New law affecting businesses may be weeks away

In the wake of the 2017 bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester the Government was keen to ensure that the public is kept safe from terror attacks in publicly accessible locations, such as entertainment venues, retail outlets and restaurants.

As a consequence, after consultation in 2021, new anti-terrorism legislation [Martyn’s Law] may be just weeks away from coming into effect.

The Government’s new Protect Duty legislation will apply on a graded basis to all public venues, retail and entertainment outlets and public spaces regardless of size. This may entail compulsory staff anti-terrorism training and an obligation to engage with advice on terror threats and how to mitigate risk. It’s also been suggested that a venue should have a specially trained crisis manager on duty at all times when the premises are open. It isn’t clear yet whether this will apply to small independent venues as well as larger spaces.

Although it is hoped that the legislation will not come at a substantial cost to venues and their owners the actual costs will vary depending on the size and nature of the venue concerned. Organizations may well have to conduct risk assessments at their venues. This should help identify what measures need to be put in place when vulnerabilities have been identified. This may mean more thorough security checks including body scans and bag searches.

The mandatory counter-terrorism advice and terrorism response training would form part of the induction process for any new employees.  Free training is already available on the government ACT website. The government may seek to expand and build on these existing measures.