Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill is a wide-ranging omnibus that tackles metal theft with new criminal offences and penalties up to 25 years imprisonment, improves the coronial system to handle deaths in custody more efficiently and cover deaths of people with disability receiving Commonwealth supports, raises the District Court's civil jurisdiction from $750,000 to $1.5 million, and makes numerous other updates to justice and administrative legislation including repealing the Brisbane Casino Agreement Act.
Who it affects
People affected by metal theft get stronger law enforcement tools. Families of people who die in state care or while receiving disability supports gain coronial oversight. Civil litigants and regional Queenslanders benefit from a higher District Court limit. Scrap metal dealers face stricter regulations.
Metal theft crackdown
Creates new criminal offences for attempted metal theft and possessing suspected stolen metal items such as catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters. Increases penalties for stealing metal from infrastructure, with the highest penalty of 25 years for theft that endangers life or occurs during natural disasters. Tightens regulation of scrap metal dealers with stricter ID checks and escalating penalties for failing to report stolen property.
- New offence of attempted metal theft carrying up to 7 years imprisonment
- New offence of possessing suspected stolen catalytic converters, diesel particulate filters, or cabling — up to 3 years imprisonment
- Penalties up to 25 years for metal theft that endangers life or occurs during natural disasters
- Scrap metal dealers must verify sellers' identity with photo ID and record all transactions regardless of value
Coronial system improvements
Streamlines the coronial system by allowing any coroner to investigate natural deaths in custody or from police operations, and by letting registrars handle less complex coronial matters. Expands reportable deaths to include people with disability receiving Commonwealth supports under the Disability Support for Older Australians Program.
- Any coroner can investigate natural deaths in custody — previously limited to the State Coroner or Deputy
- State Coroner can delegate less complex functions to registrars and deputy registrars
- Deaths of people receiving disability supports under the DSOA Program become reportable deaths requiring coronial investigation
- Coroners can now state in findings that they have referred information to the DPP or Crime and Corruption Commission
District Court jurisdiction increase
Doubles the District Court's civil jurisdiction monetary limit from $750,000 to $1.5 million, aligning with equivalent courts in other states and addressing 15 years of inflation. This improves access to justice, particularly in regional Queensland where the District Court has 31 locations compared to the Supreme Court's 10.
- Civil jurisdiction limit raised from $750,000 to $1.5 million from 1 January 2027
- District and Magistrates Courts can now issue enforcement warrants with charging orders and stop orders — previously limited to the Supreme Court
Media access to court information
Creates a legislative framework for police and court registrars to share information about charged adults with accredited media entities, so journalists can attend relevant court proceedings. Includes offences for misusing the disclosed information.
- Police must disclose alleged offender details to accredited media when a media release about charges has been published
- Court registrars at all levels can share listing information with accredited media
- Penalty of 20 penalty units for intentionally or recklessly disclosing an alleged offender's name beyond permitted purposes
Stock offence penalties
Increases minimum prescribed fines for nine stock-related criminal offences to better reflect the seriousness of rural crime and the financial impact on primary producers.
- Minimum prescribed fines for most stock offences more than doubled (e.g. from 4 to 10 penalty units)
- Stock disposal order procedures updated with new affidavit filing requirements
Casino and gaming updates
Repeals the Brisbane Casino Agreement Act 1992 following the closure and licence surrender of Treasury Brisbane casino. Fixes a 2016 oversight in the Casino Acts definition to include the Queen's Wharf Brisbane Act, retrospectively validating RSL two-up permissions since 2016.
- Brisbane Casino Agreement Act 1992 repealed
- Queen's Wharf Brisbane Act added to Casino Acts definition, retrospective to 27 May 2016
- RSL two-up permissions validated as lawful despite the technical omission
Administrative and governance updates
A range of miscellaneous amendments including allowing verbal integrity advice, updating Monarch references for JP oaths, allowing retired judges to serve on the Land Court, clarifying privacy complaint handling, supporting Queensland's cyber security scheme participation, and facilitating the Ombudsman's work with the National Student Ombudsman.
- Integrity Commissioner can now give verbal advice on minor ethics matters
- Retired Supreme Court, District Court or Land Court judges can serve as acting Land Court members until 78
- Reserve judges only need to take oath once per appointment, not each time they are engaged
- Documents from the National Cyber Security Coordinator excluded from Right to Information requests
Bill Journey
▸Committee4 Mar 2026View Hansard
Referred to Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee
The Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee examined this omnibus bill, which amends 28 acts and regulations to tackle scrap metal theft, make the coronial system more efficient, and increase penalties for stock-related offences. The committee received 16 written submissions and held a public briefing and hearing in Brisbane on 8 April 2026, finding the bill compatible with human rights and the Legislative Standards Act. The committee recommended the bill be passed. The two Labor opposition members filed a statement of reservation, supporting the metal theft measures but criticising the lack of consultation with media organisations over new police information-sharing rules.
Key findings (5)
- The bill increases penalties and creates new offences for scrap metal theft, with maximum penalties of up to 25 years imprisonment where a person's life is endangered or theft occurs during a natural disaster.
- Councils, energy companies and industry groups broadly supported the metal theft measures, citing serious safety risks and high replacement costs, while some submitters raised concerns about ambiguous wording, proportionality of penalties, and reversal of the onus of proof.
- The bill streamlines the coronial system by allowing the State Coroner to delegate less complex matters, letting any coroner investigate natural-cause deaths in custody, and expanding the reportable deaths framework to cover people receiving Commonwealth disability supports.
- The bill lifts the District Court's civil monetary limit from $750,000 to $1.5 million to improve access to justice, particularly in regional Queensland, and increases penalties for nine stock-related offences.
- Media organisations, including Australia's Right to Know coalition, opposed the way new police information-disclosure provisions were drafted, arguing they create legal uncertainty for journalists publishing information about charges and court proceedings.
Recommendations (1)
- The committee recommends that the Bill be passed.
Committee report tabled
Referenced Entities
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Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards
Source Documents
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