Subordinate Legislation and Administrative Arrangements Amendment Act 2024 (Vic)
Subordinate Legislation and Administrative Arrangements Amendment Act 2024
No. 47 of 2024
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
Part 1—Preliminary
1Purposes
2Commencement
Part 2—Amendment of Subordinate Legislation Act 1994
3Definitions
4Automatic revocation of statutory rules
5Extension regulations
6Section 6 amended
7Infringements offence consultation certificate
8Heading to section 7 amended
9Section 8 amended
10Section 10 amended
11Section 12A amended
12Consultation—legislative instruments
13Heading to section 12E amended
14Exemption certificates—legislative instruments
15Statutory rules and related documents to be laid before Parliament
16Legislative instrument to be published in the Government Gazette
17Availability of statutory rules
18Heading to section 24 inserted
19Heading to section 25 inserted
20Heading to section 25B amended
21Heading to section 25C amended
22Disallowance
23Regulations
24Section 36 repealed
25Statute law revision
26Consequential amendment of Monetary Units Act 2004
Part 3—Amendment of Administrative Arrangements Act 1983
27Definitions
28Power to make Orders
29New sections 8 to 10 inserted
Part 4—Repeal of this Act
30Repeal of this Act
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Endnotes
1 General information
Subordinate Legislation and Administrative Arrangements Amendment Act 2024
No. 47 of 2024
[Assented to 26 November 2024]
The Parliament of Victoria enacts:
PART 1—PRELIMINARY
1Purposes
The purposes of this Act are—
(a)to make miscellaneous amendments to the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 and to consequentially amend the Monetary Units Act 2004; and
(b)to make miscellaneous amendments to the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983.
2Commencement
(1)Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this Act comes into operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.
(2)If a provision of this Act, other than section 17, does not come into operation before 1 March 2025, it comes into operation on that day.
(3)If section 17 does not come into operation before 18 June 2025, it comes into operation on that day.
PART 2—AMENDMENT OF SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION ACT 1994
3Definitions
(1)In section 3(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert the following definition—
"public sector body Head has the same meaning as it has in section 4(1) of the Public Administration Act 2004;".
(2)In section 3(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, in the definition of statutory rule, after "or locality" insert "or a local law made under Division 3 of Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2020".
(3)After section 3(2)(h) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert—
"(ha)an instrument that applies to a specific person or a limited number of specific persons rather than applying at large;".
(4)After section 3(2) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert—
"(3)For the avoidance of doubt, but without limiting the definition of legislative instrument, instruments of a legislative character for the purposes of this Act include, but are not limited to, instruments—
(a)that include offences; or
(b)that—
(i)set out mandatory requirements to take certain actions or refrain from taking certain actions with general application to the public or a large class of persons; and
(ii)include penalties or other sanctions for non-compliance.".
4Automatic revocation of statutory rules
(1)In section 5(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, for "Subject to section 5A," substitute "Unless an extension regulation is made or".
(2)The note at the foot of section 5(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 is repealed.
5Extension regulations
(1)In section 5A(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994—
(a)for "issue a" substitute "issue an extension";
(b)after "12 months" insert "by an extension regulation".
(2)In section 5A(3) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, after "specified period" insert "by an extension regulation".
(3)For section 5A(4) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 substitute—
"(4)The Governor in Council may make an extension regulation extending the operation of a statutory rule that would otherwise be revoked by section 5 for a period specified in the extension regulation.".
6Section 6 amended
(1)Insert the following heading to section 6 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994—
"Consultation—statutory rules".
(2)At the end of section 6 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert—
"(2)Without limiting subsection (1) or the guidelines, the responsible Minister may consult with any relevant public sector body Head whose area of responsibility may be affected by a proposed statutory rule.
(3)The operation or effect of a statutory rule is not affected by—
(a)a failure to comply with subsection (1); or
(b)consultation under subsection (2) not occurring.".
7Infringements offence consultation certificate
In section 6A(1)(a) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, for "Department of Justice" substitute "Department of the Minister administering the Infringements Act 2006".
8Heading to section 7 amended
In the heading to section 7 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, after "prepared" insert "for statutory rules".
9Section 8 amended
(1)In the heading to section 8 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, after "certificates" insert "—statutory rules".
(2)In section 8(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994—
(a)for paragraph (d) substitute—
"(d)the proposed statutory rule only increases fees in respect of a financial year by an amount not exceeding the annual rate fixed by the Treasurer in accordance with section 5 of the Monetary Units Act 2004; or";
(b)at the foot of paragraph (d) insert the following note—
"Note
See also section 5(8) of the Monetary Units Act 2004, which requires the annual rate to be published on a website maintained by the Department of the Minister administering the Monetary Units Act 2004.";
(c)after paragraph (d) insert—
"(da)the proposed statutory rule would only impose a burden on a public sector body; or";
(d)after paragraph (f) insert—
"(fa)the proposed statutory rule—
(i)does not remake (whether with or without amendment) a statutory rule that has already been made under a Premier's exemption certificate; and
(ii)is of not more than 12 months duration; and
(iii)is necessary to respond to—
(A)a public emergency; or
(B)an urgent public health issue or an urgent public safety issue; or
(C)likely or actual significant damage to the environment, resource sustainability or the economy; or".
10Section 10 amended
(1)Insert the following heading to section 10 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994—
"Content of regulatory impact statements—statutory rules".
(2)In section 10(4)(b) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, for "his or her" substitute "the Minister's".
11Section 12A amended
(1)In the heading to section 12A of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, after "certificate" insert "—statutory rules".
(2)In section 12A(3) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, for "his or her" substitute "the Minister's".
12Consultation—legislative instruments
At the end of section 12C of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert—
"(2)Without limiting subsection (1) or the guidelines, the responsible Minister may consult with any relevant public sector body Head whose area of responsibility may be affected by a proposed legislative instrument.
(3)The operation or effect of a legislative instrument is not affected by—
(a)a failure to comply with subsection (1); or
(b)consultation under subsection (2) not occurring.".
13Heading to section 12E amended
In the heading to section 12E of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, for "to" substitute "must".
14Exemption certificates—legislative instruments
(1)For section 12F(1)(c) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 substitute—
"(c)the proposed legislative instrument only increases fees in respect of a financial year by an amount not exceeding the annual rate fixed by the Treasurer in accordance with section 5 of the Monetary Units Act 2004; or".
(2)At the foot of section 12F(1)(c) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert the following note—
"Note
See also section 5(8) of the Monetary Units Act 2004, which requires the annual rate to be published on a website maintained by the Department of the Minister administering the Monetary Units Act 2004.".
15Statutory rules and related documents to be laid before Parliament
At the foot of section 15(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert the following note—
"Note
The Government Printer provides copies of a statutory rule to each House of Parliament after the statutory rule has been made.".
16Legislative instrument to be published in the Government Gazette
After section 16A(2) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert—
"(3)Without limiting subsection (2), for the purposes of that subsection, a legislative instrument is unsuitable to be published in full if—
(a)the legislative instrument is incompatible with the format of the Government Gazette; or
(b)the size of the legislative instrument makes it impractical to be published in full in the Government Gazette; or
(c)any other circumstances specified in the guidelines exist.".
17Availability of statutory rules
(1)In section 20(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, for "during normal office hours from a prescribed bookshop" substitute "by purchase online or by purchase during normal office hours from a bookshop approved under subsection (1A)".
(2)After section 20(1) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert—
"(1A)On the recommendation of the Minister, the Governor in Council, by order published in the Government Gazette, may approve a bookshop for the purposes of subsection (1).".
(3)In section 20(2)(a) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 after "Minister" insert "or other entity that supports the responsible Minister in the administration of the statutory rule, as the case requires, or on an Internet site maintained by that Department or entity".
18Heading to section 24 inserted
Insert the following heading to section 24 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994—
"Effect of disallowance".
19Heading to section 25 inserted
Insert the following heading to section 25 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994—
"Clerk to publish notice of disallowance".
20Heading to section 25B amended
In the heading to section 25B of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, for "an instrument" substitute "a legislative instrument".
21Heading to section 25C amended
In the heading to section 25C of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, after "Disallowance" insert "of legislative instrument or part of a legislative instrument".
22Disallowance
In section 25C(1)(c) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 after "16B(1)" insert "or (2)".
23Regulations
After section 28(1)(a) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 insert—
"(ab)exempting a statutory rule or class of statutory rule or a legislative instrument or class of legislative instrument from the application of this Act or any provision of this Act for a specified time, not exceeding 12 months;
Example
Regulations might be made which exempt a specific class of statutory rule from the application of this Act during a state of disaster declared under the Emergency Management Act 1986, a pandemic declaration under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 or a national emergency under the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020 of the Commonwealth.".
24Section 36 repealed
Section 36 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 is repealed.
25Statute law revision
In section 12H(4)(b) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 for "his or her" substitute "the Minister's".
26Consequential amendment of Monetary Units Act 2004
After section 5(7) of the Monetary Units Act 2004 insert—
"(8)The Treasurer must ensure that the annual rate fixed by the Treasurer under subsection (4) is published on a website maintained by the Department of the Minister administering this Act as soon as practicable after it is fixed.".
PART 3—AMENDMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS ACT 1983
27Definitions
(1)In section 2(1) of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983—
(a)insert the following definition—
"AAO consolidated version means a document prepared under section 8(1);";
(b)in the definition of administrative change, for paragraph (d) substitute—
"(d)the transfer of a function from a Minister to another Minister; or
(e)the transfer of a function from—
(i)a Department to another Department or an officer; or
(ii)an officer to another officer or a Department;".
(2)In section 2(1) of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983, in the definition of officer—
(a)in paragraph (b), for "that Act" (where first occurring) substitute "the Public Administration Act 2004";
(b)after paragraph (b) insert—
"(c)a person appointed to a public office under section 88 of the Constitution Act 1975;".
(3)In section 2(2)(c) of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983, for "or (d)" substitute ", (d) or (e)".
28Power to make Orders
(1)In section 3(1)(a) of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983 omit "or" (where lastly occurring).
(2)After section 3(1) of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983 insert—
"(1A)To avoid doubt, an Order made under subsection (1) may amend or revoke an Order made under that subsection before, on or after the commencement of this subsection.".
(3)In section 3(2) of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983, for "The provisions referred to in subsection (1)(b)" substitute "An Order made under subsection (1)".
(4)For section 3(3) of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983 substitute—
"(3)An Order made under subsection (1) may—
(a)be of general or limited application;
(b)differ according to differences in time, place or circumstance;
(c)apply only to or in respect of the whole or part of a function, property, right, liability, transaction or other subject matter specified in the Order.".
29New sections 8 to 10 inserted
After section 7 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983 insert—
8AAO consolidated versions'
(1)The Secretary may prepare a document that consists of an Order made under section 3, as amended from time to time.
(2)An AAO consolidated version must include the words "AAO consolidated version prepared under section 8 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983" on the first page of the AAO consolidated version and at the foot of each page of the AAO consolidated version.
9Electronic publication of AAO consolidated versions
The Secretary may cause an AAO consolidated version to be published on the Department's Internet site.
10Evidentiary provision for AAO consolidated versions
(1)An AAO consolidated version published in accordance with section 9 and any copy of an AAO consolidated version printed directly from the Internet site referred to in section 9 is, on the mere production of that version or copy, admissible as evidence thereof before all courts and persons acting judicially within Victoria.
(2)It is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that a document purporting to be an AAO consolidated version is what it purports to be.'.
PART 4—REPEAL OF THIS ACT
30Repeal of this Act
This Act is repealed on 18 June 2026.
Note
The repeal of this Act does not affect the continuing operation of the amendments made by it (see section 15(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).
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ENDNOTES
1 General information
See for Victorian Bills, Acts and current authorised versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
Minister's second reading speech—
Legislative Assembly: 20 June 2024
Legislative Council: 16 August 2024
The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to make miscellaneous amendments to the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 and to consequentially amend the Monetary Units Act 2004, to make miscellaneous amendments to the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983 and for other purposes."
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