The Queensland police minister, Mark Ryan, says he has not considered allowing the police commissioner to have “no confidence” powers to prevent the re-employment of up to 26 sacked police officers whose dismissals could now be invalidated.
Guardian Australia revealed on Tuesday that more than 300 police who were disciplined could have their punishments revoked, after the state’s court of appeal found the force’s practice for instigating disciplinary proceedings was “not valid”.
A 12-month time limit introduced to fast-track the internal discipline process means that most sanctions handed to officers could not be pursued again.
Of particular concern are 26 former police officers who were sacked in recent years, for various reasons including serious misconduct, criminal conduct and sexual harassment.
It is understood that officers whose punishments are overturned could be legally entitled to resume their employment. Officers could also be entitled to compensation.
The police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, told reporters on Thursday she was seeking industrial relations advice “to stop [sacked officers] from returning where I can”.
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That process is further complicated because the commissioner does not have the same say over police sackings as her counterparts in other states. Queensland laws do not give the commissioner “no confidence” powers to dismiss police officers, even in circumstances of where their conduct could undermine public confidence in the force.
Successive commissioners have lobbied for such powers. At an inquiry last year, Carroll said she needed powers to sack officers who were unfit for the job. The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has said she was open to considering such powers.
On Thursday, Ryan appeared to rule out any move to introduce “no confidence” powers to deal with the likely invalidation of hundreds of disciplinary matters. Asked if Carroll had again raised the need for the powers, the minister said there had been no discussion.
“There is a process around dismissing officers, as there are processes around dismissing any employee … wherever you work there are industrial protections,” Ryan said.
“There are processes in the Queensland police service … if those discipline processes corroborate that offending behaviour, people can be dismissed.”
Carroll said police were less worried about cases where punishments had already been served – such as officers ordered to perform community service, or temporarily demoted. But it is understood officers might still be able to seek compensation if those punishments are found to be invalid.
Police are still reviewing disciplinary cases to determine which might be invalidated due to a failure to appoint a specific “prescribed officer” to oversee their matters.
On Thursday police released crime statistics that said domestic violence was a “major concern”. It is understood domestic violence allegations against officers are among the internal disciplinary matters now under a cloud.
Experts and advocates said they were shocked that sanctions might be overturned, and renewed calls for the internal affairs system of “police investigating police” to be overhauled. The government is still considering recommendations from the inquiry to install a civilian-led body to handle complaints.
The Crime and Corruption Commission has notional oversight of police discipline, but in practice has little involvement in the day-to-day management of cases.
The CCC declined to answer questions about its role in, or knowledge about, the process that has potentially invalidated sanctions.
