WorkCover Queensland
OrganisationReferenced in 9 bills
Personal Injuries Proceedings and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022
This bill cracks down on 'claim farming' — where third parties cold-call or pressure people into making personal injury or workers' compensation claims and sell their details to law firms. It also tightens rules on legal fees for speculative injury claims, reinstates a three-year timeframe for terminal workers' compensation, and fixes technical issues with Queensland's political donation caps.
Emergency Services Reform Amendment Bill 2023
This bill restructures Queensland's emergency services by transferring the State Emergency Service and marine rescue functions from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services to the Queensland Police Service. It establishes a new State Disaster Management Group chaired by the Premier to provide faster strategic oversight during disasters, and makes consequential amendments across more than 20 pieces of legislation to ensure workers' compensation, civil liability protections, and Blue Card requirements continue for volunteers.
State Emergency Service Bill 2023
This bill establishes the Queensland State Emergency Service (SES) as a standalone organisation under its own Act, moving it out of the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 and under the control of the Queensland Police Service Commissioner. It is part of a broader reform of Queensland's emergency services following an independent review, and formalises the SES's role in rescue, search, severe weather response, and disaster resilience.
Marine Rescue Queensland Bill 2023
This bill establishes Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ) as a dedicated statewide marine rescue service, unifying the existing volunteer Coast Guard flotillas and Volunteer Marine Rescue squadrons into one organisation under the Queensland Police Service. It is part of a broader reform of Queensland's emergency services following independent reviews that found the fragmented system led to duplication, unclear boundaries, and inconsistent training.
Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Bill 2019
This bill creates a portable long service leave scheme for Queensland's community services industry, covering workers in areas like disability support, family violence, homelessness, counselling and youth justice. It allows workers to accumulate long service leave credits as they move between employers in the sector, addressing the high job mobility caused by short-term funding contracts. The bill also fixes an anomaly where employees dismissed due to illness were denied pro rata long service leave.
Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2020
This bill makes it easier for first responders to claim workers' compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It creates a presumptive system where PTSD in eligible workers is automatically assumed to be caused by their work, removing the burden on injured workers to prove the connection. This responds to evidence from Beyond Blue and other reviews showing first responders experience mental health conditions at substantially higher rates than the general workforce.
Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019
This bill improves Queensland's workers' compensation scheme based on a major independent review, strengthens protections for apprentices and trainees, and requires Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander representation on the TAFE Queensland Board. It also repeals the redundant Commonwealth Games Arrangements Act 2011.
Mines Legislation (Resources Safety) Amendment Bill 2018
This bill strengthens safety and health protections for workers in Queensland's coal mining, quarrying, and metalliferous mining sectors. Prompted by the re-identification of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (black lung disease), it increases penalties for safety breaches, introduces civil penalties for corporations, requires company directors to proactively ensure safety compliance, and improves disease reporting and health surveillance for current and former mine workers.
Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
This bill overhauls Queensland's workers' compensation system based on a 2023 independent review, while also updating industrial relations and labour hire licensing laws. It strengthens rehabilitation requirements, speeds up payments to injured workers, expands cancer protections for firefighters, and lays the groundwork for future gig worker coverage.