Explanatory Statement
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories
Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2025
Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Rules 2025
Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Declaration 2025
Authority
The Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Declaration 2025 (Declaration) is made under subsection 33(2) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth), as that provision is applied to National Land by the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2025 (Ordinance) and the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Rules 2025 (Rules).
The Ordinance provides, under section 8, for the Rules to apply laws of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) relating to road transport or parking to National Land. The relevant laws of the ACT, and the areas of National Land to which they apply, are specified in Division 1 of Part 2 of the Rules. Modifications of those laws in their operation on National Land are specified in Division 2 of Part 2 of the Rules.
Purpose
The purpose of the Declaration is to declare the High Court of Australia to be a parking authority for a specified area within National Land in accordance with subsection 33(2) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth). A parking authority may, under section 37 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth), establish and operate a ticket parking scheme for any length of road or area within its specified area of operations in accordance with the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Guidelines 2025.
Subsection 33(2) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth) allows the road transport authority to declare a person to be a parking authority for a stated area. Under the legislative framework for the management of pay parking on National Land established by the Ordinance and the Rules, powers vested in the ‘road transport authority’ in an applied ACT road transport law are vested in the Commonwealth Minister with responsibility for administering the Ordinance (see subsection 11(2) of the Ordinance). The Minister has delegated their power to declare a parking authority under subsection 33(2) to the Chief Executive of the National Capital Authority (NCA) under the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Minister) Delegation 2025.
This Declaration remakes the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Parking Authority Declaration 2021, an instrument that was made under the National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2014 (2014 Ordinance), which provided the previous legislative framework for the management of pay parking on National Land. That Ordinance was due to sunset on 1 April 2026, in accordance with the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance) Certificate 2024, and was remade by the Ordinance and the Rules to create the current legislative framework, which this Declaration forms part of.
Background
The Ordinance and Rules establish a legislative framework for the management of pay parking on National Land by enabling the application, with or without modification, of laws of the ACT relating to road transport and parking to National Land.
National Land is defined by section 27 of the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988. National Land is land within the ACT that the Commonwealth continues to manage following the establishment of ACT self-government. The NCA is established by that Act and one of its functions is, with the approval of the Minister administering Part II of that Act, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to manage National Land designated as land required for the special purposes of Canberra as the National Capital (see section 5 and paragraph 6(1)(g) of that Act) (also referred to as the National Capital Estate).
Pay parking was introduced to the National Capital Estate in 2014 and applies to around 9,000 car parks on National Land in Parkes, Barton, Acton, and the Russell precinct. Prior to its introduction, an Intergovernmental Committee on Parking was established in 2009 and public consultation commenced in 2010. The Intergovernmental Committee on Parking explored the issues surrounding parking management in central Canberra, including parking supply and demand. The work of the Intergovernmental Committee revealed that, while planning policies used to guide development of the National Capital Estate provided enough car parking spaces to meet commuter demand, restrictions on access to the available parking resulted in an undersupply of publicly available car parks. Consequently, pay parking was introduced as a parking management practice.
The issues impacting access to available parking spaces revealed by the Intergovernmental Committee on Parking still exist today and therefore pay parking on National Land is maintained as a parking management practice.
Subsection 8(1) of the Ordinance provides that the Rules may apply to National Land, or to a specified area of National Land, specified ACT road transport laws, with or without modification, including any offences created by those laws and any provisions of those a contravention of which is punishable by a pecuniary penalty (however described). Applied ACT road transport laws apply to National Land, or to specified areas of National Land, as laws of the Commonwealth (see subsection 10(1) of the Ordinance); however, applied ACT road transport laws (with or without modifications) are to be interpreted in the same way as the laws of the ACT (see section 6 of the Ordinance).
The specified ACT road transport laws are applied to National Land at the time specified in the Rules, which, at the time the Rules were first made, was when the relevant section of the Rules commenced on 1 April 2025 (see subsection 6(2) of the Rules). The relevant point in time versions of the ACT road transport laws that have been applied by the Rules to National Land are available on the ACT Legislation Register (www.legislation.act.gov.au).
The High Court of Australia occupies a block of land within the area of National Land that is specified in section 7 of the Rules, for the purposes of subsection 8(1) of the Ordinance and section 6 of the Rules, as the area of National Land to which the specified ACT road transport laws apply. The NCA manages the pay parking scheme in the specified area of National Land, but the Chief Executive of the NCA may, under subsection 33(2) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth), declare another person to be a parking authority for a stated area within the specified area of National Land. The High Court of Australia was first declared as a parking authority under the applied ACT road transport laws in 2014 and has managed parking within their stated area since that time.
Summary of the Declaration
The Declaration sets out preliminary provisions in sections 1 to 4, including commencement and definitions. Section 5 declares the High Court of Australia to be a parking authority.
The Declaration is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (in accordance with the modification to subsection 33(3) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth) in section 22 of the Rules). The Declaration is subject to sunsetting and disallowance under the Legislation Act 2003.
The Declaration commences immediately after the commencement of the Rules, which in turn commence immediately after the Ordinance. The Ordinance commences on 1 April 2025.
Details of the Declaration are set out in Attachment A.
Consultation
The Minister is satisfied that consultation was undertaken to the extent appropriate and reasonably practicable, in accordance with section 17 of the Legislation Act 2003.
On 6 February 2025, the NCA contacted the High Court of Australia to consult on the remaking of the Declaration. The High Court of Australia were provided with a copy of the draft instrument and explanatory statement. On 13 February 2025, the High Court of Australia confirmed they were comfortable with both being declared to be a parking authority and the proposed pay parking arrangements as described in the explanatory statement.
The Declaration is part of the legislative framework that provides for the management of pay parking on National Land, through the repeal of the 2014 Ordinance and the making of the new Ordinance and Rules. The Declaration remakes declarations of the High Court of Australia as a parking authority that were previously made under the 2014 Ordinance.
The NCA published a notice on its website on 5 December 2024, providing a draft copy of the Ordinance and Rules and accompanying explanatory statements, as well as setting out details of the proposed Ordinance and Rules. The Rules include the application and modification of the provision of ACT road transport law, as a law of the Commonwealth on National Land, that allows for the Minister (or their delegate) to declare parking authorities under the applied ACT road transport legislation. These provisions of the Rules are explained in its accompanying explanatory statement.
Over the five-week consultation period, the public was invited to make submissions on the Ordinance and Rules, including the provisions relating to the declaration of parking authorities by the Minister (or their delegate), to the NCA by close of business 10 January 2025. The NCA did not receive any submissions in response to the consultation notice.
Impact analysis
The Office of Impact Analysis (OIA) advised that detailed analysis is not required (OIA reference number OIA24-08526).
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
A statement of compatibility with human rights for the purposes of Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 is set out at Attachment B.
Attachment A
Details of the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Declaration 2025
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Declaration 2025 (Declaration).
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides for the Declaration to commence immediately after the commencement of the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Rules 2025 (Rules). The note to this section explains that the Rules commence immediately after the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2025 (Ordinance), which commences on 1 April 2025.
Section 3 – Authority
This section provides that the Declaration is made under subsection 33(2) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth), as applied by the Ordinance and the Rules.
Section 4 – Definitions
The explanatory note to this section provides a non-exhaustive list of expressions used in the Declaration that are defined in the Ordinance and the Rules to aid reading the Declaration, including ‘Ordinance’.
The term ‘Rules’ is defined as meaning the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Rules 2025.
Section 5 – Parking Authority
This section declares the High Court of Australia to be a parking authority for the area of Block 15, Section 28 of Parkes.
Under section 37 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth), the declaration authorises the High Court of Australia (as a parking authority) to, in accordance with the parking authority guidelines, establish and operate a ticket parking scheme for any length of road or area within its stated area of operations.
The functions of a parking authority under section 37 include:
- setting aside a length of road or area within its area of operations as a ticket parking area; and
- fixing fees for the parking of vehicles in the area; and
- installing parking ticket machines.
The parking authority guidelines are made by the Chief Executive of the National Capital Authority (as the delegate of the Minister) under section 34 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth). The Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Guidelines 2025, the current version of the parking authority guidelines at the time this Declaration was made, are available on the Federal Register of Legislation (www.legislation.gov.au).
Attachment B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Declaration 2025
This Disallowable Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Disallowable Legislative Instrument
The Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Declaration 2025 (Declaration) is made under subsection 33(2) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth), as that provision is applied to National Land by the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2025 (Ordinance) and the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Rules 2025 (Rules).
The purpose of the Declaration is to declare the High Court of Australia to be a parking authority for a specified area within National Land in accordance with subsection 33(2) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth). A parking authority may, under section 37 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth), establish and operate a ticket parking scheme for any length of road or area within its specified area of operations in accordance with the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Authority) Guidelines 2025.
Subsection 8(1) of the Ordinance provides that the Rules may apply to National Land, or to a specified area of National Land, specified ACT road transport laws, with or without modification, including any offences created by those laws and any provisions of those a contravention of which is punishable by a pecuniary penalty (however described). Applied ACT road transport laws apply to National Land, or to specified areas of National Land, as laws of the Commonwealth (see subsection 10(1) of the Ordinance); however, applied ACT road transport laws (with or without modifications) are to be interpreted in the same way as the laws of the ACT (see section 6 of the Ordinance).
Subsection 33(2) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT)(Cth) allows the road transport authority to declare a person to be a parking authority for a stated area. Under the legislative framework for the management of pay parking on National Land established by the Ordinance and the Rules, powers vested in the ‘road transport authority’ in an applied ACT road transport law are vested in the Commonwealth Minister with responsibility for administering the Ordinance (see subsection 11(2) of the Ordinance). The Minister has delegated their power to declare a parking authority under subsection 33(2) to the Chief Executive of the National Capital Authority under the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Minister) Delegation 2025.
The Declaration remakes the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Parking Authority Declaration 2021, an instrument that was made under the National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2014, which provided the previous legislative framework for the management of pay parking on National Land. That Ordinance was due to sunset on 1 April 2026, in accordance with the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance) Certificate 2024, and was remade by the Ordinance and the Rules to create the current legislative framework, which this Declaration forms part of.
Human rights implications
The Declaration does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
The Declaration is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.