Delivering quality frontline services
Our focus
Queenslanders seek quality services that are responsive to their needs and the Queensland Government is working to restore and improve these frontline services across the state.
Our government recognises the fundamental importance of investing in our best natural asset: Queenslanders. While early childhood development and schooling provide critical foundations, education and training must be a lifelong endeavour, particularly in helping to keep pace with technology advancements.
The Queensland Government believes that early and school-based education is one of the most critical functions of government. So we are focused on building an education system renowned for high achievement and excellence that provides opportunities for everyone regardless of ability, income, gender, regional location or background.
Our government will ensure that students are equipped with higher-order critical thinking skills to help them prosper in the knowledge-based industries of the future. We will also encourage students to participate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to propel local innovation and ingenuity.
Teachers are a priority for our government. We are providing new teaching positions, excellence standards and support services designed to help students achieve their full potential. We are also working to restore TAFE Queensland as the premier provider of vocational education and training in the state. This will support our aim of raising the average level of education obtained by Queenslanders and putting people on the path to employment.
As Queensland’s population continues to grow and age, so too will the demand for health services. That is why our focus will be on preventative health programs, health promotion, and research and innovation to drive positive health outcomes, ease pressure on the entire health system, and improve the quality of life for all Queenslanders.
We support a universal health system that helps Queenslanders achieve and maintain good physical and mental health and wellbeing. A comprehensive whole-of-government and whole-of-community approach is essential to ensure that healthy choices are always easy choices and that services are readily accessible and affordable by all sectors of society.
Our government is working to improve nursing capacity across the public health system, with a specific focus on improving patient safety and people’s experience of the health system.
Nearly half of all Australians will experience a mental health disorder at some stage in their lives so it is important that laws keep pace with modern best practice and community expectations. We will overhaul Queensland’s mental health legislation to increase protections for mental health patients and the broader public.
We will work towards our vision by:
- Achieving better education and training outcomes
- Strengthening our public health system
- Providing responsive and integrated government services
- Supporting disadvantaged Queenslanders
Key initiatives
- Creating jobs for 875 new teachers in state schools (in addition to 1600 already planned positions)
- Introducing a full-time guidance officer for schools with more than 500 high school students
- Implementing the Letting Teachers Teach initiative
- Introducing new teaching excellence standards
- Introducing the Refresh Nursing program to employ 1000 graduate nurses in public hospitals for 12 months each over a four year period
- Employing 400 new nurses to ensure safer patient-to-nurse ratios
- Rebuilding intensive mental healthcare for young people
- Delivering the Health for Life initiative to tackle diabetes
Target alignment
The following table highlights how our focus on quality frontline services will contribute to achieving targets outlined in The Queensland Plan.
Targets | Jobs and economy | Frontline services | Environment | Communities |
---|---|---|---|---|
T1 Literacy & numeracy |
Yes | |||
T2 Skills for life |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
T3 Valuing of education |
Yes | Yes | ||
T4 Household prosperity |
Yes | |||
T5 Opportunity for all |
Yes | Yes | ||
T6 Community connection |
Yes | |||
T7 Liveable regions |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
T8 Growing regions |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
T9 Growing prosperity |
Yes | |||
T10 Bright ideas |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
T11 Life expectancy |
Yes | Yes | ||
T12 Disease and injury prevention |
Yes | Yes | ||
T13 Mental health |
Yes | Yes | ||
T14 Environmental guardian |
Yes | |||
T15 Environmental balance |
Yes | Yes | ||
T16 Inclusive participation |
Yes | Yes | ||
T17 Indigenous opportunity |
Yes | Yes | ||
T18 Liveability |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
T19 Tailored and timely infrastructure |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
T20 Community governance |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |