The government has proposed new laws that would raise the limit for motor vehicle claims in QCAT from $25,000 to $100,000, as part of its crackdown on "lemon" cars and caravans.

The changes would mean more drivers stuck with dodgy cars could avoid an expensive court process.

The laws would also reinstate statutory warranties to older second-hand cars, meaning motor dealers would have to provide a warranty for cars more than 10 years old or that had clocked up more than 160,000 kilometres.

Queensland Law Society president Bill Potts said QCAT was already in a "very poor position financially".

"By that, I mean, it does not have the resources to deal with the [lemon laws] legislation," he told a parliamentary committee considering the government's bill.

"It is our urging that the government and this Parliament properly financially resource QCAT.

"I went to a function last week there ... It was universally described as a 'pressure cooker environment', and one which is in desperate needs of funds."

So-called lemons are vehicles with numerous defects that reoccur despite multiple repair attempts, or where defects have caused a car to be out of service for a long time.

Mr Potts' argument came after scathing comments by QCAT president Martin Daubney, who said members and registry staff had been "stretched beyond all reasonable and proper levels of tolerance".

"Any further delay in appropriate resourcing for QCAT will inevitably result in the tribunal being unable to deliver anything like quick and accessible civil justice to Queenslanders," Justice Daubney wrote in the tribunal's 2017-18 annual report.

"I am hopeful that the executive government will recognise and urgently address these resourcing issues."

Justice Daubney said readers of the report might be "shocked" to learn there had been no increase in the remuneration rates paid to QCAT's sessional members since the tribunal was established in 2009.

"They have not even had CPI increases," he said.

"That is just one illustration of the dire under-resourcing issues faced by QCAT."

Justice Daubney said QCAT had received a less than 1 per cent increase in funding since its inception, despite a 14 per cent increase in cases lodged.

There were 31,326 cases finalised in QCAT in 2017-18.

Justice Daubney said he was seeking appropriate funding to staff the lemon laws area as assessing vehicle defects was a specialised field.

When the government's bill was introduced into Parliament last year, Ashton Wood, from Facebook group Consumer Laws Australia, said owners of faulty cars in Queensland that cost more than $25,000 could not use the QCAT tribunal, and instead had to pursue their claim in the Magistrates Court.

"(This resulted) in many consumers on-selling their problematic vehicles or just putting up with the inconvenience of an unreliable vehicle rather than the expense of the Magistrates Court," he said.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said the government was committed to ensuring QCAT could remain a "one-stop shop" for accessible justice, appointing former District Court judge John Robertson to further increase its efficiency in the future.

"The Department of Justice and Attorney-General has reallocated an additional $530,000 to QCAT to assist in addressing workloads by providing additional funding for sessional members and support staff for the tribunal," she said.

Ms D'Ath said QCAT would also benefit from more than $2 million in funding to upgrade its Queen Street premises, including improvements to hearing and mediation rooms.