Banning orders and your venue

There are 3 types of bans from Queensland licensed venues. Licensees, crowd controllers and staff should understand the differences between these bans and how to handle the entry of banned patrons at your venue, based on the type of ban they have been issued.

Court and police bans

There are 2 types of banning orders supported by the ID scanning system and recognised by the Liquor Act 1992:

  1. Court bans – bans imposed as a condition of bail under the Bail Act 1980, and banning orders issued under the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992.
  2. Queensland Police Service bans (police bans) - police banning notices issued under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000.

You must refuse entry to a patron if the approved ID scanning system makes a positive ban check for a patron subject to a court or police ban for the regulated premises.

It is up to the licensee whether you allow a person entry who has been identified as subject to a court or police ban that does not include your premises.

Licensee or venue ban

You are able to ban a person from entering your licensed premises and have this ban registered on the approved ID scanning system. To create a ban, you are required to enter certain details into the system, such as:

  • name
  • date of birth
  • duration of the ban
  • reason for the ban
  • a photo.

Your approved operator will be able to provide instructions on how to do this.

Admitting persons subject to a licensee ban is at the discretion of each respective venue – there is no obligation under the Liquor Act to prevent their entry.

For more information on each of these bans, read about banning problem patrons.

What to do in the event of a positive ban check

When scanning ID, a licensed crowd controller must prevent the entry of a patron who returns a positive ban check if the person is subject to a court or police banning order for the regulated premises.

The approved ID scanning system will automatically send an email to police advising that a banned patron has attempted to gain entry to the premises.

The Queensland Police Service (QPS) asks that regulated premises notify them at the time through Policelink on 131 444 or through any linked radio system operated within a SNP that includes real-time monitoring by the QPS. To assist the QPS, crowd controllers should keep note of the offender’s description and direction of travel if they have left the scene.

There is no legislative requirement that allows for a banned person to be detained or their identification to be seized. QPS has advised that in the event of a positive ban check, the licensed crowd controller must not:

  • confiscate the patron's ID
  • detain the banned person.

For more information, read about security staff for licensed venues.

How to handle the 3 ban types at your venue

You must prevent the entry of a patron if they are subject to a court or police ban/direction relevant to your premises. For example, if John Smith is subject to a police ban prohibiting him from entering or remaining in all licensed premises in Mackay, and you are a licensee of a regulated premises in Mackay, you must prevent the entry of John Smith.

But, when John Smith is scanned going into a regulated premises in Townsville, the Townsville licensee is not obliged to refuse John Smith entry, as he is only banned from licensed premises in Mackay.

If John Smith is also subject to a licensee ban in Townsville, it remains at the discretion of each licensee (including the licensee/s responsible for issuing the ban) to allow or prohibit entry of John Smith to the licensed premises.

Also consider...

  • Last reviewed: 9 Dec 2019
  • Last updated: 9 Dec 2019