COVIDSafe: Visitors

It is mandatory for every Victorian business to have a COVIDSafe Plan for each worksite. The Arts Centre Melbourne COVIDSafe & Wellbeing Plan outlines the COVID-19 safety precautions we have in place throughout the opening up of our venues and facilities. This will ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone who visits us, including our customers, presenters, hirers and team members.

We can’t wait to welcome you to Arts Centre Melbourne again. However your time with us will look and feel different. We want to you be confident that we have your safety and wellbeing in mind every step of the way, so below we have detailed what you can expect when visiting us.

A range of safety and hygiene measures are in place to ensure your safety and wellbeing.

Regular cleaning

• Regular cleaning and sanitising our venues and publicly accessible areas with approved disinfectant products throughout the day. We clean high touch points hourly.

Physical distancing and signage

• It is vital to stay at least 1.5 metres from others, especially when moving around our site.
• Signage in and around our buildings will help you maintain physical distancing, including in high traffic areas like corridors and areas where queues may form.
• Entries and exits will be one-way only and marked with signage.
• Lifts will have capacity limits marked with signage to ensure physical distancing can be maintained.

Hand hygiene

• Hand sanitisers are available upon entry to all venues, events and activity spaces.
• Handwash will be regularly restocked in all bathrooms.

Cashless venue

• Arts Centre Melbourne is now a cashless organisation. All points of payment in all areas (tickets, parking, retail, cafés and bars) accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express payments.

Mask wearing

• Masks must be worn indoors at all times (unless eating or drinking), and at any outdoor venues or sites where physical distancing is not possible. We do understand that some people have medical exemptions for wearing masks and will respect this.

Contact tracing

• QR code registration, either via a mobile phone or an available Arts Centre Melbourne tablet, is required if customers are staying longer than 15 minutes at any Arts Centre Melbourne venue. Data is collected and held securely with no third-party provider involved. The data is automatically deleted after 28 days and will not be disclosed or shared with any third party (as per our Privacy Policy) during that period, except if requested from the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.

In line with our standard conditions of entry, we will implement additional health and safety measures to ensure your safety and wellbeing. Please note that these additional conditions of entry apply to everyone attending all areas of our site (indoor and outdoor) and are subject to change without notice at the discretion of Arts Centre Melbourne.

• If you have the following symptoms, however mild, you must not enter our site: fever, chills or sweats, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, and loss of sense of smell or taste. Please get tested and quarantine at home until you receive your test results.
• Masks must be worn indoors at all times (unless eating or drinking), and at any outdoor venues or sites where physical distancing is not possible. We do understand that some people have medical exemptions for wearing masks and will respect this.
• By entering our site, you agree to abide by the new health and safety measures outlined in the Arts Centre Melbourne COVIDSafe & Wellbeing Plan. This can include, but is not limited to, physical distancing, temperature screenings, sanitisation and restricted public access. Failure to comply with these measures may result in you being asked to leave our venue.
• We encourage everyone to download the Australian Government’s COVIDSafe app to enhance contact tracing while at the venue and beyond.
• Arts Centre Melbourne retains the right to refuse entry to any person who refuses to adhere to health and safety measures.

We ask that you and each member of your booking party make a reasonable assessment of your health status before attending our venue or the event. If you or someone you have been in contact with are displaying symptoms of COVID-19 please contact us at tickets@artscentremelbourne.com.au to request a refund.

If you have the following symptoms, however mild, you must not enter our site: fever, chills or sweats, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, and loss of sense of smell or taste.

If you are concerned about your symptoms, please contact your doctor or the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) coronavirus (COVID-19) hotline on 1800 675 398 for advice on testing. Get tested and quarantine at home until you receive your test results.

If you start to feel unwell while visiting us at Arts Centre Melbourne, you should advise a member of our team and then leave site immediately. If you find at a later date you have tested positive for COVID-19 please call our Safety and Security team on 9281 8316, who will treat your call with strict confidence.

We are currently planning for a safe and stepped opening up of Arts Centre Melbourne.

Our outdoor café Protagonist and Sunday Market are now open. The Australian Music Vault exhibition is open and remains free for all visitors – we have made adjustments to the experience, including timed entry sessions and QR code contact tracing.

The Live at the Bowl festival is now on the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Learn about the festival COVIDSafe measures.

Building access will not be available as a public thoroughfare to the surrounding Melbourne Arts Precinct or our car park.

Toilets will be accessible on Level 6 (St Kilda Road level) from the exterior of the building.

Car park access is via the stairs near the fountain where NGV meets St Kilda Road. Car park access for people who cannot use stairs is via Southbank Boulevard or by calling Arts Centre Melbourne Security on 9281 8316.

For safety and convenience, our car park is now a cash-free facility. Please ensure you have a valid credit or debit card to pay for your parking. We also offer contactless payment and access to the Car park. Download the Ubipark app for convenient and contactless access to our car park via your mobile phone.

Parking is available on the lower level only, with entry from Sturt Street. All cars exit the Arts Centre Melbourne car park onto Southbank Boulevard and must turn left. The exit onto Sturt Street is currently closed.

Valet Parking is not currently available.

As per government guidelines masks must be carried with you at all times. Masks must be worn indoors, including during a performance. Masks must also be worn outdoors where you cannot safely distance from other patrons.

Masks must be worn inside the Australian Music Vault exhibition space, as physical distancing may be difficult.

We do understand that some people have a lawful reason not to wear masks and will respect this.

Our team members will be wearing face masks for your safety.

Cloakroom services are currently unavailable. Please note only items smaller than A4 size will be permitted inside the venue.

All indoor foyer bars are currently closed in order to reduce touchpoints.

Our outdoor café Protagonist will be open before events, but no open food or drink will be permitted into the Theatres Building (under the Spire) or into Hamer Hall. Please note Arts Centre Melbourne is a cashless venue accepting credit or debit card payments.

Personal water bottles will be permitted inside the venue and filtered tap water will be available for self-service at the foyer bars.

Due to current government guidelines, our venue and onsite Box Office are currently closed. You can buy your tickets on our website (www.artscentremelbourne.com.au) or contact us on 1300 182 183.

Securing tickets in advance is the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on experiencing all that we have to offer when we do reopen, especially as capacity will be limited to most events at this time. Our website is the quickest and easiest way to secure tickets and will provide access to available tickets for all events and activities. From early 2021, our website will email paperless mobile tickets to your inbox to access straight from your mobile device to be scanned at your event or performance.

Our Contact Centre (1300 182 183) is also available. Anyone calling will be placed in a queue for the next available customer service team member.

Arts Centre Melbourne is now cashless, so when we are able to reopen, we will only accept credit or debit cards or Arts Centre Melbourne gift vouchers for in-person sales.

When you purchase your tickets from Arts Centre Melbourne, our Terms & Conditions of Purchase will include accepting compliance with what is expected of you under this plan. Restrictions and specific requirements in response to COVID-19 may change between the time you secure tickets and the time you attend. If you have purchased tickets through Arts Centre Melbourne we will email you with the most current information about your visit a few days prior to your event date. Current information is also always available on our website.

Live at the Bowl events

The capacity of Live at the Bowl events at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl has been reduced to 25% as part of our COVIDSafe protocols. When attending a performance at the Bowl, patrons can select from three different seating types: Balcony seats (1 – 2 people), Stalls tables (2 – 4 people) and Private decks (4 – 6 people). Each of these seating types is a minimum of 1.5 meters apart from one another.

Theatres Building (under the Spire) and Hamer Hall

All venues are currently operating at a reduced capacity in line with government health directions but you may be seated next to other patrons. This applies to performances in the Fairfax, Playhouse and State Theatre as well as Hamer Hall.

For these reasons it’s a requirement that face masks are worn indoors at Arts Centre Melbourne at all times, including during the performance. We do understand that some people have lawful exemptions for wearing masks and will respect this. Children under the age of 12 will also not be required to wear a face mask.

We are not currently offering our usual tixatsix offering.

We are closely following the advice and requirements of government health authorities and will reopen our theatres when it is safe to do so and when our presenters are able to return.

Yes, we continue to offer digital content through our Together With You platform. New content is added regularly, so keep checking back or subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date.

We’re opening up our venues in accordance with current Victorian COVIDSafe guidelines and our own health and safety assessments of our individual venues.

This means that capacity in each venue is limited, and not all seats are available for purchase.

For these reasons it’s a requirement that face masks are worn indoors at Arts Centre Melbourne at all times, even during the performance. We do understand that some people have lawful exemptions for wearing masks and will respect this. Children under the age of 12 will also not be required to wear a face mask.

Our foyer bars will be closed for all performances until further notice. Food and beverage can be enjoyed at outdoor outlets such as our forecourt café, Protagonist, and must be consumed before entry into our venues.

Events currently on sale at Arts Centre Melbourne are being sold according to current Victorian COVIDSafe guidelines. Changes to restrictions may result in changes to seating configurations in our venues. Should this happen, unfortunately we are unable to accommodate requests to change seating.

Purchasing a ticket early can give you the greatest chance of not being affected by any tightening of restrictions. In the event that our allowable capacity reduces, Arts Centre Melbourne will cancel and refund affected tickets. Affected ticketing holders will be contacted directly by our team.

All ticket holders will be contacted directly and notified if there are any changes to their upcoming shows.

Yes. Tickets for performances purchased through an authorised outlet will be fully refunded, including fees. For more information, visit Affected Performances.

If you, or someone you have been in contact with, are displaying symptoms of COVID-19 please contact us at tickets@artscentremelbourne.com.au to request a refund. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, chills or sweats, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose or loss of sense of smell.

We are working tirelessly to reschedule as many performances as possible. For more information, visit Affected Performances.

Our website provides the most up-to-date information about our reopening, upcoming shows and digital offerings. You can also follow Arts Centre Melbourne on Facebook and subscribe to our eNewsletter for timely updates.

All tours, parking and food and beverage bookings during the closure will be refunded automatically in line with how we process performance ticket refunds. You do not need to contact us for these refunds to be processed. Our car park is still open for standard parking, but Valet Parking will not be available.

Performing arts workers across the state are experiencing the immediate and devastating impact of event cancellations and venue closures due to COVID-19. We encourage you to help bring live performance back to our stages and kick-start Victoria’s creative recovery by donating to the Arts Centre Melbourne Recovery Fund. Alternatively, you may wish to consider these other tax-deductible charities that focus on the performing arts.