Victoria Police says ‘changes will ensure taxpayers aren’t unfairly subsidising additional police attendance at commercial events where organisers stand to make a profit’
The biggest overhaul of Victoria Police fees in more than a decade will result in the force trying to claw back more money from event operators.
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Major sporting events and concerts in Victoria will be hit with more fees as police start charging for the use of drones and the cost of safety planning.
As part of the biggest overhaul of its fees in more than a decade, Victoria Police can now recoup more costs from event operators that drain resources, including AFL games, the Boxing Day test, the Grand Prix, the Australian Open and concerts and festivals.
For the first time, police can charge for planning, and include the cost of resources needed around venues for uses such as traffic control.
They will also be able to bill for more devices such as drones and counter-drone technology to stop unauthorised cameras that can pose crowd safety risks.
The changes are part of a push to allow police to recoup costs from commercial operators rather relying on taxpayers to foot the bill.
The first changes came into effect in mid 2024 when fees for police offers at events were hiked by more than 20 per cent, to better reflect the cost to Victoria Police.
Victoria hosts more than 400 major events every year, which has caused huge strain on the force’s budget in recent years, especially with major one-off events like the Taylor Swift concert when fans packed out the MCG.
Among the latest updated fees police can charge event operators $39.20 per hour for the use of a police dog, $65.30 for a police horse, $10,217 per hour for a helicopter, $147 per hour for a drone, and $440 for anti-drone technology, which was first used at last year’s Grand Prix to deter unknown drones from operating in the sky above the event.
For pre-planning, police will charge $343 per hour for planning for seasonal games across all leagues including AFL, AFLW, rugby and soccer matches.
Bigger sporting matches such as the Grand Final will be billed at $686 an hour for pre-planning.
AFL games are one of the biggest drainers of police resources requiring up to 20,000 hours of shifts a year.
PSOs can be also be deployed under the changes starting at $122.50 per hour.
Additional fees will also apply to services like fingerprint scanning for private security and firearm licenses, extra copies of crime reports, and record searches.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the changes were would help the force balance the budget without relying on taxpayers to foot the bill.
“This is the first time in 10 years Victoria Police has conducted a thorough review of its fees and charges,” they said.
“The changes will ensure taxpayers aren’t unfairly subsidising additional police attendance at commercial events where organisers stand to make a profit.
“All fees and charges are designed to help recover Victoria Police’s costs only. We do not charge for resources deployed when there is an unforeseen emergency at events and retain discretion to waive or reduce fees for certain events.”
They added that the new fee structure also allows police to waive fees for smaller regional events and charity events which could have their financial stability threatened by the added policing costs.
The move to hike fees comes after police documents have previously revealed that the force was increasingly struggling to recoup costs of major events, which was causing financial blowouts of up to $8 million a year.
The new fees will also allow for better planning and costing of resources to be deployed at controversial events like the Land Forces weapons conference in Melbourne.
It is understood police will also use the costing to calculate reparations for any incidents of false reporting where police resources are wasted.
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