Legal loophole in double jeopardy cases closed after amendment

Legal loophole in double jeopardy cases closed after amendment

Last-minute amendments to Queensland's double jeopardy laws could allow for the retrial of botched DNA cases.

DNA Lab Scandal is a case that brought Queensland's closed loop of forensic loopholes in the law of Double Jeopardy.

Brisbane, December 29 2025 – Amendments to Queensland laws on landmark legal changes to the state’s laws on double jeopardy have been passed, to eliminate a loophole in the law that is causing massive failures in the Forensic Science Queensland (FSQ) DNA laboratory. The reform guarantees that people who were previously acquitted due to committing a serious crime can be retried in case new or fixed forensic evidence is found, even in cases where …