- Queensland's worst, most violent criminals could be locked up for life under new restricted prisoner laws introduced to Parliament today.
- Restricted prisoner declarations expanded to all criminals serving a life sentence.
- Community safety becomes the paramount consideration for all parole decisions under reforms.
- The No Body, No Parole laws loophole to be closed, which had allowed killers to be given parole despite not revealing victims' remains.
- Changes will make Queensland safer, delivering on promise to implement recommendations from the Independent Review of the Parole Board, which revealed shocking system failures under Labor.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering the strongest parole laws in the nation to put the rights of victims first and keep the State's most dangerous, violent offenders behind bars longer.
The Protecting Queenslanders from Dangerous Prisoners and Strengthening Victims' Rights Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced to Parliament today and delivers a range of targeted reforms following the Parole Board review.
The Bill will expand restricted prisoner laws to apply to all prisoners serving a life sentence for heinous crimes.
Currently the Parole Board can only apply restricted prisoner laws to murderers who kill more than one person, and child killers.
The Bill follows an independent review which found Labor's parole system put the rights of criminals ahead of the safety of the community and failed to support victims through the parole process.
The Bill introduces major changes to put victim's first and make Queensland safer, including:
Expanding Restricted Prisoner laws to apply to all prisoners serving a life sentence.
The first restricted prisoner declaration must be for a minimum mandatory period of 5 years, with subsequent declarations of up to 10 years.
Strengthens No Body, No Parole laws to ensure they apply for the full time an offender is in prison, and where a victims' remains have been completely destroyed by the prisoner or by natural causes.
Making community safety the paramount consideration for all parole decisions.
Victims will be proactively notified to be placed on the Victims' Register and must receive updates regarding an offender, including with parole is granted.
Parole Board decisions can be published if they are in the public interest.
Victim submissions can be made orally, must be considered by the Board during all stages of a parole application and the time to provide a response is extended.
These reforms deliver on the Crisafulli Government's commitment to implement 31 recommendations it supported in the independent parole board review that prioritise community safety and victims.
Under the former Labor Government's two failed Corrective Services Minsters, the Parole Board was severely mismanaged, resulting in a President referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission and dangerous killers released on parole.
Despite three reviews, Labor failed to fix the parole system which left the Board operating at half capacity and oversaw a backlog of parole applications.
Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support and Minister for Corrective Services Laura Gerber said these critical reforms would restore confidence in Labor's parole system that failed Queenslanders.
"We are continuing to make Queensland safer, with stronger parole laws, just as we promised," Minister Gerber.
"This is fixing Labor's broken parole system that let violent killers walk free and put criminals rights ahead of the safety of victims and the community.
"We are delivering the strongest parole laws in the nation to keep Queensland's most dangerous criminals, including domestic violence murderers, rapists, and sadistic killers, behind bars for longer.
"The Parole Board must be empowered to deliver decisions in line with community expectations that put victims and the safety of Queenslanders first.
"These reforms are for victims and their families across the state who have lost their loved ones to the most heinous crimes, so they can get the justice they deserve after being let down by the former Labor Government's weak laws and failed parole system."
Vanessa Fowler, Chair of the Allison Baden-Clay Foundation said at the heart of these reforms is the safety of victims.
"We were also handed a life sentence when my sister, Allison, was murdered, and we live without her, and we miss her each and every day.
"I think the question is, what is the value of life? And for us, we believe that 15 years doesn't qualify as a life sentence but these reforms mean Allison's killer could stay behind bars for longer.
"We are very supportive of the government's proposal, and we look forward to working with them as they move this work forward".
Leanne Pullen, on behalf of the Pullen family said this was a significant reform.
"Too often the law seems to favour offenders at the expense of victims, so we strongly support these changes because they put victims first and restore some balance," Mrs Pullen said.
"In our case, they close the legal loophole that allowed Lincoln to receive parole before serving his full sentence, even though the courts found he was withholding crucial information that could have led to the recovery of Tim's remains.
"He's now free to get on with his life while we're left wondering where is Tim? That question still haunts us every day.
"The changes will also help to ensure victims are notified of parole decisions. Even if the news isn't good, at least they will be told the truth. That's very different to our case when key decisions were suppressed and we were deceived by the former government.
"This legislation will also give victims an actual voice through oral submissions. That is a really significant reform."
