Recent news reports and communication from OLGR tell us many business operators continue to struggle with their requirements regarding the collection of contact information. It is fair to say that everyone, customers, staff and business owners, is inconvenienced by the requirements regarding collection and storage of information. But, if Queenslanders want to avoid going back to living under lockdown, fast and effective contact tracing when an infection has been discovered is of critical importance, which has been highlighted by the recent resurgence of COVID-19 in Victoria and NSW. Additionally, the penalty for non-compliance is an on the spot fine of up to $6,672.

To help business owners meet their obligations, we have answered some common questions below and provided some guidance on the various methods of collection available.

How can you record the information? 

Restrictions on Businesses, Activities and Undertakings Direction (No. 12) has been released and licensees must collect contact information electronically or they will automatically be:

• limited to 1 person per 4m² for indoor and outdoor areas; and
• limited to operation for seated patrons only.

Third-Party Providers

If you choose to use a third-party option some questions to ask are:

Can you verify the information collected?
If the details entered by the patron are not preserved on their device (some services simply show an icon on the screen when the form has been submitted) and you do not receive a real time update on the information collected, it will be difficult to do this. OLGR has indicated that businesses ought to be doing spot checks on the accuracy of information.

Can you record the patron’s entry AND exit time?
If you have no access to the information provided, it will be impossible for you to record exit times.

If requested by Queensland Health, can you provide contact information for a specific period in a timely manner?
Some services require up to 24 hours to provide a report, but the expectation is that details will be provided to a public health officer within one hour.

Other considerations include the ongoing cost to you and the reliability of the provider – if they go out of business or become unreachable, you may lose the information.

Other Electronic Methods

Depending on the nature of your business, you may wish to have staff collect details using a tablet or computer. Whilst this is labour intensive, if done correctly it eliminates many of the issues with other methods.

Alternatively, licensees can create their own system using Google Forms or Microsoft Forms, and a free QR code generator.

What if the patron does not have a smart phone or there is an internet outage?

If electronic collection is impossible you may record the details on paper but you must transfer them to your electronic system within 24 hours. It is advisable to have a tablet or computer available at all times to accommodate patrons who do not have a smart phone.

Whose information needs to be collected? 

Contact information must be collected from all visitors to your business. which includes:

• Every person in a group of patrons
• Staff
• All contractors

However, you do not need to collect contact details from people who visit the business to pick up takeaway food or drinks.

What information needs to be collected? 

The following information must be collected:

• Name
• Phone number
• Email address
• Period of visit/patronage – this requires you to record the date and arrival time, along with the departure time or approximate duration of the visit

Whilst it is appreciated that there are difficulties in recording the time someone leaves the premises, the feedback from OLGR and Police is that business operators must do their best to collect the information. In our view, ‘doing your best’ would include at least the following:

• Ensuring that whatever system you have in place provides patrons with the opportunity to indicate the intended duration of their stay, or the time they intend leaving or similar. We know that some venues have a second register available for patrons to simply indicate their name and the time as they leave. With the move to mandatory electronic record keeping, paper versions are no longer acceptable.
• Obvious signage stating that the law requires the venue to collect contact tracing information that includes the period of the visit.
• Ensuring staff receive proper instructions in relation to this requirement and are actively directing patrons to provide contact information.

How long must you keep the information?

The information must be securely stored for at least 30 days and must be deleted with 56 days.

Can you use the information for marketing? 

Information collected must not be used for marketing or any other purpose.

Updated on 7 August 2020 to include the latest information from OLGR and Queensland Health.

Updated on 22 December 2020 to remove reference to paper based collection methods and on 23 December 2020 following the release of the updated PHD.

The latest Public Health Direction placing a limit of 10 on public or private gatherings DOES NOT apply to licensed premises.

The relevant part from Movement and Gathering Direction (No. 3) is set out below.

23 Gathering does not include a gathering:
…
i. at a business, facility or service operating in accordance with, or not restricted under, the Restrictions on Businesses, Activities or Undertakings Direction (No. 5), or its successor, or another Public Health Direction;
Example – wedding, funeral, accommodation facilities, retail store, shopping centre
j. at a business, facility or service not restricted under the Restrictions on Businesses, Activities or Undertakings Direction (No. 5), or its successor, or another Public Health Direction;

Restrictions on Businesses, Activities or Undertakings Direction (No. 5) is the public health direction affecting licensed premises. Licensees must continue to comply with restrictions on patron numbers based on venue size, and any other matter contained in their COVID Safe plan or checklist.

It is reasonable to believe that if the current outbreaks are not contained there may be further restrictions announced in the future. We will endeavour to provide updates as information becomes available.

The stage 3 restrictions are effective from midday on Friday 3 July. To help you understand what this means for your business, we have answered some frequently asked questions below.

1. The updated Roadmap states that nightclubs may re-open. Does this mean that dance floors can now be used?
   Dance floors may not be used for dancing but may be used for dining or drinking.
2. Are the industry approved plans redundant now?
   No, if you are operating in accordance with an industry plan you must continue to do so. We believe that there are updates to the Hotels and Clubs COVID Safe Plan to incorporate more detail for nightclubs and adult entertainment venues that are presently with Queensland Health. We are closely monitoring these changes and will let you know when we have more information. Once these are in place, you may wish to review the new version against your business practices.
3. Does the reference in the Roadmap to nightclubs include adult entertainment venues?
   Kind of. “High risk venues” which include nightclubs and adult entertainment venues, are expressly mentioned in the updated version of the CHO direction for stage 3. It states that adult entertainment venues may operate but must do so in compliance with an approved industry plan.
4. Does the removal of the requirement for defined areas allow a licensee to calculate the allowable number of patrons by totalling all the public areas of the venue and dividing by four, but have most or all of those patrons in a smaller area?
   On the face of it, yes, but that doesn’t feel like it’s in the spirit of things. One possible consideration would be that in order to include an area of the premises in your calculation it would need to be available for patrons to use. Another consideration may be that because smaller venues can now have a higher patron density – 1 patron per 2 square metres – larger venues with multiple areas may not need to be as focussed on managing patron density.The underlying idea, according to the CHO in yesterday’s press conference, is for patrons to have the opportunity to practice physical distancing, which would tie in with either of these approaches. We have sought specific clarification of OLGR’s views on these points and will let you know as soon as we hear back.
5. Is bar service allowed?
   Yes.
6. Can a larger venue be broken into smaller venues to take advantage of the 1:2 square metre equation?
   From our reading of the updated public health direction, no this would not be possible.

Annual Licence Fees

Annual licence fees have been waived for the 2020/21 financial year.

No Change to Value of Penalty Unit

The start of the financial year normally triggers an increase in the value of the penalty unit. This year the increase has been declared at 0%, therefore the penalty unit remains at $133.45 and there is no need for licensees to update compliance signs.

RMLV Training

If you need to renew your RMLV, we provide an online course every second Tuesday, with the next one scheduled for 14 July 2020. Please call our office to find out more or make a booking.