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CONTENTS
Parliamentary Service (Consequential Amendments) Bill
1997
Date Introduced: 23 October 1997
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Prime Minister
Commencement: At the same time as the
Parliamentary Service Bill 1997.
The Parliamentary Service (Consequential Amendments) Bill 1997
makes a series of uncontroversial changes to the:
- Archives Act 1983
- Audit Act 1901
- Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act
1976
- Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973
- Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional)
Amendment Act 1997.
This Bill makes specific provision for changes to the above five
Acts consequent to the enactment of the Parliamentary Service
Act 1997. By comparison, the Public Employment (Consequential
and Transitional) Amendment Bill 1997, amends over 850 pieces of
legislation consequent to the enactment of the Public Service
Act 1997.
There are two reasons for the difference in size of the two
consequential provisions Bills.
First, references to the present Parliamentary Departments and
their officers appear in fewer pieces of legislation than do
references to the Australian Public Service and its officers.
Secondly, the present Bill should be read together with
Part 8 of the Parliamentary Service Bill which
also deals with transitional and consequential matters arising from
the creation of a separate Parliamentary Service.
Clauses 75 and 76 of the
Parliamentary Service Bill provide important mechanisms for
ensuring that there are no unintended consequences arising from the
passage of the new legislation.
As previously noted, all the proposed amendments are of a
machinery nature and uncontroversial. Two of the proposed measures,
however, may appear somewhat curious.
Items 1 5 of the Schedule provide for amendment
to the Audit Act 1901.
The Audit Act 1901 is to be repealed by the Audit
(Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 1996 and replaced
by three Acts including the Auditor-General Bill 1996. This
legislative package, which has not received the Royal Assent at the
time of writing, will not come into effect until a date set by
proclamation. In the interim, the 1901 Act continues to apply.
Hence, the need for the present amendment.
Item 10 repeals section 12 of the as yet to be
enacted Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional)
Amendment Act 1997. That clause, providing for the
continuation of the former Parliamentary Departments during the
transitional period and dealing with the application of the
Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act
1984, is now unnecessary having been overtaken by
clauses 66 and 75 of the
Parliamentary Service Bill 1997.
Bob Bennett
27 October 1997
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1997
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library,
Commonwealth of Australia
Last updated: 28 October 1997
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