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2008-2009
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
STATUTE LAW REVISION BILL 2009
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Hon
Robert McClelland MP, Attorney-General)
STATUTE LAW REVISION BILL 2009
General Outline
The main purpose of this Bill is to correct technical errors that have
occurred in Acts as a result of drafting and clerical mistakes.
The Bill also contains amendments to remove gender-specific language, to
modernise language and to make other technical amendments in certain
legislation.
The Bill also repeals a number of Acts that are obsolete.
The Bill also amends Commonwealth Acts to ensure consistency of language.
The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 is being amended to ensure consistent
use of the expression "ballot paper". A large number of Commonwealth Acts
are amended to ensure consistency of language used to describe the internet
and internet-related technology.
The corrections and repeals are desirable in order to improve the quality
of the text of Commonwealth legislation and, in particular, to facilitate
the publication of consolidated versions of Acts by the Attorney-General's
Department and by private publishers of legislation.
None of the corrections make any change to the substance of the law.
Financial Impact
The Bill will have no financial impact.
Notes on clauses
Clause 1-Short title
Clause 1 provides for the Act to be cited as the Statute Law Revision Act
2009.
Clause 2-Commencement
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the Act.
Subclause 2(1) provides that each provision of the Act specified in column
1 of the table set out in the subclause commences, or is taken to have
commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in
column 2 has effect according to its terms.
The note at the end of the table explains that the table relates only to
the provisions of the Act as originally passed by both Houses of the
Parliament and assented to. The table will not be expanded to deal with
provisions inserted in the Act after assent.
Subclause 2(2) provides that column 3 of the table contains additional
information that is not part of the Act. It also clarifies that information
in column 3 may be added or edited in any published version of the Act.
The items in Schedule 1 to the Bill amend errors in principal Acts. All
items in the Schedule (other than item 27) commence on the day this Act
receives the Royal Assent. This is because the "slip rule" will have been
applied to each error since the enactment of the erroneous provision. This
means that the text of the law will have been taken to have been correct,
despite the error.
Current Commonwealth drafting practice is to avoid retrospective
commencement where practicable. Given the application of the slip rule, it
is appropriate for these amendments to commence on Royal Assent. The
amendments ensure that the text of the law accords with how it would be
interpreted.
Other amendments relate to errors in numbering, grammatical errors or
changes in drafting style, and it is appropriate that these amendments
commence on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent because they do not
change the substantive content of the law.
Item 27 is an amendment consequential on the enactment of the Fair Work Act
2009. It commences retrospectively. The item makes directly (in a corrected
form) a misdescribed amendment that is repealed by item 6 of Schedule 2.
The items in Schedule 2 to the Bill relate to misdescribed or redundant
amendments or errors contained in amending Acts. The commencement of those
items is tied to the time specified in the amending Act for the
commencement of the misdescribed or redundant amendment. Some of these
amendments repeal misdescribed amendments that have become redundant. These
amendments commence on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.
Schedule 3 repeals obsolete Acts and makes a consequential amendment to a
provision of another Act that refers to a repealed Act. The Schedule is to
commence on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.
Schedule 4 amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to change occurrences
of the expression "ballot-paper" and "ballot-papers" to "ballot paper" and
"ballot papers" respectively. Part 1 of the Schedule is to commence on the
day the Act receives the Royal Assent. Parts 2 and 3 commence on the same
day, immediately after Part 1. This is to ensure that the specific
amendments in Part 1 have commenced before the amendments in Parts 2 and 3
commence, thereby preventing any overlap between various amendments.
Schedule 5 amends a number of Acts to amend the language used to refer to
websites to ensure consistency. It also amends a number of Acts to change
capitalised occurrences of the term "Internet" to the non-capitalised
"internet". Part 1 of the Schedule will generally commence on the day this
Act receives the Royal Assent. The items in Part 1 that do not commence on
the day this Act receives the Royal Assent have commencements that are tied
to commencements of provisions of other Acts. Parts 2 and 3 will commence
on the same day, immediately after those items in Part 1 that commence on
the day this Act receives the Royal Assent. This is to ensure that the
specific amendments in Part 1 have commenced before the amendments in Parts
2 and 3 commence, thereby preventing any overlap between various
amendments.
Clause 3-Schedule(s)
Clause 3 provides that each Act specified in a Schedule to the Act is
amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule and
any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its terms. This is a
technical provision to give operational effect to the amendments contained
in the Schedules.
Schedule 1-Amendment of principal Acts
The items in this Schedule amend errors contained in principal Acts.
Item 1
Subparagraph (d)(ii) of the definition of exploration licence in subsection
3(1) of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 contains a
typographical error. This item corrects that subparagraph so that it reads
"if subparagraph (i) does not apply", rather than "if
subparagraph (paragraph (i) does not apply".
Item 2
This item is consequential on item 6.
Items 3 and 4
Note 2 at the end of subsection 15(2) of the AusCheck Act 2007 refers
readers to subsection 13(3) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which
deals with prescription of matters by class. However, subsection 15(2) does
not allow any matters to be prescribed, so the note is redundant. Item 4
repeals the note and item 3 is an amendment consequential on item 4.
Item 5
Section 11 of the Banking Act 1959 contains 2 subsections (5). This item
renumbers the subsection (5) that was added to section 11 by item 3 of
Schedule 4 to the Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Review of
Prudential Decisions) Act 2008 as subsection (7).
Heading to section 97 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992
The Competition Policy Reform Act 1995 established the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission, which replaced the Trade Practices
Commission. A consequential amendment was required to the heading to
section 97 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to reflect this change,
however the consequential change was not made. The note appearing after
item 5 corrects the heading.
Item 6
Section 3 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 is not divided into subsections.
This amendment removes the redundant subsection number (1).
Item 7
Item 22 of Schedule 2 to the Classification (Publications, Films and
Computer Games) Amendment Act 2007 inserted subsection 91(1A) into the
Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995. The last
line of the subsection was incorrectly indented so that it applied to the
whole subsection. It was only intended to apply to paragraph (c) of that
subsection. This amendment corrects that indentation.
Item 8
Paragraph (c) of the cell in the column headed "Circumstances in which
information is to be given" of table item 13 in subsection 90B(1) of the
Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 refers to the Senator not being entitled to
a copy of a list under item 11 of that table. However, it is a member of
the House of Representatives who is to be given information under table
item 13. This item amends the reference so that it refers to "the member"
rather than "the Senator".
Item 9
Section 171 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 refers to a declaration
referred to in subparagraph 170(a)(ii). However, it is paragraph (1)(b)
that mentions a declaration. This item amends section 171 so that it refers
to paragraph 170(1)(b) rather than subparagraph 170(a)(ii).
Item 10
Subsection 265(2) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 incorrectly refers
to the "opinion of the assistant Returning Officer". As the provision for
the appointment of Assistant Returning Officers (section 33) uses initial
capital letters for the title, and all other occurrences in the Act also do
so, this item amends that subsection so that it refers to the "Assistant
Returning Officer".
Item 11
Subsections (2) and (3) of section 314AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act
1918 were repealed by the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 1995,
leaving only the text of subsection (1). This amendment removes the
redundant subsection number (1).
Item 12
Subsection 314AA(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 contains 2
occurrences of the word "or". This item omits the second of those
occurrences.
Item 13
Subsection 318(2) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 refers to the
Electoral Commissioner having been informed under paragraph (3)(c). That
paragraph relates to only one aspect of a written notice that is given
under subsection (3). This item corrects that cross-reference to refer to
subsection (3), instead of paragraph (3)(c).
Item 14
Subsection 390A(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 refers to a
warrant issued under section 10 of the Crimes Act 1914. Section 10 of the
Crimes Act 1914 was repealed in 1994. Subsection 390A(1) should refer to
section 3E of the Crimes Act 1914. This item corrects the incorrect cross-
reference.
Item 15
Section 480.4 of the Criminal Code creates an offence for dishonestly
obtaining or dealing in personal financial information. Section 480.6 of
the Criminal Code is intended to create an offence for importing a thing
into Australia with the intention that the thing be used in committing the
offence of dishonestly obtaining or dealing in personal financial
information under section 480.4, however paragraph 480.6(b) incorrectly
refers to section 480.3 (which deals with the constitutional application of
Part 10.8 of the Criminal Code and does not create any offence). This item
corrects the cross-reference.
Item 16
Paragraph 11(1)(b) of the Customs Act 1901 refers to the performance of
functions under "that Subdivision". No particular Subdivision is referred
to in that paragraph. On its face, the reference will be a reference to the
Subdivision of that Act mentioned in the preceding paragraph, that is,
Subdivision DA of Division 1 of Part XII. No functions are conferred on
magistrates under that Subdivision. The cross-reference is instead intended
to be a cross-reference to Subdivision C of Division 1B of Part XII of that
Act. This item corrects the cross-reference.
Item 17
Subsection 64AE(1) of the Customs Act 1901 contains a cross-reference to
section 64AC of that Act. Section 64AC was repealed by item 5 of Schedule 6
to the Border Security Legislation Amendment Act 2002. This item amends
subsection 64AE(1) to remove the redundant cross-reference.
Item 18
Heading 3202 in Schedule 3 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 contains a
reference to "TANNING PREPARAT1ONS". In the word "PREPARATIONS", the letter
"I" is represented by the Arabic numeral "1". This item corrects that
typographical error.
Item 19
Section 59 of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 makes it an offence to
sell, deal, traffic or possess a prohibited drug. Under subsection 59(9) of
the of that Act, a prohibited drug includes an anabolic steroid within the
meaning of Part 5 of the Poisons and Drugs Act 1978 of the Australian
Capital Territory.
The Poisons and Drugs Act 1978 of the Australian Capital Territory was
repealed by the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008 of the
Australian Capital Territory, and the provisions relating to anabolic
steroids were included in the Crimes Act 1900 of the Australian Capital
Territory, making the cross reference in the Defence Force Discipline Act
1982 incapable of operating. This item corrects the cross reference.
Item 20
This item corrects an incorrect cross-reference that resulted from the
renumbering of section 129 of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 as
section 129D by item 73 of Schedule 1 to the Military Justice (Interim
Measures) Act (No. 1) 2009.
Item 21
The Military Justice (Interim Measures) Act (No. 1) 2009 reinstated the
provisions of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 largely as they existed
before the enactment of the Defence Legislation Amendment Act 2006. This
item reinstates a reference to section 160 of the Defence Force Discipline
Act 1982 that appeared before the enactment of the 2006 amending Act to
ensure the correct operation of the reinstated provisions.
Item 22
Section 146EA of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 was inserted by the
Military Justice (Interim Measures) Act (No. 1) 2009 with an incorrect
number. In order for the new section to appear in the correct numbering
sequence, it should have been numbered as section 148EA. This item corrects
the numbering error.
Item 23
The Military Justice (Interim Measures) Act (No. 1) 2009 reinstated the
provisions of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 largely as they existed
before the enactment of the Defence Legislation Amendment Act 2006, but
left in place certain provisions (including section 111B), relating to
elections, that were inserted by a later amending Act. This item inserts a
reference to section 111B to ensure the correct operation of the reinstated
provisions.
Item 24
Section 188GB of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 refers to "the a
court martial". This item corrects that typographical error.
Item 25
Paragraph 258(3)(d) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 applies where the "specified action...are conducted
in a way that will, so far as is practicable, keep to a minimum any impact
on the listed marine species concerned". This item corrects that
grammatical error.
Item 26
Item 63 of Schedule 1 to the Evidence Amendment Act 2008 repealed
section 128 of the Evidence Act 1995 and substituted a new section 128.
Subsection 128(8) was re-enacted in the same terms as subsection 128(10).
As a result, the cross-reference to subsection 128(8) in subsection 189(6)
of the Evidence Act 1995 is incorrect. This item corrects the cross-
reference so that it refers to subsection 128(10), rather than subsection
128(8).
Item 27
Item 244 of Schedule 22 to the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and
Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (the misdescribed amendment) purported
to amend subclause 4(1) of Schedule 10 to the Workplace Relations Act 1996.
However, the text omitted from subclause 4(1) did not exactly match the
text in that subclause and the misdescribed amendment could not be made.
This item remakes the amendment in a corrected form. Item 6 of Schedule 2
to this Act repeals the misdescribed amendment.
Item 28
This item amends paragraph 12G(2)(a) of the Family Law Act 1975 to insert a
missing semicolon after the word "information".
Item 29
This item amends paragraph 3(2)(b) of the First Home Saver Accounts Act
2008 to insert a missing closing parenthesis after "(3)".
Items 30 and 31
Several provisions of the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 (subsections
24(1), 28(1) and (2) and 40(1) and (2), and the Schedule, Forms 1 and 2)
refer to the "Department of Foreign Affairs" and the "Minister for Foreign
Affairs". The Department has changed its title since those provisions were
enacted, and the actual title of the Minister may change in the future.
These items will insert definitions to ensure that the relevant Department
or Minister is readily identifiable at any particular time, whilst not
being reliant on the actual title of the Department or Minister.
Item 32
The words "of the patient concerned" at the end of the definition of
excessive diagnostic imaging service in subsection 3(1) of the Health
Insurance Act 1973 have been indented incorrectly. These words are only
intended to relate to paragraph (b) of that definition. The indenting used
for the words indicates, however, that the words relate to the entire
definition. This item corrects that indenting.
Item 33
The First Home Saver Accounts (Consequential Amendments) Act 2008 made
amendments to change the concept "complying superannuation class of taxable
income" to "complying superannuation/FHSA class of taxable income" in the
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. The formula in subsection 210-175(2) also
required consequential amendment, however, this amendment was not made.
This item makes that consequential amendment.
Item 34
Item 34 makes a consequential amendment to subsection 47(1) of the Industry
Research and Development Act 1986 to remove a cross-reference to the
Industrial Research and Development Incentives Act 1976, which is being
repealed by item 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act.
Item 35
Item 7 of the Schedule to the Income Tax (International Agreements)
Amendment Act 1995 inserted definitions of the 1960 New Zealand agreement
and the 1972 New Zealand agreement after the definition of the Netherlands
agreement in subsection 3(1) of the International Tax Agreements Act 1953
(which was then known as the Income Tax (International Agreements) Act
1953). This location was incorrect. This item relocates the definitions of
the 1960 New Zealand agreement and the 1972 New Zealand agreement in
subsection 3(1) of the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 so that they
appear in the correct alphabetical location in the list of definitions in
the subsection.
Items 36 and 37
Subsections 267B(2) and 267Q(2) of the Navigation Act 1912 apply to the
carrying out of surveys by a survey authority. The subsections refer to
"the authority". Authority (with an upper case "A") is defined by
subsection 6(1) of the Act to mean the Australian Maritime Safety
Authority. These items amend references in subsections 267B(2) and 267Q(2)
from "the authority" to "the survey authority" to avoid confusion with the
defined term.
Item 38
Item 19 of Schedule 1 to the Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Miscellaneous
Measures) Act 2008 omitted and substituted text in (what was then)
subsection 142(6) of the Offshore Petroleum Act 2006 (now the Offshore
Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006). The text to be inserted
included an additional "the" so that the subsection read "the the
application". The Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Act
2008 provided for the renumbering of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse
Gas Storage Act 2006. Subsection 142(6) became subsection 168(6), however
the duplicated "the" remained. This item corrects the duplication.
Item 39
Subparagraph 24(2)(a)(i) of the Patents Act 1990 applies to information
given to "the Commonwealth or a State or Territory, or an authority of the
Commonwealth of a State or Territory". This item corrects that error.
Item 40
Schedule 1 to the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994 sets out the
International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants.
Subparagraph (1)(a)(ii) of Article 14 of that Convention reads
"conditioning for the purpose of propagation". The text as set out in
Schedule 1 does not accord with the text of the actual agreement. This item
corrects that error.
Item 41
A comma was included at the end of the text being inserted into paragraph
31(1)(a) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 by item 148 of Schedule 1 to
the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Act 2007, which
resulted in double punctuation. This item removes the double punctuation.
Items 42 to 44
Subsections 107(2), 108(4) and 109(2) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992
refer to paragraph 111(a) of that Act. However, section 111 contains more
than 1 subsection that contains paragraphs. The cross-references should be
to paragraph 111(1)(a). These items correct the cross-references.
Item 45
The definition of liquid assets in subsection 549C(2) of the Social
Security Act 1991 refers to "the day referred to in subparagraph
549A(4)(a)(i) or (ii)". However, it is subparagraph 549A(1)(a)(i) or (ii)
of that Act which mentions the relevant days. This item amends the
definition of liquid assets in subsection 549C(2) to correct the cross-
reference.
Item 46
The note to subsection 595(3) of the Social Security Act 1991 refers to
section 45 of the Employment Services Act 1994. The Employment Services Act
1994 was repealed by item 1 of Schedule 4 to the Financial Framework
Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2006. As a result, the note is redundant.
This item removes that note.
Item 47
This item removes from subsection 8W(1B) of the Taxation Administration Act
1953 cross-references to Parts of Chapter 2 of the Development Allowance
Authority Act 1992. That Chapter was repealed by item 47 of Schedule 2 to
the Tax Laws Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative Provisions) Act 2006.
Items 48 to 50
These items amend provisions of the Telecommunications (Interception and
Access) Act 1979 to add conjunctions at the end of a number of the
paragraphs and subparagraphs of subsection 35(1) of that Act for
consistency with current drafting practice.
Item 51
Paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act
1979 was repealed by item 15 of Schedule 1 to the Telecommunications
(Interception and Access) Amendment Act 2008. This item removes the cross-
reference to that paragraph in subparagraph 35(1)(k)(ii) of the
Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.
Item 52
Paragraph 80(b) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act
1979 used to refer to paragraph 53(1)(b) of that Act. Section 53 of that
Act was replaced by a new section 59A by item 27 of Schedule 1 to the
Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment Act 2008. The latter
Act also amended the cross-reference to section 53 in paragraph 80(b), so
that it refers to new subsections 59A(2) and (3). Parliament did not enact
proposed subsection 59A(3), however. This item fixes the cross-reference in
paragraph 80(b) accordingly.
Items 53 to 252
It has been Commonwealth practice since the early 1980s for legislation to
be drafted to avoid the use of gender-specific language. Exclusive
references to one or another gender are not permitted, except in the case
of legislation intended to apply to people of one sex but not the other
(for example, maternity leave legislation).
While paragraph 23(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that
words importing a gender include every other gender, existing statutory
provisions that use gender-specific language have been progressively
amended so as to replace such language with gender-neutral language. The
use of gender-neutral language in Acts is intended to make them more
inclusive.
Items 53 to 252 amend the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946 to replace
gender-specific language with gender-neutral language.
These items also make minor changes to spelling and expression to ensure
the provisions accord with current drafting style. These changes are as
follows:
a) change of expression to avoid the use of "shall" in accordance
with current drafting practice;
b) expression of dates in Arabic numerals, rather than words;
c) spelling "authorize" (and its other grammatical forms) with an
"s", instead of a "z";
d) spelling "recognize" (and its other grammatical forms) with an
"s", instead of a "z";
e) including conjunctions at the end of each paragraph in a list.
Where possible, paragraphs have been re-lettered so that they appear in
regular alphabetical sequence. Items 156, 196 and 209 update existing cross-
references in the Act that refer to paragraphs that have been re-lettered
by items in this Schedule. Item 229 makes an amendment consequential on the
enactment of the Fair Work Act 2009.
In addition, the Act is amended to remove references to section 43, which
was repealed by Schedule 1 to the Statute Law Revision Act 1973.
Item 252 is a transitional provision included to ensure that the amendments
made by this Act do not affect the validity or effectiveness of a
certificate that was granted under the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act
1946 before the commencement of the amendments.
Item 253
The definitions of type A funeral investment and type B funeral investment
in the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 were repealed by items 12 and 13 of
Schedule 4 to the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Legislation Amendment (Further 2007 Budget Measures) Act 2007. This item
removes them from the index of definitions in the Veterans' Entitlements
Act 1986.
Items 254 and 255
Subsection 118NH(2A) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 was inserted by
item 70 of Schedule 1 to the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (2007
Measures No. 1) Act 2007. This item commenced on 22 June 2007. An
additional subsection 118NH(2A) was inserted into section 118NH by item 88
of Schedule 1 to the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Legislation Amendment (Further 2007 Budget Measures) Act 2007, which
commenced on 1 January 2008. These items correct the duplication by
renumbering the earlier-inserted occurrence of subsection (2A) as
subsection (2B) and amending the cross-reference to the renumbered
subsection in subsection 118NH(3).
Items 256 and 257
These items omit the conjunction "and" from the end of subparagraphs
21(4)(c)(viii) and (ix) of the Water Act 2007, as the conjunction is
redundant.
Item 258
Paragraph 26(4)(b) of the Water Act 2007 contains a typographical error.
This item corrects that paragraph so that it reads "transfer of", rather
than "transfer or".
Item 259
Section 18 of the Water Act 2007 was repealed by the Water Amendment Act
2008. The section was replaced by a new section 250E, which is in the same
terms as the repealed section 18. Subsection 38(1) still refers to the
repealed section 18. This item corrects the cross-reference.
Item 260
Section 15 of the Water Act 2007 was repealed by the Water Amendment Act
2008. The section was replaced by a new section 250B, which is in the same
terms as the repealed section 15. Section 40 still refers to the repealed
section 15. This item corrects the cross-reference.
Item 261
Subsections 51(10) and 51(5) of the Water Act 2007 have the same effect.
This item repeals subsection 51(10) because it is redundant.
Item 262
Section 18 of the Water Act 2007 was repealed by the Water Amendment Act
2008. The section was replaced by a new section 250E, which is in the same
terms as the repealed section 18. Subsection 62(1) still refers to the
repealed section 18. This item corrects the cross-reference.
Item 263
Subsection 68(10) of the Water Act 2007 incorrectly refers to a "water
resource plan area located in different Basin State". This item corrects
the error by including the omitted indefinite article before "different".
Item 264
Paragraph 81(1)(b) of the Water Act 2007 incorrectly refers to "those water
resources (or for a part of those waters resources)". This item corrects
this typographical error.
Heading to section 184 of the Water Act 2007
Section 184 of the Water Act 2007 requires the Chief Executive of the
Murray-Darling Basin Authority to keep the Minister informed about various
matters. The heading to section 184 misdescribes the effect of the section
by mistakenly referring to the Chair of the Authority, rather than the
Chief Executive. Note 2 appearing after item 264 corrects the heading.
Item 265
The Water Act 2007 contains 2 sections 255A. This item renumbers the
section 255A that was inserted by item 161A of Schedule 2 to the Water
Amendment Act 2008 as section 255AA.
Schedule 2-Amendment of amending Acts
The items in this Schedule relate to misdescribed or redundant amendments,
or errors contained in amending Acts.
Item 1
Item 22 of Schedule 2 to the A New Tax System (Compensation Measures
Legislation Amendment) Act 1999 purports to amend step 4 of method
statement 2 in subpoint SCH6-A1(3) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.
However, the text after which the new text was to be inserted did not
exactly match the text in the existing provision. This item corrects that
misdescription.
Items 2 and 3
Item 114 of Schedule 2 to the Child Support Legislation Amendment (Reform
of the Child Support Scheme-New Formula and Other Measures) Act 2006 omits
and substitutes words from paragraphs 86(3B)(c) and 87(4D)(c) of the Family
Law Act 1975. The text to be omitted from paragraph 87(4D)(c) did not
exactly match the text in that paragraph. This item corrects that
misdescription by removing the reference to paragraph 87(4D)(c), which is
amended by item 3 accordingly.
Item 4
Item 9 of Schedule 2 to the Education Legislation Amendment Act 2008 omits
and substitutes words from subparagraphs 11D(1)(c)(i) and (ii) of the
Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000. The text to be omitted
did not exactly match the text in the subparagraphs. This item corrects
that misdescription.
Item 5
Items 54 and 55 of Schedule 1 to the Export Market Development Grants
Amendment Act 2008 omit certain terms from the list of terms defined in
Part 9 of the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997. The terms to be
omitted were incorrectly identified. This item corrects that error.
Item 6
Item 244 of Schedule 22 to the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and
Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (the misdescribed amendment) purports to
amend subclause 4(1) of Schedule 10 to the Workplace Relations Act 1996.
However, the text to be omitted from subclause 4(1) did not exactly match
the text in that subclause and the amendment could not be made. This item
repeals the misdescribed amendment. The consequential amendment is remade
directly (in a corrected form) by item 27 of Schedule 1 to this Act.
Item 7
Item 34 of Schedule 3 to the Families, Community Services and Indigenous
Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Support Reform Consolidation and Other
Measures) Act 2007 purports to omit text from section 98W of the Child
Support (Assessment) Act 1989. The text to be omitted did not exactly match
the text of section 98W. This item corrects that misdescription.
Item 8
A note to item 37 of Schedule 3 to the Families, Community Services and
Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Support Reform
Consolidation and Other Measures) Act 2007 purports to alter the text of
the heading to section 106A of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. The
text to be replaced by the amendment was not correctly described. This item
corrects that misdescription.
Item 9
Item 56 of Schedule 8 to the Families, Community Services and Indigenous
Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Support Reform Consolidation and Other
Measures) Act 2007 omits and substitutes words in paragraph 1067L-F7(b) of
the Social Security Act 1991. The words to be omitted did not exactly match
the text in the existing paragraph. This item corrects that misdescription.
Item 10
Item 29 of Schedule 1 to the Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Review
of Prudential Decisions) Act 2008 inserts a new paragraph (za) after
paragraph (z) of the definition of reviewable decision in subsection 236(1)
of the Life Insurance Act 1995. Paragraph (z) of that definition was
repealed by item 228 of Schedule 1 to the Financial Sector Legislation
Amendment (Simplifying Regulation and Review) Act 2007. This item corrects
the item heading, so that the new paragraph is inserted after paragraph (w)
of that definition.
Item 11
Item 47 of Schedule 1 to the Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Review
of Prudential Decisions) Act 2008 purports to amend subsection 113(1) of
the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993. Section 113 of the
Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 had already been repealed by
item 9 of Schedule 3 to the Financial Sector Legislation Amendment
(Simplifying Regulation and Review) Act 2007. Therefore, the amending item
is redundant. This item repeals the redundant amending item.
Item 12
Item 26 of Schedule 3 to the First Home Saver Accounts (Consequential
Amendments) Act 2008 amends the definition of reviewable decision in
subsection 236(1) of the Life Insurance Act 1995 by omitting and
substituting words. However, the item is inoperative because the words to
be omitted had already been omitted by item 28 of Schedule 4 to the
Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Review of Prudential Decisions) Act
2008. This item corrects that misdescription.
Item 13
Schedule 4 to the First Home Saver Accounts (Further Provisions) Amendment
Act 2008 commences on the later of 2 dates. The second date is stated to be
the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Family Law Amendment (De Facto
Financial Matters and Other Measures) Act 2008. That Act was amended by
parliamentary amendment, so that Schedule 1 did not have a single
commencement date. This item corrects the reference to the commencement
provision in the First Home Saver Accounts (Further Provisions) Amendment
Act 2008 so that it is clear what the second date is intended to be.
Item 14
Items 42 and 45 of Schedule 2 to the Further 1998 Budget Measures
Legislation Amendment (Social Security) Act 1999 purports to insert text
after the word "plus" in steps in the method statements in points 1067G-A1
and 1068-A1 of the Social Security Act 1991. However, the word "plus" does
not appear in the steps, but rather in the words at the foot of the method
statements. The provisions have been amended since the enactment of this
amending Act and there is no amendment that could be made to the amending
items to make them operative. This item repeals the amending items.
Items 15 and 16
Item 31 of Schedule 4 to the Native Title Amendment (Technical Amendments)
Act 2007 omits and substitutes words from subsections 251C(4) and (5) of
the Native Title Act 1993. The text to be omitted from subsection 251C(5)
did not exactly match the text in that subsection. Item 15 corrects that
misdescription by removing the reference to subsection 251C(5), which will
be amended by item 16 accordingly.
Item 17
Item 17 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security and Veterans' Affairs
Legislation Amendment Act 1995 purport to repeal and substitute subsections
9(3) and (4) of the Social Security Act 1991. However, item 14 of Part 7 of
the Schedule to the Social Security (Non-Budget Measures) Legislation
Amendment Act 1995 had already repealed the subsections. Therefore item 17
is redundant. This item repeals the redundant item.
Item 18
Item 4 of Schedule 8 to the Social Security and Veterans' Affairs
Legislation Amendment (Budget and Other Measures) Act 1998 omits and
substitutes words in paragraph 1231A(2)(b) of the Social Security Act 1991.
Subsection 1231A(2) is not divided into paragraphs. However, item 6 of the
same Schedule correctly amends subsection 1231A(2). Item 4 is therefore
redundant. This item repeals the redundant item.
Item 19
Item 69 of Schedule 3 to the Social Security and Veterans' Entitlements
Legislation Amendment (One-off Payments and Other Budget Measures) Act 2008
omits text that did not appear in paragraph 1(2)(a) of Schedule 2 to the
Social Security and Veterans' Entitlements Legislation Amendment (One-off
Payments to Increase Assistance for Older Australians and Carers and Other
Measures) Act 2006. The text should have been omitted from that paragraph
of Schedule 4 to that Act. This item corrects that misdescription.
Item 20
The heading to item 70 of Schedule 3 to the Social Security and Veterans'
Entitlements Legislation Amendment (One-off Payments and Other Budget
Measures) Act 2008 incorrectly refers to Schedule 4 to the Social Security
Legislation Amendment (One-off Payments for Carers) Act 2005. This item
amends the item heading so that it correctly refers to Schedule 2 to the
latter Act.
Item 21
Item 221 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Legislation Amendment
(Parenting and Other Measures) Act 1997 purports to repeal and substitute
an entry in column 4 of table item 49B in section 1190 of the Social
Security Act 1991. The item is misdescribed and could not be incorporated
in the text as it appeared at consolidation. There was no entry referring
to "Parenting Allowance Rate Calculator". There is no amendment that could
be made to the amending item to make it operative. This item repeals the
amending item.
Item 22
Item 22 of Schedule 7 to the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Youth
Allowance Consequential and Related Measures) Act 1998 purports to omit
words from column 4 of table item 49B of section 1190 of the Social
Security Act 1991. The text to be omitted did not exactly match the text of
the table item. The provision has been amended since the enactment of this
amending Act and there is no amendment that could be made to the amending
item to make it operative. This item repeals the amending item.
Item 23
The heading to item 1 of Schedule 2 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2006
Measures No. 1) Act 2006 incorrectly refers to subsection 12-5(2) of the
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. This item amends the item heading so that
it correctly refers to section 12-5 of the latter Act.
Item 24
Items 37 and 38 of Schedule 4 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2006 Measures
No. 4) Act 2006 purports to amend the table in section 112-87 of the Income
Tax Assessment Act 1997, however, the amendments were misdescribed and
could therefore not be consolidated in that Act. The intended amendments
were made effectively by items 91 and 92 of Schedule 3 to the Tax Laws
Amendment (2008 Measures No. 4) Act 2008. Therefore, the amending items in
the Tax Laws Amendment (2006 Measures No. 4) Act 2006 are redundant. This
item repeals those amending items.
Item 25
Item 217 of Schedule 1 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2007 Measures No. 4) Act
2007 purports to amend subsection 3A(2) of the Taxation (Interest on
Overpayments and Early Payments) Act 1983, however, the amendment was
misdescribed and could therefore not be consolidated in that Act. The
intended amendment was made effectively by item 186 of Schedule 3 to the
Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No. 4) Act 2008. Therefore, the amending
item in the Tax Laws Amendment (2007 Measures No. 4) Act 2007 is redundant.
This item repeals the redundant amending item.
Item 26
Item 42 of Schedule 4 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2007 Measures No. 4) Act
2007 purports to amend sub-subparagraph 47A(18)(d)(i)(G) of the Income Tax
Assessment Act 1936, however, the amendment was misdescribed and could
therefore not be consolidated in that Act. The intended amendment was made
effectively by item 12 of Schedule 3 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2008
Measures No. 4) Act 2008. Therefore, the amending item in the Tax Laws
Amendment (2007 Measures No. 4) Act 2007 is redundant. This item repeals
the redundant amending item.
Item 27
This item repeals items 88 to 90 of Schedule 12 to the Tax Laws Amendment
(2007 Measures No. 5) Act 2007, which amend the provisions of the
Industrial Research and Development Incentives Act 1976. The latter Act is
being repealed by item 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act. Therefore, the
amendments are redundant.
Item 28
Item 564 of Schedule 2 to the Tax Laws Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative
Provisions) Act 2006 purports to amend paragraph (a) of the definition of
rollover provision in subsection 326-220(4) in Schedule 2H to the Income
Tax Assessment Act 1936, however the amendment was misdescribed and could
therefore not be consolidated in that Act. The intended amendment was made
effectively by item 42 of Schedule 3 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2008
Measures No. 4) Act 2008. Therefore, the amending item in the Tax Laws
Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative Provisions) Act 2006 is redundant. This
item repeals the redundant amending item.
Item 29
Item 592 of Schedule 2 to the Tax Laws Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative
Provisions) Act 2006 purports to amend section 11-15 of the Income Tax
Assessment Act 1997, however the amendment was misdescribed. This item
corrects that misdescription so that the item heading of item 592 correctly
refers to the table item headed "foreign aspects of income taxation" rather
than "foreign aspect of income taxation".
Item 30
Item 52 of Schedule 3 to the Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business) Act 2007
purports to amend paragraph (b) of the definition of asset value in
subsection 328-225(3) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. The text to be
replaced by the amendment did not exactly match the text of the definition.
This item corrects that misdescription.
Item 31
Item 55 of Schedule 3 to the Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business) Act 2007
purports to amend paragraph 328-225(4)(b) of the Income Tax Assessment Act
1997. The text to be replaced by the amendment did not exactly match the
text of the paragraph. This item corrects that misdescription.
Schedule 3-Repeal of obsolete Acts
The items in this Schedule repeal obsolete Acts and make consequential
amendments to provisions of other Acts that refer to the repealed Acts.
Item 1
Item 1 repeals the Banking (Transitional Provisions) Act 1959 which deals
with transitional issues relating to the enactment of the Reserve Bank Act
1959, the Commonwealth Banks Act 1959 and the Banking Act 1959. Due to the
effluxion of time, the transitional provisions of the Act have no further
operation. Therefore, the Act is obsolete.
Item 2
Item 2 repeals the Industrial Research and Development Incentives Act 1976
which provides grants to promote the development and improve the efficiency
of Australian industry by encouraging industrial research and development
in Australia in matters relating to science and technology. The program is
no longer being administered and no further funding is being provided under
the Act. Therefore, the Act is obsolete.
Item 3
Item 3 repeals the Interactive Gambling (Moratorium) Act 2000, which
regulated the provision of interactive gambling services. The key operative
provision of the Act (section 10) ceased to have effect on 18 May 2001.
Therefore, the Act is obsolete.
Item 4
Item 4 repeals the Papua New Guinea (Application of Laws) Act 1973 which
provided that the Governor-General may make regulations providing that a
law of Papua New Guinea ceases to have effect. The Papua New Guinea
Independence Act 1975 has the same effect. Therefore, the Papua New Guinea
(Application of Laws) Act 1973 is obsolete.
Item 5
Item 5 repeals the Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 which provides
a framework to encourage voluntary disclosure and exchange of information
about possible problems, and possible remedies for, computer problems
associated with the commencement of the year 2000. Due to the effluxion of
time and the fact that there is no longer any need to exchange information
about this matter, the Act is obsolete.
Schedule 4-Amendment of references to "ballot-paper" and "ballot-papers"
The items in this Schedule amend references to the expressions "ballot-
paper" and "ballot-papers" occurring throughout the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918. Due to the age of the Act, and the number of amendments that have
been made to it, some inconsistency in use of the expressions has
developed. Some occurrences are hyphenated, while others are not. The
Macquarie Dictionary defines the term "ballot paper" without a hyphen.
Schedule 4 amends all hyphenated occurrences of the expressions to remove
the hyphen. Part 1 amends specific occurrences of the expressions, whilst
Part 2 amends all other references to "ballot-paper" and Part 3 amends all
other references to "ballot-papers".
Schedule 5-Amendments relating to use of the term "internet"
The items in this Schedule contain amendments relating to terms associated
with the internet. As technology has developed, the language used to
describe information technology concepts has become more consistent. The
amendments in this Schedule aim to ensure consistent use of language when
describing "websites" and other internet-related concepts.
Part 1
The items in this Part make specific amendments to many Commonwealth Acts
as follows:
f) replacement of references to "Internet site" or "Internet sites"
with references to "website" or "websites";
g) simplification of references to "on the Internet through that
Department's world-wide web site" to references to "through that
Department's website" (and similar occurrences);
h) replacement of references to "web site" (expressed as 2 words),
with references to "website" (expressed as one word).
Item 123 replaces a reference to "Internet Protocol" (with initial capital
letters) with a reference to "internet protocol" (with initial lower case
letters). This is to ensure consistency with amendments being made to other
similar expressions, all of which will have initial lower case letters.
Part 2
This Part amends a large number of Acts to change the capitalisation of the
word "internet". In most occurrences on the statute book, the term is
expressed as a proper noun. The use of the expression on the statute book
has increased, reflecting the fact that more and more information is being
made available electronically. The term appears uncapitalised in the
Macquarie Dictionary. These amendments across the statute book ensure that
use of the expression aligns with practical everyday usage to reflect usage
of the term as a common noun with an initial lower case "i".
Part 3
This Part exempts certain specific provisions from the amendments in Part
2. In these provisions, the word "internet" appears as the first word in a
sentence or heading and it would be grammatically incorrect for the
occurrence not to be capitalised.