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This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
Statute Stocktake Bill 1999
Date Introduced: 30 March 1999
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Attorney-General
Commencement: Upon Royal Assent except for
the amendments to the Taxation Administration Act 1953
contained in Part 6 of Schedule 2, which do not commence until a
section 8AAB is inserted in the Taxation Administration Act
1953. The latter amendments will commence on Royal Assent if a
section 8AAB has been inserted by that time.
This is an omnibus Bill which proposes to repeal
redundant legislation, make amendments to other Acts consequential
on repeal of that legislation, and make savings and transitional
provisions.
The repeal of redundant legislation was one of
the 1996 election commitments of the current Government. The
Liberal and National Parties' Law and Justice Policy stated in 1996
that:
Our laws are an integral part of our
intellectual infrastructure. Like any other infrastructure, it
requires repair as well as reform.(1)
The Bill continues the process begun by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1996. The Bill was initially
introduced into the House of Representatives in a substantially
similar form on 1 July 1998. House of Representatives debate did
not proceed past the Attorney-General's second reading speech
before the 38th Parliament was prorogued. The background
to the statute stocktake is further discussed in Bills Digest No.
12 of 1998 on the Statute Stocktake Bill 1998 by Moira Coombs and
Bills Digest No. 24 of 1996 on the Statute Law Revision Bill 1996
by Ian Ireland.
Clause 2 provides that the Act
commences when it receives Royal Assent, except for the amendments
to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 contained in Part
6 of Schedule 2, which do not commence until a section 8AAB is
inserted in the Taxation Administration Act 1953. The
latter amendments will commence on Royal Assent if a section 8AAB
has been inserted by that time.
Clause 3 provides that each Act
referred to in a Schedule to the Bill is amended or repealed as set
out in the Schedule. The repeal of an Act does not affect the
operation of any amendment of another Act which was made by the Act
being repealed.
Clause 4 repeals the
Merchant Shipping Act 1894, an Imperial Act, so far as it
forms part of the law of the Commonwealth or an external Territory.
It provides that section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act
1901, which sets out the effect of repealing an Act, applies
to the repeal as if the Merchant Shipping Act had been an Act of
the Australian Parliament.
Schedule 1--Acts
repealed
Part 1--Repeal
Item 1 of Schedule 1 repeals 95
Acts. The Explanatory Memorandum states that these Acts have "no
current or future operation."(2) Due to the large number of Acts
which the Bill proposes to repeal, this Bills Digest does not
provide an Act by Act analysis of the effect of the repeals. Bills
Digest clients who require an analysis of specified Acts being
repealed should contact the relevant subject specialist in the
Parliamentary Research Service or Fiona Walker on (02) 6277
2513.
A selection of Acts specified in Schedule 1 are
briefly discussed:
Commonwealth Legal Aid Act 1977
The Commonwealth Legal Aid Act 1977 is
one of the Acts which Schedule 1 of the Bill proposes to repeal.
Section 7 of the Commonwealth Legal Aid Act provides for the
establishing of a National Legal Aid Advisory Committee. The Act
also provides for the transferring of certain Commonwealth
employees to State and Territory legal aid commissions.(3) Section
9 of the Commonwealth Legal Aid Act provides that the functions of
the Committee are to advise and make recommendations to the
Minister on issues such as the extent of the need for legal
assistance in Australia and the most effective, economical and
desirable means of satisfying that need, as well as the level of
Commonwealth funds to be provided for legal assistance.
On 2 May 1994, the Access to Justice Advisory
Committee, chaired by the Hon. Justice Ronald Sackville, presented
its report Access to Justice - an Action Plan to the
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. The Report noted that
NLAAC was not designed to provide a lead in developing Commonwealth
strategies on legal aid(4), and proposed to establish an Australian
Legal Aid Commission. In May 1995, the then Prime Minister
announced the abolition of the National Legal Aid Advisory
Committee, which was replaced by the Australian Legal Assistance
Board.
Companies (Acquisition of Shares - Fees) Act
1980
The Companies (Acquisition of Shares - Fees) Act
provides for fees to be paid for the lodgment, registration,
production, issuing, and so on of documents under the Companies
(Acquisition of Shares) Act 1980. As the 'parent' Act has been
replaced by Chapter 6 of the Corporations Law, which regulates the
acquisition of shares, the Companies (Acquisition of Shares - Fees)
Act is now redundant.
Companies (Fees) Act 1981
The Companies (Fees) Act 1981 provides
for fees to be paid for the lodgment, registration, production,
issuing, etc. of documents under the Companies Act 1981.
As the 'parent' Act has been replaced by the Corporations Law, the
Companies (Fees) Act is now redundant.
Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act
1946
The Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act was
enacted primarily to make provision for the security and defence of
the Commonwealth during the post-World War II transition from war
conditions to peace.
Environment (Financial Assistance) Act
1977
The Environment (Financial Assistance) Act
1977 provides for financial assistance to the States for
environmental projects. Section 4 of the Act allows the Minister to
agree with a State on financial assistance, which may be in the
form of a loan, to be provided by the Commonwealth to the State
under the Act in respect of amounts spent by the State or an
approved body on projects related to the environment.
Item 2 provides that despite
the repeal of this Act, States must repay to the Commonwealth any
amount that they would have been obliged to repay had the Act not
been repealed.
Matrimonial Causes Act 1971
The Matrimonial Causes Act 1971 makes
certain provisions for purported decrees under the Matrimonial
Causes Act 1959, which was repealed by the Family Law Act
1975.
Telecommunications (Interception - Carriers) Act
1992
The Telecommunications
(Interception-Carriers) Act 1992 was enacted to delay the
commencement of certain changes to the Telecommunications
(Interception) Act 1979. Section 3 provides that certain
definitions in the Telecommunications (Interception) Act are taken
to have continued in operation until immediately before the
licensing time, which is the latest time when a licence granted
under the Telecommunications Act 1991 (now replaced by the
Telecommunications Act 1997) came into force. The
operation of the Telecommunications (Interception-Carriers) Act
1992 is therefore spent.
Part 2--Savings provisions
Part 2 of Schedule 1 makes
savings provisions for some of the Acts where this is relevant. The
Explanatory Memorandum states that in doing so, the Bill "does not
infringe rights that anyone else has now."(5)
Item 2 provides that States
must repay to the Commonwealth any amount they would have been
obliged to repay if the Environment (Financial Assistance) Act
1977 had not been repealed.
Item 3 provides that despite
the repeal of the 1978-1984 and 1988 States Grants (Schools
Assistance) Acts, the conditions placed on grants under these Acts,
and any obligation to repay money to the Commonwealth if the
conditions were not met, apply as if the Acts had not been
repealed.
Item 5 continues the exemption
from liability in section 7 of the Temple Society Trust Fund
Act 1949. The Act provides for arrangements in relation to the
payment of money by the United Kingdom to the Commonwealth. The
payments arose due to the immigration of certain members of a
communal body known as the Temple Society, which was situated in
Palestine. Section 7 of that Act provides that neither the
Commonwealth nor the Minister are liable in connection with
anything done or omitted to be done in relation to the Fund or in
relation to any payment of money under that Act.
Schedule 2--Amendment of other
Acts consequential on repeal
Part 1--Amendment relating to the
Australian Bicentennial Road Development Trust Fund Act
1982 and the Australian Land Transport (Financial
Assistance) Act 1985
Item 1 removes references to
two repealed Acts from section 33 of the Australian Land
Transport Development Act 1988. Consequently, the section only
permits the Minister from deducting money out of an amount payable
to a State, authority or organisation, where the State, authority
or organisation owes money to the Commonwealth under the
Australian Land Transport Development Act 1988.
Item 2 repeals section 40 of
the Australian Land Transport Development Act 1988. The
section provides for the closing of two road development and land
transport funds at the end of 30 April 1989, or an earlier date if
determined by the Minister. Section 40 made provision for the
repayment of money under the repealed Australian Bicentennial
Road Development Trust Fund Act 1982 and the Australian
Land Transport (Financial Assistance) Act 1985 into the
Reserve. The section provided for the payment of money in an
existing fund to the States and approved organisations prior to
closing the funds on 30 April 1989, and for the repayment of money
into the Australian Land Transport Development Reserve after the
funds were closed. Section 40 also provides that where projects
were approved under particular provisions of the two repealed Acts
any money that would have been paid out of an existing fund may
only be expended on a project or program approved by the
Minister.
Item 3 repeals Schedule 1 of
the Australian Land Transport Development Act 1988, which
provides monetary limitations on allocations made before 1 July
1989 for State and Territory arterial roads and local roads.
Part 2--Amendment relating to the
Commonwealth Legal Aid Act 1977
Item 4 amends the National
Crime Authority Act 1984 so that its definition of "legal aid
officer" does not use the definition in the Commonwealth Legal
Aid Act 1977, which this Bill proposes to repeal.
Item 5 inserts new
subsection 87(6AA) into the Public Service Act
1922, so that subsection 87(6) continues to apply
notwithstanding the repeal of section 3 and Part IV of the
Commonwealth Legal Aid Act. The effect of this is that Part IV of
the Public Service Act, which covers officers holding public
offices or employed by public authorities, continues to apply to
certain persons while they are employed by an approved legal aid
commission or hold an approved statutory office within the meaning
of the Commonwealth Legal Aid Act 1977, due to the
operation of subsection 87(6) of the Public Service Act. Note that
Item 304 of the Public Employment (Consequential &
Transitional) Amendment Bill 1999 also affects the operation of the
Commonwealth Legal Aid Act, Part IV of which it proposes to
repeal.
Part 3--Amendment relating to companies,
futures and securities legislation
Items 7 to 13 make amendments
to various Acts consequent to the proposed repeal of various Acts
dealing with companies, futures and securities.
Part 4--Amendment relating to the
Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1946 and the
Defence Transition (Residual Provisions) Act 1952
Item 14 omits references to
Acts which Schedule 1 proposes to repeal from Schedule 1 of the
Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997, which excludes
those Acts from the operation of the Trans-Tasman Mutual
Recognition Act, so far as they relate to intellectual property
rights.
Item 15 amends the definition
of 'war widow' in the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 so
that the definition does not refer to widows receiving a pension or
compensation under the Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act
1946, which Schedule 1 of the Bill proposes to repeal.
Part 5--Amendment relating to primary
industry levies and charges
Item 16 repeals a reference to
decisions made under the Dried Vine Fruits Equalization Levy
Act 1978, which the Bill proposes to repeal.
Part 6--Amendment relating to other tax
legislation
Items 17 to 33 make
consequential amendments to legislation relating to tax, primarily
to remove references to legislation which the Bill proposes to
repeal, and make savings provisions.
Items 20-22 remove references
to statutes which Schedule 1 of the Bill proposes to repeal, from
Schedule 1 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review)
Act 1977. Schedule 1 of the AD(JR) Act lists classes of
administrative decisions that can not be reviewed under that Act.
Item 23 clarifies that the removal of references
to statutes which are proposed to be repealed from Schedule 1 of
the AD(JR) Act does not make decisions under those statutes become
reviewable under the AD(JR) Act.
Part 7--Amendment relating to the
Matrimonial Causes Act 1971
Item 34 makes a consequential
amendment to subsection 3(3) of the Family Law Act
1975.
Part 8--Amendment relating to the
States Grants (Roads Interim Assistance) Act 1977
Item 35 makes a consequential
amendment to subsection 35(4) of the States Grants (Roads) Act
1977.
Part 9--Amendment relating to the
Tuberculosis Act 1948
Items 36 to 48 make
consequential amendments to Acts affected by the repeal of the
Tuberculosis Act 1948 and clarify the application of these
amendments.
Part 10--Amendment relating to the
Re-establishment and Employment Act 1945
Items 49 to 59 make
consequential amendments to Acts affected by the repeal of the
Re-establishment and Employment Act 1945 and clarify the
application of the amendments.
Item 52 amends the Public
Service Act 1922 so that the definition of "returned soldier"
is a person who is a member of the Forces within the meaning of
section 139 of the Re-establishment and Employment Act
1945 immediately before its repeal. As the previous definition
in the Public Service Act used the definition of "returned soldier"
in both section 4 and section 139, it is not clear why the new
definition does not make reference to section 4 as well, given that
the definitions used in sections 4 and 139 are different.
Part 11--Amendment relating to the
Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (Imperial)
Part 11 makes consequential amendments to the
Navigation Act 1912 in so far as it is affected by the
proposed repeal of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894
(Imperial).
-
- The Liberal and National Parties' Law and Justice Policy, 23
February 1996.
- Explanatory Memorandum, Statute Stocktake Bill 1999,
p. 3.
- The Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional)
Amendment Bill 1999 proposes to repeal Part IV of the
Commonwealth Legal Aid Act 1977, which provides for the
transfer of certain persons employed by the Commonwealth to Legal
Aid Commissions of the States and Territories.
- Access to Justice - an Action Plan, Access to Justice
Advisory Committee, 1994, p. 248.
- Explanatory Memorandum, Statute Stocktake Bill 1999,
p. 3.
Fiona Walker
13 May 1999
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1999
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