AUDITOR-GENERAL ACT 1997 - SECT 56A Constitutional safety net

AUDITOR-GENERAL ACT 1997 - SECT 56A

  (1)   If a provision of this Act:

  (a)   would, apart from this subsection, have an application (an invalid application ) in relation to:

  (i)   one or more particular persons, things, matters, places, circumstances or cases; or

  (ii)   one or more classes (however defined or determined) of persons, things, matters, places, circumstances or cases;

    because of which the provision exceeds the Commonwealth's legislative power; and

  (b)   also has at least one application (a valid application ) in relation to:

  (i)   one or more particular persons, things, matters, places, circumstances or cases; or

  (ii)   one or more classes (however defined or determined) of persons, things, matters, places, circumstances or cases;

    that, if it were the provision's only application, would be within the Commonwealth's legislative power;

it is the Parliament's intention that the provision is not to have the invalid application, but is to have every valid application.

  (2)   This Act does not enable a power to be exercised to the extent that it would impair the capacity of a State to exercise its constitutional powers.