Commonwealth Acts and Regulations: Official Version
Use the following databases and websites to find the authoritative or official version of online Commonwealth Acts & Regulations:
| NOTE: The Federal Register of Legislation (formerly ComLaw) includes the only database of Australian Government legislation that is authoritative for the purposes of legal proceedings. SEE: ‘Authoritative Acts Database Declaration 2011’ in Commonwealth, Gazette: Special, No S 7, 17 January 2011. SEE: GN 3, 25 January 2011 | PDF 3.37MB pp 261 - 292 (including: Special Gazettes S 7, S 10 - S 11, 2011) |
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Commonwealth Acts - CURRENT by Title A-Z (FRL - Official)Browse current Acts by Title A-Z - includes current compilations of principal Acts.
You can choose to view either Current or Superseded (point in time) versions (Note – Repealed/Ceased legislation also appears under the Superseded tab).
When you click on the title of the legislation you will be presented with a number of view tabs which may include – Act, Leg Instrument, Bill, ES/Supp Material, Enabled by, Amends, Modifies or Repeals. -
Commonwealth Numbered (As-Made) Acts 1901- (Federal Register of Legislation - Official)Browse Acts by Year / Number from 1901- to current.
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Lawlex PremiumContains current Commonwealth legislation plus all Australian States and Territories, historical versions across all Australian States and Territories, commencement tables, history of amendments, Bills and EMs, 2nd Reading speeches and other legislative material.
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Capital Monitor - LexisNexisLexisNexis Capital Monitor provides parliamentary, political, legislative, regulatory and judicial news and information almost as soon as it is available. Coverage includes federal, state and territory Parliaments, government departments, agencies, courts and key stakeholders in public policy, including industry, associations and not-for-profits.
Commonwealth Acts and Regulations: Unofficial Versions
The databases linked below provide unofficial, unauthorised online versions Commonwealth Acts & Statutory Rules in full text. These databases can be useful for research purposes but they do not provide official or authorised versions of Commonwealth legislation.
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Commonwealth Numbered Acts (AustLII) 1901 -This database contains copies of Commonwealth of Australia Numbered Acts from 1901. The Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department maintains ComLaw, a website of Commonwealth legislation. All material herein is reproduced by permission, but does not purport to be the official or authorised version.
Find Commonwealth Acts & Subordinate Legislation on a Subject
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Lawlex PremiumAdvanced Search - Search Legislation: Search in Title or Full-text search.
Browse Legislation: Select Jurisdiction, subject Category and Sub-Category. -
Halsbury's Laws of AustraliaHalsbury's Laws of Australia is a comprehensive legal encyclopaedia written in a clear, concise form covering all Australian law.
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Federal Register of Legislation (formerly ComLaw) Advanced SearchThe Federal Register of Legislation (formerly ComLaw) Advanced search link is on the top tool bar.Type keywords (or exact phrase eg water efficiency) & Choose content to search (ie Title only, Full text etc) & click on Search at the bottom of the screen.
Finding Commencement dates, Amendments and Repeals
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Federal Register of Legislation (formerly ComLaw) Legislation Tables (FRL & Office of Parliamentary Counsel))This website provides links to Legislation Tables with repeal and commencement information for Acts and Regulations & Rules, prepared by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
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Lawlex PremiumCommencement Tables: provide commencement information for Acts and Regulations in all jurisdictions, for specific years.
Act and Regulation homepage: in all jurisdictions, also provides commencement information. Go to Lawlex Premium Research > View the Commencement Information and View the History of Amendments to this Title.
Finding Subordinate Legislation Enabled under a Principal Act
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Lawlex PremiumSearch or browse for the principal Act > on the Act page click on View Regulations under this Act.
Commonwealth Annotated Legislation
Annotated legislation titles provide (i) the text of the Act, Regulation or Rule, (ii) a section by section legislative history (ie commencements, amendments, repeals) and (iii) some annotated legisalation titles provide commentary and case references.
Examples of Commonwealth annotated legislation titles include:
- Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth): Australian Bankruptcy Act 1966 with Regulations and Rules (CCH IntelliConnect)
- Civil Dispute Resolution Act 2011 (Cth): Practice & Procedure High Court & Federal Court of Australia (LexisNexisAU)
- Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth): Australian Competition and Consumer Law Legislation (CCH IntelliConnect)
- Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth): Miller’s Australian Competition and Consumer Law Annotated (Westlaw AU)
- Copyright Act 1968 (Cth): Law of Intellectual Property: Copyright, Design and Confidential Information (Westlaw AU)
- Evidence Act 1995 (Cth): Cross on Evidence (LexisNexisAU)
- Evidence Act 1995 (Cth): Uniform Evidence Law (Westlaw AU)
- Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth): Australian Fair Work Act 2009 with Regulations and Rules: Legislation (CCH IntelliConnect)
The following databases provide annotated legislation:
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CCH IntelliConnectCCH publications include Australian tax, law, accounting, human resources & industrial relations, occupational health & safety, financial planning, business management and superannuation resources.
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Lexis Advance PacificAustralian legal database including law reports, legislation, law journals, commentary and texts. Key titles include Halsbury’s Laws of Australia, Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary, CaseBase, and the Australian Law Reports (ALRs).
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Westlaw AUAccess to legislation, case law, commentary, journals, news and precedents that are easy to find and apply, providing you with the detail and insight you need to make better decisions.
Find Equivalent Legislation in Other Australian Jurisdictions
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Halsbury's Laws of Australia (LexisNexisAU)Halsbury's Laws of Australia identifies equivalent legislation for the Commonwealth and the States and Territories for each topic with applicable legislation. .SEE: the Footnotes identifying relevant Acts, and sections. NOTE: the currency date for the paragraph.
Keeping up to date ....
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Bills Track (Parliament of Australia)Browse to the Bill homepage for a 'Current Bill' of interest, click on the "TRACK" button to register for email alerts regarding progress of the Bill. Once you have registered you can add additional 'Current Bill' titles to your profile.
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Federal Register of Legislation (formerly ComLaw) AlertsSubscribe to email alerts from the Federal Register of Legislation (formerly ComLaw). Use the 'Advanced Search' to type search terms eg Act title. Click on the 'Subscribe' button and follow the prompts to register for email alerts based on your search criteria.
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Lawlex Legislative AlertsACU staff only email alerts on new and changed legislation.
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FlagPost (Parliament of Australia Library)Blog containing information and research from Australia's Commonwealth Parliamentary Library.
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Tracker News CCH IntelliConnectOn the CCH IntelliConnect homepage look for the “Tracker News” link in the tool bar at the top of the left browse/contents panel. Click on the “Tracker News” link, then > Click 'here' to configure Trackers. Select the Trackers you wish to receive. You will be prompted to enter your email address and name.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Library - new publications
This RRS feed captures new publications prepared by the Parliamentary Library’s Research Branch for the purpose of supporting the work of the Australian Parliament, including:
Bills Digests provide an independent perspective on legislation. They are written to assist members of Parliament in their consideration of Bills. Search Bills Digests
Research Publications are written in areas where there is a high level of interest. Some publications provide an in-depth evaluation of an issue while others provide a factual overview. Browse by topic
Monthly Statistical Bulletin provides a collection of the latest economic and social statistics.
Quick Links
to Key Commonwealth Legislation Databases
Bills, EMs and Statements of Compatibility with Human Rights
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Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 15AB Use of extrinsic material in the interpretation of an Act (including): (e) any explanatory memorandum relating to the Bill containing the provision, or any other relevant document, that was laid before, or furnished to the members of, either House of the Parliament by a Minister before the time when the provision was enacted; |
Introduction:
Explanatory Memoranda (EM) explain the contents and purpose of a bill in plain English. Explanatory Memoranda contain a clause by clause description of a bill. Explanatory Memoranda came into regular use from about 1978/1982 and are kept with bills. Explanatory Statements have been issued for Commonwealth Regulations since 1993.
Browse the Parliamentary Library's Explanatory Memoranda Index to find out whether there was an EM for the bill you are researching. In some cases, this index will link to the EM.
'Was there an EM?': Explanatory Memoranda and Explanatory Statements in the Commonwealth Parliament by Patrick O'Neill from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library provides an overview of Explanatory Memoranda.
If you can't find the EM electronically, but you think there was one, you will need to look for the hardcopy EM which will be located with its corresponding hardcopy Bill.
Use the following databases and website to find online Bills and EMs:
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Commonwealth Bills & Explanatory Materials (Parliament of Australia)Coverage: Bills for the current and previous parliaments, from Parliament No 38 (30/04/1996 to 09/11/1998) -
Bills and Explanatory Memoranda, with links 2nd Reading Speeches, Bill Digests and references to Committees, can be accessed from each Bill homepage.
NOTE: From 21 November 2013 the Human Rights Committee's Statement of Compatibility with Australia's human rights obligations is published in the Explanatory Memorandum to a Bill, usually as ATTACHMENT A in the Expalanatory Memorandum.
Forthcoming Bills are listed in "Legislation proposed for introduction". -
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human RightsThe Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights was established on 2 December 2013. The committee is established by the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. Section 7 of the Act sets out the functions of the committee. This committee examines bills for acts, legislative instruments and other matters before parliament for compatability with human rights from the 44th Parliament - .
NOTE: From 21 November 2013 the Committee's Statement of Compatibility with Australia's human rights obligations is published in the Explanatory Memorandum to a Bill, usually as ATTACHMENT A in the Expalanatory Memorandum. -
Bills Lists (Parliament of Australia)Provide a complete list of all bills before Parliament for the current calendar year and details of their progress through both houses of Parliament.
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Lawlex PremiumBills to Principal amd Amending Acts: Go to Lawlex Premium Research > View the Bill. Coverage: Bills selectively from 1995 - .
Bill Tracking: for all ljurisdictions, information about a Bill's progress through Parliament from 1st Reading to Assent.
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Bills and Committees (Parliament of Australia)Provides links to Bills recently referred to House and Senate Committees. The Bill homepage also indicate whether a Bill has been referred to a Committee. See also House and Senate Committees, for example, the
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. -
Commonwealth Bills (AustLII)Commonwealth of Australia Bills from 1981 -
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Commonwealth Explanatory Memoranda (AustLII)Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda (EMs) for Bills from 1980 -
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Commonwealth Bills and EMs (Federal Register of Legislation)Browse Commonwealth Bills and EMs by title or year from 1996 - .
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
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Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 15AB Use of extrinsic material in the interpretation of an Act (including): (f) the speech made to a House of the Parliament by a Minister on the occasion of the moving by that Minister of a motion that the Bill containing the provision be read a second time in that House; |
NOTE: The Minister's 2nd Reading Speech can also be found with the relevant Bill and EM via the websites and databases listed under Bills and EMs above.
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Parliament of Australia Hansard SEARCHSearch Parliament of Australia, House of Representative and Senate, Hansard from 1901-
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House of Representatives Hansard 1901 -Parliament of Australia House of Representatives Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, from 1901-
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Senate Hansard 1901 -Parliament of Australia Senate Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, from 1901-
Parliament: Reports of Committees
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Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 15AB Use of extrinsic material in the interpretation of an Act (including): (c) any relevant report of a committee of the Parliament or of either House of the Parliament that was made to the Parliament or that House of the Parliament before the time when the provision was enacted; |
The Parliament of Australia has House of Representatives, Senate and Joint Commitees. Joint Committees are administered by either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
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House of Representatives Committees: Register of Committee Reports 1901 - (Parliament of Australia)The Register of Committee Reports is a complete list of all House of Representative and Joint Committee Reports from 1901 to the current day. The list of reports can be browsed by Parliament, Committee Name or Subject. Where an electronic version of a report is available a link to the report is provided.
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House of Representatives Committees: General Information (Parliament of Australia)This website provides information about Committee powers and procedures, current committees and enquiries and recently tabled reports.
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Senate: Register of Senate Committee Reports (1970-2011) (Parliament of Australia)Reports listed in this register were tabled by Senate committees and the joint committees administered by the Senate Committee Office. Entries are listed by committee name, subject matter and year of tabling. The Register information for each report includes Date Tabled, Committee name and Parliamentary Paper (PP) numbers. Some entries have a date for the tabling of a government response. The Register does not provide links to the full text of reports - use the links following to access the reports in full text.
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Senate: Committee Reports tabled since 1997 - (Parliament of Australia)This page provides links for current and former Senate Committees, since 1997. For any Committee click on "Completed Inquiries" link to access the full text of a report.
NOTE: The Parliament Bills homepage includes information about Committee reports relevant to the Bill. -
Senate: Significant Committee Reports tables before 1997 (Parliament of Australia)This page provides link to selected significant Senate Select and Senate Standing Committee Reports from the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's. For example, "Percentage Players - The 1991 and 1993 Fairfax ownership Decisions", tabled June 1994 and "Through a Glass Darkly - Evaluation in Australian Health and Welfare Services", tabled 1979.
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Senate Committees - General information (Parliament of Australia)This website provides information about Senate Committee powers and procedures, current committees and enquiries and recently tabled reports.
Parliament: Votes & Proceedings of the House of Representatives and Journals of the Senate
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Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 15AB Use of extrinsic material in the interpretation of an Act (including): (h) any relevant material in the Journals of the Senate, in the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives or in any official record of debates in the Parliament or either House of the Parliament. |
House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings and the Journals of the Senate are the official 'minute' of parliamentary proceedigns and decisions.
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House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings - 43rd Parliament 2011-The Votes and Proceedings are the official record of the proceedings of the House of Representatives. This record contains the proceedings and decisions of the House and the Federation Chamber; and the attendance of Members in the House, including any leave.
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House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings – from 1901 to 2010 (Parliament of Australia)House of Representative Votes and Proceedings for every Parliament since 1901 are available in searchable PDF.
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The Journals of the Senate 2002 -The Journals of the Senate are the official record (minutes) of the proceedings of the Senate and the most authoritative source of information about Senate activities and decisions. They record all actions taken by the Senate in the course of its proceedings. Browse a chronological listing of Journals. PDF version.
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The Journals of the Senate 1973 -HTML version
Reports of a Royal Commission, Law Reform Commission, committee of inquiry or other similar bodies
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Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 15AB Use of extrinsic material in the interpretation of an Act (including): (b) any relevant report of a Royal Commission, Law Reform Commission, committee of inquiry or other similar body that was laid before either House of the Parliament before the time when the provision was enacted |
Introduction: The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) Report of the Inquiry "Making Inquiries: A New Statutory Framework", ALRC 111 was tabled in February 2010 and has not, as yet, been implemented. The Inquiry Report provides background information about the role of Royal Commissions and other official inquiries. See Chapter 2. History and Role of Public Inquiries and Chapter 3. Overview of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth).
Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC):
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Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) - Reports of InquiriesThe ALRC conducts inquiries - sometimes called references - into areas of law reform at the request of the Attorney-General of Australia. This website provides access information about all ALRC inquiries since the Commission was established in 1975.
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ALRC Reports of Inquiries (AustLII)This website provides access to the full text for all ALRC Reports of Inquiries as well as many Background, Discussion and Issues papers.
Royal Commissions: Current:
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Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse - Current Royal CommissionOn Friday 11 January 2013, Her Excellency Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, issued Letters Patent to appoint a six-member Royal Commission to investigate Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Letters Patent also define the scope and Terms of Reference for the Royal Commission. The Honourable Justice Peter McClellan has been appointed Chair of the Commission.
This is the official website for the Royal Commission.
Royal Commissions: Past
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Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry 1902 - (Parliament of Australia-Library)This list includes all Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry (the nomenclature varies) appointed by the Australian Government from 1902, under the provisions of the Royal Commissions Act 1902. It does not include Royal Commissions appointed by Australian state or territory governments, unless the Australian Government was also involved. The list includes the Title, Date of Letters Patent–Date Final Report Presented, Commissioners, Report (Year / Volume / Pages) / Report (Year / Paper No.), States involved in the inquiry.
Accessing Reports: (i) The list provides links to the full text of some Reports; (ii) Search for Report titles in ACU Library Search and Trove (or Libraries Australia).