{"id":777047664,"date":"2026-09-23T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777047664"},"modified":"2026-09-23T09:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T12:02:21","slug":"queensland-to-merge-racing-body-with-state-integrity-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/queensland-to-merge-racing-body-with-state-integrity-commission","title":{"rendered":"Queensland to merge racing body with state integrity commission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The restructuring forms part of Queensland\u2019s The Next Lap programme and follows changes proposed after the 2025 Queensland Racing Review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Australia.- The Queensland Government has announced plans to combine the functions of Racing Queensland<\/strong> and the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC)<\/strong> under a new governance model, while retaining separate oversight of integrity and animal welfare. The change forms part of the state government\u2019s The Next Lap<\/strong> reform programme, developed following the 2025 Queensland Racing Review<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government said the new structure is designed to reduce operational duplication and clarify accountability across Queensland\u2019s thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing sectors. Racing Queensland will appoint a chief integrity officer with the same standing as the organisation\u2019s chief executive. The officer will report directly to the racing minister, the Racing Queensland Board and a new board subcommittee responsible for integrity and animal welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sport and Racing Minister Tim Mander<\/strong> said the racing sector contributes more than A$2.5bn to Queensland\u2019s economy each year and supports about 14,000 jobs. He said the revised structure would improve efficiency while maintaining independent oversight of integrity and animal welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reforms follow other measures under The Next Lap, including the appointment of a new Racing Queensland Board in March 2026 and plans for a A$200m (US$141.7m) Racing Future Fund<\/strong> for racing infrastructure. The government accepted 79 of the 110 recommendations from the 2025 independent review in full and a further 26 in principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new model differs from the government\u2019s December 2025 approach, which proposed transferring QRIC\u2019s non-core functions to Racing Queensland while retaining a separate commissioner of stewards to oversee racing integrity and report to the minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The QRIC was established in 2016 following a government inquiry triggered by revelations of live baiting in Queensland\u2019s greyhound racing industry. The commission oversees integrity and animal welfare across the state\u2019s three racing codes.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Australia\u2019s gambling ad reforms pass Parliament<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The restructuring forms part of Queensland\u2019s The Next Lap programme and follows changes proposed after the 2025 Queensland Racing Review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":777039906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Queensland Government is restructuring its racing governance by combining Racing Queensland and the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) functions under a new model. This reform, part of \"The Next Lap\" programme, aims to reduce operational duplication and clarify accountability while retaining separate, robust oversight of integrity and animal welfare. A new Chief Integrity Officer will report directly to the Racing Minister and the Racing Queensland Board.","focusai_entities":"Racing Queensland, Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC), Queensland Government, Sport and Racing Minister Tim Mander","focusai_location":"Queensland, Australia","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.7), investor_analyst (0.8), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Integrity Oversight Impact?","query":"How will the new Chief Integrity Officer's dual reporting structure ensure independent oversight and prevent potential conflicts of interest within the consolidated entity?"},{"label":"Future Fund Allocation?","query":"What specific criteria will govern the allocation of the A$200m Racing Future Fund, and what are the projected returns on investment for racing infrastructure and industry growth?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,154],"tags":[289,225,233],"class_list":["post-777047664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-legislation-news","tag-australia","tag-legislation","tag-sports-betting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777047664"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777047704,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047664\/revisions\/777047704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777039906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777047664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777047664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777047664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}