From 11.59pm on Thursday October 21, pubs, clubs and entertainment venues across regional Victoria are open indoors to 30 fully vaccinated people, but their staff also have to be fully vaccinated.

The move has left some scrambling after the late notice.

Stawell's Gift Hotel part-owner Adrian Coyne said the change in rules won't affect the staffing at his venue, but they are wary of making sure they comply with the regulations.

"We will have plenty of signage up to explain what has got to be done and how people can check-in and everything like that," he said.

"Everyone at our workplace is right to go, so we have no dramas at all.

"It hasn't affected us so we have made sure we have been on top of that sort of stuff.

"We can have 30 patrons inside and up to 100 outside, so we can cater for around 130 people.

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"It is good for our business, but as you can appreciate in having the TAB inside it is going to be tricky to monitor."

Mr Coyne said the venue will have a COVID marshal on the night with security guards in attendance as per usual.

"We are going to have many punters what to come in on the weekend and they are going to want to have a bet," he said.

"We have to make sure we aren't over capacity.

"We always have a COVID marshal and so it is up to them to make sure everyone checks-in correctly and follows the correct procedures."

In a press release delivered by the Victorian Government on October 1 it said venues had until late November for essential workers to meet the fully COVID vaccinated mandate.

"On the advice of our public health team, all workers - in Melbourne and regional Victoria - on the Authorised Worker list will require their first COVID-19 vaccine dose by Friday, 15 October in order to continue working onsite," the statement said.

"They will need to be fully vaccinated by November 26."

However, on Tuesday October 19 the rules changed.

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Despite online health directions stating authorised workers, including those in hospitality, must have had one vaccine dose by October 22 and a second by November 26, Victoria's COVID-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said "there is no wriggle room" on the mandate.

Meaning hospitality venues across the region may be understaffed as some of their employees may not be fully vaccinated and unable to work until they are.

Australian Hotels Association Victoria chief executive Paddy O'Sullivan said the government had "moved the goalposts" on the sector and has asked for a grace period to allow staff time to get vaccinated.

Business who do not comply with the COVID regulations face fines of up to $109,044 through the court system with individuals able to be fined $21,808.

Fines of $10,904.40 for an individual and $54,522 for a body corporate may be issued if you provide false or misleading information about your vaccination status.

Victoria Police can also issue on-the-spot fines of up to $1,817 for adults and up to $10,904 for businesses for:

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