LEGISLATION ACT 2001 - SECT 4 Application of Act

LEGISLATION ACT 2001 - SECT 4

    (1)     This Act applies to all Acts (including this Act) and statutory instruments.

    (2)     In particular, Acts and statutory instruments are taken to be made on the basis that they will operate in conjunction with this Act.

Examples

1     An Act imposes an obligation and provides that people who ‘fail' to carry out the obligation are liable to the penalty. The Act does not, however, define ‘fail' or indicate that the word is used in a special way. In accordance with this Act, dictionary, pt 1 (see s 144), the word ‘fail' includes ‘refuse'. In other words, a person who refuses to carry out the obligation will be subject to the penalty in the same way as someone who only neglects the obligation. In this case, the presence in an Act of a word that is defined in this Act attracts the operation of the definition in the dictionary.

2     The XYZ Act 2001 contains the following provision:

The Minister may determine fees for this Act.

Because the XYZ Act authorises a fee to be determined ‘for this Act', this Act, s 56 applies and therefore the provisions of pt 6.3 (Making of certain statutory instruments about fees) apply to the determination of fees under the provision. In this case, the operation of provisions of this Act is attracted because the XYZ Act 2001 contains a provision that triggers the application of the part.

Note     The determination of a fee by a Minister under an Act is a disallowable instrument and must be in writing (see s 9 (1) (b) and s 42 (2)).

    (3)     This section is a determinative provision.

Note     See s 5 for the meaning of determinative provisions, and s 6 for their displacement.