Maritime

This bill creates the Sunshine Coast Waterways Authority, a new statutory body to plan for and manage the region's waterways from Pumicestone Passage to the Noosa River. It responds to community concerns about fragmented management by different councils and state agencies, particularly after the 2022 Bribie Island breakthrough, and is modelled on the existing Gold Coast Waterways Authority.

This bill protects the Great Barrier Reef by tightly controlling port development along the Queensland coast. It confines new port facilities and capital dredging to four priority ports (Abbot Point, Gladstone, Hay Point/Mackay and Townsville) and bans sea dumping of port dredge spoil in the World Heritage Area. Each priority port must have a long-term master plan and a port overlay that sets consistent rules across local planning schemes.

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.

This bill closes a regulatory gap by bringing the last 5% of Queensland's commercial boats under the national marine safety system. It applies the Commonwealth's Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law to vessels owned by individuals, sole traders and partnerships that operate only in Queensland waters, so every commercial vessel in the state follows the same national safety rules.

This bill rewrites parts of Queensland's marine safety laws so they fit alongside Commonwealth laws that have regulated commercial vessels since 2013. It creates a new category called 'Queensland regulated ship' to cover recreational boats and low-risk vessels like surf lifesaving craft that remain under state control, and removes Queensland rules that are now handled nationally.

This bill bundles a series of changes to Queensland transport laws. It lowers the age for the state proof-of-age card from 18 to 15 and renames it the 'photo identification card', lets people apply for many transport products online instead of on paper forms, tightens rules that stop people convicted of attempted rape from driving taxis and buses, and updates public transport enforcement, dangerous goods and road works rules.

This bill strengthens Queensland's road safety laws by expanding drink driving interlock requirements to mid-range offenders, introducing mandatory education programs for all drink drivers, and enabling speed cameras on roads with variable speed limits. It also improves marine pollution cost recovery and streamlines various transport administration processes.

This bill restructures the GasFields Commission Queensland to clearly separate its strategic board from its day-to-day management, and to allow a part-time chairperson. It also makes it easier for biodiscovery businesses to on-license the use of native biological material, and fixes a technical gap in how port planning overlays apply to development.