Medicinal cannabis and workplace testing in Queensland
Model WHS law + additional statutory D&A regimes for coal and mining Last verified:
Unfair dismissal is federal law — the Fair Work Act and the case database apply the same in every state. What changes in Queensland is the layer around it: the safety statute, the discrimination statute, the roadside rules, and where to get help.
How the layers stack in QLD
- Dismissal and general protections: federal — Fair Work Act 2009, the 21-day deadline, and everything in the case database applies here unchanged.
- Work health and safety: Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), administered by WorkSafe Queensland - with dedicated coal mining safety and health legislation imposing additional fitness-for-work and drug and alcohol requirements on coal operations. This is the statute that grounds your employer’s duty to manage impairment risk — and their obligation to consult the workforce on the policy.
- Discrimination: Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld), alongside federal disability discrimination law. State and federal routes have different processes and deadlines — one reason early advice matters.
- Roadside: No general prescription defence for detectable THC while driving as at our last review. Roadside law is its own minefield — our companion driving-law hub covers QLD in detail.
What’s distinctive about QLD
Queensland's resources sector generates a disproportionate share of the case law - Gauci (Brisbane ports), Hancock (DP World Brisbane) and the 2025 Batchfire coal testing dispute all sit in our database. Coal workers sit under site drug and alcohol plans with mandatory testing; assume the strictest reading of every clause.
Getting help in Queensland
For individual advice: Legal Aid Queensland, community legal centres, and the Fair Work Commission. Free first consultations are common at employment firms — the Dismissal Response Kit’s lawyer briefing pack is designed to make those first calls count.