Queensland is a state of Australia, in the north-east of the country. It is the second largest state by area and the third largest state by population.

Queensland was originally a British Crown Colony that was separated from New South Wales in 1859. What is now Brisbane was originally the Moreton Bay penal colony, intended as a place to hold convicts who re-offended while serving out their sentences in New South Wales. Queensland's population is less centralized in the capital city than the rest of the country. At 30 June 2004 the capital city represented 45.7% of the population; for the whole country, capital cities represented 63.8% of the total population. In 2001, Queensland had a Gross Domestic Product of A$115.53 billion, A$31,000 per capita. Based on exchange rates (2005) this equals US$23,490, the third-lowest in Australia after Tasmania and South Australia.

In 2003 Brisbane city had the lowest cost of living of all Australia's capital cities. Day-to-day law enforcement is the reponsibility of the Wueensland Police Service, and the Australian Federal Police also have jurisdiction in federal matters.