Holidays and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill moves Labour Day back to the first Monday in May and the Queen's Birthday to the first Monday in October from 2016 onwards. It also lets people apply online for high risk work licences (for cranes, forklifts and scaffolding) by reusing driver licence photos, and consolidates the rules about digital photos and signatures across six transport and ID laws into one place.
Who it affects
Every Queensland worker and employer through the public holiday date changes, and anyone applying for a high risk work licence or holding a DTMR-issued licence through the new online process and wider use of facial recognition.
Public holiday date changes
From 2016, Labour Day returns to the first Monday in May (its date since 1891) and the Queen's Birthday moves from June to the first Monday in October. The changes deliver the Government's 'Honouring the real Labour Day' election commitment and spread public holidays more evenly across the year.
- Labour Day moves from the first Monday in October back to the first Monday in May
- Queen's Birthday (Birthday of the Sovereign) moves from the second Monday in June to the first Monday in October
- Changes commence on 6 October 2015 but only take effect from the 2016 holidays
- The Industrial Relations Act 1999 is updated so penalty rates and leave rules follow the new dates
Online high risk work licences
People applying for high risk work licences (such as crane, forklift or scaffolding tickets) will be able to apply online and have their card posted out, instead of having to visit an Australia Post outlet in person. Transport and Main Roads will reuse photos and signatures it already holds, for example from a driver licence.
- Online applications for high risk work licences become possible, including for fly in/fly out and regional workers
- DTMR can reuse an existing driver licence photo and signature for a new HRW licence if the photo is still within its 10-year shelf life
- Applicants without a DTMR photo on file can have one taken at a DTMR licence issuing centre
- Facial recognition can be used to confirm identity if a customer attends DTMR without ID
Consolidated biometric rules across transport laws
Provisions about taking, keeping, using and destroying digital photos and signatures are pulled out of five separate Acts and placed in a single new Part 4C of the Transport Planning and Coordination Act 1994. Access rules, retention periods and penalties remain similar, but the framework now also covers HRW licences and can be extended to other agencies by regulation.
- Photos and signatures are kept under one consolidated scheme instead of five separate Acts
- Retention periods stay the same: 30 years if a licence is granted, 6 months if refused, 24 hours otherwise
- A new confidentiality offence carries a maximum penalty of 200 penalty units; improper access to smartcard data attracts up to 20 penalty units
- Police and interstate licensing authorities get consistent access to photos to investigate licence fraud
- The chief executive must publish an annual report showing how many times police accessed digital photos, tabled in Parliament
Bill Journey
Committee report tabled
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Legislation
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Sectors Affected
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