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Legislative Instruments (Deferral of Sunsetting—Motor Vehicle Standards Instruments) Certificate 2016

Legislative Instruments (Deferral of Sunsetting—Motor Vehicle Standards Instruments) Certificate 2016

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F2016L00194 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the Attorney‑General
in compliance with section 26 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003

INTRODUCTION

This Certificate was made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA) and is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the LIA. The LIA provides that a certificate issued by the Attorney-General under subsection 51(1) of the LIA is not subject to the disallowance provisions of the LIA. Accordingly, a human rights statement of compatibility is not required.

OUTLINE

The purpose of Part 6 of the LIA on the sunsetting of legislative instruments 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 ID 19633.

Consultation before making

Before this Certificate was issued, the Attorney‑General considered the general obligation to consult imposed by section 17 of the LIA, and the specific circumstances where consultation may be unnecessary or inappropriate set out in section 18. Consultation involved the former Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development advising the Attorney‑General of the reasons for 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 LIA 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 LIA requires:

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

- the Attorney-General to be satisfied that the instrument meets the statutory conditions, and

- the Attorney-General to make a certificate that includes a statement of reasons for the issue of the certificate—this certificate must be registered (LIA s 51(3)) but is exempt from disallowance (LIA s 44(2), item 43).

More information

The detail of the Certificate is provided in Attachment A.

Copies of the instruments subject to this Certificate, and which will now sunset at a later day as specified in this Certificate, are available on the whole‑of‑government ComLaw websitehttp://www.comlaw.gov.au. Further information about these instruments may also be requested from the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

ATTACHMENT A

NOTES ON THE CERTIFICATE

Section 1 Name of Certificate

This section provides for the Certificate to be named as the Legislative Instruments (Deferral of Sunsetting—Motor Vehicle Standards Instruments) Certificate 2016. 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 Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

Section 4 Definitions

This section defines ‘Act’ to mean the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, for the purposes of the Certificate.

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 Act.

The statement of reasons provides that the Attorney-General is satisfied that the relevant instruments would (apart from the operation of Part 6 of the Act) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after the sunsetting day, as required by subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Act.

Section 6 Deferral of sunsetting of legislative instruments

This section provides that the five instruments listed, for which the sunsetting day is 1 October 2016, are taken to cease to be in force under section 51 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 on 1 October 2017.

Section 7 Repeal

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

Overview

The Legislative Instruments (Deferral of Sunsetting—Motor Vehicle Standards Instruments) Certificate 2016 was enacted to address the issue of legislative instruments that were due to sunset under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The Certificate was issued by the Attorney-General in accordance with section 51 of the Act, which allows for the deferral of the sunsetting period of specified legislative instruments for up to 12 months. The objective of this legislative instrument is to ensure that essential legislative instruments remain in force for a necessary period, thereby reducing the administrative burden associated with the frequent remaking of such instruments. This measure is intended to maintain regulatory stability and efficiency within the legislative framework. The process of issuing the Certificate involved considering the statutory preconditions outlined in section 51 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which include the responsible rule maker applying to the Attorney-General, the latter being satisfied that the statutory conditions are met, and subsequently issuing a certificate that includes a statement of reasons. This Certificate was exempt from disallowance, and no human rights statement of compatibility was required. The Certificate was made in consultation with the former Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, who advised on the reasons for its issuance, ensuring that it aligns with the policy intent of the sunsetting arrangements without significantly altering existing arrangements.

Scope and Application

The Legislative Instruments (Deferral of Sunsetting—Motor Vehicle Standards Instruments) Certificate 2016 applies to specific legislative instruments related to motor vehicle standards, allowing the Attorney-General to defer their sunsetting for a period of twelve months. This Certificate was made under the authority of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 and is intended to prevent the administrative burden of remaking instruments that would otherwise cease to be in force. The deferral applies to the five instruments listed in the Certificate, which would have otherwise ceased to be in force on 1 October 2016. The Certificate extends the sunsetting of these instruments to 1 October 2017. The Certificate applies to the Commonwealth of Australia and is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The Certificate does not require a human rights statement of compatibility as it is exempt from disallowance. The Certificate does not significantly alter existing arrangements and consultation was deemed unnecessary.

Key Provisions

The Legislative Instruments (Deferral of Sunsetting—Motor Vehicle Standards Instruments) Certificate 2016, made under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA), allows the Attorney-General to defer the sunsetting of certain legislative instruments for a period of six or twelve months. In this case, the Certificate defers the sunsetting of five specified instruments until 1 October 2017 (sections 2, 5, 6). This means that these instruments will cease to be in force on that date instead of the originally scheduled sunsetting date of 1 October 2016. The purpose of this deferral is to avoid the administrative burden of remaking the instruments, which would have a limited duration before their repeal and potential replacement. The obligations under the Act require the responsible rule maker to apply in writing to the Attorney-General for the deferral of the sunsetting day (section 51). The Attorney-General must then be satisfied that the statutory conditions in section 51 of the LIA are met before issuing the Certificate. Additionally, the Certificate must include a statement of reasons for its issue, which must be registered but is exempt from disallowance (sections 51(2)(a), 51(3), 44(2), item 43). Failure to comply with the provisions of the LIA, such as not meeting the statutory conditions for issuing the Certificate, could result in legal consequences. However, the LIA does not specify any particular offences, penalties, or civil or criminal consequences for breaches related to the issuance of the Certificate. Instead, the primary consequence of non-compliance would be the premature cessation of the legislative instruments in question, potentially leading to regulatory gaps or the need for urgent legislative action to address the issues that the instruments were intended to regulate.

Area of Law: Administrative Law
Instrument: Statutory Instrument
Concepts: Commencement Provisions; Repeal & Amendment; Delegated & Subordinate Legislation

Interactions

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.

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