The Palaszczuk Government makes no excuses for its reforms to protect the integrity of Queensland’s $1.2 billion racing industry.
Further industry consultation throughout 2021, highlighted the need for a Racing Appeals Panel independent of the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC).
This new independent Racing Appeals Panel will replace all current internal reviews and the majority of QCAT appeals.
Minister for Racing, Grace Grace said “We have long shared industries concerns with the current review process.
‘For almost two years, we have been working closely with the industry to ensure any changes addressed those concerns and closed loopholes allowing industry participants to continue riding pending a review of a stewards decision.
We understood that decisions were taking too long and without sufficient industry knowledge. The new model will be fair and transparent and is similar to other jurisdictions, including New South Wales and Victoria
Under the new model:
- applications for review must be lodged within three business days
- the majority of decisions will be reviewed within 7 business.
- in more serious cases, the Panel will finalise its review within 20 business days.
- appeals to the Queensland Civil Administration Tribunal (QCAT) can only be made where the penalty imposed by the stewards’ is three months or more, and will be limited to the severity of the penalty.
- there will need to be exceptional circumstances for QCAT to grant a stay.
Further consultation will immediately commence with industry stakeholders.
“The new Panel will provide for a faster review of stewards’ decisions by a specialist body, with limited grounds for further review.
I look forward to bringing the necessary legislative changes to the House in 2022″
Minister Grace said the outcome will be a review system that is better suited to the industry.
