A new law put in place by NSW Liquor and Gaming gives some venues last-second restrictions they weren’t expecting.

NSW Liquor and Gaming has been in a battle with venues for the past couple of years as the venues seek to push back on new regulations being put in place in response to drug overdose deaths at festivals.

“Important announcement regarding under 18’s at Splendour.”

“Dear Splendour community,

On Friday night all of our underage ticketholders received an email from moshtix informing them of late developments regarding Splendour’s Liquor License. In a nutshell, the message was this…

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ALL PATRONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A RESPONSIBLE ADULT AT ALL TIMES WHILST AT THE EVENT AND CAMPGROUNDS.

This is not Splendour’s decision.

These new rules have been imposed on us by NSW Police. We were only informed of this late Thursday and we are very unhappy about these major changes being forced on the festival at such a late stage. We understand the impact it will have on many of our patrons. We also don’t want you to walk away with a fine.

So we want you all to be aware that Police will be present at the event, roaming throughout the crowd checking that underage minors are with a responsible adult.

The only place you can purchase tickets for accompanying responsible adults is via the Splendour resale facility, where all monies go to the previous ticket holder

Considerable fines may apply if not compliant.”

The newest update in the back and forth comes in the form of a restriction being put in place that would require festival attendees under the age of 18 to have a guardian present. The previous age range was anybody under the age of 16. Festivals are claiming they just figured out about this new regulation as fans have begun to receive emails notifying them of the new requirement.

Moshtix, the ticket provider, sent out an email last Friday to people who’ve bought tickets for the Splendour in the Grass festival.

“We appreciate that this is not ideal, we are not happy about this late change however we must adhere to these new conditions imposed on us by the Police and Liquor and Gaming,” the notice said.

“Police will be present at the event, roaming throughout the crowd checking that underage minors are with a responsible adult.”

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