Australian Legislation

Authoritative ACT Legislation

The ACT Legislation register is the authorised source for Australian Capital Territory legislation.

Acts

• As made - 1989 onwards

• In force

• Consolidated

• Repealed - including ordinances

• Commencement Information - 1989 onwards
  • The commencement date is the date on which an Act comes into effect. This can be specified in the Act itself, notified through the Government Gazette, or specified in general in an Interpretation Act

Bills - 1989 onwards

• Currently before Parliament
• Presented before Legislative Assembly from 1989
• Passed and awaiting notification
• Annual listing of bills discharged, negatived, withdrawn or lapsed, from 1989

Explanatory Statements - 1989 onwards

Explanatory statements have been issued as separate documents along with the bills since 1989.
From 1975 to 1981, a form of explanatory memorandum was attached to “Messages from the Minister” [for the Capital Territory] and was included in ACT Hansard.

Government Gazette - 1989 Onwards

A gazette is an official publication for the purpose of notifying the actions and decisions of the government

Statutory Rules

• Currently in force
• As notified, by year, from 1914
• Repealed subordinate laws are being progressively added
• Disallowance and amendment resolutions, from 1998

Legislative Tracking

Detailed table updates, available from 2000 onwards. Prior to being online, the updates were compiled in a publication called the Red Book. For more tracking information see the section of this guide on Legislative Status.

Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)

The transcripts of parliamentary proceedings in A.C.T's Legislative Assembly are known as Parliamentary Debates or Hansard. These provide background to the bill and can be found online. Note, the A.C.T Legislative Assembly is unicameral, meaning it consists of a single legislative chamber.