Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Attorney-General, the Honourable Robert McClelland MPGeneral outline
1. This Bill amends the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA), which provides general rules for the making, registration and sunsetting of legislative instruments.
2. The policy intention of the LIA is that legislative instruments remain in force for 10 years after they made, but are subject to review before the end of that period. However, the current wording of section 50 of the LIA has the legal effect that instruments with retrospective commencement can sunset less than 10 years after they are made or, in some cases, sunset before they are made (because they need to operate longer than 10 years into the past). This minor amendment to the LIA addresses this issue by providing that the instrument remains in force for 10 years following registration on FRLI.
3. This change will achieve the dual policy aim of allowing instruments 10 years of operation from the time the rule-maker registers an instrument on FRLI and ensuring that regulation is reviewed on a regular basis. Regular review of legislation assists in achieving clearer laws.
Financial impact statement
4. The proposed Bill will not have any significant financial impact.