House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by the authority of the Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP)

Schedule 3-Amendments relating to Acts of general Application

82 The items in this Schedule contain amendments that are consequential on earlier amendments to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and the enactment of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 .

Part 1-Acting appointments

83 These items amend various acting appointment provisions of Commonwealth Acts to remove provisions providing that anything done by or in relation to a person purporting to act under an appointment is not invalid merely because of various matters. Those provisions are redundant as section 33AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 now deals with this. Notes have been included in those recent acting appointment provisions referring to the general acting appointment rules in sections 33AB and 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .

84 Several items also update notes that only refer to section 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 so that they also refer to section 33AB of that Act.

85 Item 10 is a saving provision which provides certainty that the amendments made by this Part do not affect the validity of an appointment that was made under an Act, before the commencement of that item, and that was in force immediately before that commencement.

Part 2-Prescribing matters by reference to other instruments

86 Section 49A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 was repealed by item 7 of Schedule 1 to the Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003 . The content of the repealed section 49A is now replicated in section 14 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 .

87 This Part amends two Acts to update references to section 49A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to references to section 14 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 .

Part 3-Disallowable instruments

88 Each of the items in this Part amend various Acts to update the text of Acts that still refer to an instrument being a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 , or that still provide for an instrument to be disallowed under Part XII of that Act, as in force before 1 January 2005. This reflects the legal position that the instrument is already a legislative instrument under paragraph 6(d) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 and that, in various cases, Gazettal requirements are covered by subsection 56(2) of that Act. This Part also contains various consequential amendments (for example, item 140 removes a subsection number "(1)" that will become redundant when the other subsections in its section are repealed).

89 Item 179 repeals subsections 266(3) and (4) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 in reliance on subsection 12(1) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 .

90 Item 301 also repeals a redundant reference in subsection 20B(4) of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to subsection 20B(3) of that Act, which has been repealed.

91 Item 343 is a saving provision which makes it clear that the amendments made by this Part do not affect the validity of an instrument made before the commencement of this Part.