How positions are computed

Scope: this page describes the position resolver for Queensland state bills only. Other jurisdictions (Australian federal bills, US federal bills) use different data shapes and cascades - see the Australian federal bills methodology for comparison.

TrackGov resolves each MP's position on each Queensland bill through a four-tier cascade. We always prefer the strongest direct evidence available, falling back to inference only when recorded evidence is absent.

The tier shown in the position modal tells you which level of evidence we used. Lower numbers mean stronger evidence.

The MP is named in a recorded Legislative Assembly division on the bill. This is the strongest evidence: the official roll-call list places the MP on Aye or No.

When a Tier 1 vote contradicts the MP's own party majority, we mark it as a rebellion.

No individual record exists for this MP on the bill. We infer the position from how the MP's parliamentary group voted on the division. If the group split or had no recorded position, we don't infer.

Tier 2 applies to MPs whose group had a clear majority position but who were absent from the vote. If the MP rebelled on any division for the same bill, Tier 2 is suppressed - we don't presume a position when we have direct evidence they broke with their group.

Tier 2 positions are marked presumed in the UI to make the inference visible.

No division was held on the bill at all. We infer the position from the bill's introducer: the introducing MP and members of their parliamentary group are presumed to support the bill. This is the weakest tier we will materialise.

Tier 3 positions are marked presumed in the UI.

There are two reasons we won't infer a position:

• Outside term - the MP's parliamentary term doesn't overlap with the bill's stages, so they had no opportunity to vote.
• No record - no division was held, and the MP isn't in the bill introducer's party, so we have no basis for inference.

Tier 4 is the only outcome where we explicitly say we don't know.

Freshness and versioning

Each position carries a last_updated timestamp and a resolver version number. When we change how the cascade decides, we bump the version so old computations can be recognised and re-run.

Source data - divisions, party rosters, bill metadata - is refreshed daily from the Queensland Parliament's public records.

Reporting an error

If a position looks wrong to you, we want to know. Email admin@trackgov.com with the bill, the MP, and what you saw.