Venues won’t need to be COVID cops to block unvaccinated guests: Police

Queensland pubs and cafes will be forced to bar entry to unvaccinated patrons in just over five weeks, while brides who want more than 20 wedding guests will have to uninvite people who refuse the jab.

Police have promised venues they will not be forced to become COVID cops, and industry bodies have generally welcomed the state government’s roadmap out of pandemic restrictions.

Unvaccinated people will be unable to get a beer at the pub from mid-December in Queensland.Credit: Tanya Lake

From December 17, or earlier if Queensland hits its 80 per cent double-vaccinated target sooner, unvaccinated people will be locked out of hotels, pubs, clubs, taverns, bars, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, indoor live music venues, karaoke bars, concerts, theatres, cinemas, sports stadiums, theme parks, festivals, and government-owned galleries, museums and libraries.

Only staff and patrons who have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed to enter those venues, with the rules applying to everyone aged 16 and older, and no density limits will apply.

Unvaccinated visitors will be banned from aged care, hospitals, prisons and disability services, except for end-of-life visitors, childbirth or emergency situations.

Unvaccinated people will still be able to go to retail stores, such as Coles or Woolworths, and use public transport.

Brides and grooms will also need to add an extra question to their RSVP cards - are you vaccinated? - if they want to hold a wedding with no limits on guest numbers.

If any attendees are unvaccinated, people getting married will be forced to downsize their weddings to a maximum of 20 people.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland policy and advocacy general manager Amanda Rohan said the announcement gave businesses certainty, but it was important business owners were not liable if patrons did not comply.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said small businesses needed to know the state government had their back.

But police insist staff will not be forced to become COVID cops.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said non-compliance would not be tolerated and would be met with enforcement action, including a $1378 fine.

Ms Carroll asked venues to display the rules, ask for proof of vaccination and if there was no evidence produced, they could ask the person to leave.

If the person refused to leave, staff should call police, she said.

“We have seen bad behaviour in other states, and I just reiterate the message that that will not be tolerated here,” Ms Carroll said.

Police have performed 3675 random business checks for COVID-19 compliance in the past three months.

Vaccination status will be added to the Queensland Check In App by mid-November.

The new rules come after Deputy Premier Steven Miles last month said venues would be allowed to decide to be “vaccinated only” in return for eased restrictions when the state reached 80 per cent fully vaccinated.

But the Premier then insisted “there’s no second roadmap”.

“So I’ve made this very clear over the last few days, that what people are doing ... businesses will make up their own minds,” she said.

In a later statement, Mr Miles apologised for any confusion his earlier comment had caused.

On Tuesday, when asked if businesses did not have a choice in the roll-out of the new rules for unvaccinated patrons, Ms Palaszczuk replied: “Correct.”

Queensland Hotels Association chief executive Bernie Hogan welcomed the plan, and said he was not concerned about any added impetus of enforcement as hotels already operated in a highly-regulated environment.

“We’re pleased that it gives certainty to the business community who were worried about if they made their venues fully vaccinated only, that they were leaving themselves up to some sort of legal challenge,” he said.