On 13 November 2018, Hon Dr Steven Miles MP, Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services, introduced the Health and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018.

In accordance with Standing Order 131 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Bill was referred to the Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee (the committee) for detailed consideration. 

The committee is required to report by 14 February 2019.

According to the explanatory notes, the Bill:

• repeals the Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis) Act 2016, and makes consequential amendments to the Health Act 1937, to significantly streamline the regulatory framework for prescribing medicinal cannabis in Queensland;
• amends the Public Health Act 2005 to:
  • establish the Notifiable Dust Lung Disease register and require prescribed medical practitioners to notify the chief executive of Queensland Health about cases of notifiable dust lung disease
  • enable the chief executive to require a person responsible for causing a pollution event to publish a pollution notice to inform the public of potential risks to public health, and
  • enable the standard that a person must comply with when manufacturing, selling, supplying or using paint to be prescribed by regulation rather than in the Act
• amends the Radiation Safety Act 1999 to provide that certain persons are deemed to have a use or transport licence
• amends the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979 to:
  • clarify the provisions about research that involve removing tissue from adults and children
  • ensure pathology laboratories can access tissue-based products that are necessary for diagnostic and quality control purposes, and
  • remove the requirement that a post-mortem examination of a body conducted in a hospital only be held in the hospital mortuary
• amends the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003, the Coroners Act 2003 and the Cremations Act 2003to enable human body parts used at a school of anatomy for the study and practice of anatomy to be lawfully cremated without a corresponding death certificate or the approval of an independent doctor, and
• amends the Retirement Villages Act 1999 to clarify a recent amendment in relation to timely payment of exit entitlements at retirement villages and make associated amendments to the Duties Act 2001.

The committee will be calling for written submissions to their inquiry into the Bill.  Guidelines for making a submission to a parliamentary committee are available here.  Please share this email with anyone you believe may be interested in providing a submission on the Bill. 

The closing date for written submission is Monday 7 January 2019.

Submissions on the Bill should be sent to:

Email:    [email protected]

Post:      HCDSDFVPC

Parliament House

George Street

Brisbane   Qld   4000 

Fax:      07 3553 6699

The committee will hold a public departmental briefing from the Department of Health on Wednesday 5 December 2018 from 1:00pm  to 2:30pm at the Parliamentary Annexe.   The briefing will be broadcast live on Parliament TV.  The Program is available under the Related Publications tab.  A transcript of the briefing will be available in due course.

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