The Queensland Community Safety Bill was passed at last week’s Parliamentary sitting, which aims to enhance community safety, support police efforts to protect the community and further support victims.
Legislation was also introduced and passed for the statutory appointment of three new commissioners: the Cross-Border Commissioner, Night-Life Economy Commissioner and Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner.
The Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, Crime and Corruption and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 and Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 were also all passed.
Bills Introduced:
- Cross-Border Commissioner Bill 2024
- Night-Life Economy Commissioner Bill 2024
- Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner Bill 2024
Private Members Bills:
- Public-Private Partnership (Transparency and Accountability) Bill 2024
- Crocodile Control, Conservation and Safety Bill 2024
Cross-Border Commissioner Bill 2024
On Wednesday, 21 August 2024, the Cross-Border Commissioner Bill 2024 was introduced to the Queensland Parliament.
The Cross-Border Commissioner will enhance stakeholder engagement and facilitate collaboration between Queensland and relevant jurisdictions in areas of mutual interest related to cross-border communities along Queensland’s border.
The Commissioner will facilitate the identification, and advocate for the resolution, of issues related to residing in these cross-border communities which impede regional economic development, community resilience and service delivery.
The Bill was not referred to a committee for inquiry and was passed by the Parliament without amendment.
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Night-Life Economy Commissioner Bill 2024
On Tuesday, 20 August 2024, the Night-Life Economy Commissioner Bill 2024 was introduced to the Queensland Parliament.
The Bill provides the statutory basis for the Night-Life Economy Commissioner’s functions. The Commissioner will bring together state and local governments, industry and key stakeholders to support Queensland’s night-life economy, with an emphasis on partnerships that promote the growth, sustainability and vibrancy of the sector.
The Bill was not referred to a committee for inquiry and was passed by the Parliament without amendment.
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Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner Bill 2024
On Tuesday, 20 August 2024, the Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner Bill 2024 was introduced to the Queensland Parliament.
The Bill seeks to establish the Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner and provide a statutory basis for the Commissioner’s functions.
The Commissioner is to be a statutory appointment, independent of government and will report to the Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities. The Commissioner will improve price transparency, redress the imbalance of power between the major supermarkets and their suppliers, and provide a safe environment for complaints to be considered and acted upon.
The Bill was not referred to a committee for inquiry and was passed by the Parliament without amendment.
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Crocodile Control, Conservation and Safety Bill 2024
On Wednesday, 21 August 2024, the Crocodile Control, Conservation and Safety Bill 2024 was introduced as a Private Member’s Bill to the Queensland Parliament.
The Bill seeks to establish the Queensland Crocodile Authority, to be based in Cairns, and to be responsible for all aspects of crocodile management in Queensland.
The Bill places greater value on human life by responsibly reducing the risk of crocodile attacks as much as possible. It aims to eliminate from our waterways any crocodiles that pose a threat to human life, while continuing to protect crocodiles from becoming extinct as a species.
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The Bill was referred to the Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee for inquiry. The Committee is finalising arrangements for this inquiry.
Public-Private Partnership (Transparency and Accountability) Bill 2024
On Wednesday, 21 August 2024, the Public-Private Partnership (Transparency and Accountability) Bill 2024 was introduced as a Private Member’s Bill to the Queensland Parliament.
The Bill’s objectives are to:
- Promote consistency, transparency and accountability in decision-making processes around Public-Private Partnerships in Queensland;
- Aid in the prevention of corruption;
- Ensure that all commercial activities of the state are conducted in accordance with the principles of transparency, fairness, stability, proper management, integrity, accountability and long term sustainability;
- Ensure that Public-Private Partnership arrangements deliver ‘value for money’ transparently and prudently by ensuring the right decision-making processes are in place; and
- Promote public trust in government.
The Bill also seeks to allow the Auditor-General to inspect and examine the Public-Private Partnership reports of public sector entities in Queensland.
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The Bill was referred to the Housing, Big Build and Manufacturing Committee for inquiry. The Committee is finalising arrangements for this inquiry.
Legislation Passed:
- Queensland Community Safety Bill 2024
- Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
- Crime and Corruption and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
- Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
- Cross-Border Commissioner Bill 2024
- Night-Life Economy Commissioner Bill 2024
- Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner Bill 2024
- Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2024
- Appropriation Bill 2024
Queensland Community Safety Bill 2024
The Queensland Community Safety Bill 2024 was passed with amendment on 22 August 2024. The Bill was introduced on 1 May 2024.
The Bill was referred to the Community Safety and Legal Affairs Committee for inquiry. On 2 August 2024, the Committee tabled its report, ‘Queensland Community Safety Bill 2024’ (Report No. 15, 57th Parliament).
Queensland Law Society made a submission on the Bill, which can be found here.
The Bill proposes to:
- enable certain persons and the media to be present at some Childrens Court criminal proceedings
- expand Jack’s law
- introduce a firearms prohibition order scheme in Queensland
- introduce a verification process for purchasing small arms ammunition
- reform the ‘fit and proper person’ test in the Weapons Act 1990
- increase the maximum penalty for possessing a knife in a public place or school
- introduce a framework for removal of online content depicting conduct that constitutes a prescribed offence, create an offence for publishing such material, and increase the maximum penalties for a range of related offences
- increase the maximum penalty for dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death or grievous bodily harm
- create new offences and increase the maximum penalties for damaging an emergency vehicle when operating a motor vehicle
- amend definitions in the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 to remove parent-minor child relationships from domestic and family violence responses
- enable a court hearing an appeal in a family and domestic violence matter to make a temporary protection order to protect the victim-survivor
- extend the maximum period before a police protection notice must be first mentioned in court
- allow for a trial of arrangements for corrective services officers to serve prescribed domestic and family violence documents on prisoners in corrective facilities in prescribed circumstances
- expand the options available to police officers to effect document service
- enable electronic signatures to be affixed to all documents executed by police officers
- extend the offence of ‘unlawful conduct associated with commission of racing, burn out or other hooning offence’ to include a person who merely spectated a hooning activity without reasonable excuse
- provide police officers with the option of issuing penalty infringement notices for low-level drink driving offences
- attach a licence disqualification of two months to a penalty infringement notice
- reword youth justice principle 18 to remove detention as a last resort
- increase the number of participants in the electronic monitoring trial
- create a presumption of prompt transfer for remanded detainees over 18 years old
- enable temporary transfers from watchhouses to youth detention centres to facilitate participation in programs and physical exercise at youth detention centres
- regulate the use of cameras and smart phones in youth detention centres
- enable the recording of detainees’ phone calls in certain circumstances
- insert a reference to disability services into the youth justice principles
- remove any doubt that participation in a program or engagement in a service by a detainee while remanded in custody cannot be used in evidence in any civil, criminal or administrative proceedings relating to the offence for which the child has been remanded in custody.
Amendments were moved during consideration in detail to:
- clarify the obligations for police officers to investigate domestic violence involving children in a family relationship
- amend section 43A of the Explosives Act 1999 to permit the sale of ammunition in circumstances where the seller does not have access to the verification system due to an event out of the seller’s control
- replace the cross-references, in definitions for the removal of online criminal content scheme, to the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) with bespoke definitions in the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000
- amend the definition of a ‘state building’ in the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000
- clarify the use of body-worn cameras by watch-house officers acting in the performance of their duties is lawful
- clarify the definition of ‘specified person’ in the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000;
- clarify in the Weapons Act 1990 that non-recorded convictions are not captured under the non-discretionary application of the fit and proper person test of section 10B(4) and (5) and 10C (2) and (3)(a), but under the discretionary test of section 10B(1) and 10C(1)
- to provide a police officer the power to issue a direction to facilitate personal service of a firearm prohibition order issued by the Commissioner of Police, in addition to stipulating that any direction given by a police officer to effect service must be reasonably necessary; and
- clarify the proposed amendments to the Youth Justice Act 1992 in relation to arrangements for transferring 18-year-old detainees to adult custody,
The Bill amends the:
- Childrens Court Act 1992
- Corrective Services Act 2006
- Criminal Code
- Disaster Management and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024
- Judicial Review Act 1991
- Summary Offences Act 2005
- Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995
- Legislation mentioned in schedule 1 for particular purposes
Useful resources:
- Bill
- Explanatory Note
- Statement of Compatibility
- Explanatory Speech
- Amendment in Committee – Government Agreed
- Amendment in Committee – Explanatory Note
- Amendment in Committee – Statement of Compatibility
Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
The Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 was passed with amendment on 22 August 2024. The Bill was introduced on 17 April 2024.
The Bill was referred to the Education, Employment, Training and Skills Committee for inquiry. On 7 June 2024, the Committee tabled its report, ‘Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024’ (Report No. 7, 57th Parliament).
Queensland Law Society made a submission on the Bill, which can be found here.
The Bill amends the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 and Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2014 by, among other things:
- requiring an insurer to take all reasonable steps to minimise the risk of a worker sustaining a psychiatric or psychological injury arising from a physical injury following acceptance of a claim until the worker’s entitlement to compensation ends.
- enabling the Workers’ Compensation Regulator to set mandatory standards in prescribed circumstances by making scheme directions to support the Workers’ Compensation Regulator’s enforcement functions.
- expanding existing code of practice provisions which are currently limited to insurer claims management to allow coverage of matters such as rehabilitation and return to work (RRTW) for employers or other persons with an obligation under the WCR Act (e.g. host employers).
- promoting increased scrutiny of the availability of suitable duties by requiring insurers to form their own opinion about whether it is practicable for an employer to provide suitable duties and take certain steps if it is not satisfied by the employer’s evidence about this.
- inserting a head of power to set service delivery, competency and professional standards for workplace rehabilitation providers.
- enabling workers to request a different workplace rehabilitation provider where they are dissatisfied with the initial provider selected by the insurer.
- requiring an insurer to ensure a RRTW plan is in place within 10 business days after the worker’s application for compensation is accepted and providing for that plan to be kept under review and modified as further information becomes available and developments arise.
- requiring host employers to cooperate with the labour hire provider by taking all reasonable steps to support them to meet their RRTW obligations under section 228, including by extension of the provision of suitable duties.
- including the recommended ten additional diseases taking the total number of recognised deemed diseases to 22 for firefighters.
- requiring an insurer to commence making a default payment to the worker on the expiry of five business days after allowing the worker’s application for compensation or the expiry of the relevant excess period (whichever is later), while a decision on the calculation of the rate of payment is pending.
- providing a framework for the issuing of compliance notices for contraventions of the WCR Act with an offence for not complying with a compliance notice.
- prohibiting an employer from giving a benefit or causing detriment to a person if the reason is to influence an injured worker to refrain from making an application for compensation for the injury or otherwise pursuing an entitlement to compensation.
- compelling employers to provide wage information within five business days of the insurer’s request to ensure prompt calculation of weekly compensation entitlements, with penalties for non-compliance.
- improving the governance around scheme doctors who conduct permanent impairment assessments for the scheme.
- implementing the Government’s preferred approach in the Decision IAS.
The Bill also proposes to amend the Industrial Relations Act 2016 by:
- ensuring employers have an obligation to make superannuation contributions to their employees under the Queensland Employment Standards
- increasing the number of unpaid flexible parental leave days from 30 to 100 and providing additional flexibility for when parents can take this leave, such as late term pregnancy leave
- increasing the claim threshold for unpaid wages claims from $50,000 to reflect the new $100,000 threshold for small claims under the FW Act.
The Bill also proposes to amend the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 to ensure compatibility with human rights and to promote contemporary operational practices.
Amendments were moved during consideration in detail to:
- Ensure that presumptive rights in the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 are available to firefighters diagnosed with primary site uterine cancer
- Omit the clauses in the Bill relating to the Industrial Relations Act 2016 appeal provisions.
- Amend the Industrial Relations Act 2016 in relation to the administration of the Construction and General division of CFMEUQ.
Useful resources:
- Bill
- Explanatory Note
- Statement of Compatibility
- Explanatory Speech
- Amendment in Committee – Government Agreed
- Amendment in Committee – Explanatory Note
- Amendment in Committee – Statement of Compatibility
Crime and Corruption and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
The Crime and Corruption and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 was passed with amendment on 20 August 2024. The Bill was introduced on 15 February 2024.
The Bill was referred to the Community Safety and Legal Affairs Committee for inquiry. On 5 April 2024, the Committee tabled its report, ‘Crime and Corruption and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024’ (Report No. 4, 57th Parliament).
The overarching objective of the Bill is to improve the operation and performance of the Crime and Corruption Commission through making a range of legislative amendments, principally to the Crime and Corruption Act 2001. This includes changes to:
- apply journalist shield laws to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC);
- enable the CCC to give notices by email and allow the appearance of a person via audio and audiovisual link at CCC hearings in certain circumstances;
- ensure inspecting entities can report on contraventions of telecommunications interception warrant conditions or restrictions; and
- permit the transfer of the data and records of the Inquiry into the Future Role, Structure, Powers and Operations of the Criminal Justice Commission (known as the Connolly-Ryan Inquiry) to Queensland State Archives for storage while retaining the role of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Commissioner in determining applications for access to the data and records.
Amendments were moved during consideration in detail to extend parts of the lobbying framework under the Integrity Act 2009 to opposition spokespersons and opposition assistant spokespersons, to meet public expectations of visibility over lobbying activity and ensure decisions ad policies made by political parties are free from undue influence.
The Bill amends the:
- Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010
- Public Sector Act 2022
- Right to Information Act 2009
- Telecommunications Interception Act 2009
Useful resources:
- Bill
- Explanatory Note
- Statement of Compatibility
- Explanatory Speech
- Amendment in Committee – Government Agreed
- Amendment in Committee – Explanatory Note
- Amendment in Committee – Statement of Compatibility
Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
The Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 was passed without amendment on 22 August 2024. The Bill was introduced on 22 May 2024.
The Bill was referred to the Clean Economy Jobs, Resources and Transport Committee for Inquiry. On 2 August 2024 the Committee tabled its report, ‘Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024’ (Report No. 9, 57th Parliament).
Queensland Law Society made submissions on the Bill, which can be found here and here.
The Bill ensures that Queensland’s electrical safety laws remain contemporary and capture new and emerging technologies by amending the definition of ‘electrical equipment’ in the Electrical Safety Act 2002 to include ‘prescribed electrical equipment’ where the equipment is placing or may place people or property at an electrical risk. The definition of ‘electrical installation’ is amended to capture modern energy generation and storage systems.
The Bill also makes amendments to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to enhance operational efficiencies relating to the regulator, inspectorate and the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor including:
- Adding negligence as a fault element to a Category 1 offence, which is where employers expose workers to a risk of death, serious injury, or illness (currently only fault element is recklessness)
- Powers for health and safety representatives and entry permit holders to capture video and photos of suspected contraventions, take measurements and conduct tests at the workplace
- Powers for the WHS Regulator to set minimum standards for Registered Training Organisations who provide work health safety training.
The Bill implements the following three recommendations from the 2024 Review to examine the scope and application of the industrial manslaughter provisions in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011:
- Expansion of the industrial manslaughter scope to include bystanders who are killed as the result of negligent conduct.
- Clarifying that multiple parties can be charged with industrial manslaughter, not just the direct employer.
- Introduction of alternative verdicts for industrial manslaughter and other serious offences. This means the WHS Prosecutor can seek the highest penalties available in the knowledge defendants can still be found guilty of an alternative offence if the most serious offence is not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than being acquitted.
Useful resources:
Cross-Border Commissioner Bill 2024
The Cross-Border Commissioner Bill 2024, referred to above, was introduced on 20 August 2024. It was passed without amendment on 21 August 2024.
Night-Life Economy Commissioner Bill 2024
The Night-Life Economy Commissioner Bill 2024, referred to above, was introduced on 20 August 2024. It was passed without amendment on 21 August 2024.
Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner Bill 2024
The Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner Bill 2024, referred to above, was introduced on 20 August 2024. It was passed without amendment on 21 August 2024.
Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2024
The Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2024 was passed without amendment on 21 August 2024. The Bill was introduced on 11 June 2024.
The Bill provides for:
- Appropriation for 2024-25 to fund the cost of providing the services, equity adjustment and administered items of the Legislative Assembly and parliamentary service in that year;
- Supply for 2025-26 to allow the normal operations of the Legislative Assembly and parliamentary service to continue until the 2025-26 Appropriation (Parliament) Bill receives assent; and
- Appropriation for amounts of unforeseen expenditure approved by the Governor in Council during the 2023-24 financial year including how these amounts are to be reported.
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Appropriation Bill 2024
The Appropriation Bill 2024 was passed without amendment on 21 August 2024. The Bill was introduced on 11 June 2024.
The Bill provides for:
- Appropriation for 2024-25 to fund the cost of delivering departmental services, administered items and equity adjustment in that year;
- Supply for 2025-26 to allow normal operations of government to continue until the 2025-26 Appropriation Bill receives assent; and
- Appropriation for amounts of unforeseen expenditure approved by the Governor in Council during the 2023-24 financial year including how these amounts are to be reported and lapsed (if required).
Useful resources:
Second Reading
- Crime and Corruption Amendment Bill 2023
Subordinate Legislation
Subordinate Queensland Legislation notified in 2024 is available online.
Subordinate Legislation notified on the Queensland Legislation website from 25 May 2024 to 23 August 2024:
Queensland Government Gazette
The Queensland Government Gazettes for 2024 are available online.
Parliamentary sitting dates
As indicated on the parliamentary website, the Queensland Parliament is currently scheduled to next sit from 10 September to 12 September 2024.
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