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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
National Measurement
Amendment Bill 1998
Date Introduced: 8 April 1998
House: House of
Representatives
Portfolio: Industry, Science and Tourism
Commencement: On Royal Assent
The amendments in this Bill will
correct some minor drafting errors in the National Measurement
Act 1960 and abolish the compulsory retiring age for the
Executive Director of the National Standards Commission.
Australia has a uniform system of weights and measurements,
which is implemented through the National Measurement Act
1960 (the Principal Act) and is administered by the National
Standards Commission (NSC). The Commonwealth's power to legislate
with regard to weights and measures is contained in paragraph 51
(xv) of the Constitution.
The field of law dealing with weights and measures is known as
legal metrology. Legal metrology comprises all measurements carried
out for any legal purpose and includes measurements that are
subject to regulation by law or government decree. In addition to
measurements administered by trade measurement authorities, legal
metrology also includes the measurement of electricity, gas, water,
telephone calls, parking fines and taxi charges. It also applies to
measurements in areas such as surveying, environmental monitoring,
occupational health and safety, for example, acoustic power and
ionising radiation and traffic control, for example, vehicle speed
and breathalysers.(1)
Amendments to the Principal Act in 1992 provided for
certification of reference materials, many of which come from
overseas, so that measurements made using such materials satisfied
the traceability provisions of the Act. Reference materials are
sample materials or substances which have properties that are well
established for the calibration of apparatus, the assessment of a
measurement method or for assigning values to materials. For
example, alcohol water solution is used to calibrate
breathalysers.
The 1992 amendments also provided for the certification of
measuring instruments used for legal purposes so that these
measurements would comply with the traceability provision of the
Act. Traceability is the ability to trace a measurement back to the
Australian and international primary standards. In order to
establish the legal validity of any measurement made in Australia
it must be shown that the measurement can be traced back to the
Australian primary standards.
The 1992 amendments introduced a definition of a 'certifying
body' which did not allow for existing bodies, such as chemical
laboratories, capable of certifying instruments and reference
materials to be appointed under the National Measurement
Regulations. Only new certifying bodies could be created under the
regulations. This Bill does not prevent the appointment of existing
certifying bodies by the National Standards Commission. This will
allow for measuring instruments and reference materials to be
certified more easily.
The operational sections of the Bill are found in
Schedule 1.
Item 1 removes the reference to certifying body
from the definition of certified reference instrument.
Item 2 removes the reference to certifying body
from the definition of certified reference material.
Item 3 repeals the definition of certifying
body.
Item 4 repeals subsection s.18AJ(2) of the
National Measurement Act 1960. This effectively abolishes
the compulsory retirement at 65 years of age for the Executive
Director of the National Standards Commission. This is in line with
current government policy to abolish compulsory age retirement at
age 65 for public servants (Public Service Bill 1997).(2)
Item 6 repeals the provision of the Principal
Act which allows for the establishment of certified bodies under
regulation.
These amendments will allow for the National Standards
Commission to certify instruments and reference materials more
easily by allowing the appointment of existing bodies to certify
such items, rather than having to establish new bodies.
The removal of compulsory age retirement for the Executive
Director will allow for greater flexibility in staffing
arrangements.
- National Standards Commission. Annual Report 1996-97,
14-15.
-
- For a more detailed discussion of compulsory age retirement see
'Compulsory Retirement: To their Last Breath?' Robert Bennett; Anne
Twomey. Current Issues Brief (Law and Public
Administration Group) no. 35 1994-95.
Catherine Lorimer
5 May 1998
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
Commonwealth of Australia 1998
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1998.
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