Swanbank Public Health Inquiry
On 9 January 2025, the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services the Honourable Tim Nicholls announced an inquiry into the odour issues at the Swanbank and New Chum Industrial Estate, following concerns raised by the community.
The inquiry will investigate potential health effects of odours from the industrial estate and recommend actions that may be taken to mitigate any health-related impacts on local communities.
Public consultation events will be held with residents to understand their experiences and the impact of odour issues on the community.
Any relevant health-related evidence from 2016 to now will be included in the inquiry, to help account for historical and current complaints regarding health concerns from community members living near the industrial estates.
Inquiry process
The inquiry will be undertaken in 3 key phases:
- stakeholder engagement and information gathering
- community consultation, and
- health outcome data analysis.
Call for submissions – closes 31 March 2025
Community
As per the focus of the Swanbank and New Chum Public Health Inquiry, submissions are now open for the general public who have health-related concerns they attribute to odours from the Swanbank and New Chum Industrial Estates.
If you have already expressed your interest to meet with Dr Gerrard to discuss your health concerns, it will not be necessary to also provide a written submission.
Written submissions from community members should address the following matters:
- Outline the suburb you spent the most time in since 2016 when you were affected by the odour and how long you lived there, including if you are a current or past resident.
- Describe your experiences and the impact of the odour on your everyday life since 2016.
- Describe your health condition which you attribute to the odour including symptoms, frequency of symptoms, whether or not you have seen a medical professional, received a diagnosis, received treatment, and/or received a prescription to manage your symptoms.
Please refer to the Terms and Conditions below prior to emailing your submission.
Industry
As per the focus of the Swanbank and New Chum Public Health Inquiry, submissions are now open for industry bodies operating in the Swanbank and New Chum Industrial Estates to provide feedback and information to the Panel of Inquiry on the following matters:
- Detail when their organisation commenced operations at Swanbank and New Chum Industrial Estates.
- Describe the organisation’s activities from 2016 to present and document any significant change or increase to activities.
- Describe any actions taken by their organisation to mitigate the impacts of odour from their operations.
- Identify and describe potential solutions to odour impacts on local communities.
- Provide details of the health impact of odour on staff - number of staff, occurrences, types of illness attributed to odour, time off work.
Please refer to the Terms and Conditions below prior to emailing your submission.
Other stakeholders
As per the focus of the Swanbank and New Chum Public Health Inquiry, submissions are now open for other stakeholders to provide feedback and information to the Panel of Inquiry on any other matters relevant to the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference.
Please refer to the Terms and Conditions below prior to emailing your submission.
Terms and conditions for all submissions
The Queensland Government has commissioned a Public Health Inquiry into the possible health impacts from odours emanating from the Swanbank and New Chum Industrial Estates.
A Panel of Inquiry, chaired by Queensland’s former Chief Health Officer, Dr John Gerrard, has been established to investigate the potential health effects from these odours.
The Panel of Inquiry is seeking to obtain information from affected community members, industry, and other stakeholders.
The information you disclose will be provided to the Panel of Inquiry for the stated purposes of the Inquiry only, the information will not be used for any other purpose. The Panel of Inquiry can lawfully collect this information under the Public Health Act 2005.
The information you provide must be true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. It is unlawful to provide information which is false or misleading.
When the Panel has completed these public consultations and its other investigations it will prepare a report for the Health Minister. The Minister is required to table the report in Parliament.
Information you provide may form part of this Report. Individuals will not be identified in the Report nor will you be able to be identified by the information you provide.
The Panel has no authority to award compensation for health effects allegedly suffered as a consequence of odours emanating from the Swanbank and New Chum Industrial Estate. Any claim for compensation you may have, or wish to inquire about, cannot and will not be dealt with as part of this process.
Written submissions addressing the above points and including your full name and contact details (including phone number) should be emailed to PublicHealthInquiry_Swanbank@health.qld.gov.au by 5pm on 31 March 2025.
Terms of Reference
View the full terms of reference (PDF 135 kB).
Feedback is important to understand the experiences of community members and the impact of the odour from the Swanbank and New Chum Industrial Estates on their day-to-day lives.
For more information, email PublicHealthInquiry_Swanbank@health.qld.gov.au
Panel members
The Panel is comprised of:
- Dr John Gerrard, Former Queensland Chief Health Officer, Chairperson [appointed 6 January 2025]
- Dr Lyn Denison, Director LD Environmental [appointed 28 January 2025]