Out-of-state police get G20 crash course

About 1500 police officers from outside Queensland will take a crash course on the G20 when they arrive to bolster security for the world leaders summit.

Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett says the officers, drawn from across Australia and New Zealand, will have to be sworn in as special constables of the Queensland Police Service before they are allowed to carry weapons and make arrests.

And before that, they will have to take part in an induction, starting from Saturday, to get them up to speed on the Brisbane event and what their powers will be under special G20 legislation.

"The fact is, they know how to be police officers. It's just simply where the declared area is, where the restricted areas are," Mr Barnett told reporters on Friday.

He said the out-of-state officers would bolster the G20's police presence to 6000, without taking into account other security services and the Australian Defence Force, which could also be called in if needed.

The police presence will outnumber the 4600 delegates scheduled to attend. About 3000 members of the foreign media will cover the summit.

Mr Barnett said foreign entourages, such as the US Secret Service, could apply to carry firearms during the G20, but so far none had actually done so.

They will have to apply to the federal government, which will then send the request to Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart.

Mr Barnett said official protests would begin on Saturday and run until the last day of the G20 summit next Monday.

Mr Barnett said he was concerned to hear about violent anarchist movement Black Bloc providing an online manual on bomb building and tactics to disrupt police in the lead-up to G20, but police were prepared to deal with any "rogue elements".

He said there had also been a multi-agency approach towards ensuring cyber safety during the summit, and contingencies were in place should a cyber attack occur.

Australian businesses have been warned about the increased cyber threat and have been asked to look out for suspicious emails and lax Wi-Fi security.

Police are also planning for a possible speech by US President Barack Obama to students at The University of Queensland.