How do I find Australian Legislation
There are two types of legislation:Acts (often called statutes) and delegated (also called subordinate) legislation.
1. Statutes
Statutes are laws made by parliament. They are made at two levels of
government:
Commonwealth and State/Territory.
The Constitution defines the areas for which the Commonwealth has power
to make laws.
1.1 Principal and amending Acts
Parliaments are constantly amending Acts. Once an Act is amended it becomes
known as the Principal Act. Principal Acts make up the main body of legislation.
Other Acts are amending Acts, and they either amend or repeal principal
Acts.
1.2 Finding an Act or Statute in its original form
Acts can be located on the library catalogue by searching the series title,
ie Acts of the Commonwealth are listed on the catalogue as: The Acts
of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia,
The Acts of NSW are listed as: The Statutes of New South Wales.
To locate an Act in its original form, ie when it first came into force,
you need to know the year and number.
The next step is to check the catalogue under the title of the series,
then go to the appropriate place on the shelves.
Acts are bound by year and number.
Eg. To search for the print copy of the Trade Practices Act 1974
(Cth)
- Search the Library catalogue for Commonwealth Acts. Select the "Title (first words)" option from the "Search Type" box.
- Select the required record from the results list. Note the call number listed on the catalogue record.
- Go to the appropriate call number on shelves and select the volume for 1974. The Acts for each year are listed according to number. Check the index at the front the first volume for 1974 for the number of the Act and the page number.
All paper copies of Acts and statutes for the Commonwealth and States and Territories are located in the K section on Level 4 of the Library.
If you know the year the Act was passed but not the number, check the alphabetical listing of Acts in the front of the volume.
If you don't know the year the Act was passed:
- For the Commonwealth, check the consolidated Table of Acts shelved with the Commonwealth Acts at KTA 38.
- For NSW statutes, check NSW Legislation in Force held at the Information Desk on Level 2 of the Library.
- NSW Legislation in Force is also available online from http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/
Parliaments are constantly amending legislation so there will be many
occasions when the bound volumes of original Acts are no longer up-to-date.
There are several ways of locating current legislation.
2. Reprinted Acts
If an Act has been significantly
altered by amending legislation it may be reprinted incorporating all
amendments made up to the time of printing.
Reprinted Acts are filed alphabetically by short title and filed in reprinted
acts binders.
They are generally shelved directly after the original bound volumes of
Acts and statutes, eg reprinted Acts for the Commonwealth are shelved
at KTA 38.2; Reprinted statutes of NSW are shelved at KTA 2138.3.
If you need to know the details of amendments since the last reprint of
an Act you will need to consult a statute annotator.
Examples held in the Library include:
- Commonwealth Statutes Annotations KTA 41/1973/Suppl.
The latest edition is kept at the Information Desk on Level 2. - NSW Statutes Annotations KTA 2138.9.4. The latest edition is kept at the Information Desk on Level 2.
- To check for any amendments postdating publication of the annotator, check the tables updating the lists of amended Acts in current awareness services such as Australian Current Law (on LexisNexis AU or in print at Law Ref KU 11.A87.)
- Australian
Legal Monthly Digest (on LawbookCo.com.au or in print at Law Ref
KU 11.A89.)
3. Electronic Sources
Current versions of full-text legislation available at Macquarie University
Library can be accessed via relevant databases such as:
AustLII which gives access to
the full text of current legislation for all states and territories and
LawLex which also gives access
to the full text of current legislation for all states and territories.
In addition, LawLex has a premium research facility that gives access to additional material such as bills, explanatory memoranda, lists of amendments to the principal act (and citing the affected section(s), commencement information and links to the governing department. The premium research option is password protected. The login and password can be obtained from the Information Desk on Level 2 of the Library.
ComLaw - a new legislative repository that will eventually replace SCALEPlus (see below). ComLaw currently contains:
- Current Commonwealth primary legislation (from January 2005 onwards)
- The new Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI). Under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 this is now the authoritative source for legislative instruments.
SCALEplus - As of January 2005, SCALEPlus content is in the process of being migrated the new legal repository, ComLaw (see above). Current content on SCALEPlus consists of:
- All historical databases (Commonwealth and non-self-governing territories)
- Statutory Rules that are not in force
- the legislation of the non-self-governing territories
- Links to Commonwealth bills and explanatory memoranda from 1996..
SCALEPlus does not provide access to any Commonwealth case law. Nor does it provide any access to the legislation or case law of the States and Territories.
See also 4.2 for links to Parliament web sites providing access to full text legislation.
4. Subordinate Legislation
Delegated or subordinate legislation refers to laws made by persons or
authorities to whom Parliament has delegated law-making authority.
Included in this category are rules, regulations, by-laws and ordinances.
Parliament delegates the authority through a statute.
The Act authorizing the delegated legislation is known as the enabling Act.
While the Act will set out the broad principles, the delegated legislation is designed to provide the level of detail necessary for the Act to operate successfully.
4.1 Finding a print copy of a regulation in the Library
Delegated legislation is listed on the catalogue under the title of the
series
eg for NSW regulations the catalogue entry reads: New South Wales Rules,
regulations, by-laws, ordinances, etc. issued during the year,
with appendix and index. Delegated legislation is filed by year and number.
It may also be reprinted when significant amendments are made.
All delegated legislation for the Commonwealth and States and Territories
is located in the K section on Level 4 of the Library.
4.2 Electronic Resources
Web sites containing full text delegated legislation for the Commonwealth and the States and Territories include:
- Timebase LawOne
- AustLII
- NSW Legislation
- ComLaw (Commonwealth only)
Parliament sites are also good sources of current legislation.
- See http://www.gov.au for links to all Australian government web sites.