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Queensland act
This Act creates Queensland Rail (initially called the Queensland Rail Transit Authority) — the government body responsible for running Queensland's passenger train network. Think of it as the legal rulebook that sets up the organisation, defines what it can do, and explains how it is controlled by the government.
1. Creates the organisation: Sets up Queensland Rail as a government body (called a 'statutory body' — a government-created organisation that is not a full government department but has broad powers to act like a business). Importantly, it is not a private company and does not represent the State in legal terms.
Queensland Rail can sign contracts, own property, hire staff, set prices for services, and sue or be sued in court — essentially everything a normal business can do.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Queensland Rail Transit Authority Act 2013.
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View on official registerSourced from Queensland Legislation (legislation.qld.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
3. Defines its job: Managing railways, running trains (including passenger services), building and maintaining rail infrastructure, and providing related services like engineering and training.
4. Requires it to operate commercially: It must run like a business — making money where possible — except when the government specifically asks it to provide services that aren't profitable (like rural or subsidised routes). These 'community service obligations' must be formally recorded and the government must compensate Queensland Rail for them.
5. Sets up a governing board: A board of 3–7 people appointed by Ministers runs the organisation. The board sets strategy, oversees management, and is accountable to Ministers. Board members can be sacked at any time, for any reason.
6. Government oversight and control: Ministers can give written directions that Queensland Rail must follow. Ministers also approve strategic and operational plans, approve dividends paid back to the State, and control major asset sales or corporate changes.
7. Transfers workers from the old Queensland Rail Limited: Employees moved from the old (formerly privatised) Queensland Rail Limited to the new Authority with their pay, leave entitlements, and service continuity fully protected. Their old workplace agreements were converted into Queensland State agreements.
8. Handles a corporate restructure: The Act manages a complex transition — the old Queensland Rail Limited (which was a Government-Owned Corporation, or 'GOC' — meaning it operated more like a privatised company) becomes a subsidiary of the new Authority. Broad powers exist to transfer assets, shares, leases and liabilities between entities by government notice.
9. Tax equivalents: Even though Queensland Rail doesn't pay normal Commonwealth taxes (because it's a government body), it must pay equivalent amounts into the State treasury — so it's treated fairly compared to private competitors.
This law shapes how Queensland's passenger rail network is governed every day. It determines who is in charge, what they can do, how they are held accountable, and what rights workers and passengers can expect. The Act balances running trains like a business with the government's ability to direct public transport outcomes in the community interest.