A social media post by organisers on Monday stated, “These new rules have been imposed on us by NSW Police,” and said Splendour only learned about the changes last Thursday.

“We understand the impact it will have on many of our patrons,” organisers posted on Twitter. “We also don’t want you to walk away with a fine.

“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.”

According to the state’s liquor licensing laws, a responsible adult is defined as a parent or guardian, the minor’s spouse or defacto partner, or someone standing in as the parent of the minor for the time being.

Ticket holders were first made aware of the sudden rule change last Friday, when ticketing company Moshtix emailed them directly. Before the changes were made, only festivalgoers under the age of 16 were required to be accompanied by an adult.

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“We appreciate that this is not ideal,” stated the Moshtix email. “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.”

According to a statement from police, “NSW Police work closely with the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and festival organisers to ensure the safety and security of all attendees at the event”.

A spokesperson for the authority said the decision was “consistent with the requirements in the Liquor Act 2007” to prevent minors consuming alcohol and to provide a safe environment for all festival-goers.

“The condition for minors to be accompanied by a responsible adult was imposed by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority to address the specific safety risks for a festival of this size and type, with a patron capacity of around 50,000 and bars and other outlets selling alcohol spread throughout the festival’s grounds,” the spokesperson said.

Neither NSW Police nor Liquor and Gaming explained why a change in policy had been made for this year.

According to the Moshtix website, there are no refunds on tickets, except as required by the Live Performance Australia ticketing code of practice.

Ticket holders have been expressing disappointment with the rule change on social media.

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The annual festival at Byron Bay’s North Byron Parklands is scheduled to run July 22-24. The music and camping festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A three-day festival ticket costs $399 plus booking fees. A single-day ticket costs $189 plus booking fees. Additional costs apply for those camping on site at the festival.

Festival headliners include overseas acts Gorillaz, The Strokes, Tyler, the Creator, Glass Animals and Liam Gallagher, plus Australian bands Amyl and the Sniffers, DMA’s, Violent Soho and Cub Sport.

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