Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Carriers’ Liability Regulations) Certificate 2018

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F2018L01224 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Carriers’ Liability Regulations) Certificate 2018

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the Attorney‑General in compliance with
section 15G of the Legislation Act 2003

 

INTRODUCTION

This certificate was made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 (Legislation Act) and is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act.

A certificate issued by the Attorney-General under subsection 51(1) of the Legislation Act is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19). As such, a statement of compatibility with human rights is not required (Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, section 9).

OUTLINE

The purpose of the sunsetting provisions of the Legislation Act is to ensure that legislative instruments are kept up to date and only remain in force for so long as they are needed.

Paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act enables the Attorney-General to issue a certificate to defer the sunsetting day of an instrument for a period of either six or 12 months. The instrument will then be repealed on the day specified in the certificate instead of the scheduled sunsetting day.

This allows instruments to continue to be in force for a further but limited period of time when they would otherwise sunset. This removes the administrative burden of remaking instruments which would have a limited duration prior to their repeal and potential replacement, or where circumstances prevent the making of replacement instruments prior to the sunsetting day.

PROCESS BEFORE CERTIFICATE WAS MADE

Regulatory impact analysis

Certificates of deferral of sunsetting are machinery of government instruments, and are therefore not subject to the regulatory impact assessment requirements set out by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The OBPR reference for this standing exemption is ID19633.

Consultation before making

Before this certificate was issued, the Attorney‑General considered the general obligation to consult imposed by section 17 of the Legislation Act. Consultation involved the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport advising the Attorney‑General of the reasons in support of issuing the certificate. The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport is responsible for administering the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959, the enabling legislation under which the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Regulations 1991 were made. As such, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport is the relevant rule-maker for the purposes of section 6 of the Legislation Act. The certificate is consistent with the policy intent of the sunsetting arrangements and does not significantly alter existing arrangements. Accordingly, further consultation was unnecessary.

Statutory preconditions relevant to this certificate

If the Attorney-General is satisfied that the statutory conditions in section 51 of the Legislation Act are met, an instrument’s sunsetting day can be deferred for either six or 12 months by means of a certificate made under that section. In terms of process, the Legislation Act requires:

a)       the responsible rule maker to apply to the Attorney-General in writing

b)       the Attorney-General to be satisfied that:

i)            the instrument would (apart from the operation of the sunsetting provisions) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after its sunsetting day, or

ii)            the proposed replacement instrument will not be able to be completed before the sunsetting day for reasons that the rule maker could not have foreseen and avoided, or

iii)            the dissolution or expiration of the House of Representatives or the prorogation of the Parliament renders it inappropriate to make a replacement instrument before a new government is formed, and

c)       the Attorney-General to issue a certificate that includes a statement of reasons for the issue of the certificate.

On the basis of the information contained in the statement of reasons included in the certificate, the Attorney‑General is satisfied that the criterion in subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act is met.

The certificate issued by the Attorney‑General must be laid before each House of the Parliament no later than six sitting days after it is made. It is a legislative instrument and must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, but is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19).

More information

Further details on the provisions of the certificate are provided in Attachment A.

The instrument which is the subject of this certificate, and which will now sunset at a later day as specified in this certificate, is available on the Federal Register of Legislationhttp://www.comlaw.gov.au.

Further information may be requested from the Attorney-General’s Department about the operation of this declaration, and from the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities about the instrument to which this certificate applies.


ATTACHMENT A

NOTES ON THE CERTIFICATE           

Section 1 Name

This section provides that the certificate is named the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Carriers’ Liability Regulations) Certificate 2018. The certificate may be cited by that name.

Section 2  Commencement

This section provides for the certificate to commence on the day after it is registered.

Section 3 Authority 

This section provides that the certificate is made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003.

Section 4 Definitions

This section defines, for the purposes of this certificate, ‘Act’ to mean the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959, ‘Department’ to mean the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, ‘Legislation Act’ to mean the Legislation Act 2003 and ‘Regulations’ to mean the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Regulations 1991.

Section 5  Statement of reasons for issue of certificate

This section provides the statement of reasons as required by paragraph 51(2)(a) of the Legislation Act.

The statement of reasons explains why the Attorney-General is satisfied that the criterion set out in subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act has been met, namely that the Regulations would (apart from the operation of the sunsetting provisions) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after its sunsetting day.

Section 6 Deferral of sunsetting of the Regulations

This section provides that the Regulations, for which the sunsetting day is 1 October 2018, are taken to cease to be in force under section 51 of the Legislation Act on 1 October 2019.

Section 7 Repeal of this instrument

This section provides that the certificate is repealed at the start of 2 October 2019.

Overview

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Carriers’ Liability Regulations) Certificate 2018 was enacted under the Legislation Act 2003 to address the need for deferring the sunsetting of certain regulations without the requirement for formal disallowance processes. This certificate was issued by the Attorney-General, who is empowered under section 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act to defer the sunsetting of the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Regulations 1991 for a period of 12 months. The primary policy objective is to alleviate the administrative burden associated with the need to promptly replace regulations that would otherwise cease to be in force. By deferring the sunsetting date, the certificate allows for continued regulatory oversight and stability in the civil aviation sector, thereby ensuring that necessary adjustments can be made without undue haste or legislative complications.

Scope and Application

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Carriers’ Liability Regulations) Certificate 2018 applies to the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Regulations 1991, which were due to sunset on 1 October 2018. The certificate defers the sunsetting of these regulations, effectively extending their operation until 1 October 2019. This legislation is a Commonwealth instrument and applies nationally across Australia. The deferral is made under the authority of the Legislation Act 2003, which allows for the sunsetting provisions of legislative instruments to be deferred by either six or 12 months under certain conditions. The certificate itself is exempt from disallowance and does not require a statement of compatibility with human rights. The deferral was considered necessary due to the potential administrative burden of remaking the regulations and the inability to foresee certain circumstances that might have prevented the timely creation of replacement regulations. The certificate is a legislative instrument and must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Carriers’ Liability Regulations) Certificate 2018 (F2018L01224) include Section 6, which defers the sunsetting of the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Regulations 1991 for twelve months. Instead of sunsetting on 1 October 2018, these regulations will now cease to be in force on 1 October 2019 (Section 6). Section 7 details that the certificate itself will be repealed at the start of 2 October 2019 (Section 7). The Act imposes several obligations and requirements on the parties it governs. Firstly, the responsible rule-maker, in this case, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, must apply to the Attorney-General in writing if they wish to defer the sunsetting of an instrument (Section 51(1)(a)). The Attorney-General, in turn, must be satisfied that certain statutory conditions are met before issuing a certificate (Section 51(1)(b)). These conditions include the likelihood that the instrument would cease to be in force within 12 months of its sunsetting day, or unforeseen circumstances preventing the completion of a replacement instrument before the sunsetting day (Section 51(1)(b)(i) and (ii)). The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport is also required to provide a statement of reasons for the deferral, explaining why the statutory conditions have been met (Section 5). The Act also outlines several potential consequences for non-compliance or breach. While the certificate itself is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19), any failure to comply with the statutory conditions for issuing a certificate could potentially lead to legal challenges or other consequences under the Legislation Act 2003 or other relevant laws. However, the Act does not specify any particular penalties or sanctions for non-compliance with the statutory conditions for issuing a certificate. It is also important to note that while the certificate is not subject to disallowance, the regulations that the certificate defers the sunsetting of are still subject to disallowance under the standard parliamentary procedures. The explanatory statement provided with the certificate does not detail any specific offences, penalties, or civil or criminal consequences for breach of the Act. However, it does mention that the certificate is not subject to disallowance and must be laid before each House of the Parliament within six sitting days of being made (Section 51(2)(a) of the Legislation Act). This suggests that while the certificate itself may not carry specific penalties for breach, failure to comply with the procedural requirements for issuing a certificate could potentially lead to legal challenges or other consequences under the Legislation Act 2003 or other relevant laws.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.