Governor grants Royal Assent to the Strengthening Community Safety Bill 2023

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).