Do members need to sign in?

This guide is for club secretaries and volunteers who keep, or wonder about, a sign-in book. A member here means anyone registered with an Australian croquet club, in any state.

The steps below are how clubs record visitors under Croquet Australia's Temporary Member Policy. The policy was modified 5 May 2025.

How clubs do it

1. Who: Come & Try visitors, beginners at lessons, guests who play at a club hire, and players from overseas. The last two are CAQ decisions, not part of the policy.
2. What: full name, club, date, email or phone, and the type of session. Leaders of school and corporate groups give their details. For a club hire, the organiser gives a guest list.
3. When: Come & Try visitors and beginners at the start of their first lesson or session, by Croquet Australia's QR code or written down by the club.
4. How often: up to 6 visits in a calendar year.
5. How long: records are kept at least a year. Hand-kept records go to Croquet Australia each quarter; QR records do not.

Members

The V-Insurance Individuals Summary of Cover 2025/2026 lists "all registered members" among those covered for the 2026 policy year (the programme runs to 31 December 2026).

On the Personal Accident claim form, a club official confirms the person was a registered member at the time of the accident.

Neither says a member must be signed in.

On 24 March 2026 the CAQ management committee agreed that "members are covered regardless, when engaged in croquet activities".

That is a CAQ decision, not part of the policy; the summary of cover is what sets out who is covered.

Visitors

Section 5 of the Temporary Member Policy says: "Insurance will cover only those that are recorded as attending and 'signed in' prior to commencement of the session."

The policy says a person past six visits is subject to "Public Liability cover only, if the club is found at fault".

The V-Insurance FAQ says Come & Try people are covered "so long as the club fulfills the requirements set out by their state association".

Section 8 of the CAQ Club Administration Handbook 2026 says members do not need to sign in. It says visitors who are not members "must be recorded before they play".

Its s.12 says clubs "are encouraged" to follow the Temporary Member Policy.

No public summary shows whether signing in first is a condition of the insurance itself in Queensland.

Croquet Australia or V-Insurance Group hold the policy wording.

The law

Under cl 7(14) and 7(15) of the CAQ Constitution (registered 3 Dec 2025), CAQ keeps a register of Member Clubs and a register of Registered Players.

Clubs with a liquor licence or permit

These rules apply only to the few clubs that hold a community club licence or a restricted liquor permit.

Under s.79 of the Liquor Act 1992 (Qld), the club secretary must keep on the premises a register of the name of each guest of a member or visitor, and their current place of residence.

Under s.77(6), a visitor who plays a sport or game that is part of the club's business, with permission of the committee's authorised agent (the person the committee has put in charge) and after paying any usual fee, is taken to be a member for that day, for the purposes of s.77(1) (the section on who the club may sell alcohol to). Under s.79(4), the register does not apply to a minor (anyone under 18), or to a visitor mentioned in s.77(6) or (7).

The OLGR Statement of Regulatory Intent of 26 March 2026 (OLGR is the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation) says the visitor and guest record-keeping requirement for community club licensees "will not be enforced until 31 March 2027". It covers the community club licence only.

Under s.103M, the same register applies to a restricted liquor permit. Under s.103M(3A), it does not apply to a minor, or to a member of a reciprocal club who shows evidence of membership. There is no visiting-player exception like s.77(6). Under s.103M(3B), a club's own rules may require reciprocal members to be registered.

Our reading: each of these sections asks for a register of members, a safety record, or a register of guests and visitors. None asks for members' attendance. The liquor rules apply only to the few clubs that hold a liquor licence or permit.

The law in detail

Model Rules r.13 says the management committee must keep a register of members (name, address, date of admission, date of leaving). The Model Rules bind a club that adopted them (Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld), s.46). They fill gaps in any other club's rules (s.47(1)), unless its rules switch this off (s.47(3)).

Under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), a business is a small business if its annual turnover for the previous financial year is $3,000,000 or less (s.6D(1)). The Act covers an organisation that is not a small business operator (s.6C(1)). A small business that provides a health service and holds health information, other than in an employee record, is covered (s.6D(4)).

Under s.77(1) of the Liquor Act 1992 (Qld), a community club licence authorises the licensee to sell liquor on the licensed premises, in set trading hours, only to the people the section lists, such as members and their guests.

Under s.4, a reciprocal club is another club whose members have privileges at the relevant club because of arrangements between the clubs.

Where this comes from

1. Summary of Cover
2. Claim form
3. V-Insurance FAQ
4. Temporary Member Policy
5. CAQ Handbook 2026
6. CAQ minutes, 24 March 2026 (not online)
7. s.69A, whole Act; r.13, whole Regulation
8. CAQ Constitution
9. WHS Act s.5, whole Act
10. Fire Regulation s.45, whole Regulation
11. OAIC; Privacy Act
12. Liquor Act
13. OLGR statement (re-check after 31 March 2027)