Bills Digest No. 186 1997-98
National Measurement Amendment Bill 1998
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have
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the subsequent official status of the Bill.
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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