Queensland bill

Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026

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Jurisdiction

Queensland

Making Date

2026-01-01

Collection

bill

Parliamentary Progress

IntroducedFirst ReadingSecond ReadingCommitteePassed HousePassed SenatePassed BothRoyal Assent

Plain English Summary

3/10 complexity

What this bill does (mechanically)

Adds a new category called a "violent incident" to the lists of "notifiable incidents" in two Queensland laws: the Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011 and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. (See amendments inserting new sections: Safety in Recreational Water Activities — new s 28A; Work Health and Safety Act — new s 37A; and the related changes to the notifiable-incident sections: Safety Act s 26 and WHS Act s 35.)
Defines a "violent incident" as one or more of the following that "exposes a person to a serious risk of psychological harm":
- a sexual assault or suspected sexual assault;
- a physical assault, including with bodily fluids;
- deliberate deprivation of a person’s liberty without lawful authority; or
- a threat of sexual or physical assault, or a threat to deprive someone of their liberty, where there is a reasonable belief that the person making the threat both intends to carry it out and has the means to do so. (See new s 28A / s 37A.)
Updates the Acts’ dictionaries (schedules) to add cross‑references to the new definition.

Who this affects

Employers, persons conducting recreational water activities, and other duty-holders who are required to report "notifiable incidents" under those two Acts. They will need to treat qualifying violent incidents as reportable events.

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Source excerpts

Direct links to excerpts of the current source text in Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026.

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Document excerpt 1

Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026

Queensland Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026

Queensland Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026 Contents Page Part 1 Preliminary 1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Part 2 Amendment of Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011 2 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 Amendment of s 26 (What is a notifiable incident) . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 Insertion of new s 28A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 28A What is a violent incident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Part 3 Amendment of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 6 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7 Amendment of s 35 (What is a notifiable incident) . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8 Insertion of new s 37A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 37A What is a violent incident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 9 Amendment of sch 5 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2026 A Bill for An Act to amend the Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011 and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for particular purposes

[s 1] Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026 Part 1 Preliminary Page 4 Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel The Parliament of Queensland enacts— Part 1 Preliminary 1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Act 2026. Part 2 Amendment of Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011 2 Act amended This part amends the Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011. 3 Amendment of s 26 (What is a notifiable incident) Section 26— insert— (d) a violent incident. 4 Insertion of new s 28A After section 28— insert— 28A What is a violent incident In this part, a violent incident is 1 or more of the following that exposes a person to a serious risk of psychological harm— 1 2 Clause 3 4 5 6 7 8 Clause 9 10 11 Clause 12 13 14 15 Clause 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

[s 5] Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026 Part 3 Amendment of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 Page 5 Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel (a) a sexual assault or suspected sexual assault; (b) a physical assault, including with bodily fluids; (c) deliberate deprivation of a person’s liberty without lawful authority; (d) a threat of sexual or physical assault, or a threat to deprive a person of the person’s liberty, if there is a reasonable belief that, at the time the threat is made, the person making the threat— (i) intends to carry out the threat; and (ii) has the means to carry out the threat. 5 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) Schedule 2— insert— violent incident, for part 3, see section 28A. Part 3 Amendment of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 6 Act amended This part amends the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. 7 Amendment of s 35 (What is a notifiable incident) Section 35— insert— (d) a violent incident. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Clause 13 14 15 16 17 18 Clause 19 20 Clause 21 22 23 24

Page 6 Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel [s 8] Strengthening Protections Against Violent Workplace Incidents Amendment Bill 2026 Part 3 Amendment of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 8 Insertion of new s 37A After section 37— insert— 37A What is a violent incident In this part, a violent incident is 1 or more of the following that exposes a person to a serious risk of psychological harm— (a) a sexual assault or suspected sexual assault; (b) a physical assault, including with bodily fluids; (c) deliberate deprivation of a person’s liberty without lawful authority; (d) a threat of sexual or physical assault, or a threat to deprive a person of the person’s liberty, if there is a reasonable belief that, at the time the threat is made, the person making the threat— (i) intends to carry out the threat; and (ii) has the means to carry out the threat. 9 Amendment of sch 5 (Dictionary) Schedule 5— insert— violent incident, for part 3, see section 37A. Clause 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Clause 20 21 22 23

Source text

Sourced from Queensland Legislation (legislation.qld.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.