The Short Answer
There is no 24-hour rule in Queensland. How long police can hold someone depends on whether they have been charged yet.
Before a charge, police can hold a person for up to 8 hours to investigate a serious offence and question them about it. To go longer, police must ask a magistrate or a justice of the peace.
After a charge, police must give the person bail or take them to court as soon as they reasonably can. There is no set number of hours.
Find the Person's Situation
| Police are interviewing them about a serious offence, or say they are "helping with inquiries" | Up to 8 hours. Longer only if a magistrate or justice of the peace agrees |
|---|---|
| They have been charged and police will not give them bail | Police must take them to court as soon as they reasonably can |
| They have been charged and police have given them bail | They are released and must come to court on the date they are given |
| Police no longer suspect them, or do not have enough evidence to charge them | Police must let them go, unless they are suspected of something else or held for another reason |
| The offence is minor, such as public nuisance | The 8-hour rule does not apply. Police must still release them or take them to court as soon as they reasonably can |
"They Have Been There Six Hours and Nobody Has Been Charged"
Holding someone for hours without a charge is lawful while police investigate a serious offence.
A serious offence here means one the law calls a crime or a misdemeanour. Stealing, burglary and assault causing bodily harm are all in that group. Minor offences such as public nuisance are not.
The 8 hours start when the person is arrested. Within those 8 hours:
- Questioning is capped at 4 hours in total.
- Breaks count towards the 8 hours. That includes waiting for a lawyer, phone calls to a lawyer or family, seeing a doctor, sobering up and sleeping.
- The time must be reasonable. Police must consider how serious and complicated the case is. They must also consider the person's age and health, and whether they are willing to answer questions.
If the person refuses to answer questions, keeping them may stop being reasonable. Police can still hold them if more investigating is needed. They can also hold them if the person agrees to something like an identity line-up.
"Can Police Keep Them Longer Than 8 Hours?"
Only with permission. Police must apply before the 8 hours run out. The person stays in custody while the application is decided.
A magistrate or a justice of the peace decides it. If total questioning would pass 12 hours, only a magistrate can decide.
The person, or their lawyer, can argue against the application.
More time can be given only if all four of these are true:
- the offence is serious enough to need it;
- police need the time to collect evidence, finish investigating or keep questioning;
- police are investigating properly and are not dragging it out; and
- the person or their lawyer has had the chance to have their say.
An extension allows up to 8 more hours of questioning. The order also sets how much break time is allowed on top of that.
"They Have Been Charged. Why Are They Still There?"
Once someone is charged, a different rule applies. If police cannot get them before a court quickly, an officer with the power to grant bail must act. As soon as they reasonably can, the officer must do one of these:
- give them bail;
- release them with a notice telling them when to come to court; or
- take them to court.
If police refuse bail, the person stays in the watch house until they can be taken to court. What happens at that first court appearance is on our main watch house page.
"As soon as they reasonably can" is not a set number of hours. Ask the watch house when the person will go to court.
Different rules apply to anyone under 18. See our page on juvenile arrest.
"Do They Have to Answer Police Questions?"
No. Everyone has the right to stay silent. The only exception is where a specific law makes a person answer a particular question.
Police must not get a confession with threats or promises.
Before police question someone about a serious offence, they must tell the person they can phone a friend or relative. They must also tell them they can phone a lawyer of their choice.
Police must wait a reasonable time for those calls. If someone is coming in, police must wait a reasonable time for them to arrive. A wait of more than 2 hours may be unreasonable, unless there are special circumstances.
If a friend or relative comes in, police must let them sit in on the interview and give advice. Police can exclude them only if they unreasonably get in the way.
If the person speaks to a lawyer, police must let them talk where they cannot be overheard, if that can reasonably be arranged.
Those two rules do not apply to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The support person rules below apply instead.
Police can skip the steps in this section, and the extra steps below for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in limited cases. That is where police reasonably suspect that a call or a wait would help an accomplice avoid arrest, or let an accomplice sit in. It also covers evidence being hidden, made up or destroyed, and a witness being intimidated. Police can also question without waiting if it is so urgent that other people's safety is at risk. The exception lasts only while that suspicion lasts.
If the person is drunk or affected by drugs, police must wait to question them. They must wait until the person can understand their rights and decide whether to answer.
"They Are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander"
Extra rules apply if police reasonably think an adult is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Police must tell the person that a legal aid service will be told they are in custody. Police must then contact that service. This does not apply if the person has already arranged for a lawyer to be there. It also does not apply if police reasonably think the person is not at a disadvantage, given their education and understanding.
Police also cannot question the person without a support person there. Where practicable, police must first let the person speak to the support person without being overheard. The support person can be an adult relative, another adult the person chooses, a lawyer or someone from a legal aid service. The person can give up that right, but only in writing or on a recording.
What to Do Tonight
- Call the watch house on (07) 4030 7000. Ask what time the person was arrested, and what they are being investigated or charged for.
- Write the time down. The 8 hours are counted from the arrest.
- Call a criminal lawyer. A lawyer can ask police what they are investigating and whether they plan to ask for more time. The lawyer can also speak to the person before any interview.
- If the person calls you, do not talk about what happened. Keep it to practical things.
What This Page Does Not Cover
This page is about adults arrested by police in Queensland. It does not cover drink and drug driving tests, which have their own rules. It also does not cover people already in prison who are brought back for police questioning.
Queensland Legislation
Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) — s 376 (release when no longer suspected or not enough evidence); s 393 (take person before a court as soon as reasonably practicable after arrest); s 394 (watch-house decision on bail, notice to appear or court); s 397 (right to remain silent); ss 403–406 (8-hour detention period, what is a reasonable time, extension by a magistrate or justice); s 416 (no confession by threat or promise); ss 418–419 (right to communicate with a friend, relative or lawyer before questioning, and their presence); s 420 (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons); s 423 (intoxicated persons); s 441 (when ss 418–422 do not apply); Schedule 6 (definitions of "support person" and "time out").
Criminal Code (Qld) — s 3 (crimes and misdemeanours are indictable offences); ss 339, 398, 419 (assault occasioning bodily harm, stealing and burglary are crimes).
Summary Offences Act 2005 (Qld) — s 6 (public nuisance); s 46 (offences against the Act are simple offences).