The federal government mandated that all hotels must register as a COVID-safe business; display relevant information; submit a safety plan; cap overall numbers at 300; and have an electronic copy of patrons' details and a hygiene marshall in place.

Hotels that have a capacity for 250 or more patrons must have a marshall present at all times, but hotels with less than 250 patrons only need to have a marshall clocked on during peak operational hours - at a minimum during lunch (12pm-3pm) and dinner (5pm-9pm).

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Premer Hotel publican Peter Costa said the rules weren't taking into consideration quieter establishments like his pub, and he has been chasing answers from various government departments.

"The cut-off point doesn't differentiate between the style of business," he said.

"To me, this marshall rule should work on some percentage of that square-metres rule. It's the issue of managing people in a space ... this is the yardstick that should be applied ... 75 per cent in a space.

"I don't get 40 people here a week ... if I've got one guy at the bar, which is all I get on a Sunday, and if he asks for food, I've got to have a dedicated marshall."

Mr Costa and his partner run the pub and the new marshall rule means it's not possible for them to continue on the way they are because they need someone in the kitchen and someone behind the bar.

"I've got to hire someone, close my business, or look at not serving or giving a particular product," he said.

Fellow publican Judith Commins manages the Mullaley Post Office Hotel and said she had been trying to get her head around the new measures but it wasn't proving to be easy.

"It's difficult finding out information. You can go into government websites, but it's very hard to find out which things apply to you," she said.

The new co-owner of the Royal Hotel Spring Ridge, Faye Temperley, was ahead of the curve, closing the bar area days before she had to.

"We've only really been here a few weeks but to be honest, I kind of had a feeling there'd be a second wave and it would kick off again," she said.

"We do get a lot of passing trade and caravanners, so I was trying to be more proactive rather than reactive."

Ms Temperley notified patrons of the change on social media early last week and said business had dropped off a lot since then, making it easier to comply to the new rules.

"Because it's the second wave, [patrons] know what to expect so they know the rules and listen to me quite willingly," she said.

"The police do come out here and have a look and this is the only pub for quite a way so nobody wants to see the pub go down or anything like that so the community is very understanding. I know it's not what it used to, but they know what has to happen now."

The tightened rules have served a bitter blow to Ms Temperley and her fiance Tom Elsley who had "a fantastic first week" after taking over from the Archers in late June.

"Normally, when you've first taken over a pub, everyone wants to come and see it, and it's your honeymoon period ... [but] our honeymoon period has been tainted by restrictions," she said.

"My concern is what is going to be left after all this has been done and dusted.

"I'm trying not to dwell on it too much. You do whatever you can to pull through."

Erin Van Beeck and Matt White at Curlewis are also new pub owners and were forced to close the doors of the Commercial Hotel just two weeks after opening.

Ms Van Beeck said they were "utilising every bit of space that we've actually got" to comply to the four square-metres rule.

"People are pretty understanding," she said.

They are using existing staff to meet the mandates but have cut back operating hours and are now opening at 11am.

"It's pretty quiet during the day," Ms Van Beeck said.

"We've not had government assistance whatsoever, so we're just taking it in our stride."