During a public health emergency, the Chief Health Officer can issue Public Health Directions to assist in containing, or to respond to, the spread of COVID-19 within the community.
These directions may apply to specified Impacted Areas for a set period of time.
Find out more about Impacted Areas, and whether any have been declared and are in force.
COVID Safe Checklists
COVID Safe Checklists relate to seated dining and drinking, food courts, and personal services. These are different to COVID Safe Event Checklists, which allow for 500 attendees (indoors) and 1000 attendees (outdoors) per day at events.
Approved COVID Safe Industry Plans and Checklists
Important:
Where the Chief Health Officer has issued updates to the public health directions, which differ from requirements outlined in published Approved COVID Safe Plans or Checklists, the relevant Direction(s) prevails to the extent of any inconsistency.
Stay up-to-date with any changes to Public Health Directions
Translated information for multicultural communities – coronavirus (COVID-19) – search for “business” under Translated resources.
COVID Safe Industry Plans and COVID Safe Checklists are key compliance categories of the COVID Safe Business Framework—helping businesses to better understand what they need to do to keep themselves and the community ‘COVID safe’.
Some types of businesses have more restrictions and requirements in place due to their higher risk of coronavirus transmission, as determined by the Chief Health Officer—they are known as ‘restricted businesses’ under the public health direction. It is mandatory for these businesses to download and follow their relevant industry’s COVID Safe Industry Plan or Checklist.
View the list of business types and restrictions.
Other businesses can also benefit from using the voluntary checklists that have been developed.
COVID Safe Industry Plans
COVID Safe Industry Plans are not for use by individual members of the public. These plans are specifically for business use only.
COVID Safe Industry Plans
COVID Safe Industry Plans and related documents are available for:
- Aquatic Sport Sector
- Australian Attractions
- Cinema
- Dance and Physical Performing Arts
- Field Sports
- Fitness Facilities
- Food Services
- Hotels, Clubs, Nightclubs and Adult Entertainment
- Indoor Sports
- Outdoor Education Providers
- Outdoor Recreation Activity Providers
- Outdoor Sports
- Places of Worship
- Queensland Agricultural Shows and Showgrounds
- Queensland Live Performance, Venues/Theatres
- Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) Campgrounds
- Queensland Racing Industry and Racing Clubs
- Queensland Real Estate
- Queensland Sex Industry
- Queensland Sex on Premises Venues and Adult Parties
- Queensland Tourism and Accommodation
- Queensland Wineries
- Retail, Hair and Beauty
- Swimming Pool and Aquatic Centre
- Weddings
- Zoos and Aquariums
Should you need to discuss any aspect of an approved industry plan please contact the relevant industry body or lead agency.
If there is no applicable Approved Plan or COVID Safe Checklist restricted businesses must:
- operate with a maximum of 50 people with no more than one person per 2 square metres, unless otherwise specified in Schedule 1 of the Direction
- collect and keep contact information
- ensure physical distancing is observed
- operate the business, activity or undertaking in accordance with all other requirements of this Direction.
Note: Where the business elects not to operate under an Approved Plan (despite one being applicable) they must follow an applicable COVID Safe Checklist for a maximum of 50 people. For example, a small café may prefer to operate under the COVID Safe Checklist for dining and drinking in venues rather than an Approved Plan.
Find more information on COVID Safe Industry Plans.
COVID Safe Checklists
COVID Safe Checklists continue to apply to restricted businesses. These businesses may host a maximum of 50 people with a COVID Safe Checklist, or more if complying with a COVID Safe Industry Plan.
COVID Safe Checklists
Checklists are available for business types and activities including:
- Dining and drinking*
- Food courts*
- Indoor Play Centres, Unattended Children's Rides and other Unattended Freestanding Amusement or Wellbeing Machines
- Personal services*
- Vehicle and vessels for up to 50 people
*Translated checklists are available in the following languages: Chinese simplified, Chinese traditional, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese.
Voluntary use checklists
- Recurrent markets—community markets etc.
- Voluntary general use checklist—to help any business stay COVID safe
If there is no applicable COVID Safe Checklist restricted businesses must:
- operate with a maximum of 50 people with no more than one person per 2 square metres, unless otherwise specified in Schedule 1 of the Direction
- collect and keep contact information
- ensure physical distancing is observed
- operate the business, activity or undertaking in accordance with all other requirements of this Direction.
If you do not offer these services, you do not need to complete a checklist. All businesses should, however, be following the work health and safety guidelines.
Key points for businesses requiring COVID Safe Checklists - You are required to complete and display a COVID Safe Checklist to enable you to open and operate, providing a safe environment for your patrons and your staff.
- You must complete, sign and display the Checklist in a prominent and visible location at your business premises.
- You are not required to submit this Checklist to Queensland Health however an authorised enforcement officer (including Queensland Police, Local Government Environmental Health Officers) can check compliance at any time and/or may ask for a copy of the signed Checklist.
- Where the Chief Health Officer has issued updates to the public health directions, which differ from requirements outlined in published Approved COVID Safe Plans or Checklists, the relevant Direction(s) prevails to the extent of any inconsistency.
- Checklists will continue to be updated to remain in line with current restrictions/public health directions. Check back to this website regularly to ensure your business is complying with the most recent COVID Safe Checklist.
- Your staff must complete COVID Safe mandatory training within two weeks of your business opening. Staff that commence with your business after this two-week period must complete this training before commencing. See the COVID Safe mandatory training section below for more details.
- Record keeping obligations and collecting contact information under the public health directions is required. Find out more on collecting and storing information.
COVID Safe mandatory training Online mandatory training programs have been developed to provide all staff in industries operating under a COVID Safe Checklist with training to help ensure a COVID Safe work environment.
This training must be completed:
- within two weeks of a business opening/reopening
- by staff commencing with your business after this two-week period.
COVID Safe training programs are available and can be accessed online through TAFE Queensland or from an approved industry organisation.
Free online COVID Safe training programs
- TAFE Queensland for:
- COVID Safe for dining in – suitable for hospitality
- COVID Safe for personal services – suitable for beauty, nail, massage tanning, tattoo parlours, spas, saunas and bathhouses.
- Restaurant & Catering Australia for:
- Dining services
- Food courts can follow this training to ensure they remain COVID-safe.
For a full list of restricted businesses and mandatory COVID Safe requirements, please see Schedule 1 of the Chief Health Officer’s Restrictions on Businesses, Activities and Undertaking Direction.
COVID Safe Events
If hosting a COVID Safe Event, event organisers should monitor the list of approved COVID Safe Industry Plans above to determine whether their event (or specific parts of their event) is covered by one or more specific COVID Safe Industry Plans and/or for guidance on measures to be implemented in relation to the particular activity. Event organisers must ensure compliance with these approved COVID Safe Industry Plans for the relevant components of your event, including any specific requirements regarding approvals.
Organisers of events with more than 500 (indoors) / 1500 (outdoor*) people and operating in compliance with an Approved Plan other than a COVID Safe Event Plan must notify the Public Health Unit of the event a minimum of 10 business days before the event by emailing via the COVID Safe Event Plan Submission Portal.
Should you have any queries relating to the Industry Framework for COVID Safe Events contact the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport (DTIS).
For more information about COVID Safe Events, including the Industry Framework for COVID Safe Events, please visit COVID Safe Events.