A Guide to Re-opening Industry Information Pack

How to use this guide 


As restrictions ease, it’s now time to start to take steps towards opening your club and welcoming back your valued, employees members and guests.  Clubs Queensland has prepared this pack as a further resource to add to the Industry COVID Management Plan.

Please use this plan to prepare yourself to reopen your club and then manage your operations in line with COVID 19 restrictions, standards of best practice and any subsequent requirements.

Good Luck and we look forward to all our member clubs returning to the “new” normal and once again providing valuable social and other services for their communities.

Index

What you will find:

1. Prior to open checklist - for all Boards and Management. 
    a. Back of houses
    b. Employees
    c. Regulatory
    d. Social distancing and patron management
    e. Cleaning and hygiene

2. Don’t recreate the wheel - a complete set of COVID 19 and technical information from Clubs Queensland, Government departments, gaming manufactures, liquor suppliers and other key industry stakeholders. 

Prior to open checklist


Back of house
  • Provide sufficient time to discuss your cash needs with bank to replenish all floats and hoppers etc. as required. 
  • Consider your orders ensuring to minimize wherever possible whilst the levels of trade can be determined and to protect cash flow.
  • Turn all cool rooms etc. back on over a period of time and check. (Note turning all on at once will significantly spike peak demand and increase power charges.) Only turn back on what you need. 
  • Turn all EGM’s back on and check well prior to opening to ascertain what machines may require maintenance etc.
  • Confirm with LMO that all connections to server and LMO are operational and ready for opening.
  • Carry out thorough cleaning of all beer reticulation and post mix services and bar equipment as per supplier advices.
  • Contact other service providers for start-up procedures, cleaning procedures and checking. This would include Sky Channel, Fox, TAB, Keno, Bingo etc.  Refer to ‘Don’t recreate the wheel’ in this guide for links and information from the major suppliers.
  • Notify your insurer of intent to open and ascertain if any requirements to do so. 
  • Turn on all kitchen equipment and ensure full clean has occurred so that it is ready for food preparation.
  • Carry out a full and thorough clean of premises as per guidelines in COVID Safe Plan.
  • Where practical place all COVID 19 Safe Barriers and signage in preparation for opening. 
  • Conduct a “walk the store” with other staff checking on suitability of sign locations and what the customer experience would be like. 
  • Consider closing areas that are high risk or cannot be compliant with the COVID Safe Plan. (For example, children’s play areas). 
  • Check the date of all stock within all areas.  
Employees
  • Ensure all part time and full time employees who are receiving the JobKeeper payment and are returning to work on reduced hours receive the consultation letter, attend the consultation, and receive the JobKeeper enabling direction within the required timeframe. To access a copy of the template letters - JobKeeper Enabling Direction click here and Consultation of JobKeeper Enabling Direction click here.
  • Ensure all part time and full time employees who will return to work for their usual hours receive the ‘Return to work: Usual hours’ letter. To access a copy of this template letter, click here. 
  • Ensure all casual employees who are receiving the JobKeeper payment and will be returning to work receive the consultation letter, attend the consultation, and receive the JobKeeper enabling direction within the required timeframe. To access a copy of the template letters - JobKeeper Enabling Direction click here and Consultation of JobKeeper Enabling Direction click here.
  • Ensure that all eligible employees continue to receive the minimum JobKeeper payment of $1,500 per fortnight. 
  • Take advice from Clubs Queensland when considering potential redundancies at the Club. 
  • Ensure that annual leave and personal leave has continued to accrue based on the employee’s pre-COVID 19 hours for all full time and part time employees during the stand down period. 
  • Ensure that long service leave continues to accrue for staff that have returned to work. Long service leave should accrue based on the hours that the employee has worked. 
  • Ensure that Superannuation Guarantee Payments have been made for employees that have returned to work. Superannuation payments should be made based on the hours that the employee has worked. 
  • Check payroll systems to ensure they are functioning on altered arrangements. 
  • Ensure all employees have conducted the relevant COVID 19 Safe training, either through Club Training Australia (CTA) or TAFE Queensland.
  • Ensure all staff are aware that if they have any sickness at all they are not to come to work.
  • All workplace health and safety polices have been reviewed to account for COVID 19 and all risk assessments have been carried out and documented.
  • Encourage all staff to download and use the COVID Safe App. Please note that it is illegal to force staff to download and use the COVID Safe App. 
  • Conduct a risk assessment of any staff who may be vulnerable to COVID 19 and take the necessary precautions to minimise any risks. Details on vulnerable workers can be found by clicking here.
  • Identify a minimal staff requirement for when the club opens and avoid bringing back more staff than required whilst trading levels are established. 
  • Staff areas are set up to manage social distancing, signage is prevalent to remind staff of COVID 19 safe operations and staff are reminded of regular hand washing and areas are provided to do so.
Regulatory
  • Ensure if you are making any variations to the licensed premises, whether that be moving EGMs, making chases to the bar area etc. any permissions required by the regulator are obtained.
  • Ensure the COVID Safe Industry plan has been viewed and adopted for your venue plan and it is completed and ready for presentation if required.   It is vital that your venue does all it can to manage COVID Safe and follow the key measures that minimise transmission.
  • Ensure that the Club is compliant with food safety standards surrounding COVID 19, click here.
  • Check your last fire compliance test and ensure that all fire training and inspections are up to date. 
  • Check that the First Aid requirements are up to date and all relevant employees are up to date with their training. 

It is vital that your venue does all it can to manage COVID Safe and follow the key measures that minimize transmission.

Social distancing and patron management
  • Social distancing is a key requirement of minimising the spread.  It is critical to ensure compliance with all current Health Guidelines.
  • The venue must ensure social distancing of 1.5m between individuals hat the capacity to any area does not exceed 1 person per 4 square metres of floor space. 
Are you doing these things?
  • Determined the floor space of the club and provided signage to alert patrons and staff of maximum numbers allowed in any given area.
  • Ensured venue signage is sufficient and clear to stress the needs for social distancing.
  • Recognise there is an increase of risk through lack of physical distancing.
  • Ensured that the club has a copy of the floor plan, with consideration given to the maximum numbers in each area, ready for presentation to an enforcement officer as required.
  • Ensured that the club maintains appropriate records of all patrons entering the club to ensure compliance and that rapid contact tracing can occur if necessary. 
  • Staff are trained to:
  • manage social distancing, request it be followed by patrons and monitor areas and managing numbers as required;
  • act on patrons who fail to observe basic physical distancing and hygiene requirements expected;
  • notifying of an ill patron and if a case of COVID 19 is confirmed at the venue.
  • Staff practices have been reviewed or modified to ensure social distancing between staff wherever practical. (i.e. assigned workstations or areas.) 
  • Regular announcements made on the P.A. to remind patrons of need to social distance.
  • The furniture and traffic areas have been adjusted to manage social distancing. 
Cleaning and hygiene
  • Cleaning and hygiene are one of the 3 major requirements for COVID safe operations outside of social distancing and controlling the number of patrons in venue.
  • Clubs should already have infections disease policies and methods for cleaning and minimising risk.
Are you doing these things?
  • Following the industry plan and ensuring all hygiene and cleaning practices are as per Health Guidelines. More information can be found by clicking here. Specific guidelines are followed for different areas such as restaurants and food handling. More information can be found by clicking here. 
  • Providing alcohol-based sanitisers throughout the venue, especially entries and exits and supporting this with signage and patron information reminding of the need for good hand hygiene.
  • Management has conducted due diligence on all products to ensure effectiveness and safety to users and all MSDS sheets have been provided and kept in appropriate locations. 
  • Staff are trained in COVID 19 safe cleaning practices focusing on high touch points and the frequency is sufficient to minimise the risks.  In determining the frequency of cleaning, it should be noted that COVID 19 can survive on hard surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours.
  • Correct cleaning materials are being used on all surfaces. Using the wrong cleaners on gaming machines can cause damage so please refer to guides from gaming machine manufacturers below.
  • A record is kept of all cleaning required and frequency required ensuring high touch areas are cleaned as required. 
  • Restrooms and communal areas are recognised as the highest risk and are cleaned as required.

Don’t recreate the wheel

Please find below a list of resources from Clubs Queensland, government and other industry bodies.

Clubs Queensland
  • Industry COVID plan click here. ** If you’re finding when opening the COVID Industry Plans it is still showing a previous version, you may need to refresh your browser on your desktop computer or device. This means the next time you access the webpage, everything will be downloaded new. **
  • General COVID Updates click here.
  • Workplace Relations Including all templates for Stand up (enabling Direction) and all other requirements, click here.
Queensland Health
  • Use this link to stay up to date with the latest Chief Health Officer Guidelines and FAQ’s on COVID 19, click here.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
  • Keeping your Workplace Safe and Clean during Coronavirus, click here.
  • Workplace Risk Management Methods, click here.
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), click here.
Australian Government
Queensland Government
  • In-venue signage for liquor licensees  - click here