Music festival common questions

What are the key changes to the regulation of music festivals?

Changes to the Music Festivals Act 2019 commenced on 27 September 2024.

Key regulatory changes include:

• explicit objectives in the Act which focus on Government supporting the festival sector
• removing the ‘subject’ festival designation from the Act
• replacing the Safety Management Plan with a Health and Medical Plan (HMP) that only relates to health and medical matters
• Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) becoming the key decision maker on advice from NSW Health and NSW Police
• limiting the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority’s role to hearing an appeal from a festival organiser of the requirement to have its HMP agreed by NSW Health
• requiring all music festivals to operate with an HMP, with only certain festivals requiring the contents of their HMP to be agreed by NSW Health
• encouraging more all ages events through new legislative measures relating to liquor licences at music festivals, and
• retaining the ability for NSW Police to recommend law enforcement and safety measures for a festival for consideration by L&GNSW.

Under transitional arrangements, if L&GNSW determines that your festival does not need a HMP agreed by NSW Health, the requirement for you to develop your own HMP will commence from 1 March 2025. 

Is my event a music festival?

A music festival is an event that is not a concert and:

• is music or dance-focused
• is a ticketed event
• has performances by a series of persons or groups
• has a defined area, and
• is attended by 2,000 or more people.   

When is my event a ‘concert’?

If you meet all the following, your event is a concert rather than a music festival:

• the event uses a single stage
• the event is proposed to be held over a period of less than 5 hours, and
• the event has not more than 2 headlining performers and not more than 4 performers in total, including supporting performers, with 1 group or collective being considered to be a single performer.

If you are unsure if your event is a music festival or concert please email the music festivals team . 

Who is the music festival organiser?

The music festival organiser is the person or other entity noted on the public liability insurance policy provided to the owner of the premises or local council where the festival will be held. 

After 1 October 2024 

The new regulatory framework applies to your festival and you are no longer considered to be a ‘subject’ festival if you have previously been directed by L&GNSW to submit a SMP after 1 October 2024.   

Instead, L&GNSW will make a determination as to whether your festival is required to prepare an agreed Health and Medical Plan (HMP).   If L&GNSW determines that your festival requires an agreed HMP, your obligations are: 

• Prepare your HMP using either the NSW Health template or in your own format that includes the required information.
• Provide your HMP to NSW Health, for their agreement, at least 60 days before your festival is to be held. L&GNSW will provide information on how to contact NSW Health and the template to use for your plan.
• Provide a copy of your draft HMP to the NSW Police Force, for information purposes.
• L&GNSW will provide contact details as part of the determination.

What is a health and medical plan?

A health and medical plan (HMP) is a document that enables festival organisers to plan and document the resourcing they’ll need to manage health and medical risks before, during and after their event.

Learn more about HMPs.

When do I need to let Liquor & Gaming NSW know that I intend to hold a festival? 

Under the new regulatory framework, you are now required to submit an early notification form at least 120 days prior to the start of the festival.

To notify us that you are planning a music festival, please fill in the early notification form.

Is it too late for me to submit the early notification form?

You are required to submit an early notification form at least 120 days before the date of the festival. If you have missed this date, submit the early notification form as soon as possible and email the Liquor & Gaming NSW music festivals team to notify them and provide a reason for the delay.

I want to run the same festival again in a year. Should I submit the early notification form again?

Yes, you must submit an early notification form each time your festival is held. The Secretary needs to determine if a health and medical plan is required every time a festival is held. If you have any questions, email the music festivals team. 

Who needs to agree to my Health and Medical Plan (HMP)?

If the Secretary determines your festival requires an agreed HMP, you will need to submit your HMP to NSW Health. L&GNSW will provide you information on how to submit the HMP.

NSW Health will determine if the content of your HMP is agreed upon. It is an offence to not have an agreed HMP if required to do so. It is also an offence if your festival is not run in accordance with the agreed HMP.

See more information on HMP.

What does the Secretary consider when deciding if my festival requires an agreed health and medical plan (HMP)?

The information used to determine if your festival requires an agreed HMP may include but is not limited to:

• advice from NSW Health, NSW Police and the music festival roundtable
• if a prescribed medical event occurred at the music festival or at a festival in connection with the organiser, in NSW or another State or Territory, in the 3 years immediately preceding the date on which the proposed music festival is to start or the 3 previous events (whichever is the longest period of time). This includes: the death of a person, the admission of a person to an intensive care unit of a hospital, endotracheal intubation of a person.
• any submissions you make to the Secretary with reasons why the proposed music festival does not require NSW Health to agree to a health and medical plan.

To learn more about the matters L&GNSW considers, see section 5 of the Music Festivals Act 2019.  

I wish to appeal against L&GNSW’s decision that my festival requires an agreed HMP. What do I do?  

If you wish to appeal against L&GNSW’s decision that your music festival requires an agreed HMP, you may lodge an appeal with the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority by emailing office@ilga.nsw.gov.au. The appeal request must be submitted no later than 14 days after the L&GNSW music festivals team notifies you that an agreed HMP is required.  

Do I need to submit a Law Enforcement and Safety Schedule? 

If it is determined that your music festival requires an agreed HMP, NSW Police may propose additional conditions for your festival not captured by other approvals. 

The Secretary will consider if your festival is required to operate with a law enforcement and safety schedule (Schedule). The Schedule, if required, may include all or some of the conditions requested by NSW Police. 

If a Schedule is required, L&GNSW will advise you of what you’re the requirements are. 

See more information on Schedules. 

Are any incident registers required for my music festival?

A music festival organiser must keep an incident register in an approved printed or digital form.

For more information on incident registers and to purchase a printed copy of the incident register visit Incident registers - Liquor & Gaming NSW. 

An incident register must be kept for 3 years from the date the record was made. An incident register must be made available for inspection by a police officer, health officer, or L&GNSW inspector. This includes permitting copies to be made of the incident register or for it to be removed.

What incidents do I need to record? 

A music festival organiser must record the following incidents, which occur from when the festival commences, until 1 hour after it stops operating:

• an incident that results in the death of a patron of the festival
• an incident that results in a patron of the festival requiring medical assistance as a result of intoxication
• an incident involving violence or anti-social behaviour occurring on the premises on which the festival is being held
• an incident of which the music festival organiser is aware, that involves violence or anti-social behaviour occurring in the immediate vicinity of the premises, and that involves a person who has recently left, or been refused admission to, the premises
• an incident, on the premises, of which the music festival organiser is aware, that involves the possession or use of a substance that the organiser reasonably suspects as being a prohibited plant or a prohibited drug, other than an incident that has been disclosed to a person engaged by the organiser to provide health services at the festival or to a health practitioner
• an incident that results in a person being turned out of the premises, and
• if the safety management plan prohibits minors on the premises or part of the premises—a minor being located on the premises or the part of the premises prohibited to minors.

The incident register must also record what actions were taken in response to any incident recorded.

Does a health service provider briefing need to be requested before it can be held?  

No, it does not. If you do not arrange health service provider briefings for your festival, NSW Government agencies and the local council can ask you to arrange a briefing with those engaged to provide health services at the festival.

If this request is made, you must arrange a health service provider briefing and invite the agencies and the local council.