Can Australian Music Survive in the Age of Spotify?
Victorian Places Of Public Entertainment Review
The ALMBC has backed the Australian Festivals Association’s call to the Victorian Government, to remove the Places Of Public Entertainment (POPE) permit process.
The reasons the ALMBC has taken this position is that festival and event promoters and organisers are already required to undertake intensive planning permit processes that thoroughly assess amenity, crowd safety, access, infrastructure and environmental impacts.
The additional POPE permit layer, issued through a separate building stream, adds complexity without evidence of improved safety outcomes.
The current dual approval system:
- Confuses roles and responsibilities between councils, regulators and promoters
- Adds cost and delay for government and festivals, especially in regional and rural areas with limited council capacity
- Increases legal and compliance risks, and unacceptable risk for festivals – with some POPEs not issued until hours before gates open of fully sold out festivals.
This leaves Victoria as Australia’s only state with this additional red tape layer.
The removal of the POPE Permit process will not impact negatively on safety for Victorian events as all the requirements covered through the Pope process are already covered under other requirements.
The ALMBC does have some concern regarding the process of removing POPE’s, that local governments do not implement their own further complex arrangements, with the potential for over-reach and increased complexity.
Therefore, we encourage the Department to work closely with all local governments in Victoria to find appropriate alignment across all jurisdictions.
Further, the ALMBC will continue to work collaboratively with organisations such as the Australian Festivals Association and Music Victoria to advocate nationally for global best practise and national alignment.
We thank the Department for its engagement on this issue and welcome the opportunity to provide further input and work with you on this important reform.
