Parliament is the legislative arm of government. The term "legislation" refers to laws (called Acts or Statutes) enacted by parliament. There is also subordinate legislation (eg. Regulations or Rules), where parliament delegates its law-making powers to other bodies (eg. the Governor-in-Council).

Australian parliaments generally follow the English Westminster System, where each parliament comprises two separate chambers: the lower house and the upper house.

The lower house is referred to as the Legislative Assembly (LA), or House of Assembly (HA) in the States, and the House of Representatives in the Commonwealth. The government of the day is formed by the party with a majority of seats in the lower house. The upper house is referred to as the Legislative Council (LC) in the States and the Senate in the Commonwealth. A Bill must be passed by both houses in order to be enacted.

In Australia, there are nine legislatures:

The Commonwealth Parliament is granted power by the Commonwealth Constitution to legislate on specific topics, such as tax, trade and commerce, immigration and industrial arbitration.

The party that enjoys the support of a majority in the lower house forms government that is led by the Premier or Chief Minister (in the States), or the Prime Minister (in the Commonwealth).

Parliaments usually sit in autumn (March/April) and spring (August/September) and each session generally lasts approximately 10 to 14 weeks.

---

1. Bills

A Bill is a proposal for a law that is introduced into parliament. Most Bills are proposed by the political party in government, ie., the party holding the majority in the lower house. Whilst the role of the executive arm of government is to develop and administer policy, the role of the parliament (or legislature) is to examine and approve proposals for legislation and to monitor the effectiveness of its operation, often through the work of committees. Once passed by parliament and granted the Royal Assent by the Governor (in the state) or Governor-General (Commonwealth), the Bill becomes an Act.

In bicameral parliaments, such as the Commonwealth, two houses consider the Bills. Both houses must agree to a Bill in identical terms before it becomes a law.

The original ideas for government legislation come from various sources, such as election promises, parliamentary members and senators, interest groups in the community or from government departments.

Bills are drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and then usually examined by government committees. Bills are usually tabled in parliament with an explanatory memorandum. Generally, the relevant department is responsible for writing the explanatory memorandum. This is a plain English outline of the Bill followed by a clause-by-clause description of the Bill.

The Parliamentary Business Committee of Cabinet determines the program of Bills to be introduced for each parliamentary session.

1.1 First reading

A Bill is usually introduced to parliament the day after notice is given of its introduction (ie. notice of motion). When the originating house agrees to the motion, the Bill is formally introduced to parliament with its long title. Copies of the Bill are distributed to members.

1.2 Second reading

The second reading speech explains the purpose, general principles and effect of the Bill. It is usually read by the minister responsible, who presents an explanatory memorandum explaining the reasons for the Bill and outlines its provisions. Debate is then scheduled for future sittings. The purpose of this pause is to give members time to study the Bill and its effects before speaking and voting on it and to give time for public discussion.

1.3 Second reading Debate

The second reading debate usually commences several sittings after the first reading and involves debate by the opposition and other government speakers who have an interest in the Bill. At the end of this debate, the house may agree to the Bill in principle.

1.4 Detailed Consideration

Following the second reading debate, each house can propose changes at this stage (known as the committee stage), however all amendments must be approved by both upper and lower houses. Both houses must agree to a Bill in identical terms before it can become law.

1.5 Third reading

When a Bill is read a third time, all amendments will have been made. The house then votes and if supported by a majority, the Bill is passed. It then moves to the other house, where the same procedure takes place (first reading, second reading and third reading).

1.6 Royal Assent

Once passed by both houses, the Bill is presented to the Governor or Governor-General for assent on behalf of the Queen. The Governor-General may withhold assent, but this is rarely done. Once a Bill has received royal assent, it becomes an Act of Parliament and is assigned an Act number.

1.7 Commencement

Commencement is usually specified in section 2 of an Act. Typically it is:

---

2. Statutes (or Acts)

Statutes may be classified in various ways such as public, private, local, amending, consolidations, reprints, declaratory and cognate Acts. Please refer to the Glossary for the definitions of these various forms.

2.1 Formal structure of a Statute

The structure of a statute follows a traditional pattern. For historical reasons, however, not every word in the document is formally part of the statute. For example, marginal notes, footnotes, endnotes and headings are not part of Commonwealth Acts.

2.2 Number

All statutes are numbered, although they are generally identified by their short titles.

2.3 Date

Generally, this is the date that the statute received royal assent.

2.4 Long title

This title states the purpose of the statute.

2.5 Short title

The title used when referring to the statute.

2.6 Preamble

The preamble states the reasons for the enactment of the statute.

2.7 Sections

A statute is commonly divided into sections. These may be further divided into subsections, paragraphs and subparagraphs, clauses and sub clauses. Groups of sections are often referred to as chapters, parts, divisions and subdivisions.

2.8 Schedules

Schedules are often used to set out tables, forms or lists to which reference has been made in the body of the statute.

2.9 Purpose Clauses

Purpose clauses explain the reason why the legislation was passed.

2.10 Definitions Section

The definitions section generally appears at the beginning of a statute. Any words that are identified during the statute are generally typed in bold text. Sometimes a dictionary is found at the back of the Act.

2.11 Chapters, Parts, Divisions, Sub-divisions, Headings

It is common to arrange groups of sections in lengthy statutes into parts, divisions and subdivisions. These are usually provided with headings which serve as titles or subtitles to the particular group of sections.

2.12 Table of Contents & Indexes

Table of contents and indexes are used in many statutes, especially lengthy ones.

2.13 Sidenotes and Marginal Notes

These are intended to provide some guide to the contents or to the history of the section. They are not debated by parliament.

top

---

3. Delegated Legislation

Also known as subordinate laws, they are made by individuals or bodies authorised to do so by parliament.

Methods for making delegated legislation are prescribed by the statutes that authorise the particular form of delegated legislation. For instance, local government Acts may contain provisions for making by-laws by municipal councils. Delegated legislation must be made under the authority of a statute. It cannot exist on its own without a governing statute. A process involving signature, notification and tabling in parliament makes the most important forms of delegated legislation. Parliamentary involvement is required as a matter of constitutional principle. Once the instrument is drafted, the Governor-General or Governor must sign it, generally on the advice of the Executive Council. The next step is to publish, usually in the government gazette, the text of the legislation or a notice that it has been made. Finally, it is tabled in parliament and unless there is a motion for the disallowance within a specified number of sitting days, the formal procedures for its making are complete. Failure to table the delegated legislation in parliament means that the legislation is void. In all jurisdictions, it is also quite common for a statute to specify a two-step procedure: signature by the relevant minister and notification in the gazette. Tabling in parliament is not required.