No. A Queensland crowd controller licence does not authorise you to carry a firearm while performing crowd control duties. The Office of Fair Trading specifically states that a crowd controller licence does not authorise firearms, handcuffs or batons. Even if you separately hold a Queensland Police Service Security Licence (Guard) for armed security work, that does not mean you can carry a firearm while working as a crowd controller.

The Weapons Regulation specifically provides that a Security Licence (Guard) holder must not possess a firearm while performing crowd control duties. This is an important distinction because some security providers hold several different licences and functions. You might be licensed as a crowd controller and also separately licensed to perform armed security work, but the authority to carry the firearm depends upon the duties you are actually performing at the time.

Queensland weapons legislation restricts armed security to security guard duties that reasonably require possession of the weapon – escorting cash or valuables is given as an example. So if you finish an armed cash-in-transit shift and later that night work crowd control at a hotel or nightclub, you cannot simply take the firearm with you because you happen to hold an armed security licence.

Different duties, different legal authority. For crowd control, your most important tools remain communication, situational awareness, conflict management and good decision-making.