Victoria Police to increase charges for patrols and security at major entertainment and sport events

A major revision of fees will see major sporting events, festivals and concerts having to pay more for patrolling and security undertaken by Victoria Police.

The first adjustment to Victoria Police’s fees in more than a decade, the changes will see organisers and venues paying - for the first time - for planning, the use of police animals and the cost of resources around venues for uses such as traffic control.

The changes, which came into effect on 1st January, will apply to major events, such as AFL matches, the Australian Open, the Grand Prix and music festivals.

Part off a push to allow the recouping of costs from commercial operators rather relying on taxpayers to foot the bill, Victoria Police will also be able to bill for more devices such as drones and counter-drone technology to stop unauthorised cameras that can pose crowd safety risks, as well as services such as fingerprinting and background checks.

Organisers of major community events will have to pay a $1,372 planning fee, while music, motor and horse racing events will be charged $686. An extra $343 will be charged for each additional day of an event.

Marquee sports matches will be charged $686 for planning and regular games $343.

Victoria Police will also charge event operators $39.20 an hour for the use of a police dog, $65.30 for a horse, $147 an hour for a drone and $440 for its anti-drone technology, which prevents unknown drones from operating in the sky above events.

The use of a rotary helicopter by police, meanwhile, will set back organisers $10,217 an hour.

Victoria Police will also increase its charges for a sworn affidavit and restitution for false reports.

It comes after the force increased the cost of officers at private events by about 20% in mid-2024.

Advising that the overhaul of user-pay fees was designed to stop taxpayers from footing the bill for private events, a Victoria Police spokesperson stated “this is the first time in 10 years Victoria police has conducted a thorough review of its fees and charges.”

Noting that previous increases had been indexed annually, the spokesperson added “the changes will ensure taxpayers aren’t unfairly subsidising additional police attendance at commercial events where organisers stand to make a profit.

“All fees and charges are designed to help recover Victoria Police’s costs only. We do not charge for resources deployed when there is an unforeseen emergency at events and retain discretion to waive or reduce fees for certain events.”

The spokesperson went on to say that the new fee structure also allows the waiving of fees for smaller regional events and charity events which could have their financial stability threatened by the added policing costs.

The spokesperson went on to say that there would be no charge for resources deployed during an “unforeseen emergency at events”.

During a consultation in 2023, Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety said police were only deployed at events where there was a “demonstrable operational risk” that could not be mitigated by organisers or when there was a community or government expectation of their presence.

It said the police chief commissioner also had the power to waive fees “in cases where costs may threaten an event’s financial viability”.

Several groups, including the Australian Festival Association, Midsumma festival, TEG Live and Tennis Australia, made submissions during the consultation, in which they expressed concerns the fees would “make events less financially viable and may lead to fewer events or higher ticket prices”.

Victoria hosts more than 400 major events every year, which has caused huge strain on the force’s budget in recent years, especially with major one-off events like the Taylor Swift concert when fans filled the MCG over three nights.