House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by the authority of the Attorney-General, the Honourable Robert McClelland MP

Schedule 5-References to specific Ministers

151 The items in this Schedule contain amendments relating to references to Ministers in Acts.

Part 1

152 The items in this Part make amendments to a number of Acts to ensure that Commonwealth Ministers (other than the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the Treasurer) are consistently mentioned by reference to the administration of identified legislation rather than by name.

153 There are currently a number of references to specific Ministers in Commonwealth Acts (for example, the Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce). Whenever there is no longer a particular Minister, or the title of a Minister is changed under the Administrative Arrangements Order, the Governor-General needs to make an Order under section 19B or 19BA of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 so that any now incorrect references to Ministers in Acts can be read correctly. This means that users of Acts have to read the Acts in conjunction with these Orders.

154 For example, paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 to the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 refers to the "Minister for Finance". In 1997 the "Minister for Finance" was given the new title of "Minister for Finance and Administration", so an Order was made by the Governor-General under section 19B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 in relation to the change of title. In 2007 the "Minister for Finance and Administration" was renamed the "Minister for Finance and Deregulation", so another Order was made. This means that to find the correct Minister referred to in paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 to the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 , readers must refer to the 1997 and 2007 section 19B Orders.

155 The Bill replaces the reference to the "Minister for Finance" with a generic reference to the "Finance Minister", and defines that term as "the Minister administering the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 ". Readers of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 can easily find the correct Minister by referring to the current Administrative Arrangements Order.

Part 2

156 The items in this Part make amendments to a number of Acts to ensure they reflect alterations made to them via orders made under subsection 19BA(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .

Part 3

157 The items in this Part include provision for transitional, savings and application provisions to ensure that the amendments made by this Schedule do not result in any unintended consequences.