The Disaster Management and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 establishes Queensland Fire and Rescue (QFR) and Rural Fire Service Queensland (RFSQ) as separate fire services which will be housed within the new Queensland Fire Department.

The Bill amends the objects of the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 (FES Act) to include establishing a framework for the operation, management and administration of the fire services. The Bill provides that the ongoing collaboration and coordination between the fire services will be facilitated by providing direction on how QFR and RFSQ will continue to work together to ensure the effective delivery of contemporary fire and emergency services for the community. The Bill also acknowledges the valuable role of volunteers in supporting the delivery of fire and emergency services.  

The Commissioner will be a member of both fire services. The Bill provides that QFR membership will include the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and fire service officers assigned to QFR by the Commissioner. RFSQ membership will include the Commissioner, the Chief Officer, fire service officers assigned to RFSQ by the Commissioner, rural fire brigades and rural fire brigade members.

Commissioner

The Bill amends the Commissioner’s functions to reflect the establishment of QFR and RFSQ, inclusive of rural fire brigades. The Commissioner’s main functions will be to manage the fire services in a way that ensures each fire service performs its functions under the Act effectively and efficiently, and to make recommendations to the Minister about any matter relating to the performance of functions or exercise of powers by the Commissioner or the fire services, or that may help the Minister in the proper administration of the Act.

A number of additional functions are also provided for in the Bill. These additional functions are representative of the Commissioner’s responsibility for the effective operation of both fire services and the ongoing collaboration and coordination of the services.

The Commissioner’s additional functions will be to:

• decide the appropriate organisational structure of the fire services;
• control and oversee the resources of the fire services;
• decide the number and deployment of fire service officers and rural fire brigade members;
• decide the qualifications for and the duties of fire service officers;
• be responsible for organising training and development of fire service officers and rural fire brigade members;
• facilitate collaboration and coordination of the fire services for effective service delivery;
• decide the dress or appearance of fire service officers and rural fire brigade members;
• decide the number and location of the fire services’ facilities;
• monitor the performance and management of the fire services;
• report regularly to the Minister on the capability of the fire services; and
• report to the Minister on the functions performed by the Chief Fire Officer.

The Bill also provides the Commissioner with a consolidated directions power in respect of the Chief Fire Officer, fire service officers and rural fire brigade members. A direction given by the Commissioner may be written or oral.

Chief Fire Officer

The Bill establishes the role of Chief Fire Officer as a statutory position responsible for providing advice to the Commissioner on matters relating to service delivery, operational culture, best practice and innovation and research.

To preserve independence from the fire services, the Chief Fire Officer is not a member of either service, however, the position is subject to the direction of the Commissioner in performing the Chief Fire Officer’s functions. 

The fire services will be able to raise issues with the Chief Fire Officer, to advise or recommend action to the Commissioner.

The fire services will be required to provide information relevant to the Chief Fire Officer’s advisory functions as the Chief Fire Officer requests.

The Bill requires the Chief Fire Officer to regularly report to the Commissioner on the discharge of their statutory functions.

Deputy Commissioner

The Bill establishes the role of Deputy Commissioner as a statutory position responsible for managing the day-to-day service delivery of QFR.

The Deputy Commissioner’s functions will be to:

• support the Commissioner in the delivery of the Commissioner’s functions;
• manage the service delivery of QFR to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of QFR;
• ensure the development of QFR capability including the systems, frameworks and resources required to support service delivery;
• ensure minimum standards and training for fire service officers assigned to QFR are in place to the satisfaction of the Commissioner; and
• perform any other function given to the Deputy Commissioner by the Commissioner.

Chief Officer

The Bill establishes the role of Chief Officer as a statutory position responsible for the day-to-day management of RFSQ.  

The functions of the Chief Officer will be to:

• support the Commissioner in the delivery of the Commissioner’s functions;
• manage the service delivery of RFSQ, including fire service officers assigned to RFSQ;
• ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of RFSQ;
• ensure the development of the capability of RFSQ, including the systems frameworks and resources required to support the delivery of services;
• ensure minimum standards and training for fire service officers assigned to RFSQ, and rural fire brigade members, are in place to the satisfaction of the Commissioner; and
• perform any other function given to the Chief Officer by the Commissioner.

To be eligible for appointment as Commissioner or Chief Fire Officer, a person must have professional firefighting experience, incident control expertise, and fire prevention expertise.

Similarly, executive (e.g. Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner) or senior officer (Inspector, Superintendent and Chief Superintendent) appointees in QFR must have professional firefighting experience, incident control expertise, and fire prevention expertise.

The dictionary in the Bill defines professional firefighting experience to mean significant knowledge of, and practical experience in each of the following, obtained by employment as a firefighter in QFR or a fire service (however called) in another State or New Zealand (NZ) equivalent to QFR: 

(a) responding to, combating and managing structural fires, bushfires, and incidents involving hazardous materials;
(b) carrying out specialist and technical rescues; and
(c) responding to and managing disasters.

The mandatory requirements reflect the level of command-and-control proficiency and experience expected for making and overseeing operational decisions, including tactical decisions for the use of assets and human resources, in a high-risk, dynamic environment.  

Appointment as Chief Officer or Deputy Chief Officer (RFSQ) requires rural firefighting experience, or rural incident control expertise, or rural fire prevention expertise.

A person seeking appointment as Chief Officer or Deputy Chief Officer (RFSQ) does not need to meet all of these requirements but must be able to demonstrate extensive experience or expertise in at least one of these three areas. This is in recognition of the different operational conditions within the service and that it is primarily a volunteer-based service. 

Recruitment and Selection

The level of experience and expertise required for each role will be assessed at a level appropriate for the role. For example, a role at a more senior level, the candidate should have the necessary breadth and depth of experience that reflects a high level of command-and-control proficiency and experience and provides the foundations for making and overseeing significant decisions of a strategic nature, including the use of assets and the deployment of people.

Less senior officers will not be held to the standard but will have to hold the requisite experience and expertise to provide confidence that they can meet the operational requirements essential to the role. 

The requirement for the Commissioner to appoint a person only if satisfied they meet the eligibility requirements for appointment, will only apply to appointments once the legislation has commenced. 

For persons appointed to an executive officer role before the commencement of the legislation, a transitional provision preserves the unexpired portion of any contract of employment of the executive officer upon commencement. 

A transitional provision is not required for existing senior officers as they are not appointed on contract. 

Employment on merit

The Bill also includes a new provision to make clear when mandatory qualifications are to be considered as part of recruitment and selection processes. 

Under the new section, operationally based mandatory qualifications, skills or experience the Commissioner considers necessary for a particular position are to be given primacy of consideration when deciding the applicant best suited to the position. 

The purpose of this provision is to ensure that candidates are suitable for appointment in regard to having the qualifications, skills and experience required to operate safely at work and when delivering key services to the community. 

This provision does not change the application of section 45(2)(a) of the Public Sector Act 2022, which requires a public sector entity undertaking a selection and recruitment process to consider each applicants’ ability to perform the requirements of the position. Rather, it provides clarity as to who establishes those requirements (the Commissioner) and when they are considered. Section 45(2)(b) of the Public Sector Act 2022 will continue to operate as provided for in the Public Sector Act 2022. 

The Bill provides for functions of RFSQ which are in addition to the general functions of the fire services. Those additional functions recognise the unique role played by RFSQ and include: 

• carrying out activities for the prevention of, preparedness for, response to, and recovery from, bushfires;
• controlling and preventing bushfires; 
• investigating bushfires;
• managing chief fire wardens and fire wardens;
• managing the administration of the granting of notifications, notices and permits under the Act for the lighting of fires;
• managing the rural fire brigades;
• supporting other entities providing emergency services to help communities respond to and recover from disasters; 
• supporting communities to improve resilience to bushfires; and
• performing other functions given to RFSQ by the Commissioner. 

The Bill provides the Commissioner may appoint a person to be a chief fire warden or fire warden only if the Commissioner is satisfied the person is appropriately qualified to perform the functions and exercise the powers of the role. 

A fire warden holds office for the term and on the conditions stated in their instrument of appointment, and the instrument of appointment must state the geographical area in which they can perform the functions or exercise the powers.

The Bill includes a transitional provision which preserves all existing chief fire warden and fire warden appointments upon commencement of the Act. 

The Bill establishes an RFSQ advisory committee to provide advice to the Chief Officer on matters relating to the performance of the functions of RFSQ, including the administration and management of rural fire brigades. 

Members of the advisory body are to be appointed by the Minister in consultation with the Chief Officer. It is intended that the advisory committee will have strong volunteer representation from each of the four RFSQ regions to ensure that rural fire service delivery is informed by the people working on the ground. 

Volunteer rural fire brigade members perform a critical role in supporting the delivery of fire and emergency services in Queensland. To address historical issues concerning the legal status of rural fire brigades and volunteer protections, the Bill formally recognises brigades and their volunteer members as part of RFSQ. 

Appointment

The Bill provides the Commissioner with the power to appoint rural fire brigade members to ensure there is a clear nexus between volunteers performing functions on behalf of the State and the available protections from liability. A rural fire brigade member is appointed on the terms stated in the instrument of appointment and may resign the appointment by signed notice given to the Commissioner. 

A transitional provision in the Bill provides that current brigade members will continue to be members of their respective brigade without any need for them to be reappointed.  

While the appointment power will imply an incidental power to suspend or remove a person from office under the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, any such action would be subject to natural justice and procedural fairness and ultimately subject to judicial review. Any dismissal is only likely to occur in rare circumstances where it is necessary to protect public safety or the public interest.  

Officers of a rural fire brigade

The Bill recognises the important role of rural fire brigade office-bearers. Officer bearers are members elected by a rural fire brigade to the roles of chairperson, secretary or treasurer of the brigade. Rural fire brigades will continue to manage the election of its officers and office bearers with oversight from the Commissioner. 

The Bill provides that the Commissioner will have the power to remove an officer bearer and to disqualify the person from holding any office within a rural fire brigade. However, it is envisaged that this power would rarely need to be exercised.  

A transitional provision in the Bill provides that current office bearers will continue in their roles when the legislation commences.

Functions of a rural fire brigade

To better reflect the functions undertaken by rural fire brigades, the Bill provides the functions of a rural fire brigade are to:

• carry out firefighting and fire prevention;   
• use fire for land management;   
• perform other activities to help communities or other entities prepare for, respond to, and enhance resilience to, an event or a disaster;  
• perform activities to raise the profile of RFSQ, including its rural fire brigades, promote bushfire safety or raise funds to support rural fire brigades in the performance of the brigades’ other functions;  
• provide services or assistance by a member of the brigade if required by any Act or the reasonable expectation of the community; and  
• perform any other function given to the brigade by the Commissioner.  

Model rules

The Bill provides that the Commissioner must make model rules for the proper management and operation of brigades. This will ensure that brigades throughout the State have a consistent base-level of operation. 

Importantly however, individual brigades can, with the approval of the Commissioner, supplement the model rules with their own specific rules that deal with their individual circumstances. Any rule additional to the model rules must not be inconsistent with the Act or the model rules. 

A rural fire brigade’s rules are the model rules and any additional rules approved by the Commissioner. A rural fire brigade and its rural fire brigade members must comply with the rural fire brigade’s rules. 

Appointment of person in charge

A new ‘person in charge’ provision has been included in the Bill to manage the situation where a rural fire brigade is in charge of controlling and extinguishing a fire, or controlling another incident, but there is no first officer or next senior officer from that brigade available. 

In normal circumstances it is the first officer that would take charge of operations and, where that first officer is not available, the next available senior officer from the brigade may instead exercise the powers of a first officer. There may, however, be circumstances in which there is no first officer, or next senior officer is available. If that occurs, the Bill allows the Commissioner to appoint a person in charge of operations. However, if there is a first officer or next senior officer available from within the brigade, the Commissioner does not need to exercise this power.  

False calls offence

It is currently an offence under the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 for a person to make a false call to QFD regarding a fire. Falls calls unnecessarily redirect QFD resources which may otherwise be required to attend a genuine fire or emergency.

The Bill extends this offence to also cover false calls relating to hazardous materials emergencies. Hazardous materials include dangerous goods, combustible liquids, various chemicals (e.g. agricultural chemicals, pool chemicals) and any other substance with the potential to cause harm to persons, property or the environment.

Falsely raising an alarm about a hazardous materials emergency equally redirects the resources of the fire services unnecessarily and may compromise their ability to respond to genuine calls for assistance.

Restricted expressions

The Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 already prohibits the use of various expressions such as ‘QFES’ and ‘Queensland Fire and Emergency Service’. This prohibition is designed to ensure that the terms are not used for commercial reasons and that members of the public are clear about who they are seeking assistance from in an emergency.

The Bill amends the relevant provision to cover expressions inserted by the Bill including ‘Queensland Fire and Rescue’, ‘Rural Fire Service Queensland’, ‘QFR’, ‘RFSQ’, ‘rural fire brigade’ and any other expression that includes or is similar to any of those terms.

The Bill also provides that it is an offence to use a restricted expression in a way that suggests that the person is a fire service officer or rural fire brigade member if they are in fact not.

A person may apply for approval to use a restricted expression, which the Commissioner can grant on any conditions considered appropriate. The Bill also allows the Commissioner to amend, suspend or cancel that approval if required.

To ensure that persons currently using the term without approval are not in breach of the section upon commencement, a moratorium period of one year has been included to enable persons seeking to use a restricted term to obtain approval from the Commissioner. 

The creation of QFR and RFSQ, along with the change in the name of the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 to the Fire Services Act 1990, requires a range of other pieces of legislation, administered by other departments, to also be amended.

For example, the Police Service Administration Act 1990 currently provides that the Police Commissioner can delegate their powers under an Act to the Commissioner of the Queensland Fire Department. The Bill amends that provision to provide that the delegation can be to the Commissioner under the Fire Services Act 1990.

The restructuring of the Act has also meant that many sections within it are being renumbered. As a result, the Bill amends a large number of cross-references to ensure they accurately reflect the new numbering.

These consequential and cross-referencing amendments are all contained in Schedule 1 of the Bill. 

Following a fatal Slacks Creek house fire in 2011, significant changes are being rolled out to smoke alarm requirements for domestic dwellings. The changes will require all Queensland homes to have interconnected, photoelectric smoke alarms in every bedroom, in hallways, and on every level from 1 January 2027.  

To build on these reforms for domestic dwellings and to further enhance public safety, the Bill extends smoke alarm requirements to include caravans and motorhomes. Specifically, from 1 January 2027, the registered operator of a registered caravan or motorhome must ensure that a photoelectric smoke alarm is installed in the vehicle.

From the commencement of the amendments up to 1 January 2027, where a new caravan or motorhome is registered or where its registration is transferred (e.g. where it is sold), the new owner of the vehicle will need to ensure it is fitted with a compliant smoke alarm.  

Smoke alarms must comply with the Australian Standard (AS 3786–2014); contain a photoelectric sensor; have been manufactured less than 10 years before they are installed; and be powered by a battery that is non-removeable or that will last for at least 10 years without being recharged.

Further information on smoke alarm requirements can be found at: Smoke alarms