Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au C1903A00018 Not in force Act

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Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903

Act No. 18 of 1903 as amended

[Note:  This Act is repealed by Act No. 140 of 2003]

This compilation was prepared on 1 January 2005
taking into account amendments up to Act No. 140 of 2003

The text of any of those amendments not in force
on that date is appended in the Notes section

The operation of amendments that have been incorporated may be
affected by application provisions that are set out in the Notes section

Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
Attorney‑General’s Department, Canberra

 

 

 

Contents

1 Short title and commencement [see Note1]

2 Interpretation

5 Printing, numbering and sale of statutory rules

6A Incorporation of amendments in reprint of statutory rules......2

7 Regulations.................................3

Notes 5

 

An Act for the Publication of Statutory Rules

1  Short title and commencement [see Note1]

  This Act may be cited as the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903, and shall commence on the first day of January, One thousand nine hundred and four.

2  Interpretation

  In this Act:

Statutory rules means rules, regulations, or by‑laws, made under any Act, which:

 (a) relate to any Court within the Commonwealth, or to the procedure, practice, or costs therein, or to any fees or matters applying generally throughout the Commonwealth or any part of the Commonwealth; or

 (b) are made by the Governor‑General, or any Minister, or the Inter‑State Commission, or any Government department.

Rule‑making authority includes every authority authorized to make any statutory rules.

5  Printing, numbering and sale of statutory rules

 (1) All statutory rules shall forthwith after they are made be sent to the Government Printer, and shall, in manner prescribed, be numbered, and (save as prescribed) printed and sold by him.

 (2) Any statutory rules may, without prejudice to any other mode of citation, be cited by the number so given and the calendar year.

 (3) Where any statutory rules are required by any Act to be published or notified in the Gazette, a notice in the Gazette of the rules having been made, and of the place or places where copies of them can be purchased, shall be sufficient compliance with that requirement.

 (3A) Where a notice of statutory rules having been made is published in accordance with subsection (3), copies of the statutory rules shall, at the time of publication of the notice or as soon as practicable thereafter, be made available for purchase at the place, or at each of the places, specified in the notice.

 (3B) Where, on the date of publication of a notice referred to in subsection (3A), there are no copies of the statutory rules to which the notice relates available for purchase at the place, or at one or more of the places, specified in the notice, the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Tourism shall cause to be laid before each House of the Parliament, within 15 sitting days of that House after that date, a statement that copies of the statutory rules were not so available and the reason why they were not so available.

 (3C) Failure to comply with a requirement of subsection (3A) or (3B) in relation to any statutory rules shall not be taken to constitute a failure to comply with subsection (3) or with any provision of any Act with respect to the publication or notification of the statutory rules in the Gazette.

 (4) Regulations under this Act may prescribe the classes of cases in which the exercise of a statutory power by any rule‑making authority constitutes or does not constitute the making of a statutory rule within the meaning of this section.

6A  Incorporation of amendments in reprint of statutory rules

 (1) Where any statutory rules have, before or after the commencement of this section, been amended by:

 (a) the repeal or omission of certain words or figures;

  (b) the substitution of certain words or figures in lieu of any repealed or omitted words or figures; or

  (c) the insertion of certain words or figures;

then, in any reprint of the statutory rules by the Government Printer, the statutory rules shall be printed as so amended.

 (2) In every reprint of any statutory rules as so amended, reference shall be made in the margin, or in a footnote or endnote, to the statutory rules or other instrument by which the amendment is made.

 (3) When any statutory rules prescribe a method of citation of some other statutory rules, those other statutory rules shall be deemed to be amended by substituting that method of citation for the citation of those other statutory rules, and in every reprint of those other statutory rules that method of citation shall be substituted accordingly.

 (4) There shall be printed on every reprint issued by the Government Printer of any statutory rules which have, before or after the commencement of this Act, been amended, a short reference to every statutory rule or other instrument by which they have been amended.

 (5) In this section, words includes Part, Division, heading, regulation, subregulation, paragraph and Schedule.

7  Regulations

 (1) The Governor‑General may make Regulations for carrying this Act into effect.

Notes to the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903

Note 1

The Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 18, 1903 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

All relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions prior to 2 January 2004 is not included in this compilation.  For subsequent information see Table A.

The following are deemed not to be Statutory Rules within the meaning of the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903:

By‑laws made under section 115(2) of the Postal Services Act 1975
(No. 54, 1975).

By‑laws made under section 111(2) of the Telecommunications Act 1975
(No. 55, 1975).

Determinations made under section 58B of the Defence Act 1903—see section 5 Defence Amendment Act 1979 (No. 132, 1979).

Determinations of the Minister under section 73E(2) of the National Health Act 1953—see section 14 National Health Amendment Act (No. 2) 1978
(No. 132, 1978).

Determinations made under section 82D of the Public Service Act 1922—see section 38 Public Service and Statutory Authorities Amendment Act 1980
(No. 177, 1980).

Orders made under the Coal Industry Act 1946—see section 8 Coal Industry Amendment Act 1979 (No. 126, 1979).

Orders made under the Navigation Act 1912—see section 91 Navigation Amendment Act 1979 (No. 98, 1979).

Rules of court made under section 27 of the Service and Execution of Process Act 1901—see section 9 Service and Execution of Process Act 1953
(No. 48, 1953).

Declarations made under section 34 of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979—see subsection 36(2) of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979.

Table of Acts

Act

Number
and year

Date
of Assent

Date of commencement

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Rules Publication Act 1903

18, 1903

22 Oct 1903

1 Jan 1904

 

Rules Publication Act 1916

16, 1916

30 May 1916

1 July 1916 (see Gazette 1916, p. 1364)

S. 3(2)

Statute Law Revision Act 1934

45, 1934

6 Aug 1934

6 Aug 1934

—

Rules Publication Act 1939

55, 1939

15 Dec 1939

12 Jan 1940

—

Rules Publication Act 1964

55, 1964

30 May 1964

27 June 1964

—

Statute Law Revision Act 1973

216, 1973

19 Dec 1973

31 Dec 1973

Ss. 9(1) and 10

Statutory Rules Publication Amendment Act 1978

39, 1978

12 June 1978

12 June 1978

—

Statutory Rules Publication Amendment Act 1980

3, 1980

1 Mar 1980

1 Jan 1980

—

Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1985

65, 1985

5 June 1985

S. 3: 3 July 1985 (a)

—

Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003

140, 2003

17 Dec 2003

S. 4 and Schedule 1 (item 33): (b)

—

(a) The Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 was amended by section 3 only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1985, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

 (1) Subject to this section, this Act shall come into operation on the twenty‑eighth day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(b) Subsection 2(1) (items 2 and 3) of the Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003 provides as follows:

 (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences on the day or at the time specified in column 2 of the table.

 

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provision(s)

Commencement

Date/Details

2.  Sections 4 and 5

Immediately after the commencement of sections 3 to 62 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003

1 January 2005

3.  Schedule 1

Immediately after the commencement of sections 3 to 62 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003

1 January 2005

 

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted     am. = amended     rep. = repealed     rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

S. 1....................

am. No. 39, 1978

S. 2....................

am. No. 216, 1973

Ss. 3, 4.................

rep. No. 16, 1916

S. 5....................

am. No. 216, 1973; No. 39, 1978; No. 65, 1985

S. 6 ....................

rep. No. 55, 1964

S. 6A...................

ad. No. 55, 1939

 

am. No. 3, 1980

S. 7....................

am. No. 45, 1934

 

Overview

The Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 was enacted to address the need for a systematic and transparent process for the publication of statutory rules made under various Acts within the Commonwealth. The Act was established to ensure that statutory rules are promptly sent to the Government Printer, numbered, printed, and made available for sale. It was introduced to streamline the process of disseminating statutory rules, making them accessible to the public and ensuring compliance with legal requirements for their publication. The Act was enacted by the Parliament of Australia and its primary policy objective was to facilitate the orderly publication and dissemination of statutory rules, thereby enhancing the accessibility and enforceability of legislative instruments. The Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 was repealed by the Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003, which introduced a new legislative framework for the publication and management of legislative instruments. The repeal marked a significant shift towards modernising the legislative process and ensuring that statutory rules and other legislative instruments are effectively managed and made accessible to the public in accordance with contemporary legislative drafting and publishing standards.

Scope and Application

The Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 governs the publication, printing, and sale of statutory rules made under any Act within the Commonwealth of Australia. This Act applies to statutory rules that pertain to any court within the Commonwealth or its procedure, practice, and costs, as well as those made by the Governor-General, any Minister, the Inter-State Commission, or any government department. The Act mandates that all such statutory rules be sent to the Government Printer immediately after their creation. They must be numbered and printed in the prescribed manner, and made available for sale by the Government Printer, with exceptions as prescribed. Additionally, where statutory rules must be published or notified in the Commonwealth Gazette, a notice of their creation and the availability of copies for purchase suffices. However, certain instruments such as by-laws made under the Postal Services Act 1975 and the Telecommunications Act 1975, and various determinations and orders made under specific Acts, are excluded from the scope of this legislation. The Act also provides for the incorporation of amendments in reprints of statutory rules and empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the Act's implementation. As of 1 January 2005, this Act has been repealed by the Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003.

Key Provisions

The Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 (C1903A00018) sets out the procedures for the publication, numbering, and sale of statutory rules made under various Acts in Australia. Section 5 of the Act requires that all statutory rules be sent to the Government Printer immediately after they are made. These rules must be numbered and printed in a manner prescribed by the Act, and sold by the Government Printer, unless otherwise specified (section 5(1)). Statutory rules can be cited using the number assigned to them and the calendar year (section 5(2)). If an Act mandates the publication or notification of statutory rules in the Gazette, a notice of their creation and the availability of copies for purchase can suffice as compliance with that requirement (section 5(3)). Additionally, where such a notice is published, copies of the rules must be made available for purchase at the specified places (section 5(3A)). If copies are not available at the time of publication, the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Tourism must lay a statement before each House of Parliament within 15 sitting days (section 5(3B)). The Act also mandates that any reprints of statutory rules must reflect any amendments made to them (section 6A). The Act further stipulates that the Governor-General may make regulations to give effect to the provisions of the Act (section 7). Under the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903, there are specific obligations placed on the rule-making authorities and the Government Printer. Rule-making authorities are required to send all statutory rules to the Government Printer immediately after they are made (section 5(1)). The Government Printer is responsible for numbering, printing, and selling these rules, ensuring they are available for purchase as required by the Act (section 5). Additionally, the Government Printer must ensure that any reprints of amended statutory rules reflect those amendments accurately (section 6A). The Minister for Sport, Recreation and Tourism has the obligation to lay a statement before each House of Parliament if statutory rules are not available for purchase as required by section 5(3B). The Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 does not explicitly outline offences, penalties, or consequences for breaches of its provisions. However, non-compliance with the Act’s requirements could potentially result in legal challenges or administrative actions, particularly if the failure to publish or make statutory rules available affects the operation of other laws or the public's access to legal information. The Act’s repealed status as of 1 January 2005, and its replacement by the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, suggests that any prior enforcement mechanisms may no longer apply.

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