The Sheriff’s Act (Queensland) is a proposed legislative framework that allows Queensland communities and local governments to elect or appoint a local Sheriff. Supported by Deputies, the Sheriff works alongside the Queensland Police Service to handle civil law enforcement, local ordinances, public order, and non-emergency matters—strengthening community safety while easing pressure on frontline police.

Each Sheriff’s Office is established & jurisdictionally-bound to its Local Government Area (LGA). It is led by a locally elected Sheriff, who may employ Deputies, and other Sheriff’s office staff who live and work in the same community as you do.

Sheriffs are not police. Their role is preventative and community-focused:

• Enforcing orders, Warrants of possession and other Court orders.

• Managing public disturbances and community issues: vagrancy, vandalism, youth crime, and public nuisances.

• Managing summary offences and ensuring compliance with local residential and commercial ordinances.

• Providing trained first response — in coordination with the Police — when required.

Every local Sheriff’s Office has clear limits: its jurisdiction ends at the LGA boundary; its authority comes only from existing state legislation; and its accountability is to the people who elect it.

The model fills long-standing service gaps in civil enforcement and community order. Especially in regional and rural areas where local presence and local trust are critical

The Sheriff’s Office does not duplicate police. It complements them.

Without adding to or granting any extra powers within an already overworked system by relieving police and their resources, reapproaching the laws and powers we already have back on public safety, order, and trust within the community.