Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au C2020A00018 In force Act

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Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020

 

No. 18, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

An Act to update references to regulations in the statute law of the Commonwealth, and for related purposes

 

 

Contents

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Schedules

Schedule 1—Amendments

Age Discrimination Act 2004

Airports Act 1996

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999

Australian Citizenship Act 2007

Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011

Customs Act 1901

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

International Monetary Agreements Act 1947

Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Act 2012

Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004

 

 

 

Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020

No. 18, 2020

 

 

 

An Act to update references to regulations in the statute law of the Commonwealth, and for related purposes

[Assented to 6 March 2020]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act is the Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

 

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1.  The whole of this Act

A single day to be fixed by Proclamation.

However, if the provisions do not commence within the period of 6 months beginning on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the day after the end of that period.

6 September 2020

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Schedules

  Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

 

Age Discrimination Act 2004

1  Subsection 39(1) (heading)

Omit “mentioned in”, substitute “covered by”.

2  Paragraph 39(1)(b)

Omit “mentioned in”, substitute “covered by”.

3  Subsection 39(1A) (heading)

Omit “mentioned in”, substitute “covered by”.

4  Subsection 39(1A)

Omit “mentioned in”, substitute “covered by”.

5  Schedule 1 (table item 8)

Repeal the item, substitute:

8

Prescribed regulations made under the Airports Act 1996

6  Schedule 1 (table item 11)

Repeal the item, substitute:

11

Regulations made under the Australian Hearing Services Act 1991

7  Schedule 1 (table item 24)

Repeal the item.

8  Schedule 1 (table item 37)

Repeal the item, substitute:

37

Regulations made under the Papua New Guinea (Members of the Forces Benefits) Act 1957

9  Schedule 2 (after table item 3)

Insert:

3AA

Regulations made under the Defence Act 1903

prescribed provisions

10  Schedule 2 (table item 11)

Repeal the item.

Airports Act 1996

11  Subsection 251B(1)

Omit “subregulation 1.03(1) of the Airports Regulations 1997 declares a place specified in a paragraph of that subregulation”, substitute “a prescribed provision (the declaration provision) of regulations made under this Act declares a place”.

12  Subsection 251B(2) (heading)

Repeal the heading, substitute:

Part of place

13  Subsection 251B(2)

Omit “that subregulation by inserting a paragraph”, substitute “the declaration provision by inserting a provision”.

14  Subsection 251B(4) (heading)

Repeal the heading.

15  Subsection 251B(4)

Omit “If a paragraph of subregulation 1.03(1) of the Airports Regulations 1997”, substitute “If the declaration provision”.

16  Subsection 251B(4)

Omit “particular Part of Schedule 1 to those regulations, a regulation may amend that Part”, substitute “prescribed provision (the land description provision) of regulations made under this Act, a regulation may amend the land description provision”.

17  Subsection 251B(6)

Repeal the subsection.

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999

18  Paragraph 387(2)(a)

Omit “prescribed circumstances within the meaning of regulation 14 of the Health Insurance Regulations made under the Health Insurance Act 1973 (other than the prescribed circumstances set out in regulations 14(2)(ea), (f) and (g))”, substitute “circumstances covered by a prescribed provision of regulations made under the Health Insurance Act 1973”.

Australian Citizenship Act 2007

19  Subsection 19C(4) (definition of Bilateral Arrangements regulations)

Omit “the Family Law (Bilateral Arrangements—Intercountry Adoption) Regulations 1998”, substitute “prescribed regulations made under the Family Law Act 1975”.

20  Subsection 19C(4) (definition of Intercountry Adoption regulations)

Omit “the Family Law (Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption) Regulations 1998”, substitute “prescribed regulations made under the Family Law Act 1975”.

Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011

21  Subsection 20J(1)

Omit “(1)”.

22  Subsection 20J(2)

Repeal the subsection.

Customs Act 1901

23  Subsection 105D(4) (definition of GST regulations)

Omit “the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 1999”, substitute “regulations made under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999”.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

24  Section 515 (table item 1.7)

Omit “section 14 or 14B of the Ombudsman Regulations 2017”, substitute “a prescribed provision of regulations made under the Ombudsman Act 1976”.

25  Section 515 (note)

Omit “under section 14 or 14B of the Ombudsman Regulations 2017”, substitute “referred to in item 1.7”.

26  Subparagraph 3075(7)(a)(ii)

Omit “the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2001”, substitute “prescribed regulations made under the Family Law Act 1975”.

International Monetary Agreements Act 1947

27  Section 3

Insert:

Investment Disputes Convention means the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States signed by Australia on 24 March 1975, the English text of which is set out in Schedule 3 to the International Arbitration Act 1974.

28  Section 3 (paragraph (e) of the definition of World Bank organisation)

Omit “(referred to in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Privileges and Immunities) Regulations 1991)”, substitute “established by the Investment Disputes Convention”.

Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Act 2012

29  Paragraph 44(3)(c)

Repeal the paragraph, substitute:

 (c) the record is made available for public access under the Archives Act 1983;

30  At the end of subsection 44(3)

Add:

Note: Whether and how the Archives Act 1983 applies to the record depends on regulations made for the purposes of section 20 of that Act.

31  Subsection 82(2)

Repeal the subsection, substitute:

 (2) The Archives Act 1983, and regulations made under that Act, apply to a record or report given to a House of the Parliament under subsection (1) or (1A) of this section as if the record or report had been laid before that House and were in the possession of that House.

Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004

32  Subsection 10(2)

Omit “(within the meaning of the Cadet Forces Regulations 1977)”.

33  Paragraph 87(1)(d)

Omit “(within the meaning of the Cadet Forces Regulations 1977)”.

 

 

 

 

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 12 February 2020

Senate on 26 February 2020]

 

(6/20)

 

Overview

The Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020 was enacted by the Parliament of Australia to address the need for updating references to regulations within various pieces of Commonwealth statute law. This Act facilitates the modernisation and streamlining of regulatory references by amending or repealing outdated references and replacing them with more precise and contemporary terms. The policy objective of this legislation is to ensure that the statute law remains relevant and accurately reflects current regulatory frameworks. By enacting this Act, the Parliament aims to enhance the clarity and effectiveness of the legal system by updating regulatory references, thereby improving the administration and enforcement of the law. The Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020, which received Royal Assent on 6 March 2020, commenced on 6 September 2020. The Act includes a series of amendments across multiple statutes, such as the Age Discrimination Act 2004, Airports Act 1996, and others, ensuring that references to specific regulations are updated to reflect current legislative instruments. This Act is a part of an ongoing effort to maintain and improve the integrity of the Commonwealth's statutory framework.

Scope and Application

The Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020 applies to various Commonwealth statutes by updating references to regulations in the statute law, ensuring they align with current legislative frameworks and practices. The Act aims to modernise and clarify the language used in several pieces of legislation, including the Age Discrimination Act 2004, Airports Act 1996, A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, Australian Citizenship Act 2007, Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, Customs Act 1901, Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, International Monetary Agreements Act 1947, Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Act 2012, and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The Act’s amendments primarily involve replacing outdated terms with "covered by" or "prescribed provisions" to reflect the current regulatory environment more accurately. The changes are intended to facilitate easier navigation and understanding of the referenced regulations within the statutes. The Act operates at the national level, impacting all entities and persons subject to the specified statutes across Australia. However, the Act itself does not introduce any new substantive legal obligations or exclusions; rather, it streamlines and standardises the way regulations are referenced within these statutes.

Key Provisions

The Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020 (sections 1–3) provides for the updating of references to regulations in various Commonwealth statutes, aiming to streamline and modernise the legislative framework. The Act itself will commence on a date to be fixed by proclamation, with a default date of 6 September 2020 if not proclaimed earlier (section 2). The Act operates through its schedules, which detail specific amendments and repeals to existing statutes to update references to regulations (section 3). The obligations imposed by this Act on the parties and entities it governs include ensuring that references to regulations are updated to reflect modern legislative language and practices. For example, in the Age Discrimination Act 2004, references to "mentioned in" are replaced with "covered by" (Schedule 1, items 1–5). For the Airports Act 1996, references to specific subregulations in the Airports Regulations 1997 are replaced with references to "a prescribed provision" of regulations made under the Act (Schedule 1, items 11–17). Similar updates are made across various other acts listed in the schedules (Schedules 1 and 2). Breaches of this Act, while primarily focused on updating legislative language rather than imposing direct regulatory obligations, may still result in legal consequences if the updates are not correctly implemented. For instance, if a statute fails to accurately reflect the updated references, it could lead to confusion or misinterpretation of the law. However, the Act itself does not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance with the updates it mandates. The primary focus is on ensuring the legislative language is current and clear, rather than on punitive measures for failure to comply with the updates.

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Area of Law
Statutory Interpretation
Instrument
Act
Concepts
Commencement Provisions
Repeal & Amendment
Definitions & Interpretation
Regulatory Standards
Regulatory Oversight

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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.