Key achievements
Justice Services
- Implemented QCAT on 1 December 2009
- Implemented Victim Assist Queensland, including the establishment of Victims LinkUp, on 1 December 2009
- Implemented new enforcement powers for the State Penalties Enforcement Registry to improve the recovery of outstanding debts
- Further strengthened positive outcomes in remote Indigenous communities through diversion programs
- Established three new Murri Court locations in Maryborough, Charters Towers and Toowoomba
- Successfully commenced the Mornington Island Restorative Justice Project as an alternative community-based dispute resolution service for Indigenous communities
- Increased the number of JPs in the Community sites to 140 throughout Queensland
- Commenced the births, deaths and marriages revitalisation program to digitise approximately six million paper records over the next five years
- Continued the use of judicial registrars in Southport and Townsville
- Finalised the Future Courts Project delivering improved registry management in the Supreme Court and District Courts.
Office of Fair and Safe Work Queensland
- Commenced the Medium Sized Business Initiative working with 8 000 medium sized businesses in Queensland to assess the effectiveness of their safety management systems in preventing workplace incidents and injuries
- Launched the Zero Harm at Work Leadership Program building a positive culture of safety in Queensland workplaces
- The Workplace Relations Ministers Council endorsed a national model Work, Health and Safety Bill which will enhance productivity and ensure consistent safety standards for Australian workplaces
- Assisted the Commonwealth Government to minimise electrical safety issues arising from the former Home Insulation Program
- Contributed to the Government’s Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s Queensland ambition of Strong by extending the implementation of the Public Sector Work Life Balance strategy to include customised support for human resources managers, line managers and employees
- Worked with key stakeholders to deliver the Government’s guarantees to employees resulting from the restructure of the Queensland Government asset portfolio (Forestry Plantations Queensland, Port of Brisbane Corporation, QR Limited and Queensland Motorways Limited)
- Worked in partnership with the Commonwealth Government to deliver a national industrial relations system for the private sector; and from 1 January 2010, entered into contractual arrangements with the Commonwealth Fair Work Ombudsman to deliver compliance services in the commonwealth jurisdiction
- Reformed legislation to ensure the ongoing viability of the workers’ compensation scheme
- Commenced a structural review of the workers’ compensation scheme by an independent external reviewer to ensure that the Queensland workers’ compensation scheme remains the best in Australia
- Negotiated a number of enterprise agreements for public sector agencies, entities and government owned corporations.
Strategic Policy, Legal and Executive Services
- Developed the Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction Reform and Modernisation Amendment Bill 2010 which was introduced into Parliament as part of the first stage of the Government’s response to the Review of the civil and criminal justice system in Queensland (the Moynihan Review)
- Developed new surrogacy laws decriminalising altruistic surrogacy and provided a legal mechanism to transfer the parentage of a child from the birth mother to the intended parents
- Developed the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 to increase flexibility for the management of offenders and enhance the ability of the court to make indefinite sentence orders
- Implemented anti-criminal organisation laws which seek to disrupt and restrict the activities of organisations, and members and associates of those organisations, involved in serious criminal activity
- Implemented the battered-persons defence which operates in circumstances where victims of seriously abusive domestic relationships kill their abusers
- Implemented legislation increasing the powers of the State Penalties Enforcement Registry to recover unpaid penalties
- Developed the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009 which commenced on 1 December 2009
- Supported the Queensland Law Reform Commission to complete its final report for the jury directions review
- Developed the Neighbourhood Disputes Resolution Bill 2010.
Corporate Services
- Completed the construction of the Ipswich courthouse and watch house and continued construction of the new Brisbane Supreme Court and District Court complex
- Developed and rolled out a new recruitment and selection framework which encourages work life balance and fair and robust selection processes
- Delivered management development programs, including leadership and development, practical people management and maximising staff effectiveness workshops
- Integrated corporate human resources and finance systems from the previous Department of Employment and Industrial Relations and the Department of Justice and Attorney-General
- Implemented consistent project and program management methodologies across the department
- Established a dedicated procurement function and plan
- Revitalised and delivered the corporate orientation program provided to new staff
- Supported employee health through the Working Well program
- Developed and conducted multicultural and Indigenous employment strategies, including specialised recruitment processes that employed seven new staff from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities
- Embedded reasonable adjustment processes in the recruitment and selection framework
- Organised and implemented physical, structural and technological relocation, integration and consolidation of staff and systems as a result of the 2009 machinery of government changes.