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Office of Fair and Safe Work Queensland
Department of Justice and Attorney-General
Home > Industrial Relations > Law and penalties > Industrial relations legislation > Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990

Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990

The trading hours of shops in Queensland are regulated by way of the Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990 (PDF, 450 KB) and is supported by the Trading (Allowable Hours) Regulation 2004 (PDF, 204 KB).

General allowable trading hours for large (non-exempt) shops throughout Queensland are:

Special days such as Anzac day, Easter, Christmas and Sunday have different hours of trade.

Hours of trade will depend on the classification of shop. Shops can be classed as:

Exempt shops

Exempt shops are shops that predominantly sell goods by retail, or for supplying services, that a reasonable person would expect to be sold or supplied in such shops.

The trading hours of exempt shops are totally unrestricted. The occupiers of these shops may trade whenever they wish however, hours of trade may be restricted by other Acts or contract such as licensed premises or tenancy contracts.

Find out if you are an exempt shop.

Independent retail shops

Independent retail shops have unlimited trading hours provided they meet certain criteria. Generally these shops are the 'small' retailers where the business is run by a single operator or a private company and where a maximum of 20 people are engaged in the shop at any one time and if a number of shops are operated throughout the State, a total of not more than 60 people are engaged at any one time in all the shops being operated.

The only restrictions on these shops are that they remain closed throughout the whole of 25 December (Christmas Day) and Good Friday. They are also to remain closed until 1.00pm on 25 April (Anzac Day). Independent retail shops that are predominantly food and/or grocery shops are allowed to open on these days.

Find out if you are an independent shop retailer.

Non-exempt shops

Shops not classified as independent retail shops or exempt shops are classified as non-exempt.

Find out if you are a non-exempt shop.

Last updated July 17, 2005