How to Secure Your Business Before the Christmas Shutdown

Before your team locks up for Christmas, check who can access the premises, whether the alarm and cameras are working, and who will respond if something happens while you’re away. For Sydney businesses closing for several days or weeks, a short walkthrough and an updated response plan can prevent a last-minute scramble.

Use this Christmas shutdown security checklist for offices, shops, warehouses and other commercial premises.

1. Walk the site before the last day

Start with the areas staff rarely use, such as rear entrances, loading docks, external storage and side gates. Check that doors and windows close securely, roller shutters lock properly and external lights work. Move ladders, pallets and bins away from fences or other places where they could help someone gain access.

Give each repair an owner and a deadline. If a lock or light can’t be repaired before closing, discuss temporary measures with your property manager or security provider. The NSW Police guide to preventing business break-ins is a useful reference for the walkthrough.

2. Update keyholders and holiday access

Confirm who needs to enter during the shutdown, including cleaners, maintenance contractors and staff handling deliveries or stocktakes. Where your system allows it, give temporary access a defined end date. Remove access for people who no longer need it, and record who holds physical keys, cards and remotes.

Nominate a primary keyholder and a backup who will be available over the break. Give your monitoring provider their current phone numbers, the order to call them in, and your closure and reopening dates. Include any approved visits that fall outside your normal hours.

3. Test your alarm and CCTV before staff leave

Arrange an alarm test with your monitoring provider so they can confirm the signal reaches the monitoring centre. Resolve any faults flagged by the alarm panel, such as a low battery or a communications fault, before the final lock-up.

Check that your cameras are recording by playing back a recent clip. Review footage after dark, especially at gates, entrances and loading areas. Confirm that someone authorised can retrieve footage during the break and that your recording retention suits the closure period.

If your business uses back-to-base alarm monitoring, confirm the response instructions for the shutdown. Ask who will be contacted first, when a patrol can be dispatched and what happens if neither keyholder answers.

4. Plan site checks while the premises are closed

Think about what needs to be checked in person and how long the site could otherwise go unchecked. A shopfront on a busy street and a warehouse in a quiet industrial estate may need different arrangements. Outdoor stock, recent incidents and known access issues can also affect how often you need a visit.

Scheduled mobile patrols can check agreed areas such as gates, roller doors, fences and loading bays. Alarm response is a separate arrangement triggered by an activation under your agreed instructions. Confirm which services you have booked and where patrol officers are authorised to go.

5. Assign the final lock-up and first check on reopening

Give one person responsibility for the final lock-up. Have them confirm that everyone has left, secure entrances and storage areas, check the alarm is armed and record the closure time. Keep the power and network connections that your security equipment relies on running during the break.

On reopening day, review alarm activity and any patrol reports, check for faults or damage and restore normal access schedules. Record anything that needs follow-up so it can be addressed before the next extended closure.

Christmas shutdown security checklist

• Inspect locks, gates, roller doors, lighting and external storage.
• Confirm who can enter while the business is closed.
• Update your primary and backup keyholders with your monitoring provider.
• Test the monitored alarm and play back recent CCTV footage.
• Confirm patrol instructions and the response to an alarm activation.
• Assign responsibility for the final lock-up and reopening checks.

Frequently Asked Questions