Residential Rental

This private member's bill proposed a two-year freeze on all residential rents in Queensland at August 2022 levels, with ongoing caps of 2% every two years thereafter. It responded to record rent increases — over 20% annually in Brisbane — and near-zero vacancy rates across the state. This bill was discharged and did not become law.

This bill extends Queensland's COVID-19 emergency response legislation from 31 December 2020 to 30 April 2021, keeping in place temporary measures across tenancy, court proceedings, health, and other areas. It also reforms by-election procedures during the pandemic, allows artisan distillers to sell spirits directly to the public, changes how local government councillor vacancies are filled, and bolsters youth detention centre staffing powers.

This bill would have created an empty homes levy in Queensland, charging property owners 5% of the market value of residential properties left vacant for more than six months each year. It was a private member's bill introduced by Greens MP Dr Amy MacMahon during the housing crisis, modelled on Vancouver's Empty Homes Levy. The bill was discharged and did not become law.

This bill established temporary emergency powers to help Queensland respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It protected renters and small businesses from eviction, allowed Parliament and courts to operate remotely, and gave government broad powers to modify legal requirements around documents, time limits, and proceedings. The entire Act expired on 31 December 2020.

This bill reforms Queensland's rental laws to strengthen protections for renters, stabilise rents in the private market, and ease cost-of-living pressures. It also introduces mandatory professional development for property agents, removes compulsory superannuation contributions for local government employees, and fixes technical issues in body corporate termination processes.

This bill reforms Queensland's residential park laws to better protect manufactured home owners from excessive site rent increases and difficulty selling their homes. It caps annual rent rises, bans market rent reviews, creates a buyback scheme for unsold homes, and introduces new transparency requirements for park operators.

This bill gives the Commonwealth Parliament the power it needs to establish the Help to Buy shared equity scheme in Queensland. The scheme will help up to 10,000 low to middle income Australians per year buy a home with as little as a 2 per cent deposit, with the Commonwealth contributing up to 40 per cent of the purchase price for new homes and 30 per cent for existing homes.

This bill reforms Queensland's rental laws to give tenants stronger protections and ensure all rental homes meet minimum standards. It abolishes 'without grounds' evictions, introduces a framework for renting with pets, strengthens domestic and family violence protections, and prescribes minimum housing standards for safety, security, and functionality. It also exempts resident-operated freehold retirement villages from mandatory unit buyback requirements.

This bill modernises Queensland's fines enforcement system by centralising the management of camera-detected and tolling offence fines under the Queensland Revenue Office and SPER, so people deal with one agency instead of several. It also reduces land tax for Special Disability Trusts, guarantees the security of rental bonds held by the Residential Tenancies Authority, and updates government confidentiality rules.

This bill extended most of Queensland's temporary COVID-19 emergency laws until 30 April 2022, continuing the legal basis for public health directions, quarantine requirements, and support measures across multiple sectors. It also reformed the quarantine fee system to allow prepayment and third-party liability, and clarified that quarantine directions could be issued electronically.

This bill improves Queensland's main tribunal (QCAT) and strengthens consumer protections for vehicle buyers. It raises QCAT's jurisdictional limit for motor vehicle disputes from $25,000 to $100,000, reinstates statutory warranty protections for older used vehicles sold by dealers, and introduces conciliation as a new dispute resolution option.

This bill implements several 2023-24 State Budget revenue measures and makes technical amendments to Queensland tax legislation. It creates tax concessions to encourage build-to-rent housing developments with affordable housing, simplifies the land tax home exemption, extends payroll tax relief for regional employers and apprentice wages, and closes off common law tax refund claims.

This bill extends Queensland's temporary COVID-19 emergency legislation to 30 September 2021, gives local governments flexibility to adjust rates mid-year, creates a framework for holding COVID-safe local government by-elections and fresh elections, and extends temporary remote meeting arrangements for councils.