The Queensland government has introduced legislation to overhaul Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ), aiming to address governance weaknesses identified in a recent independent review.
The Resources Safety and Health Queensland and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, tabled on March 3, 2026, by Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last, seeks to restore confidence in the state’s resources safety framework by establishing a new independent Governing Board.
This move responds directly to the 2025 review led by University of Queensland Professor Susan Johnston, which highlighted serious deficiencies in RSHQ’s structure, role confusion, and accountability gaps.
Central to the reforms is the transfer of statutory functions from the independent Commissioner for Resources Safety and Health to the newly created Governing Board.
The board, appointed by the Minister on a skills-based criterion, will assume oversight responsibilities to provide clearer lines of authority and strategic leadership for RSHQ.
This shift discontinues the standalone Commissioner role, which the review had recommended retaining in some capacity, consolidating decision-making under the board to streamline operations.
The legislation also enhances advisory mechanisms by expanding the roles of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee and the Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee.
These bodies will regain powers to independently review legislation, standards, and guidelines, fostering better policy input on safety outcomes across coal, minerals, explosives, petroleum, and gas sectors.
Additionally, the Land Access Ombudsman’s functions will broaden to improve mediation between resource operators and landholders, while the Mineral Resources Act 1989 sees modernisations like spatial data requirements and streamlined tenement renewals.
The state government, which commissioned the review after four mine site fatalities in 2024, positions the bill as a swift step toward a “world-class safety regulator”.
The Primary Industries and Resources Committee is now scrutinising the proposals, with public submissions open to refine the framework before potential passage.
RSHQ, established in 2020 as an independent statutory body, currently administers safety in Queensland’s resources industry.
The proposed board aims to eliminate duplication in advisory structures while maintaining RSHQ’s core mandate of protecting workers through regulation, compliance monitoring, and enforcement.
These reforms build on the Johnston review’s delivery in late 2025, following terms of reference released in June 2025 that probed RSHQ’s effectiveness and relationships with the Minister and advisory groups.
By centralising authority, the government argues it will deliver stronger accountability without political interference, though the board’s ministerial establishment has sparked debate on true independence.
