- The requirements apply by activity. If your business carries out a number of different activities, you will need to consider how best to meet the requirements for each. For example, a mall may have a food court (food and beverage rules apply), general retail (retail rules), and hairdressers (close proximity rules apply). If your business carries out a number of different activities that can’t be separated, you will need to operate under the more stringent rules. If you can separate operations, you can operate in line with the specific rules within each separate area.
At red, indoor capacity limits apply to the premises or a defined space. Limits include all attendees, but not workers.
- A defined space is: an indoor area that has no direct airflow to another indoor area that is being used. Separate spaces must be managed so that, so far as is reasonably practicable, groups do not mix entering, leaving, or using the premises.
- Some capacity limits are based on 1 metre distancing. This means the maximum number of people who could occupy the space if each person was 1 metre apart. People do not need to stand 1 metre apart.
- Workers include anyone required to operate the business or service, and therefore includes paid and unpaid workers.
Capacity limits only apply indoors
- Indoor spaces are generally considered to be venues/spaces that are enclosed by a ceiling and walls, or other similar structures which don’t have much, if any, flow of fresh air. Examples include many gyms, nightclubs, restaurants, and halls.
- Outdoor spaces are generally considered to be places that have good ventilation, with a decent amount of free flowing, fresh air coming into the space. For example, this could be because the venue/space does not have a roof, has less than four walls, or because its walls don’t go all the way up and still allow a significant amount of air flow.
What happens if my venue is both indoors and outdoors?
Some venues are made up of indoor and outdoor spaces. The activity that occurs in these indoor spaces should determine what capacity limit applies – the rule follows the activity.
If people will be lingering indoors, for example, for entertainment or dining, then the indoor rules apply.
However, retail rules will generally apply to the indoor places in which people:
- travel directly through to get to an outdoor space; and/or
- need to go so they can purchase things (for example food, to eat when back outdoors); and/or
- need to go to use the bathroom.