Police Powers and Responsibilities and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill strengthens Queensland police powers across several areas: extending monitoring periods for convicted child sex offenders, expanding covert investigation tools for cybercrime, allowing civilians to assist in undercover police operations, and introducing new offences to crack down on hooning events and their spectators.
Who it affects
Convicted child sex offenders face longer reporting obligations. Cybercrime victims benefit from stronger police investigation powers. Drivers, spectators, and organisers involved in hooning events face new criminal offences with penalties of up to 40 penalty units or 1 year imprisonment.
Child sex offender monitoring
Doubles the reporting periods for convicted child sex offenders from 5/10/life years to 10/20/life years. Queensland previously had the shortest reporting periods in Australia. Changes are not retrospective and only apply to offences committed after commencement.
- Reporting periods doubled: 10 years (first offence), 20 years (reoffence), life (multiple reoffences)
- Child offenders report for shorter periods: 2.5, 4, or 7.5 years
- Offences against the child protection Act added to the list for surveillance device warrants and controlled operations
Cybercrime investigation powers
Adds key cybercrime offences to the list that can be investigated using controlled operations and surveillance devices. Queensland had the highest rate of cybercrime reports in Australia at 30% of all national reports.
- Fraud, identity theft, computer hacking, and distributing intimate images can now be investigated with covert policing methods
- Aligns Queensland with other jurisdictions where these indictable offences already qualify for controlled operations
Civilian participants in undercover operations
Allows civilians to play a limited supporting role in short-term controlled activities alongside police officers. This addresses situations where police need civilian assistance to infiltrate criminal operations within the 7-day limit of a controlled activity.
- Civilians can assist police in controlled activities but only in an ancillary (supporting) role
- Requires authorisation from a superintendent-level officer
- Civilians receive legal protection from criminal and civil liability when acting under authorisation
Anti-hooning laws
Creates new offences targeting the culture around hooning events, not just the drivers. Also creates a standalone burnout offence and increases penalties for using fake number plates during hooning.
- New offence for willingly participating in group hooning activities — maximum 40 penalty units or 1 year imprisonment
- Organising, promoting, or filming hooning events for promotional purposes is now a criminal offence
- Possessing items for hooning (such as stolen number plates or racing equipment) is an offence
- New standalone offence for deliberately causing sustained loss of traction (burnouts) in public places — maximum 20 penalty units
- Penalty for using altered number plates doubled to 40 penalty units when hooning is involved
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
▸Committee30 Nov 2022View Hansard
Referred to Legal Affairs and Safety Committee
The Economics and Governance Committee examined the bill over approximately three months, receiving seven written submissions and holding a public hearing. The committee recommended the bill be passed, finding that its amendments to strengthen child protection monitoring, expand police cybercrime investigation powers, authorise limited civilian participation in controlled activities, and create new hooning offences were justified. While stakeholders raised concerns about the breadth of surveillance powers and the timing of amendments ahead of a Crime and Corruption Commission review, the committee was satisfied the bill had sufficient regard to rights and liberties and was compatible with human rights.
Key findings (5)
- The Queensland Law Society considered the expansion of relevant offences for controlled operations and surveillance device warrants to be overly broad, but police argued the offences were the minimum necessary.
- The Crime and Corruption Commission and Queensland Law Society raised concerns about progressing amendments to reportable offender monitoring periods before the CCC finalised its own review of the child protection reporting legislation.
- The committee found the new hooning offences and penalties were proportionate and in line with penalties for similar offences, despite concerns from the QLS about potential ambiguity in capturing spectator behaviour.
- The committee was satisfied that safeguards for civilian participation in controlled activities, including superintendent-level authorisation and a seven-day maximum authority period, would minimise risks.
- The committee found the bill was compatible with human rights under the Human Rights Act 2019, with any limitations on rights being adequate and proportional.
Recommendations (1)
- The committee recommends the Police Powers and Responsibilities and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 be passed.
Committee report tabled
▸Second Reading20 Apr 2023View Hansard
▸20 members spoke11 support9 mixed
Supported child sex offender reporting reforms and hooning measures but raised concerns about the drug diversion provisions, arguing the threshold of one gram for hard drugs like ice is too high and questioning the capacity of the health system to handle diversions.
“This bill seeks to introduce new legislation around child sex offending. This will have the support of the KAP.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Agreed with many areas of the bill but raised caution about the drug diversion approach, questioning whether it risks normalising drug use and noting police on the street do not support it.
“We raise that as a caution. We understand the benefits, but it does raise the question of how the police feel about this.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Spoke in strong support of the expanded police drug diversion program, emphasising it delivers on recommendation 13 of the Mental Health Select Committee report and is backed by Queensland Health, the Queensland Mental Health Commission and the AMAQ.
“Expanding diversion options is also a key priority under Achieving balance: the Queensland alcohol and other drugs plan 2022-2027 which was released last year. An expanded police drug diversion program will divert people away from the criminal justice system for low-level personal drug use to a proportionate health response delivered by specialist alcohol and other drug services.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Strongly supported the bills, particularly the expanded drug diversion program, arguing evidence-based policy rather than a punitive approach is the contemporary way to deal with drug offences.
“We rely on expert opinion, evidence-based decision-making and informed policy—not informed by ideology but informed by fact. It is for these reasons that I support these bills.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported child sex offender reporting reforms and hooning provisions but strongly criticised the drug diversion elements, arguing one gram of ice represents 10 hits and the health system cannot cope with diversion volumes.
“In the middle of a youth crime crisis this Palaszczuk government is moving to weaken our drug laws.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported the bills, particularly the drug diversion program and the special constable provisions, highlighting the industrial relations framework established for the new special constables.
“This bill is about looking at this issue. The policy of diversion is about taking a different approach.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Acknowledged some positive elements of the bills but raised concerns about whether the drug diversion program is adequately resourced and called for relocation sentencing options for youth offenders.
“In the most recent Noosa MP survey, over 75 per cent listed youth crime as their No. 1 concern, with over 70 per cent in favour of on-country relocation sentencing rather than imprisonment.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported the cognate bills, highlighting the effectiveness of the police drug diversion program with 72 per cent of recipients not reoffending within four years.
“Drug diversion is not a new concept in Queensland. Queensland police have been diverting people for cannabis possession for over 20 years.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported child protection and hooning provisions but strongly opposed the drug diversion elements, arguing one gram of drugs like ice, cocaine and fentanyl should not be treated as minor possession.
“It is not okay to be in possession of a gram of any of these drugs. It is not okay to say, 'If you have it, you get diversion'—not once, not twice but three times.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Strongly supported the bills, focusing on the drug diversion reforms and arguing criminalising personal drug use does not serve the public interest and prevents people from seeking treatment.
“This is a really good bill. It has been a shame really to hear some of the comments that have been made in this House about the bill—complete misrepresentations about what the bill is going to achieve.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported the bills, expressing optimism about the drug diversion scheme as a move towards commonsense drug laws, while noting the government continues to underfund prevention, treatment and harm reduction.
“The new diversion scheme is more in line with international law, which views drug use as a health issue and acknowledges that prohibitionist notions of a drug-free world are simply unrealistic.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported the bills, focusing on the reforms to reportable offender reporting periods which give Queensland the longest reporting periods in Australia.
“This is yet another example where the Palaszczuk government is responding with agility and decisiveness to improve the safety of our Queensland community.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported sex offender reporting and cybercrime investigation enhancements but raised concerns about the drug diversion provisions and highlighted that convicted sex offenders with reporting obligations can still visit state primary schools as parents.
“Those subject to sex offender reporting should not be permitted in places like schools.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported the bills, criticising the previous LNP government for cutting the sex offender reporting period from eight to five years which allowed 1,700 child sex offenders to slip off the radar.
“The LNP deliberately, knowingly and with breathtaking callousness put our communities and our children at increased risk by cutting the reporting period from eight to five years.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Acknowledged both sides are largely supportive of the bill's intent regarding police capabilities but opposed the drug diversion provisions, arguing against going soft on drugs.
“I do not agree with going soft on drugs, and I do not like seeing the things we are seeing in this particular legislation.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Defended the bills in reply, highlighting the government's police recruitment efforts and criticising the LNP for committing to 1,000 fewer police officers at the last election.
“The President of the Queensland Police Union is on the public record noting that the LNP's commitment at the last election was 1,000 fewer officers than this government.”— 2023-04-20View Hansard
Supported the child sex offender monitoring, hooning, cybercrime, QFES assault, evading police and drug trafficking provisions, but strongly opposed the expanded drug diversion program, arguing it removes the element of deterrence for users and condones the carrying of dangerous drugs like heroin, ice and fentanyl.
“I cannot, and will not, agree to give any ground when it comes to the fight against drugs. I cannot, and will not, agree to reduce options to protect Queenslanders and Queensland communities from the ravages of drugs.”— 2023-04-19View Hansard
Supported both bills, emphasising the importance of restoring longer child sex offender reporting periods and strengthening hooning laws. Criticised the 2014 LNP decision to shorten reporting periods.
“A reporting regime is absolutely essential for community safety and to enable police to properly target repeat offenders and gather necessary intelligence to provide protection to the community.”— 2023-04-19View Hansard
Supported the bills, focusing on the child sex offender reporting periods and the new anti-hooning offences targeting spectators and social media promotion of hooning activities. Also supported the special constables amendment.
“With this legislation the Palaszczuk government is ensuring the reporting obligations of child sex offenders are extended to provide maximum safety and security for the community.”— 2023-04-19View Hansard
Supported child sex offender monitoring measures but strongly opposed the drug diversion expansion, drawing on his experience as a former detective who arrested drug importers and traffickers. Warned the government is raising the white flag on the war against drugs.
“Watering down drug laws and raising the white flag on the war against drugs is not doing better.”— 2023-04-19View Hansard
▸In Detail20 Apr 2023View Hansard
Amendment to insert new Part 3A into the Police Powers and Responsibilities and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, amending the Police Service Administration Act 1990 to create a new category of special constables (State officers) who can be employed on a casual basis to undertake frontline general duties policing, drawing on former police officers who have left the service.