Skip to main navigation Skip to main content

27th Governor of Queensland Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM

Text size

  1. Homepage
  2. Government House
  3. Office of the Governor
  4. News and Publications
  5. Latest news
  6. The Making of a Law
Back to Latest news

The Making of a Law

The granting of Royal Assent to Bills is an essential step in the law-making process in Queensland and one of the key Constitutional duties of the Governor.

On 7 September, Her Excellency received the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Neil Laurie, and granted Royal Assent to the Inspector of Detention Services Bill 2022 and the Transport Legislation (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2022.

 

Inspector of Detention Services Bill 2022

A bill for an Act to provide for an inspector of detention services, and to amend this Act, the Corrective Services Act 2006, the Crime and Corruption Act 2001, the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011, the Mental Health Act 2016, the Ombudsman Act 2001, the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 and the Youth Justice Act 1992 for particular purposes.

 

Transport Legislation (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2022

A bill for an Act to amend the Motor Accident Insurance Regulation 2018, the State Penalties Enforcement Regulation 2014, the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994, the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995, the Transport Operations (Road Use Management—Road Rules) Regulation 2009, the Transport Operations (Road Use Management—Vehicle Registration) Regulation 2021, the Transport Operations (Road Use Management—Vehicle Standards and Safety) Regulation 2021, the Transport Planning and Coordination Act 1994 and the legislation mentioned in schedule 1 for particular purposes.

The Making of a Law

 

What is a Bill?

A Bill is a proposal for a law, either a new law or  a change to an existing law, placed before the Parliament for its consideration.

 

What are the different types of Bills?

There are two categories of Bills—

Principal Bills for an entirely new Act (sometimes including related amendments to other legislation), and
Amendment Bills that only amend existing legislation and can usually be identified by the word ‘Amendment’ appearing in the name of the Bill.


Where do Bills originate?
Bills can be introduced by the Government or a private (non-Government) Member of Parliament.

The majority of Bills introduced into the Parliament are Government Bills, with Ministers being responsible for introducing these. Individual Members of Parliament (MPs) can also introduce Bills, with these being known as Private Members’ Bills.


When does a Bill become Law?
Once a proposed law – called a Bill – is debated and passed in the Parliament, it is presented to the Governor for Royal Assent. In Queensland, two parchment copies of the Bill are signed by the Governor on behalf of our Head of State, Her Majesty The Queen.

Upon the granting of Royal Assent, the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

Assent is then notified in the Government Gazette, along with the day that the Act becomes operational as Law (or days where different parts of the Act come into operation on different days).