House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Attorney-General, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC)

Notes on clauses

Clause 1 - Short title

1 Clause 1 provides for the Act to be cited as the Statute Law Revision Act (No. 2) 2015.

Clause 2 - Commencement

2 Subclause 2(1) provides that each provision of the Act specified in column 1 of the table set out in the subclause commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

3 The note at the end of the table explains that the table relates only to the provisions of the Act as originally enacted. The table will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of the Act.

4 Subclause 2(2) provides that any information in column 3 of the table is not part of the Act. It also clarifies that information may be inserted in column 3, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of the Act.

5 Most items in Schedule 1 to the Bill correct errors in principal Acts. All items in the Schedule commence 28 days after this Act receives the Royal Assent. This is because the "slip rule" will have been applied to each error since the enactment of the erroneous provision. This means that the text of the law will have been taken to have been correct, despite the error.

6 Current Commonwealth drafting practice is to avoid retrospective commencement where practicable. Given the application of the "slip rule", it is appropriate for these amendments to commence soon after Royal Assent. The amendments ensure that the text of the law accords with how it would be interpreted.

7 Other items in Schedule 1 to the Bill relate to removals of redundant text or renumbering of text and it is appropriate that these items commence on the 28th day after the day this Act receives the Royal Assent because they do not change the substantive content of the law.

8 Schedule 2 to the Bill corrects errors in amending laws. The items in Part 1 of the Schedule correct errors in amending Acts. Some of the items remove redundant headings and it is appropriate that these items commence on the 28th day after the day this Act receives the Royal Assent because they do not change the substantive content of the law. Other items in the Part relate to misdescribed amendments contained in amending Acts. The commencement of items dealing with misdescribed amendments is tied to the time specified in the amending Act for the commencement of the amendment. The item in Part 2 of the Schedule corrects an error in an amending Regulation. It corrects an error that the slip rule would have applied to from enactment. The correction has a retrospective commencement in order to fix the error before the repeal of the Regulation.

9 Schedule 3 to the Bill makes clear on the face of Acts that the Crown in right of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory is bound and modernises the form of provisions about whether the Crown is liable to be prosecuted for an offence. The Schedule is to commence 28 days after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

10 Schedule 4 to the Bill modernises terminology in accordance with current drafting practice by changing "reference base" to "index reference period" and by removing gender-specific language. The Schedule is to commence 28 days after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

11 Schedule 5 to the Bill repeals spent and obsolete provisions of Acts. The Schedule is to commence 28 days after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

12 Schedule 6 to the Bill repeals spent and obsolete Acts. The Schedule is to commence 28 days after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

Clause 3 - Schedules

13 Subclause 3(1) provides that legislation that is specified in a Schedule to the Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule and any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its terms. This is a technical provision to give operational effect to the amendments contained in the Schedules. Subclause 3(2) provides that the amendment of any regulation under subsection (1) does not prevent the regulation, as so amended, from being amended or repealed by the Governor-General. This is a further technical provision to ensure that Regulations amended by the Act can continue to be amended or repealed in the usual manner.