"Workers are still dying": Unions launch 'Hands Off Our Safety' campaign ahead of International Workers Memorial Day

MEDIA RELEASE

27 April 2026

Queensland unions are warning workers' lives are at risk, launching a major statewide advertising campaign to stop the Crisafulli LNP Government from winding back workplace safety laws on the eve of International Workers Memorial Day.

The Hands Off Our Safety campaign brings together unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers across Queensland, from construction and mining to nursing, teaching, retail and emergency services, in a united stand against proposed changes that would weaken the state's nation-leading work health and safety protections.

The campaign officially begins tomorrow, International Workers Memorial Day, a day to honour those who never made it home from work, with a powerful new advertising rollout going live across television, radio, streaming and social media.

The campaign includes a powerful advertisement referencing the tragic deaths of four members of the public on the Thunder River Rapids Ride at Dreamworld in 2016, highlighting the real-world consequences of safety failures as the reason for Queensland's beefed-up safety laws now under review by the LNP.

Additional ads focus on Queensland's long history of mining disasters and workplace fatalities, alongside frontline workers, including a nurse, teacher and construction worker, calling on Premier Crisafulli to "keep the laws that make Queenslanders safe."

The ads will run across regional television, catch-up TV, streaming services, radio and social media over the coming months. They are also expected to feature on social media in the Stafford by-election.

Three additional ads cut to frontline workers, a nurse, a teacher and a construction worker, each placed in high-risk situations they face at work. They deliver a direct message to camera, calling on the Premier to keep the laws that protect them from violence, unsafe conditions and psychological harm.

Unions say the Government is considering changes to both workplace health & safety and workers' compensation laws, which would:

• Strip back Queensland's safety laws

• Weaken workers' rights to stop unsafe work

• Undermine enforceable safety Codes of Practice

• Reduce protections and compensation for workers suffering psychological injuries

Queensland Unions General Secretary Jacqueline King said the timing of the campaign was deliberate.

"On the eve of International Workers Memorial Day, we are reminding Queenslanders of a simple truth, workers are still dying, and we cannot afford to weaken Queensland's Safety Laws

"All workers deserve safe workplaces. And every family deserves the certainty that their loved ones will come home safe.

"The LNP appears focused on cutting safety and workplace protections in the name of productivity and profit, but safety laws should never be watered down to let employers cut corners.

"These changes do not just affect one industry. They impact every workplace in Queensland, from hospitals and classrooms to building sites and mines.

"The Premier wants to pitch his government to Queenslanders as moderate. But these proposed changes are anything but moderate and if implemented, they will put Queensland workers' lives at risk.

"Unions are calling for a halt to these proposed changes. If these laws are introduced that weaken safety and compensation protections, we will campaign until any unjust laws are overturned."

The campaign will roll out statewide in the coming weeks, alongside community outreach and worker engagement.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Jacqueline King, General Secretary, Queensland Unions

VISION

Link to Ad Campaign (for Public Release from 3pm 27.04.26)