As featured in the latest edition of QHA Review Magazine
Operating a licenced hotel in Queensland comes with significant responsibilities, particularly in relation to compliance requirements set out under legislation and administered by the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR). Here, we explore what to expect during a compliance inspection and some of the best practices for your hotel to ensure you do not fall short of your obligations.
What To Expect and Compliance Obligations
The OLGR is tasked with regulating the liquor and gaming industries to promote safe and responsible practices to ensure:
- Licensees uphold the conditions of their liquor and gaming licences;
- Harm caused by excessive consumption of alcohol and gambling is prevented or minimised;
- Public safety and order are maintained; and
- All licenced venues operate within the legal framework prescribed by the Liquor Act 1992, the Gaming Machine Act 1991 and other relevant legislation.
The OLGR maintains its compliance regime by utilising compliance officers to conduct unannounced liquor and gaming inspections at licenced venues, reactive inspections in response to complaints received, and intelligence-led operations targeting specific compliance risks.
These inspections can result in anything from a full examination of all a venue’s obligations to a very narrow set of obligations, and you should be prepared for any or all of the following to be considered (this list is not exhaustive):
- Presence of the approved manager (or otherwise the approved manager being reasonably available);
- Compliance with licence conditions for liquor and gaming;
- Advertising and signage obligations both externally and internally;
- Maintenance and cleanliness of venue;
- Compliance with crowd control, CCTV and other safety obligations;
- Prescribed documentation (such as the liquor/gaming licence, RSA/RSG certificates for relevant staff, risk-assessed management plan, approved manager certificate and card, crowd control sign on/incident register and any other workplace policies to evidence how re-entry pass systems, management plans, advertising/signage or age identification are dealt with) being on-site and available for inspection;
- Responsible service of alcohol, including whether unduly intoxicated patrons are being supplied with or allowed to consume liquor; and
- Responsible service of gambling.
Penalties
A failure to comply with these obligations can result in you and your hotel having exposure to penalties being imposed by the OLGR including reprimands, fines, varying licence conditions (authority to trade, trading hours, training requirements etc.) or in the most serious instances,, suspension or cancellation of licences and disqualifying the licensee from holding a licence.
Recommendations
Proactive preparation is the best approach to managing OLGR compliance inspections, some strategies that can assist with this are:
- Keeping all prescribed documentation up to date and in a convenient and easily accessible location to minimise the risk of non-compliance or misplaced documentation and minimise inspection time.
- Regularly training staff on compliance obligations to ensure the operation of the hotel matches your legal obligations and internal policies.
- Committing to keeping abreast of any changes to liquor and gaming laws and updating practices accordingly – this could be completed in conjunction with conducting internal audits to ensure any potential compliance gaps are closed.
- Consider consulting with legal advisors to ensure your hotel meets its obligations.
If your hotel is preparing compliance procedures, reviewing compliance procedures/records, or planning to update them, it is strongly recommended you engage experienced professionals for trusted advice that is appropriate and tailored to your circumstances, your organisation and your needs.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me on 07 3224 0230 if I can assist you with this.