QHA-Review_April_Digital

OLGR
with Victoria Thomson
STRIVE FOR IMPROVEMENT
QHA REVIEW | 26
As Queensland’s Commissioner, I am always eager to
share with you how licensees are working with us to
make positive changes at their venues.
Our Venue Controls Program empowers licensees to
manage risks in their venue and improve safety. The
program gives us an opportunity to work with you
to assess your venue’s existing controls and identify
where improvements can be made. The types of
controls will vary depending on your circumstances
and any recommendations will be tailored to suit your
venue.
We recently worked with a licensee who proactively
reviewed their internal processes after a serious
incident involving a patron who had been drinking at
the venue. We supported the venue to assess the
following controls:
• signage
• responsible service of alcohol (RSA)
• staff training
• security
Detailed recommendations were subsequently made
to assist management to develop best practice
solutions that were customised to the venue:
1. Signage
There was not enough clear and visible signage
to communicate the behavioural expectations and
venue rules to patrons before they entered the
venue.
Improving signage makes it easier for venue
staff and crowd controllers to refuse entry. We
recommended more visible signage be displayed
in strategic locations around the entry to clearly
outline the venue’s zero tolerance of violence and
aggression, and that there is a strict dress code.
Signage gives a clear point of reference to staff and
patrons around the venue’s expectations about
behaviour.
2. RSA
We noted the good practice in place requiring
supervisors to provide reports and RSA documents
to each other during handover or shift briefings.
However, we recommended all staff should be
supplied with this information and that the venue
should include more information about patrons who
had been in the venue consuming alcohol for some
time.
This simple sharing of information can be a critical
part of a venue’s practice for effectively monitoring
patrons’ alcohol consumption, particularly after a
change of shift where there may have been a break
in monitoring.
3. Staff training
The venue provided staff with an extensive
employee handbook during induction. We
recommended introducing an assessment of
staff’s understanding of the venue’s risk-assessed
management plan (RAMP) and how they should be
contributing to the RAMP and managing patrons’
safety. We recommended the use of an online tool
to record and monitor training participation and
assessment results.
4. Security
The security labour hire company conducted
inductions and onboarding for security guards.
The venue did not provide a specific security
training tool or venue-specific documentation. We
recommended a more robust approach which
includes clarifying the venue’s expectations of
security roles, supervision and patron interaction
protocols, reporting structure and use of force
guidelines.