Banning problem patrons

Banning legislation provides courts with powers to ban people from specified licensed premises or specified areas around licensed premises. 

• Banning orders are a sentencing option for offences relating to violence in, or in the vicinity of, licensed premises and under the Bail Act as a condition of bail. The court or a police officer is required to consider attaching such a condition to bail in certain circumstances. The Liquor Act enables courts to impose civil banning orders in drink safe precincts, as a result of acts of violence in a precinct.
• The court-issued banning orders can be for up to 12 months duration, or longer if attached to a sentence for a criminal offence, and can apply inside and outside of venues.
• These powers strengthen the ability of the courts and police officers to enforce expected standards of community behaviour, recognising that everyone deserves to be able to enjoy themselves responsibly and feel safe in community spaces.

Other rights and powers for dealing with patrons

Court-ordered patron bans are in addition to other methods licensees and police use to deal with patrons demonstrating violent and inappropriate behaviour. It is important that these methods continue to be used. These include:

• removal or refusal of entry for people exhibiting disorderly or other inappropriate behaviour - this removal or refusal cannot be discriminatory in nature
• venue-specific  bans where a licensee bans a patron indefinitely or for a specified period of time due to inappropriate  behaviour, including acts of violence
• group-venue bans where a number of licensees (usually members of a liquor accord) ban patrons from all participating  venues indefinitely or for a specified period of time, due to inappropriate behaviour, including  acts of violence
• police using 'move on' powers, requiring people leave a stated area and not return for a specified period of up to 24 hours.

What court-ordered patron bans mean for licensees

• Through court-ordered bans, patrons who endanger public safety through violence can be held to account. There are significant penalties for persons found to contravene a banning order and any breach of a ban made through bail conditions may also have serious consequences for the individual, including having their bail revoked. Penalties include a fine of up to $4,400 or up to one year imprisonment.
• The legislation allows for copies of banning orders to be provided to venues to which the ban relates. Queensland Police and the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation will work closely with industry to facilitate suitable arrangements for the distribution of this information.