Chronological history of legislative drafting and publishing in Queensland

The first Queensland legislation website was launched, providing free electronic access to Queensland legislation, including Acts passed and subordinate legislation made from July 1991. 

Also in 1998, Queensland's electronic reprints of legislation were made available through the Australian Government's SCALEplus website and the Australian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) website.

The Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel was established as a statutory office with commencement of the Legislative Standards Act 1992. This substantively and symbolically reinforced the office's independence.

John Leahy SC PSM, who was the Parliamentary Counsel when the office was established, became the first person appointed to the new statutory position of Queensland Parliamentary Counsel. John held this role until 31 July 1996. He was awarded the Public Service Medal in January 2004 for outstanding public service, including in the area of legislative drafting services.

The fundamental legislative principles (FLPs) came into effect. 

The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel officially adopted a policy of plain English drafting and the office embarked on a program of reviewing and modernising the Queensland statute book.

The computerisation of the office significantly reduced production time for Queensland legislation.

Joseph Broadbent was appointed as the Acting Parliamentary Draftsman in the Department of Justice. He was subsequently appointed as the first full-time Parliamentary Draftsman on 8 March 1928.

Read the biography of Joseph Edward Broadbent (1883–1948) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. (Bannenberg 1979)

John Laskey Woolcock was appointed Parliamentary Draftsman in the Department of Justice. He also had the right of private practice.

Read the biography of John Laskey Woolcock (1861–1929) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. (Johnston 1990)

The Queensland Statutes, a five-volume consolidation of Queensland's legislation complied by John Woolcock and Alfred Pain, was published.

There is no record of a Parliamentary Draftsman being appointed during the period 1870 to 1899. During this period, legislation was drafted by various people, including members of Parliament, barristers and public servants. A memorandum of the Department of Justice dated 7 April 1899 showed the amounts paid to barristers for drafting Bills for the period 1895 to February 1899 inclusive (Lack 1962, p. 777).

Notably, Sir Samuel Griffith was an active drafter of legislation during this period (McKenna 2014). While Premier of Queensland (1883–1888 and 1890–1893), Sir Samuel drafted the Offenders Probation Act of 1886, which introduced the first offender probation scheme in Australia, and the Justices Act of 1886, which is still on the Queensland statute book and governs criminal practice in Queensland's Magistrates Courts.

Sir Samuel Griffith is undoubtedly better known for drafting the Queensland Criminal Code of 1899, a task he started in 1896 while holding the office of Chief Justice of Queensland. The Criminal Code Act 1899 remains on the Queensland statute book and continues to state the criminal law of Queensland.

Read the biography of Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (1845–1920) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. (Joyce 1983)

Barrister Sir John Bramston was appointed as Queensland's first temporary Parliamentary Draftsman in the Colonial Secretary's Office. The appointment was part-time and Sir John was also the Clerk of the Executive Council.

Read the biography of Sir John Bramston (1832–1921) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. (Joyce 1969)