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Current business restrictions for coronavirus (COVID-19) in Queensland

Greater Brisbane restrictions

Restrictions apply on businesses in the following areas from 6pm, Monday 11 January 2021 to 1am, Friday 22 January 2021:

  • Brisbane City Council
  • Ipswich City Council
  • Logan City Council
  • Moreton Bay Regional Council
  • Redlands City Council.

Businesses in these areas must adhere to the following restrictions:

  • Indoor businesses can have:
    • 1 person per 2 square metres (up to a maximum of 50 people at once) for floor spaces of 200 square metres or less
    • 1 person per 4 square metres for floor spaces over 200 square metres.
  • Outdoor businesses can have 1 person per 2 square metres.
  • Businesses that serve food and drinks can open for seated eating and drinking only.
  • Staff in restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs who interact with the public must wear masks.
  • Dancing is not allowed (except for at weddings, dance studios and dance classes).
  • Wedding and funeral ceremonies can have up to 100 people (no restrictions on dancing at weddings).
  • Indoor concert venues or theatres can have 50% seated capacity or 1 person per 4 square metres (whichever is greater).
  • Outdoor stadiums can have 50% seated capacity (with COVID Safe plans in place).
  • Visits to hospitals, aged care, disability accommodation and prisons remain restricted.
  • Indoor events can operate for up to 500 people and outdoor events can operate for up to 1,000 people – both only with a COVID Safe checklist

Learn more about easing of Greater Brisbane restrictions after the recent lockdown.

Read the Chief Health Officer’s direction for impacted areas.

Wearing a mask

Your staff and customers may be required to wear a mask while on your business premises.

Staff in indoor workplaces should wear a mask when physical distancing is not possible, unless the nature of their job and/or work health and safety guidelines means it is unsafe to wear one.

Children under 12 years and people affected by a medical condition or disability do not lawfully have to wear a face mask. You should not refuse service to someone who has a lawful reason to not wear a mask.

Learn more about wearing a mask, including when you must wear one and how to use them.

All restricted businesses can open, with appropriate COVID Safe planning.

Businesses within Greater Brisbane must follow changed restrictions from 6pm, Monday 11 January 2021 to 1am, Friday 22 January 2021. These restrictions are in place after the recent 3-day lockdown period.

Businesses outside Greater Brisbane must continue to follow advice from the businesses, activities and undertakings direction. This also includes a list of restricted businesses (schedule 1).

Restricted businesses have requirements and restrictions in place due to their higher risk of coronavirus transmission. If you run a restricted business, you must follow your relevant industry’s COVID Safe industry plan or checklist.

Collecting customer information

You may be required to collect and store information from customers, employees and contractors who visit your business. This information helps trace COVID-19 infections.

You must do this if your business is listed in the businesses, activities and undertakings direction.

Information you must collect includes:

  • full name
  • email address (or residential address if email not available)
  • phone number
  • the date and time period of visit (time in and time out).

You must store this information for between 30 and 56 days, unless otherwise specified, and you must comply with privacy laws.

If your business is following an approved COVID Safe industry plan, you may be required to collect additional information. Refer to your plan for more details.

Hospitality businesses – changes to collection requirements

From 1am, Wednesday 23 December 2020, hospitality businesses (e.g. pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes, or hospitality venues that operate within another business such as a casino or gallery) must use an electronic method to collect information to ensure records are clear. Electronic capture options include:

  • QR code-accessed online forms
  • club membership visitation data
  • online booking systems
  • digital spreadsheets.

Read more about the changes to how you collect customer information.

If your business already has an online booking system that captures customer information, you don’t need to implement a second form of electronic record keeping.

If you choose not to move to an electronic method, you must:

  • adhere to customer density of 1 person per 4 square metres
  • offer seated service only
  • close dance floors
  • transfer paper-based records to an electronic system within 24 hours of collecting the information.

If a customer can’t use an electronic method to provide their information (e.g. your internet service is temporarily interrupted, the customer does not have a smart phone, or there are age, disability or language barriers), you can collect their information using another method, such as a paper-based form, and then transfer the information to an electronic system within 24 hours. If you don’t comply with this requirement, you will have to follow the 1 person per 4 square metre density rule.

Businesses in other industries do not need to move to electronic record keeping at this time.

Customer limits

Generally, the size of your business premises will determine how many customers you can have at one time. This is referred to as ‘customer density’.

Businesses within Greater Brisbane must follow changed customer density requirements until 1am, Friday 22 January 2021:

  • Indoor businesses with floor space greater than 200 square metres can have 1 person per 4 square metres.
  • Indoor businesses with floor space less than 200 square metres can have 1 person per 2 square metres (up to a maximum of 50 people).
  • Outdoor businesses can have 1 person per 2 square metres (see a definition of outdoor venues).
  • Indoor concert venues or theatres can have 50% seated capacity or 1 person per 4 square metres (whichever is greater).
  • Outdoor stadiums can have 50% seated capacity (with COVID Safe plans in place).

Businesses outside of Greater Brisbane can have:

  • customer density of 1 person per 2 square metres across their venue
  • up to 100% of seated capacity for venues offering ticketed and allocated seating.

Hospitality businesses that do not comply with the requirement to collect contact details electronically must adhere to a customer density of 1 person per 4 square metres, with all customers seated and no dance floors.

Only include areas of your business that are open to the public when working out your floor space (e.g. for a restaurant, you should count the dining area, but not the kitchen).

Physical distancing rules also still apply. Customers must stay 1.5 metres apart at all times, except if they are in the same group.

Note: Your business must still adhere to customer limits for any fire safety, planning approvals or work health and safety regulations.

Outdoor venues

An outdoor area:

  • has fixed or temporary boundaries but is not fully enclosed
  • is open to the elements
  • has natural air flow
  • can include a veranda, balcony, deck, patio or similar structure that might be connected to an external wall of a building and also have a roof, awning or eave
  • might include a rotunda, tarpaulin or shade structure situated in a larger open space.

An outdoor area does not include:

  • atriums that are internal to a building
  • temporary or permanent marquees (except if walls or panels are lifted for the duration of the event)
  • tents (e.g. circus or performance tents).

If you use curtain walls, panel walls or other fittings to fully enclose an area to protect from the elements, it should be considered as indoor. This includes if these are used for short periods during bad weather to partially enclose an area for customer comfort and safety.

If in doubt, you should operate the area as an indoor space.

Public health rules

All businesses must:

  • ensure there is appropriate distance between staff and customers, and between individual customers or groups (1.5 metres)
  • maintain good hand and respiratory hygiene
  • conduct regular cleaning and disinfection.

Employees must stay home, or be sent home immediately, if they are unwell. If they show any symptoms of acute respiratory disease, they need to get tested for COVID-19.

COVID Safe business planning

To operate your business safely, you must have plans in place that cover COVID-19 risks to ensure the health and safety of your employees and customers.

Read more about COVID safe businesses.

All businesses that are open or reopening must have a management plan in place.
Your industry peak body or representative group may put together a plan for your business to follow.
High risk businesses must complete a checklist to operate safely.

Employee training

If your industry requires a COVID Safe checklist, your staff must complete mandatory COVID Safe training to help ensure a safe work environment.

Free training programs are available online through TAFE Queensland for:

  • dining in
  • personal appearance services (beauty therapy, nail salons, tanning, tattooists and spas).

Your employees must complete this training within 2 weeks of your business reopening. Staff who commence with your business after this 2 week period must complete the training before they start.

However, you may have options for which training your employees complete.

Your industry peak body may develop specific training, which will be reviewed by the Queensland Government. Contact info@desbt.qld.gov.au for more information.

Approved industry specific training

Industry-specific information

Contact us

For further details on the business restrictions and how they apply to your business, you can contact Workplace Health and Safety Queensland on:

  • 1300 005 018 (for business obligation queries during COVID-19)
  • 1300 362 128 (for general work-related complaints).

You can also phone 13 42 68 for more information and assistance.

Sourced from the Queensland Government website

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