Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Residential Tenancies Regulations) Certificate 2016

Administered by Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts

Legislation au F2016L00437 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Residential Tenancies Regulations) Certificate 2016

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 (LA) and is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the LA.

A certificate issued by the Attorney‑General under subsection 51(1) of the LA is not subject to disallowance. 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 LA 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) enables the Attorney‑General to issue a certificate to defer the sunsetting day for an instrument for a period of six or 12 months. The instrument will then cease to be in force 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.

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 LA. Consultation involved the Minister for Major Projects, Territories and Local Government advising the Attorney‑General of the reasons in support of issuing the Certificate. 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 LA 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 LA requires:

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

b)      the Attorney‑General to be satisfied that the instrument meets the statutory conditions, and

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

The certificate issued by the Attorney‑General 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 is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19).

More information

The detail of the Certificate is provided in Attachment A.

The instrument subject to this Certificate (the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 (WA) (CKI) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1)) is available on the Federal Register of Legislation. Further information about the operation of those Regulations may also be requested from the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.


ATTACHMENT A

Notes on the Certificate

Section 1  Name

This section provides that the Certificate is named the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Residential Tenancies Regulations) Certificate 2016.

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 ‘Act’ to mean the Legislation Act 2003, for the purposes of the Certificate.

Section 5  Statement of reasons for issue of certificate

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

The statement of reasons explains why the Attorney‑General is satisfied that the relevant instrument would (apart from the operation of Part 4 of Chapter 3 of the Act) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after the scheduled sunsetting day, as required by subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Act.

Section 6  Deferral of sunsetting of the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 (WA) (CKI) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1)

This section provides that the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 (WA) (CKI) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1), for which the scheduled sunsetting day is 1 April 2016, are taken to cease to be in force under section 51 of the Act on 1 April 2017.

Section 7  Repeal of this instrument

This section provides that the Certificate is repealed on 2 April 2017.

Overview

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Residential Tenancies Regulations) Certificate 2016 was enacted to address the need for deferring the sunsetting of certain legislative instruments, ensuring they remain in force for a limited period beyond their originally scheduled cessation. This Certificate was made under the authority of the Legislation Act 2003, specifically paragraph 51(1)(c), and was issued by the Attorney-General. The policy objective behind this measure is to alleviate the administrative burden of remaking instruments that would otherwise cease to be in force within a short timeframe, thus maintaining continuity in the regulatory framework without necessitating immediate replacement. The Certificate was laid before each House of Parliament and registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, serving as a legislative instrument that is not subject to disallowance.

Scope and Application

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Residential Tenancies Regulations) Certificate 2016 applies to the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 (WA) (CKI) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1), which are set to sunset on 1 April 2016. This legislative instrument, issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2003, allows the Attorney-General to defer the sunsetting of certain legislative instruments for a period of six or twelve months. In this case, the sunsetting of the specified residential tenancy regulations is deferred until 1 April 2017. This certificate is designed to ensure that necessary regulations remain in effect for a limited period beyond their originally scheduled sunset date, thereby avoiding the administrative burden of remaking the regulations. The deferral does not extend to any other regulations or instruments, and the certificate itself will be repealed on 2 April 2017.

Key Provisions

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Residential Tenancies Regulations) Certificate 2016, issued under the Legislation Act 2003 (LA), provides the mechanism for deferring the sunsetting of specific regulations. The certificate (Section 2) applies to the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 (WA) (CKI) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1) and defers their sunsetting from 1 April 2016 to 1 April 2017 (Section 6). This allows the regulations to remain in force for an additional period to ensure that they are kept up to date and only remain in force for as long as they are needed (Section 4). The certificate does not require a statement of compatibility with human rights, as it is not subject to disallowance (Section 51 of the LA and Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 section 9). The Act imposes several obligations and requirements on the parties and entities it governs. Firstly, it requires the responsible rule-maker to apply to the Attorney-General in writing for the deferral of the sunsetting of the regulations (Section 17 of the LA). Secondly, the Attorney-General must be satisfied that the statutory conditions in section 51 of the LA are met before issuing the certificate (Section 51 of the LA). These conditions include the requirement that the relevant instrument would be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after the scheduled sunsetting day (Section 51(1)(b)(i) of the LA). The Attorney-General must also issue a certificate that includes a statement of reasons for the issue of the certificate (Section 51(2)(a) of the LA). There are no explicit offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences mentioned in the Certificate for breaching its provisions. However, the regulations themselves may contain provisions related to offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance. The Certificate itself is a legislative instrument and is not subject to disallowance, which means that it cannot be overturned by Parliament (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19). The Certificate must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation and laid before each House of Parliament no later than six sitting days after it is made (Section 51 of the LA). The Certificate is repealed on 2 April 2017 (Section 7), which means that it will no longer have any legal effect after that date.

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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.