Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations) Certificate 2018

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F2018L00408 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations) Certificate 2018

 EXPLANATORY STATEMENT 

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

 

INTRODUCTION

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations) Certificate 2018 (the Certificate) was made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 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 for 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 The instrument will then be repealed on the day specified in the certificate instead of the scheduled sunsetting day.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. It also deals with certain situations where circumstances prevent the making of replacement instruments prior to the sunsetting day.

PROCESS FOR ISSUING CERTIFICATES OF DEFERRAL  

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. 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 the instrument:

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.

As the Attorney‑General is the relevant rule-maker in this instance, there was no formal correspondence associated with the making of the Certificate.

The statement of reasons included in the Certificate sets out the basis for the Attorney‑General’s satisfaction that the criteria in section 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act are satisfied.

The Certificate must be laid before each House of 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, as mentioned above, is not subject to disallowance.

More information

Further detail on the provisions of the Certificate is provided in Attachment A.

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

Further information about the operation of this Certificate, and the Regulations to which it applies, instrument may be requested from the Attorney-General’s Department.


ATTACHMENT A

NOTES ON THE CERTIFICATE           

Section 1 Name

This section provides that the Certificate is named the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Director of Public Prosecutions 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 the Certificate, ‘Act’ to mean the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983 (FRL reference C2017C00104), ‘Bill’ to mean the Investigation and Prosecution Measures Bill 2017 (FRL reference C2017B00204), ‘Legislation Act’ to mean the Legislation Act 2003 (FRL reference C2017C00300), and ‘Regulations’ to mean the Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations 1984 (FRL reference F2017C00640). 

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) – that the Regulations would (apart from the operation of the sunsetting provisions) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after their sunsetting day – has been met.

Section 6 Deferral of sunsetting of the Regulations

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

Section 7 Repeal of this instrument

This section provides that the Certificate is repealed at the start of 2 April 2019.


 

 

 

Overview

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations) Certificate 2018, issued under the Legislation Act 2003, allows the Attorney-General to defer the sunsetting of certain regulations for up to twelve months. This legislation was enacted to address the issue of legislative instruments becoming outdated and to ensure that necessary legal frameworks remain in force for as long as required. The Certificate is intended to provide a temporary reprieve from the automatic sunset provisions, allowing for more time to develop and implement new regulations, particularly in cases where unforeseen circumstances have hindered the timely replacement of existing regulations. This measure alleviates the administrative burden of remaking instruments with limited durations and addresses situations where the replacement process could not be completed prior to the scheduled sunset date. The Certificate was made without the need for disallowance and does not require a statement of compatibility with human rights.

Scope and Application

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations) Certificate 2018 applies to the Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations 1984, which are instruments under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983. The Certificate, issued by the Attorney-General, defers the sunsetting of these regulations from 1 April 2018 to 1 April 2019. The deferral is authorised under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003, and the Certificate includes a statement of reasons for its issuance, satisfying the statutory conditions specified in section 51 of the Act. This legislative instrument does not require disallowance, and it is not subject to the regulatory impact assessment process as it is a machinery of government instrument. The Certificate must be laid before each House of Parliament within six sitting days of its creation and is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. The Attorney-General's Department can provide further information on the operation of this Certificate and the applicable Regulations.

Key Provisions

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations) Certificate 2018 (section 1) allows the Attorney-General to defer the sunsetting day for certain regulations for a period of either six or twelve months. This means that the Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations 1984 (section 4) will continue to be in force until 1 April 2019 instead of 1 April 2018, as originally scheduled (section 6). The Certificate is made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 (section 3) and must be laid before each House of Parliament within six sitting days of its making (section 51(3)). The Certificate also includes a statement of reasons for its issuance (section 5), explaining that the Regulations would likely cease to be in force within 12 months of their scheduled sunsetting day (section 51(2)(a)). The Act imposes specific obligations on the parties or entities it governs. The responsible rule-maker, in this case, the Attorney-General, must apply to defer the sunsetting day for the regulations if certain statutory conditions are met (section 51(1)(b)). These conditions include the likelihood that the regulations would cease to be in force within 12 months or that unforeseen circumstances prevent the completion of a replacement instrument before the sunsetting day (section 51(1)(b)(i)). The Attorney-General must also be satisfied that a statement of reasons for the deferral is included in the certificate (section 51(2)(a)). Additionally, the Certificate must be laid before each House of Parliament within six sitting days of its making (section 51(3)). There are no explicit offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences mentioned in the Certificate for breaches of its provisions. However, the failure to comply with the obligations and requirements set out in the Act could potentially lead to legal challenges or administrative actions. The Certificate itself is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19), and a statement of compatibility with human rights is not required (Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, section 9). The Certificate will be repealed at the start of 2 April 2019 (section 7), once the deferred sunsetting period has elapsed.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Administrative Law
Instrument
Statutory Instrument
Concepts
Commencement Provisions
Repeal & Amendment
Delegated & Subordinate Legislation
Catchwords
Sunsetting Provisions

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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.