What it does
The Place Names Act 1994 establishes the statutory framework for the naming of places in Queensland. Its central mechanism is the Gazetteer of Place Names, a publicly accessible register maintained and published by the chief executive on a Queensland government website (s 12). The Act vests the power to give, change or discontinue an approved name of a place in the Minister (s 7(1)), but that power is constrained by a multi-step process designed to ensure that place naming issues are properly considered and that affected persons have an opportunity to participate. The process begins with the chief executive developing a proposal about the name of a place (s 8(1)). In doing so the chief executive must have regard to the stated place naming issues set out in section 6(2) and may have regard to any other place naming issues considered appropriate (s 8(2)). If the proposal involves changing or discontinuing an existing approved name (called the existing name), the chief executive must consider whether it would be appropriate to continue the existing name for up to five years alongside any new approved name (s 8(3)). The chief executive is then generally required to publish a notice of the proposal in the gazette and in at least one other medium such as a relevant website, an electronic newspaper or a regional newspaper circulating in the area of the place (s 9). The notice must invite submissions and allow at least one month for responses (s 9(3)-(4)). Publication may be dispensed with where the chief executive is satisfied of certain grounds, including that the proposal is minor or technical, that the existing name is distressing or derogatory, that the proposal is not of substantial interest, or that adequate consultation has already occurred (s 10). After the consultation step, the chief executive must make a recommendation to the Minister that includes a summary of the issues considered, the outcome of any submissions, and reasons if publication was omitted (s 10A). The Minister may not exercise the naming power until the recommendation is received and any further publication requested under section 10B has been completed (s 11(1)). The Minister’s decision must have regard to the stated place naming issues, and may take account of other issues and the chief executive’s recommendation (s 11(2)). The Minister may also decide to continue the existing name for up to five years (s 11(3)). The decision must be published in the gazette and in at least one other medium and takes effect on the day stated in the gazette notice (s 11(5)-(6)). The Act also creates a single offence: a person must not, in trade or commerce, publish a document or authorise an advertisement or statement in which a name that is not an approved name of a place is represented as the place’s name, carrying a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units (s 15). Exceptions apply where it is clear that the name is not an approved name, for newspaper printers, and where the name is part of a business name (s 15(2)). The Act binds all persons, including the State and, to the extent of legislative power, the Commonwealth and other States (s 5).