"Exceptional" police powers to stop and search people for knives without reasonable suspicion will soon be expanded to public transport and nightclub precincts statewide.
Officers on the Gold Coast have already been using the powers to undertake random searches using detection wands under a trial in the holiday destination's safe night precincts.
More than 16,000 people have been searched, resulting in 197 weapons seized including knives, machetes and knitting needles, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament on Wednesday.
Close to 500 people were charged during the trial.
"Police have found wanding such an effective tool, that the trial of these powers will now be expanded for two years in all Queensland Safe Night Precincts and...into public transport," she said.
Trams, buses, trains and ferries, as well as public transport stations, will be included under the new laws.
Police Minister Mark Ryan said the trial will be extended for two years and expanded across Queensland under new laws soon to be introduced to parliament.
"These are exceptional powers, you don't see powers like this in many places around the world," he said.
Police on patrol don't "decide to run a wand over someone, for instance, who's elderly, walking through a safe night precinct," Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Wheeler said.
"Even though they don't need suspicion legally, police are still using this really, really strong power as judiciously as possible," he said.
"We want the community to trust us with it."
Failure to comply with a request to search is an offence.
The Queensland Government hopes to have the required legislation passed by mid 2023, and will name the expanded powers Jack's Law.
"Queenslanders would be well aware of the terrible tragedy in 2019 when Brett and Belinda's son, Jack (Beasley) was killed in the Surfers Paradise Safe Night Precinct in an incident involving a knife," Ms Palaszcuk said.
