The Act pivots on several discrete legal and operational concepts that determine scope, obligations and decision‑making.

• Definition of regulated event: “Music festival” is explicitly defined (s 3) as ticketed, attended by 2,000 or more people, held in a defined area and music‑ or dance‑focused. The statute separately defines “concert” (s 3) as a single stage event under five hours with limited numbers of performers; that definition excludes certain events from Part 2 obligations. These numerical and structural thresholds create an operational boundary organisers can and will plan around.

• Agreed health and medical plan: Where required by the Secretary, organisers must prepare a health and medical plan that complies with the Ministry of Health’s Guidelines and submit it to the Health Secretary for agreement (s 5(3), s 6(1)). An “agreed health and medical plan” is the central compliance instrument: the Act conditions legal permission to hold a festival, on-site management and certain licensing terms on its existence and implementation (s 7).

• Secretary’s discretion and triggers for direction: The Secretary decides which festivals require an agreed plan (s 5(1)). In making that decision, the Secretary must have regard to specified sources of advice , advice from the Health Secretary tied to the Guidelines, from the Commissioner of Police, from the organiser, whether prescribed medical events occurred at prior festivals organised by the same organiser in the previous three years, and advice from the music festival roundtable (s 5(2)). These enumerated factors show the statute’s attempt to channel the Secretary’s discretion to particular health, policing and industry inputs.

• Law enforcement and safety schedules: The Commissioner of Police may propose conditions and request the Secretary require the organiser to submit a law enforcement and safety schedule (s 6A(2)-(4)). The Secretary must give organisers an opportunity to comment and then approve the schedule (s 6A(5)). That schedule can be folded into the agreed health and medical plan or, if the festival is on premises to which a liquor licence applies, into the liquor licence itself (s 6A(6)). The mechanism links health planning, policing conditions and liquor licensing in a single compliance package.

• Incident register and reporting: For festivals requiring an agreed plan, organisers must keep an incident register in a Secretary‑approved form recording specified categories of incidents during the operating period and for one hour after (s 11(2)). The register must record specified events including deaths, intoxication requiring medical assistance, violence, possession/use of suspected prohibited drugs (with a carve‑out for incidents disclosed to health providers), and minors in restricted areas (s 11(2)(a)-(g)). The register must be made available to police, inspectors or health officers and retained for at least three years (s 11(4)).

• Enforcement integration with liquor and gaming regulation: The Act is expressly treated as gaming and liquor legislation for the purposes of the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007, enabling inspectors appointed under that Act to operate in enforcement and prosecution pathways, and making certain offences penalty‑notice offences under that regime (s 12). Police are given an enforcement function for police‑proposed conditions and the incident register requirement (s 12(3)).

• Appeals and administrative review: Organisers may appeal a Secretary determination requiring an agreed plan to ILGA (Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority) on a limited ground , that sufficient controls have been put in place to mitigate and manage health risks , using a timeline prescribed in regulations (s 5A). There is no express court appeal route set out in the Act text; administrative remedies and administrative penalties are central.

• Institutional support and advisory mechanisms: The statute creates a music festival roundtable to advise government and industry, with functions covering growth of the sector, safety advice, regulatory review and advising whether a festival requires an agreed plan (ss 13-14). The roundtable is co‑chaired by a ministerial representative and an industry‑selected member (s 15).

• Protection and delegation: Protected persons (including Health Secretary, the Secretary, ILGA members, police officers and public servants) are shielded from personal liability for acts done in good faith under the Act, with liability attaching to the Crown (s 19A). Office holders may delegate functions to departmental employees or classes of persons authorised by regulation (s 20).

These concepts combine to produce a regulatory system that ties large, ticketed, defined‑area festivals to mandatory health and safety planning, to coordinated police input, to record‑keeping, and to enforcement integrated into existing liquor and gaming regulatory structures. Many of the Act’s operational timings are left to “prescribed days” in regulations or to the Secretary’s direction (see ss 5(4), 6(2), 6(5), 6A(2), 10AA(1), 5A(3)), which makes the regulatory calendar a material compliance concern.

The Act identifies and allocates responsibilities and costs chiefly among organisers of music festivals, health and policing agencies, licensing authorities and certain public officials.

• Music festival organisers: The primary regulated party is the music festival organiser, defined by reference to the person or entity named on the public liability insurance policy provided to the premises owner or local council (s 3). That insurance‑based definition assigns statutory duties to whoever the organiser is for insurance‑naming purposes and creates an operational consequence: the identity of the organiser on the insurance certificate determines legal responsibility for obligations such as preparing health and medical plans, holding briefings, maintaining incident registers and complying with agreed plans (see ss 5-11). This can affect organisers, promoters, venue operators and insurers since the statutory “organiser” is an insurance‑identified party.

• Health agencies and personnel: The Health Secretary and health officers (defined as Ministry of Health staff, NSW Health Service staff, ambulance forward commanders and persons engaged by the organiser to provide health services) are central decision-makers or consultees (ss 3, 5(2)(a), 6(4)). The Health Secretary must agree to health and medical plans for directed festivals (s 6(4)) and receives copies of plans and addenda (s 6(2)-(3)). Health officers are given inspection powers to access plans and incident registers (ss 8(1)(b), 11(4)(a)-(b)).

• Police and law enforcement: The Commissioner of Police provides advice to the Secretary about which festivals should be subject to an agreed plan (s 5(2)(b)), may propose conditions and request law enforcement and safety schedules (s 6A(2)-(4)), and may receive copies of agreed plans (s 6(6)). Police officers have specific enforcement responsibilities for Commissioner‑proposed conditions and the incident register (s 12(3)(a)-(b)), and are one of the authorities to whom plans and registers must be made available (ss 6(6), 8(1)(b), 11(4)(a)).

• Liquor licensees and gaming/liquor inspectors: The Act enables law enforcement schedules to be included in liquor licences (s 6A(6)(b)), and explicitly subjects the Act to enforcement via gaming and liquor inspectors under the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007 (s 12(1)-(2)). That ties festival obligations into licensing regimes and the inspectorate already present for liquor and gaming regulation.

• Local councils and premises owners: While not directly assigned day‑to‑day duties in most provisions, local councils are recipients of notice under s 10AA (Secretary gives a copy of organiser notice to Health Secretary and Commissioner of Police), and an organiser’s liability is tied to the public liability policy provided to the owner or local council (s 3). Councils may therefore be implicated in practical safety planning and licensing conversations.

• Industry stakeholders and roundtable participants: The music festival roundtable is composed of government and industry participants (s 13-15). Its functions include advising on whether a proposed festival requires an agreed plan and performing regulatory reviews (s 14). Industry members therefore have a structured channel to shape advice used by decision‑makers.

• Insurers and contracted health providers: The definition of organiser by reference to the public liability insurance certificate affects insurers’ and commercial contractors’ allocation of risk. Contracted health providers are directly referenced as “health officers” if engaged by the organiser (s 3), are the persons to whom certain disclosures may be made that affect the incident register requirement (s 11(2)(e)), and may be required to attend briefings (s 10).

• Festival patrons and performers: The Act regulates operational conditions that affect attendees’ experience, e.g. provisions dealing with minors in restricted areas (s 11(2)(g)) and recordable incidents involving intoxication or drug possession (s 11(2)). Performers are included in the definitions (s 3), but the Act’s duties are focused on organisers.

Who pays and bears costs: The Act places primary compliance costs on the music festival organiser , preparing plans in accordance with the Ministry’s Guidelines (s 6(1)), engaging health services and personnel (s 6(3)), holding briefings, maintaining registers and responding to police‑requested schedules. Indirect costs fall to liquor licensees if law enforcement schedules are incorporated into licences, to health services providing staff at festivals, and to the public purse when Crown liability is engaged for protected persons (s 19A(2)). The Act also creates an administrative cost for the Secretary, Health Secretary, ILGA and roundtable members in processing plans, determining which festivals require agreement and operating appeal and waiver processes (ss 5, 5A, 19C-19D).

This section organises the statute’s principal operative duties, the rights available to regulated parties, and the delegated or institutional rights and discretions.

Duties placed on music festival organisers

• Determine whether obligation applies and notify: Organisers must give notice of intention to hold a proposed music festival to the Secretary in the approved form and by the prescribed day (s 10AA(1)). That notice triggers copy distribution by the Secretary to the Health Secretary and Commissioner of Police (s 10AA(2)).

• Prepare health and medical plans: If the Secretary directs that an agreed health and medical plan is required, organisers must prepare a health and medical plan and provide it to the Health Secretary for agreement, and a copy to the Commissioner of Police (s 5(3)). For festivals that the Secretary determines do not require an agreed plan, organisers must still prepare a health and medical plan but it does not require Health Secretary agreement (s 5(5)).

• Content and timing: Where agreement is required, the plan must be prepared in accordance with the Ministry’s Guidelines (s 6(1)). The plan must be provided to the Health Secretary no later than the prescribed day, or such later day as the Health Secretary allows; an addendum identifying health service providers and their qualifications and experience must be provided at least 14 days before the festival (s 6(2)-(3)).

• Compliance: Organisers must not hold a festival the Secretary determined requires an agreed plan unless there is an agreed plan, must ensure the festival is delivered in compliance with the agreed plan (s 7) and must keep a copy of the agreed plan on premises and make it available to police, inspectors, health officers or emergency services officers on request (s 8(1)(a)-(b)).

• Briefings: For festivals requiring an agreed plan, where representatives of prescribed entities request briefings, organisers must hold briefings with persons engaged to provide health services at specified intervals (s 10(1)-(2)), notify prescribed entities at least seven days in advance (s 10(3)) and allow prescribed entities to attend the briefings (s 10(4)). Prescribed entities include the Secretary, NSW Police, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Rural Fire Service, Ministry of Health, local council and Ambulance Service of NSW (s 10(5)).

• Incident register: For festivals requiring an agreed plan, organisers must keep an incident register in a form approved by the Secretary and record specified incident categories during operating hours until one hour after close (s 11(1)-(2)). The register must note action taken in response to incidents, be made available for inspection by police, inspectors or health officers and be retained for at least three years (s 11(3)-(4)).

• Changes to agreed plans: Proposed changes to an agreed health and medical plan must be given in writing to the Health Secretary and do not take effect until agreed by the Health Secretary (s 9(1)-(3)).

Rights, administrative remedies and review

• Appeal right to ILGA: If the Secretary determines an agreed health and medical plan is required, the organiser may appeal that determination to ILGA (s 5A(1)). The appeal is only on the ground that sufficient controls have been put in place to mitigate and manage health risks (s 5A(2)), must be lodged by the day specified in regulations and in the approved form (s 5A(3)-(4)), and ILGA must decide to confirm the requirement or relieve it so that only an unagreed plan is required (s 5A(5)).

• Waiver/reduction of government charges: Where another Act makes an amount payable by an organiser to the State or a government sector agency, organisers may apply to the Secretary to have the amount waived or reduced under an order made by the Minister (s 19C(1)-(3)). Applications are referred to a music festivals panel composed of representatives of the Premier’s Department, Sound NSW and Destination NSW, which decides whether to waive or reduce the amount (s 19C(4)-(5)). The Secretary must notify the organiser and the head of the agency as soon as practicable after the panel’s decision (s 19C(6)).

Institutional rights, discretions and protections

• Secretary’s decision‑making: The Secretary has the primary statutory discretion to determine which festivals require agreed plans (s 5(1)). The Secretary must have regard to listed advice sources and prior prescribed medical events (s 5(2)) but otherwise may exercise discretion within the statutory framework. The Secretary may also require the organiser to submit law enforcement and safety schedules following Commissioner proposals (s 6A(3)(a)) and approve such schedules (s 6A(5)).

• Health Secretary’s agreement: The Health Secretary must decide whether to agree to a health and medical plan and give a copy of an agreed plan to the Commissioner of Police (s 6(4)-(6)). The Health Secretary’s decision is central to whether a festival can proceed.

• Delegation: The Minister, Secretary and Health Secretary may delegate the exercise of functions under the Act (except the power of delegation itself) to departmental employees or classes of persons authorised by regulation (s 20(1)-(2)). That places practical decision‑making with departmental staff as permitted by regulation.

• Protected persons and Crown liability: Protected persons acting in good faith under the Act are not personally liable; liability attaches to the Crown (s 19A(1)-(2)). Protected persons include the Health Secretary, Secretary, public service employees, members of ILGA, ILGA consultants, NSW Health Service staff and police officers (s 19A(3)).

• Guidelines and roundtable advice: The Minister may publish guidelines about best practice (s 19B(1)-(2)), and the music festival roundtable is given functions including advising whether a proposed festival requires an agreed plan and reviewing regulatory schemes relevant to festivals (s 14(b1), (c)). These are advisory but are specified sources of advice the Secretary must have regard to in s 5.

Enforcement and penalties

• Offences include holding a festival requiring an agreed plan without one or failing to comply with an agreed plan (maximum 500 penalty units, s 7), failing to keep an agreed plan on premises or make it available (maximum 100 penalty units, s 8), failing to hold briefings when required (maximum 100 penalty units, s 10(1)), and failing to keep the incident register or allow inspection (maximum 100 penalty units, s 11(1), (4)). The Act links enforcement to the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act’s inspectoriate and prosecution processes (s 12(1)-(2)).

Rights of third parties and transparency

• Access rights: Police officers, inspectors, health officers and emergency services officers may request and must be given the agreed plan on site (s 8(1)(b)), and can inspect and copy incident registers (s 11(4)(a)-(b)). The Health Secretary must give the Commissioner of Police a copy of an agreed plan (s 6(6)), embedding cross‑agency access to plans.

The Act combines criminal penalties, penalty notices and administrative enforcement pathways using existing gaming and liquor enforcement infrastructure. It specifies maximum penalties for several offences and prescribes enforcement responsibilities.

Specified penalties

• Failure to hold or comply with an agreed health and medical plan: A music festival organiser for a festival that the Secretary has determined requires an agreed health and medical plan must not hold the festival unless there is an agreed plan and must ensure the festival is delivered in compliance with the agreed plan. The maximum penalty for breach is 500 penalty units (s 7). The Act does not specify the monetary value of a penalty unit; that value must be taken from the relevant general statutory scale.

• Failure to keep or make the agreed plan available on premises: Failure to keep a copy of the agreed health and medical plan on the premises and provide it on request to authorised persons carries a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units (s 8(1)-(2)).

• Failure to hold briefings when requested: Where the Secretary has determined an agreed plan is required, organisers must hold specified briefings with persons engaged to provide health services at the festival if representatives of prescribed entities request the briefing. Failure to do so carries a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units (s 10(1)).

• Failure to keep an incident register or to retain it: Keeping an incident register in the Secretary‑approved form and recording specified incidents during operating hours is compulsory; failure attracts a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units. The requirement to make the register available and to allow copying or removal is also under this section (s 11(1)-(4)).

Administrative enforcement mechanisms

• Inspectors and Gaming and Liquor Administration Act interface: The Act is declared to be gaming and liquor legislation for the purposes of the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007 (s 12(1)). Consequently, inspectors may be appointed under that Act for the purposes of this Act and may exercise powers under that Act as if this Act were gaming and liquor legislation (s 12(2)(a)-(b)). Proceedings for offences may be taken under s 45 of the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act (s 12(2)(c)). Section 46 of the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act applies as if an offence under s 8 were a penalty notice offence with the amount payable under a penalty notice set at 10 penalty units (s 12(2)(d)). That creates an administrative fine pathway for s 8 offences.

• Police enforcement: In addition to the inspectorate role, the Act gives police officers a function to enforce certain matters under this Act: specifically, conditions proposed by the Commissioner of Police about law enforcement and safety that are adopted by the Secretary, and compliance with the incident register requirement (s 12(3)(a)-(b)). Police may therefore take enforcement action in respect of police‑origin conditions and record‑keeping obligations.

Prosecutorial and review pathways

• Prosecutions are to proceed under the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act’s procedural provisions (s 12(2)(c)), which will determine modes of prosecution, evidentiary paths and court venues in practice.

• Administrative appeals: For the Secretary’s determination that an agreed health and medical plan is required, the Act provides an administrative appeal to ILGA on a tightly defined ground , the organiser’s view that sufficient controls have been put in place to mitigate and manage health risks (s 5A(1)-(2)). The Act requires ILGA to decide either to maintain the requirement for an agreed plan or to relieve the organiser so only an unagreed plan is required (s 5A(5)). The timeframe and form for lodging appeals are to be prescribed in regulations (s 5A(3)-(4)).

Enforcement implications and decision control

• The Act centralises control with public officials: the Secretary decides which festivals are subject to the highest tier of oversight, the Health Secretary decides whether a plan is agreed, and the Commissioner of Police may propose law enforcement conditions and have them incorporated into plans and licences (ss 5, 6, 6A). Enforcement is therefore a mix of administrative oversight (plan agreement, schedule approval), inspector and police activity on the ground (s 12), and prosecutions under established gaming and liquor procedures.

• Penalty notice option: The conversion of the s 8 offence to a penalty notice offence under the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act with a 10 penalty unit penalty (s 12(2)(d)) means some compliance breaches may be resolved quickly by payment rather than court action. For more serious breaches (s 7) the Act retains higher criminal sanctions.

• Practical enforcement friction points: Several enforcement powers hinge on access to documents on site (s 8) and the incident register (s 11). Inspectors and police can make copies and remove the register (s 11(4)(b)), which involves evidence preservation and privacy considerations. The Act does not in the text set out evidentiary protocols for sensitive health disclosures that are excluded from the register (s 11(2)(e)), so the interaction with confidentiality and health practitioner obligations will require operational procedures.

The Act is designed to operate as a sectoral overlay that integrates with and leverages existing health, liquor, gaming and administrative law frameworks. The text expressly cross‑references multiple statutes and creates operational intersections.

• Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007: The Act is expressly “taken to be gaming and liquor legislation” for the purposes of that Act (s 12(1)). That has several mechanical consequences: inspectors appointed under the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act may be appointed and exercise powers in relation to this Act (s 12(2)(a)-(b)); offences under this Act can be prosecuted using the procedures in s 45 of the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act (s 12(2)(c)); and one offence (s 8) is treated as a penalty notice offence with a penalty notice amount set at 10 penalty units under s 46 of the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act (s 12(2)(d)). This integration fastens festival enforcement into the existing liquor and gaming regulatory machinery.

• Liquor Act and liquor licensing: The law enforcement and safety schedule the Commissioner may propose can be included in a liquor licence and, if included, is taken to be part of the licence with which the licensee must comply (s 6A(6)(b)). This integrates festival safety conditions with liquor licensing obligations and means that festival organisers and venue licensees must consider both the Health Secretary’s plan agreement and the liquor licence conditions together. Earlier liquor regulations are referenced in transitional provisions (Schedule 1, Part 1).

• Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW): The definition in s 11(5) imports the term “health practitioner” from that national law for the purposes of the incident register provisions (s 11(5)). The incident register’s carve‑out for incidents disclosed to a person engaged by the organiser to provide health services or to a health practitioner (s 11(2)(e)) thereby interacts with practitioner duties, confidentiality and professional obligations under the national law and health privacy frameworks.

• Government Sector Employment Act 2013: The protected person definition in s 19A(3) refers to “public service employee” and “government sector agency” definitions in the Government Sector Employment Act (s 19C(7)), and the music festivals panel includes representatives nominated by heads of government sector agencies (s 19C(4)), aligning administrative appointments and personnel definitions with that Act.

• Interpretation Act 1987: The Act notes the Interpretation Act contains definitions and provisions affecting interpretation and application of this Act (s 3 Note). Other transitional provisions (Schedule 1, Part 2) make special calls on the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 and the Interpretation Act 1987 in relation to Schedule 2 of the Amendment Act 2024 (Schedule 1, cl 6).

• Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 and regulations: Many operational timeframes are left to the regulations (for example “prescribed day” references in ss 5(4), 6(2), 6(5), 6A(2), 5A(3), 10AA(1)). Schedule 1, cl 6 of the Act makes a transitional declaration about the Amendment Act’s Schedule 2 being taken to be a regulation under the Act and limits the application of the Subordinate Legislation Act Part 2 to that regulation (Schedule 1, cl 6(1)-(4)). Users must check the relevant regulations for the practical timeframes and procedural detail.

• Liquor regulations (historic): Schedule 1, Part 1 contains a transitional provision for organisers who, prior to commencement, had been advised by ILGA under clause 35A of the pre‑2019 liquor regulations that a music festival licence was appropriate; Part 1 treats such organisers as if they had been given a direction under s 5(1) (Schedule 1, cl 1). This addresses legacy regulatory decisions under the Liquor Act’s older regulation model.

• Other administrative law: The Act creates administrative decision points (Secretary’s determination, Health Secretary’s agreement, ILGA appeals, waiver processes under ss 19C-19D). Although the Act does not itself detail judicial review processes, these administrative decisions will sit within the ordinary scope of NSW administrative law and any applicable review or challenge avenues in the broader law of judicial review. The Act does not itself create or limit judicial review jurisdiction.

Consequential and operational overlaps

• Licensing and contractual effects: Because law enforcement and safety schedules can be incorporated into liquor licences (s 6A(6)(b)), organisers and licensees should expect licence conditions to change as part of festival planning. That may affect contractual allocations of responsibility between organisers and venue licensees, and may produce direct compliance obligations for holders of liquor licences that the organiser does not hold.

• Health confidentiality and incident recording: The incident register requirement deliberately excludes incidents disclosed to persons engaged by the organiser to provide health services or to health practitioners (s 11(2)(e)). This creates an interaction between the incident‑recording duty and the confidentiality/mandatory reporting obligations that apply to health practitioners under separate health legislation and professional rules. Organisers, contracted health providers and legal advisors will need procedures to reconcile the incident register requirement and patient confidentiality.

• Insurance and organiser identity: The statutory definition of “music festival organiser” depends on the person identified on the public liability insurance policy provided to the premises owner or council (s 3). That produces a cross‑over with commercial insurance practices and contract drafting: the allocation of statutory duties may follow the insurance certificate name rather than contractual promoter agreements, so parties will need to ensure policy documentation aligns with intended legal responsibility.

The Act as presented includes multiple recorded amendments and insertions. The marginal notes in the text indicate the following chronological changes; these notes are the Act’s own indicia of amendment and repeal. This summary draws only on the amendment annotations contained in the provided text.

• Original Act: enacted as Music Festivals Act 2019 (as noted in s 1 heading). The baseline text established the core framework for festival regulation.

• 2021 amendments: Several provisions were amended or inserted in 2021. Margin notes show amendments referenced as “Am 2021 No 32, Sch 1.12” for s 3, s 5, s 6, s 7, s 8, s 9, s 10, s 11 and the insertion of s 19A (Ins 2021 No 32, Sch 1.12[10]). These 2021 changes modified definitions and obligations (the text records these amendment citations alongside the relevant sections).

• 2022 amendments: Section 19A (protection from personal liability) was amended in 2022: “Am 2022 No 59, Sch 3.45” is shown in the margin for s 19A, indicating a change to the protection provision.

• 2023 amendments: Section 15 (co‑chairs of the music festival roundtable) is indicated as amended in 2023 , the margin citation “Am 2023 No 35, Sch 4.28. Subst 2024 No 61, Sch 1[32]” indicates the 2023 change was subsequently substituted by the 2024 amendments.

• 2024 amendments (Music Festivals Amendment Act 2024): A substantive tranche of amendments and insertions is recorded as “Ins 2024 No 61, Sch 1” across many sections. Notable 2024 insertions and substitutions include:

  • s 2A (Objects of Act) inserted (Ins 2024 No 61, Sch 1[2]).
  • Additions or substitutions to definitions and other provisions in s 3 (2024 No 61, Sch 1[3]-[4]).
  • The directive and agreed plan regime and related procedural provisions were revised or clarified by 2024 insertions across ss 5, 5A, 6, 6A, 7-11, and 12 (e.g. ss 5A, 6A, 10AA were inserted by 2024 No 61 Sch 1).
  • s 12 was amended to specify inspectors and enforcement interface (Am 2024 No 61, Sch 1[29]).
  • Part 4 divisions were reworked, with some sections repealed (pt 4, div 1 heading rep and div 2 repeals indicated).
  • s 19A and s 19B-19D are noted as being inserted or amended by 2024 (Sch 1[35]-[36]).
  • Delegation provision s 20 was substituted (Subst 2024 No 61, Sch 1[37]).
  • Regulations provision s 21 was amended (Am 2024 No 61, Sch 1[38]).

• Repeals and repealed sections: The text records several repeals in 2024, for example multiple sections (16-19) are marked “Rep 2024 No 61, Sch 1[33]” and other earlier parts have been repealed or relocated (e.g. pt 6 and s 22 rep 2024 No 61, Sch 1[39]-[40]).

• Transitional provisions and Schedule changes: Schedule 1 contains savings and transitional provisions consequential on the 2024 Amendment Act (Schedule 1 itself described as Ins 2024 No 61, Sch 1[41]). Part 2 of Schedule 1 sets out transitional provisions relating to the Amendment Act (Schedule 1, cl 2-6).

How to read the amendment annotations

• The bracketed citations (for example “Ins 2024 No 61, Sch 1[2]”) are internal markers in the Act text indicating which amending instrument and schedule clause made the change. They do not summarise the policy content of the amendment but do show where the Parliament changed wording and when.

• Many practical obligations now have newly inserted statutory timestamps and cross‑references to regulations and “prescribed days,” reflecting the 2024 amendments’ intent to leave operational detail to regulations and administrative directions. The Amendment Act’s Schedule 2 was treated as a regulation for commencement purposes under Schedule 1, cl 6.

Limitations of this history

• The text supplied does not include the full wording of earlier versions or the legislative instruments themselves; this summary is limited to the marginal amendment annotations present in the provided text and the in‑text notes that record where an insertion, substitution or repeal occurred. For drafting or litigation purposes you should compare historical consolidated texts and commencement notices to determine exact operative words at a given historical date.

The statute text as provided does not record or cite any cases or judicial decisions construing its provisions. The Act creates administrative decision pathways and appeal routes that are internal to the regulatory scheme, and it embeds existing prosecutorial pathways via the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007 (s 12(2)(c)), but it does not itself set out court procedures or list any judicial rulings.

What the Act does provide about review and dispute resolution

• Administrative appeal to ILGA: The Act provides an explicit statutory administrative appeal for a Secretary’s determination that an agreed health and medical plan is required. A music festival organiser may appeal to ILGA on the limited ground that sufficient controls have been put in place to mitigate and manage health risks (s 5A(1)-(2)). This is an internal administrative review mechanism rather than a judicial appeal.

• Prosecution pathways: The Act routes criminal and penalty enforcement through the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act (s 12(2)(c)), so any prosecutions, penalty notices and adjudication will follow the procedures and judicial pathways defined by that Act. To identify specific litigation that has arisen under the Music Festivals Act, one would need to search court databases, tribunal records and enforcement registers post‑enactment; such searches are outside the text supplied.

• No recorded case law in the supplied text: Because the statute text does not name or summarise judicial decisions, no litigation is recorded or discussed in the Act itself. The Act’s administrative decisions (Secretary determinations, Health Secretary plan agreements, ILGA appeals, and panel decisions under s 19C) are the statutorily prescribed paths for resolving disputes internal to the scheme; external judicial review is not detailed in the Act.

Implications for practitioners

• Expect administrative questions to arise around the Secretary’s exercise of discretion under s 5, the Health Secretary’s agreement under s 6, the scope of an organiser’s appeal rights to ILGA under s 5A, and the compatibility of incident register obligations with health practitioner confidentiality rules. Disputes about the facts underlying those administrative decisions or about procedural fairness could generate litigation in the future, but the statute itself provides only the administrative mechanisms summarised above.

• For enforcement disputes and penalty proceedings, the practical litigation routes will be those prescribed in the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007, since the Act incorporates that enforcement regime by reference (s 12(2)(c)).

The Act contains several drafting and operational features that create practical traps for organisers, licensees, health contractors and advisers. These are not legal opinions but text‑based operational flags that warrant attention.

1. “Music festival organiser” is the name on the public liability insurance certificate (s 3)

   • The statutory duty is assigned to whoever appears on the public liability insurance provided to the premises owner or the local council. That may differ from commercial contracts that label another party the promoter. Organisers and venues must ensure the insurance certificate aligns with the intended legal responsible party. Misalignment can unexpectedly transfer statutory compliance and penalty risk.

2. Scale and format thresholds are decisive (s 3)

   • The distinction between “music festival” and “concert” is numerically precise: festivals are ticketed and 2,000+ attendance, whereas a concert has to be single stage, under five hours, and limited to two headliners and no more than four performers (s 3). Organisers can, in principle, design events to fall below thresholds to avoid Part 2 obligations. That creates a tactical compliance choice but also a potential regulatory scrutiny point: the Secretary decides which festivals require an agreed plan (s 5(1)).

3. The Secretary’s discretion is powerful and framed by “prescribed days” (s 5(1)-(4))

   • The Secretary both determines which festivals require an agreed plan and prescribes how directions are to be given, including timing in the regulations (s 5(1), (4)). Many timeframes are left to “prescribed day” or Secretary‑specified later days (see ss 5(4), 6(2), 6(5), 6A(2), 5A(3)). Until the regulations and Secretary directions are published, organisers face timing uncertainty.

4. Health Secretary agreement is a gatekeeper and refusal prevents holding the festival (ss 6(4)-(5), 7)

   • If the Health Secretary refuses to agree to a plan, the plan is not agreed; s 7 prohibits holding a festival requiring an agreed plan unless an agreed plan exists, with a 500 penalty unit maximum. That makes the Health Secretary’s decision operationally determinative.

5. Law enforcement schedules can be folded into liquor licences (s 6A(6)(b))

   • If a festival is on premises subject to a liquor licence, Commissioner‑proposed conditions, once approved and included as a law enforcement and safety schedule, can become licence conditions. That expands the regulatory bargaining set to include licensee obligations and may affect how contractual risk is allocated between organisers and licensees.

6. Narrow appeal ground to ILGA (s 5A)

   • An organiser disagreeing with the Secretary’s determination that an agreed plan is required can appeal only on the single ground that “sufficient controls have been put in place to mitigate and manage health risks” (s 5A(2)). The appeal timeframe is subject to regulation (s 5A(3)). The limited ground narrows the organiser’s scope to challenge the underlying factual determination.

7. Incident register excludes incidents disclosed to health providers (s 11(2)(e))

   • The incident register must record suspected possession/use of prohibited drugs, except incidents disclosed to a person engaged by the organiser to provide health services or to a health practitioner. This creates a disclosure‑based carve‑out that could produce strategic behaviour: organisers may be less likely to record incidents that health staff handle, or conversely may encourage patrons to disclose to health providers to avoid law enforcement disclosure. The statutory text thereby creates an operational interface between health confidentiality and enforcement that requires precise operational protocols.

8. Delegation and operational decision‑making (s 20)

   • The Secretary and Health Secretary can delegate functions to departmental employees or authorised classes of persons (s 20), which means operational decisions may be taken by delegated officers rather than the statutory office holders. Organisations will need to identify delegated decision‑makers and ensure procedural fairness and information flows to those officers.

9. Protected persons and Crown liability (s 19A)

   • Protected persons acting in good faith are not personally liable; liability attaches to the Crown (s 19A(1)-(2)). For third parties seeking redress for actions or omissions by officials, the Act shifts liability to the Crown; that affects civil risk and claims strategies.

10. Regulations and “prescribed day” uncertainty (multiple sections)

    • Many procedural deadlines, appeal windows and operational timeframes are expressed as “prescribed day” or left to regulations (s 21). Until those regulations and the Minister’s orders (s 19D) are in force, critical compliance dates are uncertain. Organisers must monitor regulatory instruments closely.

11. Integration with Gaming and Liquor Administration Act may change enforcement currency (s 12)

    • Designation of this Act as gaming and liquor legislation (s 12(1)-(2)) brings administrative enforcement tools and penalty notice options into play, and makes inspector powers and prosecution mechanics depend on that Act. This may lead to different enforcement priorities and procedural rules than those applying to other public events.

12. Transitional carve‑outs and phased application (Schedule 1)

    • Schedule 1 contains transitional rules for festivals subject to earlier regulation arrangements and sets out transitional timings related to the 2024 Amendment Act (Schedule 1, cl 1-6). Certain festivals held on or before 28 February 2025 are not required to prepare a health and medical plan despite s 5(5) (Schedule 1, cl 5). Organisers with festivals near these dates need to map transitional rules carefully.

These “gotchas” are mechanics not judgments. Each creates concrete compliance decision points: who is the organiser, which thresholds apply, what timelines must be met once regulations are published, how health disclosures and confidentiality affect record‑keeping, and how law enforcement schedules may bind liquor licences and licence holders.

Below is a practical, text‑rooted compliance checklist and tactical notes derived from the Act’s operative provisions. It assumes the organiser is planning a ticketed, large, defined‑area music or dance event that may meet the statutory festival definition (s 3).

1. Confirm event classification

   • Check whether the event is a “music festival” as defined in s 3: is it ticketed; is attendance expected to be 2,000 or more; is it music‑ or dance‑focused; is it held within a defined area; and is it not caught by the “concert” definition (single stage, under 5 hours, no more than 2 headliners and no more than 4 performers total). If you can structure the event so it falls within the concert definition and below the 2,000 threshold, many Part 2 obligations may not apply. Document your decision on classification for evidential purposes.

2. Identify the statutory “organiser”

   • Ensure the person or entity intended to bear statutory responsibility is named on the public liability insurance certificate provided to the premises owner or council (s 3). Align contractual promoter agreements and insurance documentation accordingly. If there is ambiguity, resolve it before providing the certificate; the named party on the certificate will be the statutory organiser.

3. Notify the Secretary by the prescribed day

   • Prepare and lodge the required notice of intent to hold the festival in the form and way approved by the Secretary no later than the prescribed day (s 10AA(1)). Monitor the regulations for the prescribed day if not yet published. The Secretary will forward the notice to the Health Secretary and Commissioner of Police (s 10AA(2)).

4. Anticipate the Secretary’s determination and be ready to prepare a plan

   • The Secretary will determine whether the festival requires an agreed health and medical plan (s 5(1)). The Secretary must have regard to advice from the Health Secretary (consistent with the Guidelines), the Commissioner of Police, the organiser, past prescribed medical events involving the organiser, and advice from the music festival roundtable (s 5(2)). Prepare supporting materials that address those factors, including incident histories and controls, to present if the Secretary considers the festival for agreement.

5. Prepare a health and medical plan aligned to the Guidelines

   • If required to prepare an agreed health and medical plan, prepare it in accordance with the Guidelines for Music Festival Event Organisers (the Guidelines) and submit it to the Health Secretary for agreement no later than the prescribed day or a later day specified by the Health Secretary (s 6(1)-(2)). Ensure the plan covers the risk controls identified in the Guidelines and is supported by operational details, staffing and resource commitments.

6. Provide a 14‑day addendum and ensure health provider qualifications

   • At least 14 days before the festival, give the Health Secretary an addendum listing persons who will provide health services at the festival and their qualifications and work experience (s 6(3)). Ensure contracted health providers meet the qualifications expected in the Guidelines and that contracts document their responsibilities and obligations for cooperation in briefings and record‑keeping.

7. Engage with Commissioner of Police proposals and law enforcement schedule

   • If the Commissioner of Police gives written notice proposing that you submit a law enforcement and safety schedule (s 6A(2)), promptly prepare a law enforcement and safety schedule and submit it by the prescribed day or a later day specified by the Secretary (s 6A(3)(a)). Expect the Commissioner to propose conditions after reviewing the schedule, and use the Secretary’s required opportunity to comment (s 6A(4)-(5)). Be aware that approved schedules can be included in the agreed health and medical plan and incorporated into a liquor licence if applicable (s 6A(6)).

8. Run the required briefings and provide notices

   • If a briefing is requested by representatives of prescribed entities, hold briefings in accordance with s 10(2) (48 hours before start, on the day on the premises, and within 21 days after the festival). Notify each prescribed entity at least 7 days before the briefing and allow their representatives to attend (s 10(3)-(4)). Keep records of invitations, attendance and minutes.

9. Keep an incident register in approved form and preserve records

   • Implement an incident register in the form approved by the Secretary (s 11(1)). Record the specific incident categories listed in s 11(2) that occur from festival start until one hour after close. For incidents involving suspected drug possession/use, remember the carve‑out where the incident has been disclosed to a health service person or health practitioner (s 11(2)(e)). Record action taken in response (s 11(3)). Ensure the register is available for inspection by police, inspectors and health officers and that copies can be taken; retain records for at least three years (s 11(4)).

10. Ensure on‑site availability of the agreed health and medical plan

    • Keep a copy of the agreed health and medical plan on the premises during the festival and make it available to police officers, inspectors, health officers and emergency services officers on request (s 8(1)). Consider digital and hard‑copy versions and a clear chain of custody for plan access.

11. Process changes to an agreed plan through the Health Secretary

    • Any proposed change to an agreed plan must be given in writing to the Health Secretary and does not take effect until agreed by the Health Secretary (s 9(1)-(3)). Anticipate operational contingencies and plan for change windows to obtain Health Secretary agreement in time.

12. Consider appeal options early

    • If the Secretary determines an agreed plan is required and you disagree, you may appeal to ILGA under s 5A(1)-(5), but the allowable ground is narrow: that sufficient controls have been put in place to mitigate and manage health risks (s 5A(2)). Timeframes for appeal lodgement are prescribed; prepare a contemporaneous record showing the controls you have implemented and why they meet the Guidelines.

13. Apply for waiver or reduction of government charges if needed

    • If amounts are payable under other Acts to the State or a government sector agency, you may apply to the Secretary for waiver or reduction. The application is referred to the music festivals panel (representatives of the Premier’s Department, Sound NSW and Destination NSW) which will decide to waive or reduce the amount (s 19C(1)-(6)). Limit your application to the two statutory grounds: exceptional circumstances or financial viability impact (s 19C(3)(a)-(b)). Provide detailed financial evidence if asserting financial viability as a ground.

14. Manage contractual allocations with venue and licensee

    • If the festival is on licenced premises, anticipate law enforcement schedule conditions being incorporated into the liquor licence (s 6A(6)(b)). Allocate contractual responsibility between the organiser and licensee for compliance with liquor‑licence conditions, policing conditions and costs of compliance. Align insurance naming with the intended statutory organiser (s 3).

15. Implement health confidentiality protocols

    • Because the incident register excludes incidents disclosed to health service persons or health practitioners (s 11(2)(e)), implement clear triage and disclosure protocols with contracted health providers so that recording obligations and confidentiality obligations are not in conflict. Document the circumstances in which incidents will be recorded in the register and where they will be managed through health confidentiality channels.

16. Monitor regulations and Secretary directions

    • Many timeframes and operational details are left to regulations and Secretary‑specified days (s 21; see ss 5(4), 6(2), 6(5), 6A(2), 5A(3), 10AA(1)). Subscribe to government regulatory updates, the Ministry of Health website for Guidelines, and ILGA notices. Plan contingencies for different prescribed‑day outcomes.

17. Maintain evidence trail and compliance records

    • Keep copies of submissions to the Health Secretary and Commissioner of Police, minutes of briefings, incident register entries, communications about law enforcement and safety schedules, the agreed plan and any addenda, and decisions on appeals or waivers. These records will be central to demonstrating compliance in the event of inspector inquiries or prosecutions under the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act pathway (s 12(2)(c)).

18. Insurance and risk transfers

    • Review insurance to ensure the named organiser, policy scope and conditions match statutory expectations. Because liability for protected persons attaches to the Crown and not to individuals (s 19A), organisers should review indemnities with contractors and insurers to allocate operational liability appropriately.

19. Engage with the music festival roundtable and guidelines

    • The roundtable advises on whether a festival requires an agreed plan (s 14(b1)), and the Minister may publish guidelines (s 19B). Participate in industry engagements and consider submitting material for roundtable consideration where appropriate.

By following the steps above and documenting each element, organisers will be operating in line with the Act’s text. The recurring practical priorities are: confirm whether your event meets the statutory festival definition; ensure insurance naming and contracts align with the role you intend to occupy; engage early with health and policing advisory processes; obtain Health Secretary agreement where required; maintain an incident register and on‑site plan copies; and track regulations and Secretary directions that set prescribed days and procedural detail.