mandatory vaccination requirements for your employees or phone our hotline 1800 RETAIL.
Unvaccinated service providers who provide a contactless service can do so for a business that only allows fully vaccinated people. For example, an unvaccinated delivery driver can pick up food from a restaurant and then make a contactless delivery.
Service providers must be fully vaccinated if they need to conduct work inside a business premises that only allows vaccinated people. For example, a security guard must be fully vaccinated to work at a pub or nightclub.
There are exceptions for emergency maintenance work. For example, an unvaccinated plumber could enter a restricted business to fix a burst pipe.
See the Public Health Directions
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business, activity, undertaking | Contact information, COVID safe checklist and other requirements | Fully vaccinated visitors or staff, or those with evidence of a medical contraindication – entry requirements | Unvaccinated persons – entry requirements |
Schedule 1A. Vaccination required for entry to business, activity or undertaking, or part of it(For a multi-purpose venue, the relevant rules apply to each area of the venue based on the use of that area) |
|||
| Hospitality Venues | |||
| Cafés, restaurants, pubs, clubs, RSL clubs, taverns, function centres, bars, wineries, distilleries and microbreweries, and these premises in accommodation hotels, or within a shopping centre or other unrestricted business, activity or undertaking.
Food courts are out of scope for the vaccination entry requirements. |
Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3.
Note: Contact information is not required to be collected for home delivery Contact information is required to be collected for takeaway service. Operate in accordance with the COVID Safe Checklist |
Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted to enter except to an unrestricted or less restricted part of the business, activity or undertaking, such as a privately hired part of the venue.
Example: where a sporting club has both a restaurant and a sporting field, or hires out a part of the venue exclusively for a private function, the entry rules applicable to each area apply. People that work in or enter the restricted part are required to be vaccinated; people using the sporting field do not need to be vaccinated, unvaccinated people may only enter the space hired for the private function (and occupant density limits apply). |
| Indoor Entertainment Venues | |||
| Nightclubs | Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted |
| Indoor live music venues, karaoke bars, concerts, theatres, cinemas, bowling alleys, amusement arcade | Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted |
| Casinos, gaming or gambling venues that are open to, and accessible by, members of the public
Note: a standalone wagering outlet is out of scope for the vaccination entry requirements |
Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted |
| Convention centres, including any outdoor areas | Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply. |
Not permitted |
| Adult entertainment venues (strip clubs), brothels, sex on premises venues and sole operator sex workers | Operate in accordance with the COVID Safe Checklist
Where the use of the Check In Qld app would result in safety or liability issues, the business, activity or undertaking must:
if requested, provide the information collected to a public health officer within a stated time. |
Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply. |
Not permitted |
| Outdoor Entertainment Activities | |||
| Stadiums
For all major sporting matches and other events with 5,000 or more visitors |
Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Only fully vaccinated visitors, players and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted |
| Stadiums
For all major sporting matches and other events with 5000 or less visitors |
Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Permitted
Occupant density does not apply |
Permitted
Occupant density does not apply |
| Theme parks, outdoor amusement parks, tourism experiences, but not including national parks and public gardens.
Note: ferry services operating as a transport provider are not considered a tourism experience and need only comply with the requirements relating to essential transport services when operating as such. |
Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3.
Live aboard and passenger vessels where passengers are accommodated overnight may operate with up to a maximum of 99 passengers. Operate in accordance with the COVID Safe Checklist where there is no COVID Safe Site Specific Plan required for the site |
Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted |
| Zoos, aquariums and wildlife centres | Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3.
Operate in accordance with the COVID Safe Checklist |
Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted |
| Showgrounds | Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3.
Operate in accordance with the COVID Safe Checklist where there is no COVID Safe Site Specific Plan required for the site |
Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted except in the context of private venue hire |
| Festivals (Entire venue – indoor and outdoor) | |||
| Cultural festivals, art festivals, music festivals, where ticketed entry applies | Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain.
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted |
| Government owned Galleries, Museums and Libraries | |||
| Galleries, museums, national and state institutions and historic sites | Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain.
No COVID-19 density limits apply |
Not permitted |
| State government libraries | Contact information must be collected in accordance with Part 3. | Only fully vaccinated visitors and staff, or those with a medical contraindication, permitted to enter and remain.
No COVID-19 density limits apply where all attendees are vaccinated. |
Not permitted |
| Vulnerable Settings | |||
| Prisons and youth detention centres – personal visiting areas
Note: Aged Care, Hospital, Disability Services – visitor restrictions are provided in the Residential Aged Care Facilities Direction (No.10); the Disability Accommodation Services Direction (No.25) and the Hospital Entry Direction (No.6). Note: vaccination requirements for staff in prisons and other vulnerable settings are provided for in the Workers in Healthcare (COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements) Direction, and in the Residential Aged Care Facilities Direction (No.10); the Disability Accommodation Services Direction (No.25) and the Hospital Entry Direction (No.6). The requirements in this direction do not apply to prison staff or inmates. |
Personal visitors to a prison and to a youth detention centre must be fully vaccinated or have evidence of a medical contraindication, except where an unvaccinated person is required to accompany a minor or other person as a parent, guardian, carer or support person.
An unvaccinated person who is permitted to enter the prison for this purpose must follow risk mitigation measures (e.g. face masks) put in place by the prison. Example: a child visiting a parent in prison may be accompanied by an unvaccinated parent or carer, but the unvaccinated parent must wear a face mask at all times during the visit. No COVID-19 density limits apply. |
Not permitted unless:
an unvaccinated person is required to accompany a minor or other person as a parent, guardian, carer or support person. An unvaccinated person who is permitted to enter the prison for this purpose must follow risk mitigation measures (e.g. face masks) put in place by the prison. Example: a child visiting a parent in prison may be accompanied by an unvaccinated parent or carer, but the unvaccinated parent must wear a face mask at all times during the visit. |
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