Security rules for pubs, clubs and bars in Queensland.
Half the security obligations on a Queensland liquor licence are state-wide. The other half are written into your individual licence, which is why two venues on the same street can owe completely different things.
Every crowd controller at a Queensland licensed venue must hold a licence under the Security Providers Act 1993, and using an unlicensed one can cost a licensee up to $17,270 for a first offence. Beyond that, how much security you need depends on where the venue is. Premises inside the Brisbane City Council area trading after 1am follow a set crowd controller to patron ratio, must run CCTV, and must keep a register of who was on duty. Everywhere else, the numbers come from the conditions written into your own licence.
This is general information for licensees rather than legal advice. Your licence conditions and any advice from the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation override anything here.
The one rule that applies to every venue
Wherever you trade, anyone on the door as a crowd controller must be licensed under the Security Providers Act 1993. There is no small-venue exception, and the $17,270 first-offence penalty lands on the licensee rather than the person you hired.
Checking takes minutes and belongs before the first shift. Ask for the officer licence and the firm licence, because a sole operator subcontracting to you needs both. We have written separately on Queensland security licence classes and on vetting a security company.
Crowd controller numbers
Inside the Brisbane City Council area, a venue trading after 1am meets a published ratio, in bands:
- 1 to 100 patrons: 1 crowd controller
- 101 to 200 patrons: 2
- 201 to 300 patrons: 3
- 301 to 400 patrons: 4
- 401 to 500 patrons: 5
- Above 500: one additional controller for every 250 patrons or part of 250
Two things trip venues up. The count is patrons present rather than licensed capacity, so the numbers need to be on hand before the room fills. And the hours run longer than most rosters allow: controllers must be maintaining order from 11pm on any night the venue trades past 1am, and for at least an hour after close. That post-close hour is the most under-rostered, and it covers exactly the window when a crowd is dispersing onto the footpath.
Those venues also need crowd controllers who have completed responsible service of alcohol training and who are dressed so patrons can pick them out of the crowd. Outside that area RSA is not automatically mandated for security staff, though most operators treat it as standard practice.
The register
Licensed venues must keep a register recording which crowd controllers were on duty and any incidents that occurred. It gets read in two situations: when OLGR asks to see it, and when something happens and your record is the only account anyone has. A good provider fills it in during the shift rather than leaving it to a manager at 3am, so ask any bidder how they handle incident recording and when you get a copy.
CCTV obligations
CCTV is mandatory if your venue trades after 1am inside the Brisbane City Council area, or if it is a condition of your licence. The obligations are more specific than most licensees expect:
- Retention: recordings kept for a minimum of 28 days.
- Incidents: footage of an incident kept for a year, unless OLGR or a police officer directs otherwise. Once footage is handed to an investigator you cannot destroy it until you have written confirmation it is viewable.
- Daily checks: the licensee or approved manager checks the system before 12.30am.
- Certification: six-monthly, by someone holding a current security equipment installer licence.
- Faults: a malfunction has to be repaired within 48 hours, and liquor sales stop if the equipment is not operational.
- Access: recordings available for inspection by an OLGR investigator or police officer.
The rule about ceasing sales is worth planning for, because a camera fault on a Friday afternoon becomes a trading problem. Keep a repair contact who answers weekends. The privacy rules underneath this sit in what Queensland businesses can and cannot record, and we handle installs and health checks through CCTV and surveillance.
Safe night precincts and ID scanners
Queensland has 15 designated safe night precincts. Both Fortitude Valley and Ipswich CBD are on the list, along with Brisbane CBD, Inner West Brisbane including Caxton Street, Surfers Paradise, Cairns and Townsville. Being inside one brings a longer trading window and an extra obligation. An eligible licensee can apply for permanent approval to sell liquor until 3am, against 2am elsewhere, with a 30 minute grace period after last drinks.
The obligation attached is ID scanning. A precinct venue with permanent approval to trade past midnight must operate networked ID scanners at each entry point unless its licence is exempt. The scanner checks a patron against a database of people banned by venues, police and the courts, so it is a banned-patron check rather than ID verification. Staff still need to satisfy themselves the ID is genuine first.
Exempt categories include precinct licensees without permanent past-midnight trading, community clubs, subsidiary on-premises licences such as restaurants and motels, and commercial special facilities. A venue can also apply to OLGR for an exemption, and an exempt venue can opt in voluntarily for the banned-patron data.
Operating the scanner is generally a job for a licensed crowd controller. Unlicensed staff can run one only where they are trained, indirectly supervised by a licensed crowd controller at all times, do not remove banned patrons, and avoid physical contact, which leaves the door team itself needing to be licensed either way.
If you trade outside Brisbane City Council
Regional licensees get caught out here. The ratio table, the CCTV rule and the RSA and dress requirements above are Brisbane City Council provisions. Outside that area the requirements come from your individual licence conditions, so the only way to know them is to read it. Two hotels in the same Ipswich street can carry different conditions depending on when they were licensed.
The general licensee duty to provide a safe environment for patrons and staff in and around the premises applies regardless of postcode. A venue with no ratio condition can still be asked why it had one person on the door for a crowd of 300.
What to ask a security provider
- Can you show the firm licence and each officer licence before the first shift?
- Do your officers hold current RSA certification?
- Who completes the incident register, and when do I get a copy?
- Can you cover the hour after close?
- Are your officers trained on our scanner system?
- What happens if a rostered officer calls in sick at 9pm on a Saturday?
We supply licensed crowd controllers and door teams through event and crowd control, and ongoing venue presence through static guards and concierge. Events outside a licensed venue work differently, and we covered those in licensed security for Queensland events.
Talk to us about your venue
Send your licence conditions and your busiest night's patron numbers, and we will tell you what the door needs to look like. We cover Ipswich, Brisbane CBD and Fortitude Valley. Request a quote → or call 0414 829 850.
Common questions
How many crowd controllers does my venue need?
Inside the Brisbane City Council area, a venue trading after 1am needs one crowd controller for up to 100 patrons, two for 101 to 200, three for 201 to 300, four for 301 to 400 and five for 401 to 500, then one more for each additional 250 patrons or part of 250. Outside that area there is no state-wide table: the number comes from your own licence conditions, so read the licence or ask the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation.
Does my pub have to keep CCTV footage, and for how long?
If your venue trades after 1am inside the Brisbane City Council area, or CCTV is a condition of your licence, you must record and keep footage for at least 28 days. Footage of an incident must be kept for a year unless the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation or a police officer directs otherwise. The system must be checked daily before 12.30am and certified every six months by someone holding a current security equipment installer licence.
Do I need an ID scanner at my venue?
Networked ID scanners are required at each entry point if your premises sits inside a safe night precinct and holds permanent approval to trade past midnight, unless your licence is exempt. Community clubs, subsidiary on-premises licences such as restaurants and motels, and commercial special facilities are among the exempt categories, and a venue can also apply to OLGR for an exemption.
Published 27 August 2026 · Anthony Tupper, Founder · Tupper Security Services holds Queensland Security Firm Licence (Class 1) #4572076.