• Legal database
Legal database

Providing the history of documents

Legislative history

Two forms of legislative history are provided in the Legal database: History notes and history references.

History notes

History notes are presented in an expandable/collapsible control and provide the history of the particular section - for example, when it was inserted into the Act or amended.

  • Select View history note to display the history note:

History note open

  • Select Hide history note to close the note:

History note close

History references

A View history reference link in legislation will take you to a table showing the history of amendments to that section, with links to related explanatory memoranda and second reading speeches.

Finding references

In legislation where there is a View Finding reference button, it indicates that there is a cross-reference to the provision in the 'other' Act.

Finding reference

In the example above, subsection 6(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 has a cross reference to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. Clicking the View Finding reference button will produce the 'findings table' (see below) that indicates the relevant ITAA 1997 provisions.

Findings table

Document history

This applies to certain document types that we produce only - including public rulings, practical compliance guidelines, law administration practice statements.

When one of these documents has been updated, there will be:

  • a note at the top of the document indicating that it has changed over time
  • a document history at the end of the document that indicates the version you are viewing and provides links to other versions. For public rulings, there will also be links to the relevant addendum and erratum notices.

History table 1

History table 2