Bills Digest No. 150 2001-02
Statute Law Revision Bill 2002
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Statute Law Revision Bill
2002
Date Introduced: 16 May 2002
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Attorney-General
Commencement: Each item in Schedule 1 commences at the time
specified in column 2. Each item in Schedule 2 commences when the
amending Act commenced. There are various commencement dates
because the commencement of each item is tied to the commencement
of the provision that created the error. All other amendments
commence on Royal Assent.
Purpose
To correct
technical errors such as misspellings, punctuation errors,
numbering errors and incorrect cross-references that have occurred
in Acts as a result of drafting and clerical mistakes.
A statute law revision bill was first introduced
in the Commonwealth Parliament by the Fraser Government in 1981.
The then Attorney-General, Senator the Hon Peter Durack, explained
in his second reading speech that:
The Government has decided to introduce Statute
Law Revision Bills into the Parliament on a regular basis, at least
once in each year and, if required, once in each sitting. This will
enable the prompt correction of mistakes and errors and removal
from the statute book of expired laws. In the absence of the
regular passage of Bills of this kind, the correction of an error
in an Act can only be achieved by having a special Bill passed for
that purpose or waiting until the Act needs to be amended for some
other more important purpose.(1)
The then Opposition supported the introduction
of the Statute Law Revision Bill process. In the second reading
debate the then Shadow Attorney-General, Senator the Hon Gareth
Evans said:
The Statute Law Revision Bill is a fascinating
Bill, for the contents of which the Government is to be much
congratulated. The first innovation is the very existence of the
Bill as a vehicle a compendious vehicle for tidying up oversights,
errors and oddities that creep into even the best laid drafting
plans and also to accommodate minor changes that become necessary
because of changing circumstances. The Opposition notes that it is
the Government s intention to introduce housekeeping Bills of this
kind at least once each year, and perhaps every sitting. I, for
one, certainly applaud that as a rational legislative measure
aiding in the avoidance of the unnecessary cluttering of the
parliamentary process with what are on any view small issues most
of the time.(2)
Since 1981 there have been a number of Statute
Law Revision Bills, the most recent being in
1999.(3)
The Bill has two Schedules. Schedule 1 amends
errors in 20 Principal Acts, whereas Schedule 2 amends
misdescriptions in 23 amending Acts. The commencement date of each
item is tied to the commencement of the provision that created the
error. The effect of this process is that the error is taken to
have been corrected immediately after it was made. According to the
Explanatory Memorandum, none of the amendments proposed by
either Schedule will alter the content of the
law.(4)
Main Provisions
Due to the nature of the amendments proposed by
this Bill, the Bills Digest does not provide an item by item
analysis. However, Members, Senators and Parliamentary staff who
wish to have an analysis of specific provisions should contact the
Law and Bills Digest Group on (02) 6277 2526.
-
- Sen the Hon Peter Durack, Second Reading Speech , Statute Law
Revision Bill, House of Representatives, Debates, 27 May
1981, p. 2166.
- Sen the Hon Gareth Evans, op.cit., 28 May 1981, p. 2308.
- Statute Stocktake Bill 1999.
- Explanatory Memorandum, Statute Law Revision Bill
2002, p. 3 (paragraphs 8 and 15).
Rosemary Bell
29 May 2002
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared for general distribution to
Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. While great care
is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the
paper is written using information publicly available at the time
of production. The views expressed are those of the author and
should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services
(IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in
this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for
related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional
legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an
official parliamentary or Australian government document.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's
contents with Senators and Members and their staff but not with
members of the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2002
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior
written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
2002.
Back to top