What it does
The Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 is Queensland's primary statute governing the operations, powers, privileges, and composition of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Queensland operates a unicameral parliament with only one chamber. This Act consolidates into a single statute the rules that in other jurisdictions might be split across a constitution, standing orders, and separate parliamentary privileges legislation.
The Act covers five principal domains: (1) parliamentary privilege, including the foundational freedom of speech protection and the definition of proceedings; (2) the Assembly's coercive powers to summon witnesses, require production of documents, and punish contempts; (3) parliamentary records, tabling of reports, and the custody of Assembly documents; (4) member qualifications, financial interest registers, restrictions on members dealing with the State, and the grounds for vacating a member's seat; and (5) the structure and role of the Assembly's committee system.
The Act is the legislative foundation for Queensland's model of responsible government and parliamentary democracy. It does not create the parliament itself (that is done by the Constitution of Queensland 2001 and the Constitution Act 1867 (Qld)), but it gives that parliament the tools and rules it needs to function effectively.