{"id":"BILL-QLD-5285","name":"Summary Offences (Protection of the Australian Flag) Amendment Bill 2026","slug":"summary-offences-protection-of-the-australian-flag-amendment-bill-2026","collection":"bill","jurisdiction":"qld","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":"2026-01-01","administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":446076,"registerId":"BILL-QLD-5285:current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-01-01","status":"in_force","reasons":null,"registeredAt":"2026-05-06T12:45:10.884Z"},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"retrieval-0001","sectionType":"document_chunk","heading":"Document excerpt 1","content":"# Summary Offences (Protection of the Australian Flag) Amendment Bill 2026\n\nQueensland\nSummary Offences\n(Protection of the Australian\nFlag) Amendment Bill 2026\n\nQueensland\nSummary Offences (Protection of the\nAustralian Flag) Amendment Bill 2026\nContents\nPage\n1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4\n2 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4\n3 Insertion of new pt 2 div 1C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4\nDivision 1C Offence of burning Australian flag\n10F Definitions for division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4\n10G Objects of division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5\n10H Burning Australian flag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5\n\n2026\nA Bill\nfor\nAn Act to amend the Summary Offences Act 2005 for particular\npurposes\n\n[s 1]\nSummary Offences (Protection of the Australian Flag) Amendment Bill 2026\nPage 4\nAuthorised by the Parliamentary Counsel\nThe Parliament of Queensland enacts—\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Summary Offences (Protection of\nthe Australian Flag) Amendment Act 2026.\n2 Act amended\nThis Act amends the Summary Offences Act 2005.\n3 Insertion of new pt 2 div 1C\nPart 2—\ninsert—\nDivision 1C Offence of burning\nAustralian flag\n10F Definitions for division\nIn this division—\nAustralian flag—\n(a) means the Australian National flag; and\n(b) includes a flag that incorporates the Union\nJack, Commonwealth Star and Southern\nCross in a layout similar to that of the\nAustralian National flag, regardless of any\nvariation of colours, sizes or styles used in\nthe Australian National flag.\nAustralian National flag means the Australian\nNational Flag under the Flags Act 1953 (Cwlth).\nCommonwealth Star means Commonwealth Star\nas described in the Flags Act 1953 (Cwlth),\nschedule 1, table A.\n1\nClause 2\n3\n4\nClause 5\n6\nClause 7\n8\n9\n10\n11\n12\n13\n14\n15\n16\n17\n18\n19\n20\n21\n22\n23\n24\n25\n26\n\n[s 3]\nSummary Offences (Protection of the Australian Flag) Amendment Bill 2026\nPage 5\nAuthorised by the Parliamentary Counsel\nSouthern Cross means the Stars of the Southern\nCross as described in the Flags Act 1953 (Cwlth),\nschedule 1, table B.\n10G Objects of division\nThe objects of this division are—\n(a) to protect the Australian National flag as a\nnational symbol of shared civic significance;\nand\n(b) to stop agitators burning an Australian flag\nto provoke public disorder, intimidate\npersons or cause significant offence to the\ncommunity.\n10H Burning Australian flag\n(1) A person must not, in a public place, burn an\nAustralian flag in a way that a reasonable person\nwould consider likely to provoke public disorder,\nintimidate any person or cause significant offence\nto members of the community.\nMaximum penalty—40 penalty units or 6 months\nimprisonment.\n(2) Without limiting subsection (1), in considering\nwhether a person burns an Australian flag in a\nway mentioned in that subsection, regard may be\nhad to the person doing any of the following—\n(a) unlawfully taking the flag from a person or\nplace;\n(b) defacing the flag;\n(c) filming the burning of the flag;\n(d) publishing images or video of the burning\nflag to a social media platform or online\nsocial network;\n1\n2\n3\n4\n5\n6\n7\n8\n9\n10\n11\n12\n13\n14\n15\n16\n17\n18\n19\n20\n21\n22\n23\n24\n25\n26\n27\n28\n29\n30\n31\n\n[s 3]\nSummary Offences (Protection of the Australian Flag) Amendment Bill 2026\nPage 6\nAuthorised by the Parliamentary Counsel\n(e) cooperating with another person who does\nanything mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d). 1\n2","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This amendment stays within the general remit of the Summary Offences Act 2005—regulating low‑level public order conduct—by creating a new specific summary offence concerning public flag-burning (ss 10F–10H). It does not expand the Act into a novel subject area; rather it adds a targeted offence and cross-references the Commonwealth Flags Act for definitions. In substance the bill widens the catalogue of public-order criminal offences (targeted at expressive conduct involving flags) but does not change the Act's statutory purpose or core scope."},"complexity_factors":["Short amendment: inserts a single new Division (1C) with three sections (10F–10H)","4 defined terms in s 10F (Australian flag; Australian National flag; Commonwealth Star; Southern Cross)","Cross-reference to Commonwealth Flags Act 1953 for the formal flag description (s 10F)","Objective but fact-dependent legal standard: \"reasonable person\" test in s 10H(1)","Non-exhaustive list of contextual factors in s 10H(2) that expand evidentiary scope (unlawful taking, defacement, filming, online publishing, cooperation)","Dual penalties (fine measured in penalty units and possible imprisonment) add sentencing decision points","Potential overlap with other public order offences in the Summary Offences Act requiring judicial harmonisation"],"plain_english_summary":"**What the bill does (mechanically)\n\n- Adds a new Division 1C to the Queensland Summary Offences Act 2005 that creates a specific criminal offence for burning an Australian flag in public in certain circumstances (Division 1C, ss 10F–10H).\n- Defines key terms: \"Australian flag\" (broadly: the Australian National Flag and flags that look similar even if colours, size or style vary), \"Australian National flag\", \"Commonwealth Star\" and \"Southern Cross\" (s 10F). The definition of \"Australian National flag\" points to the Commonwealth Flags Act 1953 for the formal description (s 10F).\n- States the objects of the new division as protecting the flag as a civic symbol and preventing flag-burning intended to provoke public disorder, intimidate, or cause significant offence (s 10G).\n- Creates the offence: a person must not, in a public place, burn an Australian flag in a way that a reasonable person would consider likely to (a) provoke public disorder, (b) intimidate any person, or (c) cause significant offence to members of the community (s 10H(1)). Penalty: up to 40 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment.\n- Lists non‑exhaustive factors that authorities (courts, prosecutors, police) may take into account when deciding whether the conduct meets the test (s 10H(2)). These include unlawfully taking the flag, defacing it, filming the burning, publishing images or video to social media, or cooperating with others who do those things.\n\nWho it affects and how it matters\n\n- People who burn flags in public (including protesters and agitators): the act turns certain kinds of public flag-burning into a criminal offence where the conduct is likely to provoke disorder, intimidate, or cause significant offence (s 10H(1)).\n- Event organisers and participants: those organising public demonstrations must consider this rule when planning actions that involve flag-burning or similar symbolic acts since publication and coordination are specific factors (s 10H(2)(c)–(e)).\n- Police and prosecutors: they decide when the conduct meets the \"reasonable person\" standard and which of the listed factors are relevant; they have discretion about charging and enforcement (s 10H).\n- Courts: they apply the objective \"reasonable person\" test and interpret the non‑exhaustive list of factors (s 10H(1)–(2)).\n\nWhy it matters (practical effects and enforcement mechanics)\n\n- The law criminalises a form of expressive conduct in public (flag-burning) where it is judged likely to cause public disorder, intimidation, or significant offence (s 10H(1)). That turns a specific symbolic act into an offence with both a fine and possible imprisonment.\n- The test is objective: whether a reasonable person would consider the conduct likely to provoke disorder, intimidate or cause significant offence (s 10H(1)). That requires courts and police to apply an ordinary-person standard to context and facts.\n- The bill broadens the factual considerations beyond the act of burning itself by listing related behaviours—taking the flag unlawfully, defacing it, filming, publishing online, or cooperating with others—that may be relied on when establishing the offence (s 10H(2)).\n- Because the definition of \"Australian flag\" includes flags \"in a layout similar\" to the National Flag regardless of colour or style, the scope of protected items is wider than only the formal Commonwealth flag description (s 10F).\n\nCosts, incentives and trade-offs (implementation and compliance risks)\n\n- Who pays: individuals who burn flags in public may face criminal penalties; organisers of demonstrations face higher compliance/legal risk when symbolic acts are planned (s 10H).\n- Administrative/enforcement cost: police and prosecutors will need to assess context-specific facts against the \"reasonable person\" standard and decide when to charge, creating investigation and evidentiary burdens (s 10H(1)–(2)).\n- Discretion and uncertainty: terms such as \"likely to provoke public disorder\" and \"cause significant offence\" are fact-dependent and can create enforcement discretion and uneven application unless clarified by case law (s 10H(1)).\n- Behavioural substitution: persons wishing to express the same message may switch to other symbolic acts, private displays, or off‑public‑place actions to avoid criminal exposure (s 10H(1)).\n- Digital amplification: publishing footage or images on social media is an express factor the law may consider, so remote dissemination of an event can increase legal risk even though the burning must occur in a public place (s 10H(1)–(2)(d)).\n\nImplementation notes and cross-references\n\n- The new division cross‑references the Commonwealth Flags Act 1953 for the formal description of the Australian National flag (s 10F). That means interpretation of what counts as the \"Australian National flag\" will necessarily involve the Commonwealth statute.\n- Subsection 10H(2) is explicitly \"without limiting\" the main offence provision, so the listed items are examples rather than an exhaustive list of relevant conduct.\n\nBottom line (mechanical summary)\n\n- The bill creates a new Queensland summary offence criminalising the public burning of the Australian flag when an objective \"reasonable person\" would see the conduct as likely to provoke public disorder, intimidate someone, or cause significant community offence (ss 10F–10H). It also enumerates several contextual factors (unlawful taking, defacement, filming, online publication, cooperation) that may be relied on when deciding whether the offence occurred (s 10H(2))."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/summary-offences-protection-of-the-australian-flag-amendment-bill-2026","history":"/api/acts/summary-offences-protection-of-the-australian-flag-amendment-bill-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/summary-offences-protection-of-the-australian-flag-amendment-bill-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/summary-offences-protection-of-the-australian-flag-amendment-bill-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/summary-offences-protection-of-the-australian-flag-amendment-bill-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/summary-offences-protection-of-the-australian-flag-amendment-bill-2026/documents"}}