Committee Details

COMMITTEE’S REPORT

The committee tabled its Report No. 40, 57th Parliament - Emergency Services Reform Amendment Bill 2023 on 15 March 2024. The Bill was passed without amendment by the Queensland Parliament on 2 May 2024.

View: Report

The Government has three months to respond to the report’s recommendations (if any). At that time, the Government Response will be published here.

The purpose of the Bill is: 

Legislative reform of Queensland’s emergency services and disaster management arrangements will be progressed in two stages. The first stage consists of three Bills that will make the legislative amendments necessary to restructure emergency service arrangements as recommended in the Independent Review Report and meet certain recommendations made in the IGEM Review. This will be achieved by: 

• establishing Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ) as a state-wide marine rescue service through the Marine Rescue Queensland Bill 2023;
• establishing the SES through the State Emergency Service Bill 2023;
• aligning MRQ and SES under the control of the QPS through the Emergency Services Reform Amendment Bill 2023 which will make the necessary administrative and consequential amendments for this to occur; and
• formally establishing the State Disaster Management Group (SDM group) within the Disaster Management Act 2003 through the Emergency Services Reform Amendment Bill 2023.

The importance of SES and marine rescue volunteers to the success and effectiveness of the SES and MRQ is acknowledged through the State Emergency Service Bill 2023 and the Marine Rescue Queensland Bill 2023. These Bills will establish the SES and MRQ in ‘standalone Acts’ which will emphasise the value of each organisation, promote volunteer engagement and provide a framework that outlines the purpose, functions and command structures of each organisation and the roles of their members. 

The Bill will achieve its objectives by amending the following Acts and Regulations: 

• the Civil Liability Regulation 2014;
• the Disaster Management Act 2003;
• the Disaster Management Regulation 2014;
• the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990;
• the Nature Conservation (Animals) Regulation 2020;
• the Police Service Administration Act 1990;
• the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003;
• the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2014; and
• the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000

View: Explanatory speech 
View: Bill 
View: Explanatory Notes 
View: Statement of compatibility 

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