Festival, event organisers swamped by COVID paperwork are giving up

Victorian festival and event organisers desperately trying to get their shows back on the road after COVID are being stifled by red tape.

Festival and event organisers drowning in state government paperwork are on the verge of putting their applications in “the too hard basket”, in a development set to further devastate the crippled industry.

Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief Felicia Mariani said a number of organisers had told her the process of lodging an application to hold a relatively small-scale event over the next few months was now so complicated and cumbersome, they weren’t sure whether to push on.

Applications for events with more than 500 people are 19 pages long.

“That’s not for the big, mega events, it’s for the smaller events and festivals which are really important to our regional communities,” Ms Mariani said.

“People are really struggling to even put in an application for events they are hoping to take place between January and April; they are telling me it’s a very, very difficult process.

“They say it’s incredibly complicated and almost falling in the too hard basket for some of them. What they are telling me is, it’s discouraging them to progress.”

Festival and event organisers are on the verge of putting their applications in ‘the too hard basket’. Picture: Alan Barber

Business events alone were worth $12.85bn to the Victorian economy and employed more than 85,000 people last year.

The sector also buoyed country areas, with an estimated $475m injection into the regional economy.

The Victorian Government recently released a framework for reviewing and approving public events, to ensure they are COVID safe.

Events are classified into three tiers based on the number of attendees and the public health risk they could pose, with organisers expected to complete and submit a COVID-Safe Event Plan to the government for approval well in advance.

Applications for tier one events must be submitted at least eight to 10 weeks before the event and tier two events four to six weeks beforehand.

Tiers are determined not just by the number of people expected at an event but also by the number of COVID risk factors it is deemed to have.

According to the state government’s website, “a panel of public health experts, trained in infectious diseases, infection control and contact tracing, will review each COVID-Safe Event Plan”.

Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief Felicia Mariani says event organisers are struggling with COVID paperwork.

It says the Victorian chief health officer, Brett Sutton, Health Minister Martin Foley, and Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Martin ­Pakula, will also review the COVID-Safe Event Plans as part of the approval process, against key risk factors.

Ms Mariani said music, arts, sporting and cultural festivals were the heartbeat of many Victorian communities, from Melbourne to country and coastal towns.

Festivals and community events not only provided locals with work opportunities but also engaged scores of community members as volunteers, and were vital to the amenity of many regional areas.

The festivals and events sector has been shut down for nearly a year due to COVID, with many employees unable to claim JobKeeper payments and struggling to survive.

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