In Queensland, the modern framework is found in section 132BA of the Evidence Act 1977 (Qld), which commenced on 15 September 2020. In a trial by jury, where the judge is satisfied that the defendant has suffered a significant forensic disadvantage because of the effects of delay in prosecuting an offence, the judge may give the jury a direction (and need not if there are good reasons not to) - informing them of the nature of that disadvantage and of the need to take it into account when considering the evidence.

Two features of the modern direction matter:

• Delay alone is not enough. The disadvantage must flow from the consequences of the delay - for example, witnesses who have since died or cannot be found, records or physical evidence that no longer exist, or the practical impossibility of establishing an alibi for events decades past. The mere passage of time, without more, does not qualify.
• The direction has limits. Under the current law the judge must not suggest to the jury that it would be dangerous or unsafe to convict, or that the complainant's evidence should be scrutinised with great care - the older, stronger formulation from the original case law. The direction identifies the disadvantage and instructs the jury to weigh it; it does not tell them what verdict to reach.