Last week’s parliamentary sitting featured a Bill proposing to transfer the legal practitioner disciplinary jurisdiction from QCAT to the Supreme Court, alongside three Private Members’ Bills. The sitting also saw the passage of two Bills relating to environmental and resource matters.
Bills introduced this sitting
Legal Profession (Strengthening Disciplinary Matters) Amendment Bill 2026
On 12 May 2026, the Legal Profession (Strengthening Disciplinary Matters) Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced and referred to the Justice Integrity and Community Safety Committee for detailed consideration.
The Bill proposes to amend the Legal Profession Act 2007 to:
- transfer legal practitioner disciplinary jurisdiction from the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to the Supreme Court, and
- transfer other related matters from QCAT to the Supreme Court.
The Bill’s objective is to give effect to the recommendations of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) Act Statutory Review 2025-26: Legal practitioner jurisdiction Report (October 2025).
It also seeks to clarify the procedural arrangements applicable for the legal practitioner jurisdiction proceedings in the Supreme Court and the rules regarding costs.
Submissions are welcome until Friday, 29 May 2026. The committee is due to table its report on Friday, 3 July 2026.
Useful Resources:
* Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026
On 13 May 2026, Shannon Fentiman, Member for Waterford, introduced the Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026. The Bill was referred to the State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee for detailed consideration.
The Bill’s purpose is to strengthen protections against violent workplace incidents, by creating a new notifiable incident class of violent incident.
Under the current law, a person who conducts a business or undertaking must ensure that the regulator is notified immediately after becoming aware that a notifiable incident arising out of the conduct of the business or undertaking has occurred. Currently, notifiable incidents include the death of a person, serious injury or illness of a person or a dangerous incident.
The Bill amends the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the associated provisions in the Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011 to widen the scope of a notifiable incident to include a new violent incident definition, which is described as one or more of the following that exposes a person to serious risk of psychological harm, including:
- a sexual assault or suspected sexual assault;
- a physical assault, including with bodily fluids;
- deliberate deprivation of a person’s liberty without lawful authority;
- a threat of sexual or physical assault, or a threat to deprive a person of the person’s liberty, if there is reasonable belief that at the time the threat is made the person making the threat intends to carry out the threat and has the means to carry out the threat.
Submissions are open until Thursday, 25 June 2026. The committee is due to table its report on Monday, 16 November 2026.
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*Strengthening Protections for Queensland Workers Amendment Bill 2026
On 13 May 2026, Shannon Fentiman, Member for Waterford, introduced the
Strengthening Protections for Queensland Workers Amendment Bill 2026 into Queensland Parliament. The Bill comprised amendments initially introduced by the previous Labor government, but ultimately the Bill was discharged on the same day.
The Bill’s key objectives were to amend the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 and associated legislation, such as the Corrective Services Act 2006, the Criminal Code and the Human Rights Act 2019.
It proposed to implement reforms regarding Respect at Work legislation, following recommendations from the Australian Human Rights Commission Respect @ Work Report published in March 2020.
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* Liquid Fuel Supply (Ethanol and Other Biofuels Mandate) Amendment Bill 2026
On 13 May 2026, Shane Knuth, Member for Hill, introduced the Liquid Fuel Supply (Ethanol and Other Biofuels Mandate) Amendment Bill 2026. The Private Members’ Bill was referred to the Governance, Energy and Finance Committee for detailed consideration.
The Bill seeks to amend the Liquid Fuel Supply Act 1984 to require fuel retailers:
- take all reasonable and practical steps to ensure that the bio-based petrol blended fuels marketed as ‘E10’ contain a minimum of nine (9) per cent ethanol, all other bio-based petrol blended fuels contain a minimum of one (1) per cent ethanol, and diesel fuels contain at least two (2) per cent biodiesel; and
- display the octane rating for fuels marketed as ‘E10’.
The Bill seeks to address issues with the operation of Queensland’s bio-based petrol mandate, and to deliver on its aspirations to drive the uptake of cleaner and cheaper locally-produced fuel.
Submissions are open until 4pm, 20 August 2026. The committee is due to table its report is due on Monday, 16 November 2026.
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Bills passed this sitting
Resources Safety and Health Queensland and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
The Resources Safety and Health Queensland and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced on 3 March 2026 and passed without amendment on 13 May 2026.
The Bill’s objectives include:
- Establishing the Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) Board to strengthen governance by providing strategic leadership, guidance and independent oversight of RSHQ;
- Transferring the statutory functions of the Commissioner for Resources Safety and Health to the new RSHQ Board and discontinuing the Commissioner’s role;
- Reforming the Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee and the Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee by reinstating their function to review the effectiveness of legislation, standards and guidelines;
- Implementing reforms to the Land Access Ombudsman to support its expansion as a statutory body, refine governance arrangements, and repeal the former industry levy and cost‑recovery provisions;
- Modernising the Mineral Resources Act 1989 by replacing map‑based requirements with spatial data, streamlining renewal application timeframes, and introducing a statutory show‑cause process before cancellation of a mining tenement for unpaid rent.
The committee’s report can be read here.
Useful Resources:
Sunshine Coast Waterways Authority Bill 2026
The Sunshine Coast Waterways Authority Bill 2026 was introduced on 4 March 2026 and passed without amendment on 14 May 2026.
The Bill’s objective is to establish the Sunshine Coast Waterways Authority (SCWA) as a statutory body.
It provides for the SCWA to be responsible for defined waterways from Pumicestone Passage in the south to the Noosa lakes in the north, including the Noosa, Maroochy and Mooloolah rivers.
The Bill establishes a board for the SCWA as its governing body, and provides for the appointment of a chief executive officer and SCWA staff.
The committee’s report can be read here.
Useful Resources:
Subordinate legislation
Subordinate Queensland Legislation notified in 2026 is available online.
Queensland Government Gazette
The Queensland Government Gazettes for 2026 are available online.
Parliamentary sitting dates
As indicated on the parliamentary website, the Queensland Parliament is currently scheduled to next sit from 2 to 4 June 2026.
* Notes a Private Members’ Bill
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