We are holding an event at the local community hall. We have been approved a licence to serve alcohol. There will be a band playing. We are a little bit worried about ‘gate crashers’ and so were thinking about getting a security guard. Do we need to employ one
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Answer by Andrea Stein, Brisbane 4000 QLD
- Adequate crowd control or security guards will help to reduce the risks at your event and increase the safety of everyone.
- There are rules about when you must have a security guard at your event. You should check with your local authority to see how the law applies in your situation.
- Generally the number of security guards depends on how many patrons you expect to have at your event. This is also worked out based on the level of risk for your type of event and how long you will be supplying alcohol for.
- In most states and territories the licensing authorities set down a minimum security formula such as:
- less than 100 patrons = 1 crowd controller;
- between 100 and 200 patrons = 2 crowd controllers;
- between 200 and 300 patrons = 3 crowd controllers;
- between 300 and 400 patrons = 4 crowd controllers;
- between 400 and 500 patrons = 5 crowd controllers;
- over 500 patrons – 5 crowd controllers; and
- for each 250 patrons above this amount – at least 1 extra crowd controller.
- You will need to check how the law applies in your state or territory.