During last week’s parliamentary sitting, the 2026-27 Queensland State Budget was tabled. The government introduced a rehabilitation program for youth offenders and stronger road safety laws aimed at dangerous drivers, along with presenting several appropriation bills.
Additionally, three bills were passed addressing cost of living relief, reforms in education and the arts, and Condamine Alluvium protection.
Queensland Law Society has prepared a Proctor article on the State Budget for 2026-27, which highlights major allocations relevant to the legal profession.
Bills introduced this sitting
- Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2026
- Appropriation Bill 2026
- Youth Justice (Circuit Breaker) Amendment Bill 2026
- Criminal Code (Dangerous Driving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
- Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill
Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2026
The Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2026 was introduced by the Treasurer, Minister for Energy and Minister for Home Ownership, Hon David Janetzki MP on 23 June 2026.
The Bill provides for:
- Appropriation for 2026-27 to fund the cost of providing the services, equity adjustment and administered items of the Legislative Assembly and parliamentary service in that year; and
- Supply for 2027-28 to allow the normal operations of the Legislative Assembly and parliamentary service to continue until the 2027–28 Appropriation (Parliament) Bill receives assent.
Useful resources:
Appropriation Bill 2026
The Appropriation Bill 2026 was introduced by the Hon David Janetzki on 23 June 2026. The Bill provides for:
- Appropriation for 2026-27 to fund the cost of delivering departmental services, administered items and equity adjustment in that year; and
- Supply for 2027-28 to allow normal operations of government to continue until the 2027-28 Appropriation Bill receives assent.
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Youth Justice (Circuit Breaker) Amendment Bill 2026
The Youth Justice (Circuit Breaker) Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced by Hon Laura Gerber, Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support and Minister for Corrective Services, on 25 June 2026.
The Bill amends the Youth Justice Act 1992 to introduce the Circuit Breaker rehabilitation program, which aims to reduce youth crime by establishing a structured rehabilitation program that removes youth who have been charged with or have committed offences from the community.
The program will be delivered by funded non-government service providers at two rural and/or remote locations, providing round-the-clock supervision in a controlled setting with structured activities including education, training, mentoring, and reintegration support.
Circuit Breaker will be court ordered and may be imposed on sentence or as a condition of bail, as an alternative to detention. Mandatory conditions include wearing a monitoring device, residing at the Circuit Breaker site and not leaving without prior approval. If bail has been granted, the court must also consider detaining the child in custody until travel to the site begins or a monitoring device is fitted.
The order imposed on sentence must last at least three months and no more than six months. If a different sentence is imposed, the child will leave the program to complete their sentence, and time in Circuit Breaker may count toward the detention order.
The Bill has been referred to the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety to report by 14 August 2026.
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Criminal Code (Dangerous Driving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
The Criminal Code (Dangerous Driving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced by the Hon Deborah Frecklington, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for Integrity, on 26 June 2026.
The Bill will amend the Criminal Code to insert a new offence framework, ‘Dangerous driving or operation of vehicles’, which includes four categories of offending:
- dangerously driving a motor vehicle,
- dangerously interfering with driving a motor vehicle,
- dangerously operating a non-motor vehicle, and
- dangerously interfering with operating a non-motor vehicle.
The Bill does not alter the operation of the Criminal Code in relation to the offences relating to the use of e-mobility devices. The reforms also impose higher penalties for an offender who also commits another serious transport offence, such as drug driving or driving while disqualified.
The Bill was referred to State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee to report by 14 August 2026.
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Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
The Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced by the Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Hon Brent Mickelberg, on 26 June 2026.
Key reforms relating to drink and drug driving offences include:
- creating combined offences for when a person commits both a drink and drug driving offence at the same time;
- streamlining the roadside drug testing process by providing cost and resource savings, which may increase the number of roadside drug tests that can be undertaken;
- requiring drug driving offenders to complete an education program before being eligible to regain a Queensland driver licence;
- increasing the maximum penalty for the offence of driving while a relevant drug is present in a person’s blood or saliva; and
- introducing minimum court-imposed fines for drink and drug driving offences.
Reforms to improve seatbelt enforcement and road safety include:
- introducing the ability to nominate a passenger for a seatbelt offence detected by a camera, so that demerit points will only apply for seatbelt offences where the driver is directly responsible. Instead, passengers aged over 16 will receive an infringement notice for failing to wear a seatbelt;
- enabling immediate licence suspensions for high-range speeding offences detected at the roadside; and
- enabling photo identification card replacement fees to be waived for victims of crime.
Further amendments will also be rolled out for parking regulations, improving Queensland digital identity, and the removal and disposal of watercraft.
The Bill was referred to State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee to report by 14 August 2026.
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Bills passed this sitting
The following Bills were passed by the Legislative Assembly:
- Revenue (Cost of Living Relief Locked-in Law) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026;
- Education and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026;
- Regional Planning Interests (Condamine Alluvium) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026.
Revenue (Cost of Living Relief Locked-in Law) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
The Revenue (Cost of Living Relief Locked-in Law) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced by the Hon David Janetzki on 23 June 2026 and passed on 26 June 2026.
The Bill amends the Duties Act 2001, First Home Owner Grant and Other Home Owner Grants Act 2000, Payroll Tax Act 1971 and Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 to:
- implement measures announced in the 2026–27 State Budget and give effect to the government’s commitment to ongoing cost-of-living relief for Queenslanders;
- limit eligibility for transfer duty home concessions to Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees;
- continue the increased First Home Owner Grant of $30,000, up from $15,000;
- extend the 50 per cent payroll tax rebate for wages paid or payable to apprentices and trainees until 30 June 2027; and
- enshrine 50 cent fares in legislation to provide ongoing cost-of-living support for certain public transport passengers.
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Education and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
The Education and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 was passed on 24 June 2026.
The Bill amends several Acts and Regulations across the education and arts sectors to strengthen governance, improve educational outcomes, support re-engagement of students and continuity of education, and improve efficiencies, including:
- reducing regulatory burden and clarifying and enhancing governance arrangements for the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board;
- clarifying that the Department of Education and prescribed non-government providers may support and manage participation by children and young people in re-engagement programs, and to explicitly recognise the legislative status of education and training centres in youth detention centres;
- enabling an expanded offshore delivery model so non-state schools, including Grammar schools, can participate in international delivery arrangements under the oversight and governance of the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority;
- improving the operations and governance of the Queensland College of Teachers;
- introducing a contemporary approach to collecting criminal history check fees; and
- improving governance for arts statutory bodies to deliver administrative efficiencies.
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Regional Planning Interests (Condamine Alluvium) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
The Regional Planning Interests (Condamine Alluvium) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 was passed with amendment on 24 June 2026. The Bill aims to balance new coal seam gas projects in the Condamine Alluvium with strong protections against long-term detrimental impacts.
During the parliamentary committee inquiry, Queensland Law Society made two submissions, which raised concerns about mapping clarity of the Condamine Alluvium coal seam gas (CSG) area, provisions regarding directional well drilling as an advanced activity, clarifying liability to compensate for regional subsidence, removing the regional interests development approval (RIDA) requirement, and other technical and legislative issues. QLS suggested the Bill would not achieve its objectives and noted some provisions of the Bill proposed to remove existing rights without adequate public consultation.
The Primary Industries and Resources Committee tabled its report on 8 May 2026, in which Queensland Law Society’s submissions were mentioned seven times. The Committee recommended several amendments to address some of the concerns raised by QLS and other submitters.
Amendments to the Bill were considered in detail and moved by Parliament with passage of the Bill. Those amendments include retaining the RIDA process and clarifying ambiguities in the subsidence compensation liability framework for the Condamine Alluvium CSG area.
Useful Resources:
- Bill
- Explanatory Notes
- Statement of Compatibility
- Committee
- Amendments moved during consideration
- Explanatory Notes – Amendments moved during consideration
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 25 to 27 August 2026.
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