Safe night precinct local boards

Many safe night precincts (SNPs) are managed by local boards operating as incorporated associations. These boards create and manage plans for the SNP to deal with various community safety issues.

SNP local boards promote the safety and amenity of the community by:

  • developing and implementing strategies to minimise harm and violence from the misuse of alcohol and drugs
  • liaising with, and supporting, community organisations that provide rest and recovery services in SNPs for people who have drunk alcohol or taken drugs.

SNP local boards aren't responsible for the actions of individual licensees or government agencies.

Members of SNP local boards

Members of SNP local boards can include:

  • licensees of premises within the SNP
  • owners or operators of other businesses in the SNP
  • associations that represent the interests of businesses in the SNP (e.g. the Chamber of Commerce)
  • community organisations that provide services in the SNP.

A licensee in an SNP must become a member of an SNP local board, where one exists, unless they're exempt licensees.

When an SNP local board is first started, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) will write to licensees who must become members. These licensees must apply for membership within 28 days.

Exempt licensees

Liquor licensees who are exempt from becoming members of SNP local boards (but may join if they want to) include:

  • restaurants and cafes that are not licensed to sell liquor after midnight
  • community other licence holders
  • producers/wholesalers
  • vessels
  • cinemas
  • commercial hotel licensees that only have a detached bottle shop in the SNP.

These exemptions are provided under the Liquor Regulation 2002.

We encourage exempt licensees to join and participate in SNP local boards even though they're not required to.

Ask the secretary of your SNP local board for a membership application form. You can use the OLGR interactive map to find your local SNP's email address.

Benefits of being in an SNP local board

We recommend each SNP has a local board, but it's not a legal requirement.

The benefits of forming a local board include:

  • empowering licensees and other stakeholders to develop substance misuse harm-minimisation solutions for their own local areas
  • sharing awareness and accessing SNP funding grants and other sources of funding as a group to implement SNP local board initiatives
  • networking with state and local government representatives who form part of the public safety consultative committee (PSCC) that supports the local board.

Consider other harm-minimisation strategies SNP local boards can adopt.

SNP grants

Two funding pools—administration funding and operational funding—are available for local boards to establish and maintain SNPs and support their objectives and governance.

Funding rounds generally open in July each year. There are currently no SNP funding grants available.

Public safety consultative committees

A public safety consultative committee (PSCC) is a stakeholder group that provides advice and help to the SNP local board.

Its members include representatives from:

  • Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation
  • Queensland Police Service
  • emergency services (ambulance and fire)
  • Department of Transport and Main Roads
  • local government
  • community organisations that provide services in the precinct
  • other organisations based on local needs (e.g. the Australian Defence Force for Townsville and Ipswich).

The PSCC must be invited to each meeting of the SNP local board but won't vote on resolutions.

The difference between SNP local boards and liquor accords

SNP local boards are different from liquor accords because they:

  • cover a specified area
  • must be incorporated associations
  • have membership requirements and rules that are specific to SNP local boards
  • are eligible to apply for funding from a dedicated SNP grants funding program.

Local stakeholders in each area decide whether existing liquor accords continue to operate and how these may work together with the SNP local board.

Read more about liquor accords.

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