Queensland's Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) has been monitoring licensed venues closely to ensure compliance with stage 3 easing of restrictions and has been left no alternative but to take enforcement action against a number of operators.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D'Ath said while most venues were doing the right thing, some rogue operators were flouting the rules and potentially endangering the health and wellbeing of Queenslanders.
"The vast majority of Queensland licensees did a great job abiding by restrictions during the lock-down period and this has helped put us in the strong position we're in now.
"This great work risks being undone by a small minority who have been taking shortcuts and flouting the rules, potentially endangering other people's health.
"In the past week, OLGR has issued two infringement notices to venues who were operating dancefloors, despite clear advice from authorities that this was not permitted under stage 3.
"CCTV footage from two nightclubs in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley for the weekend of 3 and 4 July clearly showed patrons dancing on what is normally the venue's dancefloor.
"Insufficient action was taken by security or venue management to stop it and subsequently both licensees received a $6,670 fine.
"Authorities won't be afraid to keep enforcing these rules, both to protect public health and the thousands of jobs supported by Queensland's hospitality industry."
Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Steven Miles said he understood Queenslanders missed their dance floors but it was important to ensure Queenslanders are protected from COVID-19.
"Queensland is in a great position, thanks to the hard work we have put in over the last few months.
"I'm asking all Queenslanders to please keep socially distanced, practice good hand hygiene, and get tested if you develop any COVID-19 symptoms," Mr Miles said.
"Dancefloors in clubs and pubs might be off limits for now but if we keep up the good work we can return to normal faster."
The Attorney-General said a Gold Coast bar was also fined $6,670 on the same weekend for failing to keep required contact information about patrons for contract tracing purposes, despite receiving multiple warnings.
