Contents

Part 1--Preliminary                                                                                                              1

1............ Short title [see Note 1] ........................................................................ 1

2............ Commencement ................................................................................... 1

2A......... Schedule(s) ......................................................................................... 2

3............ Object .................................................................................................. 2

4............ Definitions .......................................................................................... 2

5............ Definition--a legislative instrument .................................................... 5

6............ Instruments declared to be legislative instruments ............................... 6

7............ Instruments declared not to be legislative instruments ......................... 7

8............ Definition--power delegated by the Parliament ................................ 11

9............ Rules of court are not legislative instruments .................................... 11

10.......... Attorney-General may certify whether an instrument is legislative instrument or not                11

11.......... Reconsideration and review of Attorney-General's certificate .......... 12

12.......... When do provisions of legislative instruments take effect? ............... 15

13.......... Construction of legislative instruments ............................................. 16

14.......... Prescribing matters by reference to other instruments ....................... 17

15.......... Effect of repeal of legislative instrument ........................................... 17

Part 2--Drafting standards                                                                                            19

16.......... Measures to achieve high drafting standards for legislative instruments   19

Part 3--Consultation before making legislative instruments                     20

17.......... Rule-makers should consult before making legislative instruments .. 20

18.......... Circumstances where consultation may be unnecessary or inappropriate 21

19.......... Consequence of failure to consult ..................................................... 21

Part 4--The Federal Register of Legislative Instruments                            22

Division 1--The Register                                                                                           22

20.......... Federal Register of Legislative Instruments ...................................... 22

21.......... Manner of keeping Register .............................................................. 22

22.......... The status of the Register and judicial notice of legislative instruments and compilations         23

23.......... Rectification of Register .................................................................... 23

Division 2--Registration of legislative instruments made, or treated as made, on or after commencing day                                                                                                               25

24.......... Legislative instruments required to be registered under this Division 25

25.......... Lodgment for registration under this Division .................................. 25

26.......... Explanatory statements ...................................................................... 26

27.......... Registration under this Division ........................................................ 26

Division 3--Registration of certain legislative instruments made before commencing day        27

28.......... Legislative instruments required to be registered under this Division 27

29.......... Lodgment for registration under this Division .................................. 27

30.......... Registration under this Division ........................................................ 29

Division 4--Effect of registration                                                                         30

31.......... Effect of failure to register a legislative instrument required to be registered under Division 2                 30

32.......... Effect of failure to lodge for registration a legislative instrument required to be registered under Division 3            30

Division 5--Compilations                                                                                          32

33.......... Compilations to be registered ............................................................ 32

34.......... Secretary may require provision of compilations for registration purposes               33

35.......... Information to be included with a compilation .................................. 34

35A....... Incorporation of amendments in reprints of legislative instruments .. 34

Division 6--Early backcapturing                                                                          36

36.......... Inclusion in database established in anticipation of the enactment of this Act            36

Part 5--Parliamentary scrutiny of legislative instruments                          38

37.......... The purpose of the Part ..................................................................... 38

38.......... Tabling of legislative instruments ...................................................... 38

39.......... Additional material to be tabled with the legislative instrument ......... 39

40.......... Regulations may specify manner of delivery of certain documents ... 39

41.......... Incorporated material may be required to be made available .............. 39

42.......... Disallowance of legislative instruments ............................................ 40

44.......... Legislative instruments that are not subject to disallowance .............. 41

45.......... Effect of a legislative instrument ceasing to have effect ..................... 44

46.......... Legislative instruments not to be remade while required to be tabled 45

47.......... Legislative instruments not to be remade while subject to disallowance 45

48.......... Disallowed legislative instruments not to be remade unless disallowance resolution rescinded or House approves .......................................................................................................... 46

Part 6--Sunsetting of legislative instruments                                                       48

49.......... The purpose of the Part ..................................................................... 48

50.......... The sunsetting of legislative instruments to which this Part applies .. 48

51.......... Attorney-General may defer sunsetting in certain circumstances ...... 50

52.......... Attorney-General must lay lists of instruments due for sunsetting before each House of the Parliament 51

53.......... Resolution that instruments continue in force .................................... 52

54.......... Instruments to which this Part does not apply ................................... 53

Part 7--Miscellaneous                                                                                                        57

55.......... Instruments made but not finally dealt with before the commencing day   57

56.......... Relationship of certain gazettal requirements to registration requirements                 58

57.......... Effect on existing tabling and disallowance requirements ................. 58

58.......... Delegation ......................................................................................... 60

59.......... Review of operation of this Act ........................................................ 60

60.......... Review of operation of the sunsetting provisions ............................. 60

61.......... Existing references to Legislative Instruments Act ............................ 61

62.......... Regulations ....................................................................................... 61

Schedule 1--Amendment of other legislation                                                      62

Acts Interpretation Act 1901                                                                                    62

Notes                                                                                                                                              63

An Act relating to the making, registration, Parliamentary scrutiny and periodic repeal of legislative instruments, and for related purposes

  

Notes to the Legislative Instruments Act 2003

Note 1

The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 139, 2003 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 was amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2006 (No. 1) (SLI 2006 No. 50). The amendment is incorporated in this compilation.

For all relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions see Table A.

Table of Acts

Act	Number and year	Date of Assent	Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions
Legislative Instruments Act 2003	139, 2003	17 Dec 2003	Ss. 3-62: 1 Jan 2005 Schedule 1: (see s. 2(1)) Remainder: Royal Assent
Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2004	62, 2004	26 May 2004	Schedule 1 (items 46-50): (a)	--
Australian Federal Police and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2004	64, 2004	22 June 2004	Schedule 2 (item 8): (b)	--
Protection of the Sea (Powers of Intervention) Amendment Act 2006	44, 2006	22 May 2006	23 May 2006	--
Customs Legislation Amendment (New Zealand Rules of Origin) Act 2006	166, 2006	12 Dec 2006	1 Jan 2007	--
Australian Citizenship (Transitionals and Consequentials) Act 2007	21, 2007	15 Mar 2007	Schedules 1-3: 1 July 2007 (see s. 2(1) and F2007L01653) Remainder: Royal Assent	--
Native Title Amendment Act 2007	61, 2007	15 Apr 2007	Schedule 1 (item 47A): Royal Assent	--
Maritime Legislation Amendment Act 2007	150, 2007	24 Sept 2007	Schedule 1 (items 21, 22): 1 Jan 2008 (see F2007L04141)	--
Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2007	166, 2007	25 Sept 2007	Schedule 1 (items 1-8, 10, 13-16, 19, 21): 1 Jan 2008 (see F2007L04788) Remainder: Royal Assent	--
Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Amendment Act 2008	20, 2008	26 May 2008	Schedule 2 (items 4-7): 1 July 2008	Sch. 2 (item 7)
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008	125, 2008	25 Nov 2008	Schedule 3 (item 48): 26 Nov 2008	--
Evidence Amendment Act 2008	135, 2008	4 Dec 2008	Schedule 3 (item 8): 4 Dec 2009	--
Water Amendment Act 2008	139, 2008	8 Dec 2008	Schedule 2 (item 2): 15 Dec 2008 (see F2008L04656)	--
Fair Work (State Referral and Consequential and Other Amendments) Act 2009	54, 2009	25 June 2009	Schedule 5 (item 42): (c)	--
Fair Work Amendment (State Referrals and Other Measures) Act 2009	124, 2009	9 Dec 2009	Schedule 2 (item 133): 1 Jan 2010	--
Acts Interpretation Amendment Act 2011	46, 2011	27 June 2011	Schedule 1 (items 111-116) and Schedule 3 (items 1, 9, 11): 27 Dec 2011	Sch. 3 (items 1, 9, 11)
Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2011	89, 2011	4 Aug 2011	Schedule 3: (d)	--
Legislative Instruments Amendment (Sunsetting) Act 2011	98, 2011	15 Sept 2011	16 Sept 2011	Sch. 1 (item 4)
Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) (Consequential Provisions) Act 2011	187, 2011	7 Dec 2011	Schedule 1 (item 4): 4 Jan 2012 (see s. 2(1))	--

(a)     Subsection 2(1) (item 12) of the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2004 provides as follows:

                 (1)   Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, on the day or at the time specified in column 2 of the table.

 

Commencement information
Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Provision(s)	Commencement	Date/Details
12.  Schedule 1, items 46 to 50	Immediately after the commencement of section 3 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.	1 January 2005

(b)     Subsection 2(1) (item 10) of the Australian Federal Police and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2004 provides as follows:

                 (1)   Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

 

Provision(s)	Commencement	Date/Details
10.  Schedule 2, item 8	The later of: (a) the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent; and (b) immediately after the commencement of section 3 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. However, the provision(s) do not commence at all if the event mentioned in paragraph (b) does not occur.	1 January 2005 (paragraph (b) applies)

(c)     Subsection 2(1) (item 13) of the Fair Work (State Referral and Consequential and Other Amendments) Act 2009 provides as follows:

                 (1)   Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

 

Provision(s)	Commencement	Date/Details
13.  Schedule 5, items 32 to 64	Immediately after the commencement of Part 2-4 of the Fair Work Act 2009.	1 July 2009

(d)     Subsection 2(1) (items 3 and 4) of the Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2011 provides as follows:

                 (1)   Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

 

Provision(s)	Commencement	Date/Details
3.  Schedule 2	A day or days to be fixed by Proclamation. However, if any of the provision(s) do not commence within the period of 12 months beginning on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the day after the end of that period.	1 September 2011 (see F2011L01793)
4.  Schedule 3	Immediately after the commencement of item 1 of Schedule 2 to this Act.	1 September 2011

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted     am. = amended     rep. = repealed     rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected	How affected
Part 1
S. 4......................................	am. Nos. 98 and 187, 2011
S. 7......................................	am. Nos. 62 and 64, 2004; SLI 2006 No. 50; Nos. 20 and 139, 2008; Nos. 54 and 124, 2009
S. 13....................................	am. No. 46, 2011
Note to s. 13.......................	am. No. 46, 2011
Part 4
Division 5
S. 35A.................................	ad. No. 135, 2008
Part 5
S. 42....................................	am. No. 62, 2004
S. 44....................................	am. No. 62, 2004; No. 166, 2006; Nos. 21, 150 and 166, 2007; No. 20, 2008; No. 89, 2011
Part 6
Subheads. to s. 50(1)-(3).	ad. No. 98, 2011
Subhead. to s. 50(5)..........	ad. No. 98, 2011
S. 50....................................	am. No. 98, 2011
S. 54....................................	am. No. 62, 2004; Nos. 44 and 166, 2006; Nos. 61, 150 and 166, 2007; Nos. 20 and 125, 2008; No. 89, 2011

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Amendment Act 2008
(No. 20, 2008)

Schedule 2

7  Saving

Despite the amendments made to sections 44 and 54 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 by items 5 and 6 of this Schedule, those sections continue in force, after the commencement of this item, in relation to a section 28 notification (within the meaning of item 71 of Schedule 1) and a section 43 notification (within the meaning of item 72 of Schedule 1) as if those amendments had not been made.

Acts Interpretation Amendment Act 2011 (No. 46, 2011)

Schedule 3

1  Application--general

Subject to this Schedule, the amendments and repeals made by Schedule 1 apply, on and after the commencement of Schedule 1, in relation to Acts enacted before, on or after that commencement.

9  Saving--previous interpretation preserved

The amendments made by items 63, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 80, 82, 84, 85, 87, 88, 90, 104, 111, 113, 114 and 115 of Schedule 1 do not affect by implication the interpretation of:

                     (a)  subsection 33(1), (2), (3), (3A) or (3B) or 46(1) or (3) or section 34AA, 34AB or 34A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901; or

                     (b)  subsection 13(1) or (3) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003;

at a time before the commencement of those items.

11  Transitional regulations

The Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters of a transitional nature (including prescribing any saving or application provisions) relating to the amendments and repeals made by Schedules 1 and 2.

Legislative Instruments Amendment (Sunsetting) Act 2011 (No. 98, 2011)

Schedule 1

4  Application

The amendments of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 made by items 1, 2 and 3 of this Schedule apply in relation to a legislative instrument that is in force (or a provision of which is in force) on or after the day this Act commences, whether the instrument was made before, on or after that day.