The purpose of the Queensland Workers Memorial and Honour Roll is to commemorate Queensland workers who have died as a result of a work-related incident, disease, or illness.
The Queensland Workers Memorial and Honour Roll aims to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Where there is doubt about an individual's eligibility for inclusion on the Honour Roll, for the sake of the worker's family and friends, the benefit of doubt will generally go towards their inclusion.
Registration for the Queensland Workers Memorial and Honour Roll is completely voluntary. An applicant may apply to have a worker's name included on either the Workers Memorial or the Honour Roll or both.
The Queensland Workers Memorial Management Committee will consider applications for the Memorial and Honour Roll. Each application will be examined carefully and treated on its own merits. Eligibility is based on an application meeting the following criteria.
Death caused by a work related incident, disease or illness
To be eligible for inclusion, a worker must have died in Queensland as a result of:
- a work-related incident, or
- a work-related disease or illness (that is, there was a direct and conclusive link to a personal injury causing or substantially contributing to the death, for example, a disease caused by exposure to asbestos at work).
In cases where the worker's death was caused by carrying out work duties outside Queensland, consideration may be given to an application if the worker has a connection with Queensland, for example, the worker previously lived in Queensland or the worker's next of kin making the application live in Queensland.
Where another official memorial exists in Queensland
Generally, where a worker's death is eligible for inclusion in another memorial in Queensland dedicated to specific industries or occupations, the death is not eligible for inclusion. Examples of other memorials include the State Miners Memorial, Queensland Police Service Memorial, and war memorials.
Travelling to and from work
Generally, deaths that occur as a result of travel to and from work are excluded. However, applications will be considered on an individual basis. The applicant will be required to show the worker's death was due to work duties or occurred in the course of work.
Natural causes
Generally, sudden deaths from natural causes are excluded. Deaths from illness or disease not associated with carrying out work are also excluded.
Unknown cause of death or open finding of death by Coroner
The return of an open verdict following a coronial inquest is not an automatic exclusion.
Current investigation or legal action
Generally, where a worker's death is the subject of a current investigation or legal action, care will need to be taken with the information included in the Honour Roll. However, an applicant may seek to provide additional information when an investigation and/or legal action has been finalised.
Unconfirmed and historical cases
There may be cases where a worker has died of unnatural causes due to carrying out work duties or in the course of work but the facts are unconfirmed. This may be due to the date of death or name of the deceased being unknown, or lack of evidence or information about a death, or it is not known if the death occurred at or as a result of work. It is the applicant's responsibility to provide the information needed to consider the application properly.
In the case of historical deaths, two independent sources of information for verification will be required, except in the case of official records where one source may be sufficient.
The information displayed on the Queensland Workers Memorial Honour Roll has been received from third party contributors who have provided the information on a voluntary basis. The department does not verify that the information provided by third parties is true, or take responsibility for the accuracy of information provided by third parties.
The department reserves the right not to publish a name or particular information submitted for inclusion on the Honour Roll, including where insufficient information is provided, where the department has reason to believe the information provided is untrue, or for any other reason the department considers publication to be inappropriate.
Where a matter is under investigation or the subject of a legal proceeding, inclusion of a tribute on the Honour Roll does not imply guilt or negligence of any party involved in the investigation or proceeding.