EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Legislation Rules 2026

Issued by the First Parliamentary Counsel (FPC)
in compliance with section 15J of the Legislation Act 2003

Purpose and operation of the instrument

These rules are made for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Act). The rules are a legislative instrument under section 61A of that Act.

The rules replace the Legislation Rule 2016, which is due to sunset on 1 April 2026. The First Parliamentary Counsel (FPC) has a general power to make rules under section 61A of the Act, and must make rules prescribing the approved website on which registered laws and other documents on the Federal Register of Legislation are to be available to the public under section 15C of the Act.

These rules prescribe an approved website (https://www.legislation.gov.au). This URL has not changed.

FPC may also make rules on a range of other matters as detailed in Chapter 2 of the Act. Drawing on these powers, these rules go into some technical detail about what should or may need to happen before and after registration. The purpose of these provisions is to ensure that:

• documents are lodged in a format that is suitable for registration; and
• lodgements are managed (and if appropriate, edited) in a consistent and transparent manner; and
• the Register is kept accurate, up-to-date and useful.

Best practice guidance on other matters will continue to be published on the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) website (http://www.opc.gov.au).

Statement of compatibility with human rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Before these rules were made, the impact on human rights was assessed using tools and guidance material published by the Attorney‑General’s Department.

The rules establish basic technical standards for the publication of legislation, to improve its usability and ensure that it is accessible to people who rely on older or assistive technology. The rules also provide an avenue to address an unintended interference with privacy. As such, the rules may advance and protect human rights such as:

• fair trial and fair hearing rights under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil And Political Rights (the ICCPR); and
• rights of access to information under Article 9 and access to justice under Article 13 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the CRPD); and
• protection against interference with privacy rights under Article 17 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

The rules do not infringe on, and are 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.

Consultation before making

Before these rules were made, FPC considered the general obligation to consult established by section 17 of the Act.

Comments were sought from Legislation Liaison Officers (LLOs) of every portfolio Department to shape the policy as people with expertise in relevant fields and affected by the proposed rules. A small number of comments were received and a response has been provided to each person who made comments.

An exposure draft of these rules was sent to the LLOs and Senior Executive Service Liaison Officers of every portfolio Department in November, and comments were requested by 19 December 2025. Comments received as part of the formal consultation informed changes to both the rules and explanatory statement.

Statutory preconditions and Parliamentary undertakings relevant to these rules

There are no statutory preconditions or Parliamentary undertakings directly relevant to the making of these rules. A related undertaking, to report on the use of editorial powers under sections 15V to 15X of the Act, is not affected by the making of these rules.

Processes for review of these rules

These rules are subject to tabling under sections 38 and 39 of the Act, to disallowance under section 42 of the Act, and to sunsetting under section 50 of the Act.

Matter incorporated by reference

As noted in the rules, a number of expressions used in the rules are defined in the Act. The rules do not apply, adopt or incorporate any other matter by reference.

More information

A provision by provision explanation of the rules is provided in Attachment A, and guidance on key aspects of the rules will be published on the OPC website http://www.opc.gov.au.

ATTACHMENT A

Part 1—Preliminary

Section 1 Name

This section provides for the rules to be cited as the Legislation Rules 2026.

Section 2 Commencement

This section provides for the rules to commence at the start of the day after the rules are registered.

Section 3 Authority

This section identifies the Act that authorises the making of the rules, namely the Legislation Act 2003.

Section 4 Schedules

This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to the instrument has effect according to its terms.

Under subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws), the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend or vary any such instrument.

Section 5 Definitions

This section defines a number of key terms used throughout the rules, including by reference to expressions defined in the Act.

Part 2—Lodgement

Section 6 Requirements for lodgement

This section is similar to section 5 of the Legislation Rule 2016 and prescribes how documents must be lodged for registration under the Act.

Subsection 6(2) of the rules requires documents to be lodged using a specified online facility unless another method is agreed, and maintains the same online facility from the Legislation Rule 2016.

Documents are required to be lodged in particular formats by subsection 6(3) of the rules. This subsection provides requirements relating to format inputs that enable the online lodgement facility to convert the documents to the formats available on the Federal Register of Legislation (DOC, DOCX or RTF alongside PDF, HTML and EPUB).

Subsection 6(4) of the rules prescribes that the document lodged must be able to be readily and consistently converted to the stated formats. This is a form requirement as format alone does not ensure conversation can readily or consistently happen. Subsection 6(4) relates to the quality of outputs when converting between formats as opposed to the format input which is contemplated by subsection 6(3).

Documents must be lodged without content that is both dynamic and interferes with the accuracy of the document. Content that is dynamic, but does not interfere with accuracy, can be included in documents. An example of content that can be dynamic but that could be included, if it functions as intended, in an instrument, compilation of an instrument or other document is a table of contents. Examples of dynamic content interfering with the accuracy of a document include when a document is converted and dynamic content updates to no longer match the document as made, or where useability elements do not function as intended, such as dynamic page numbers not reflecting the actual page numbers.

The requirements of this section are important to enable documents to be registered quickly as required by the Act, and to be converted accurately into a choice of file formats as required by long-standing government accessibility standards for websites. The requirement for a form that can be readily converted into EPUB, HTML, and PDF formats is new, but supports the statutory requirement of timely registration.

There is also provision for FPC to agree to the use of other methods and formats for lodgement. This may be necessary if, for example, technical difficulties prevent timely lodgement of an instrument that is about to commence.

Section 7 Withdrawal of lodgement

This section is made for the purposes of paragraphs 15M(c) and 15U(e) of the Act and makes clear that a person who lodges a document for registration has an obligation to withdraw the lodgement if they become aware that it is incomplete or inaccurate. This requirement is consistent with section 15L of the Act, which requires FPC to be notified of events affecting the currency or accuracy of the Register.

Section 8 Requirements for compilations

This section of the rules builds on the minimum content requirements for compilations set out in subsection 15P(1) of the Act. To ensure that compilations are useful to users of the Register, it requires compilations to include:

 (a) the name of the instrument;

 (b) the number of the compilation;

 (c) the name of the Department or agency that prepared the compilation;

 (d) a key setting out any abbreviations used in any notes to the compilation;

 (e) the enabling legislation for the instrument.

These requirements for compilations remain unchanged from the Legislation Rule 2016 to ensure consistency across the statute book.

Section 9 Compilations prepared and lodged by OPC

This section of the rules clarifies that a rule-maker does not need to prepare and lodge a compilation under section 15R of the Act if this is to be done by OPC. It recognises long-standing arrangements, and in particular that OPC:

•  routinely prepares compilations for all instruments that must be drafted by OPC; and
•  is able to prepare compilations for other instruments by agreement.

Part 3—Registration

Section 10 Approved website for registered material

This section prescribes the approved website where registered documents will be available to the public, namely https://www.legislation.gov.au. This website address has not changed.

Section 11 Giving unique names

This section clarifies that FPC may name or rename a document lodged for registration, if the document does not have a name or has the same name as a document that is already on the Register and is therefore not unique. This provision is expressly permitted by subparagraphs 15M(b)(i) and (ii) of the Act.

Section 12 Giving name that includes year of making

This section provides that FPC may amend the name of an instrument or other document lodged for registration if it does not include the year of its making. This power is consistent with the way Acts and regulations have been prepared over many years, and extending this to instruments will help ensure greater consistency and improved accessibility across the statute book.

Section 13 Inserting unique identifiers

This section recognises the practice of inserting a unique identifier into every document before it is registered, to assist with its identification. This provision is expressly permitted by paragraph 15E(b) and subparagraph 15M(b)(iii) of the Act.

Section 14 Alternative arrangements in the event of technical difficulties

This section specifies alternative arrangements for registering documents in the event that technical difficulties prevent registration and publication on the approved website. This provision is expressly permitted by paragraph 15M(f) of the Act, and it provides for an Act, instrument or other document to be registered by:

• publishing it on the OPC website https://www.opc.gov.au; or

• if that website is not available—displaying it at OPC’s place of business.

The section also clarifies that a document registered using an alternative arrangement must be made available to the public on the approved website as soon as practicable after technical difficulties have ceased. Lodging documents for registration in the event of technical difficulties is covered by paragraph 6(2)(b) of the rules.

A provision deeming the instrument to have been registered is not needed because of the way paragraph 15M(f) of the Act is framed. The date of registration for a registered document will be the earliest day on which it is registered by whatever means (the approved website, the OPC website, or OPC’s place of business).

Part 4—Keeping the Register

Section 15 Redacting personal information

This section allows FPC to redact any personal information from a document on the Register that is not an Act, legislative instrument or notifiable instrument. This power is limited to information within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988 to ensure compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles. Subsection 6(1) of the Privacy Act 1988 defines personal information as follows:

personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

 (a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and

 (b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

FPC intends:

• to only use this power in circumstances where the personal information is inappropriately included; and
• to consult with the rule-maker in considering whether it is appropriate to redact the personal information; and
• to ensure that the document as published on the Register indicates that redaction has occurred.

This section is not intended to impact the right to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, but a public interest conditional exemption can apply to the release of personal information under section 47F of that Act. This section will act as a safeguard for the protection of personal information in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 11 of the Privacy Act 1988 by providing steps to ensure that information can be de-identified.

Section 16 Removing reviewing comments

This section allows FPC to remove reviewing comments from any document on the Register (other than Acts, legislative instruments and notifiable instruments). FPC will consult with the rule-maker to be satisfied that the inclusion was in error and without legal effect. This ensures the Register’s accuracy, as per subsection 15A(5) of the Act.

Section 17 Events affecting the currency or accuracy of the Register

This section allows FPC to require documentary evidence of the occurrence of an event that affects the currency or accuracy of the Register. This power is limited to the situation where a responsible person has notified such an event under section 15L of the Act, and is permitted by paragraph 15E(a) of the Act.

The provision is not prescriptive about the exact form of document that may be required, because it is not practical to anticipate every event that could affect the currency or accuracy of the Register. However, to illustrate what may be required, if a rule-maker notifies one of the following events then it may be appropriate to require documentation as follows:

• if a court or tribunal has found a registered law or a provision of such a law to be invalid or unenforceable—a copy of the written judgment;

• if the commencement of a law is tied to a treaty that commences on an exchange of letters between Ministers or similar—a notice of treaty commencement.

A document required by FPC under this provision is likely to be registered under paragraph 15A(3)(e) of the Act, if it may be considered in determining the meaning of a registered law under section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Part 5—Authorised versions

Section 18 Authorised versions

This section specifies the form of words that must be included in a registered law or explanatory statement to indicate that it is an authorised version. A single phrase, namely “Authorised version”, is used for all registered documents but several other forms of words are also recognised, consistent with past practice under previous legislative frameworks.

The section also specifies that, for electronic copies of registered documents, only the PDF format is regarded as authoritative. A registered document will normally be published in a choice of file formats to comply with government accessibility requirements, but its appearance can be subtly distorted by the conversion process and also by the end user’s device and software choices.

In particular, complex formatting and special symbols may not always display correctly in DOC, DOCX and HTML formats and this can significantly alter the meaning of a document. For example, the Greek letter “Mu” (μ) can be misread as an “m” as part of an international unit of measurement, resulting in the user seeing a much larger measurement than was intended by the rule-maker.

In light of such issues, only the PDF format will be authorised and this approach is consistent with past practice under previous legislative frameworks.

This section of the rules is intended to satisfy the various requirements in section 15ZA of the Act regarding authorised versions of registered laws and their explanatory statements.

Schedule 1—Repeals

Schedule 1 provides for the repeal of the Legislation Rule 2016. This ensures that the Legislation Rule 2016 ceases operation concurrently with the commencement of the replacement instrument.