Unlike most similar liberal democracies, Australia does not have a Bill of Rights. Instead, protections for human rights may be found in the Constitution and in legislation passed by the Commonwealth Parliament or State or Territory Parliaments. Show
There are five explicit individual rights in the Constitution. These are the right to vote (Section 41), protection against acquisition of property on unjust terms (Section 51 (xxxi)), the right to a trial by jury (Section 80), freedom of religion (Section 116) and prohibition of discrimination on the basis of State of residency (Section 117). The High Court has found that additional rights for individuals may be necessarily implied by the language and structure of the Constitution. In 1992 the Court decided that Australia's form of parliamentary democracy (dictated by the Constitution) necessarily requires a degree of freedom for individuals to discuss and debate political issues. Australia's common law was inherited from the United Kingdom. Common law is often called 'judge-made' law. This distinguishes it from laws made in Parliament. As well as common law, United Kingdom law includes the Magna Carta of 1215 which was probably the first human rights treaty. Student and teacher resources about the Magna Carta are available here: Magna Carta - the story of our freedom. 800th Anniversary (2015). More information:
What is the Commission's role?The Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 details the powers and functions of the Australian Human Rights Commission as the Commonwealth agency responsible for monitoring and promoting human rights protection. The Commission also has responsibilities under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, and the Age Discrimination Act 1996. The principle of non-discrimination is a fundamental one in human rights law - all human rights should be enjoyed by everyone regardless of factors such as race, sex or disability. It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Refer to Acts of parliament using the correct style so people can find the source material. Choose when to cite the short and long titles, series numbers, jurisdiction and sections. Style for Act titles is title case, not always italicsUse title case (maximal capitalisation) for the titles of Acts. Use italics for the first mention of these titles. Use roman type for the titles of Acts in reference lists and other long lists. Blocks of italics are difficult to read. The year the legislation is first enacted forms part of the title. Don’t use a comma before the year. CorrectExport Control Act 2020 IncorrectExport control Act, 2020 Include all the words in the title. If the title begins with ‘The’, ‘An’ or ‘A’, make sure you include it. Example
If the Act’s title has a number, include the number exactly as written. The contraction ‘No.’ retains the full stop in this situation, which is an exception to the general rule for the shortened form for ‘number’. Example
An Act has a short title (its name) and long title (a description). Both appear after the list of contents in the text of the Act. The long title appears as a heading before section 1 of the Act. The short title is named in section 1. Example
At first mention, use the short title in italicsThe first time you name the Act in text, use the short title in italics. ExampleThe Currency Act 1965 established the Royal Australian Mint to produce Australia’s circulating coins. The Act also sets restrictions on amounts that can be paid in coins as ‘legal tender’. After first mention, use the short title in roman type without the yearAlways use the short title in italics the first time you cite the Act in your text. If there are subsequent mentions of the Act, use the short title in roman type without the year. Add the shortened form in parentheses at the first mention if it does more than just remove the year or the word ‘Act’ from the title. Example
Or use the informal title in roman typeOften, Acts also have a shorter informal title. This is usually an initialism or acronym of the short title. At first mention, include the informal title in parentheses after the title. Use the informal title after that. Use title case and roman type for the informal title. Example
Each Act has a series number to use in citationsActs are also identified by series. Every Act made in a year is given a number starting at 1. The series appears in the text of the Act immediately under the title, for example ‘Act No. 137 of 1979’. Using the series in general text helps people identify the particular Act and find it in the Legislation Register. Series are also used in annotations and in notes. ExampleThe Australian Citizenship Act 2007, by virtue of amendments made in 2013 (Act No. 57 of 2013), gives the Minister the discretionary power to … Jurisdiction is an important detailIt is important to identify the jurisdiction of the Act – that is, whether it is an Act of:
This helps people find the Act and understand where it applies. There are 2 ways to do this. Write a sentence that makes jurisdiction clearThe first way is to write a sentence that explains where the Act originates. This method is useful in documents that don’t mention legislation frequently. Example
Use the shortened form of the jurisdiction in the Act’s title in roman type and in parenthesesAlternatively, insert the jurisdiction’s shortened form in roman type in parentheses after the italicised title. Use these shortened forms:
None of these shortened forms for jurisdictions are punctuated. Example
An initial capital is correct, whether the reference is generic or notAlways use capitals for the words ‘Act’ and ‘Acts’ when you write about Acts of parliament. This avoids possible confusion in publications, even those that are mostly about the law. The words ‘act’ and ‘acts’ have several meanings. ExampleStaff must read the Act to understand their compliance responsibilities. The basic unit of an Act is a section (s)An Act contains sections, which are often divided into subsections. Subsections might be divided into paragraphs and subparagraphs. Use lower case for these units unless they begin a sentence. Sections are usually grouped into parts, divisions and subdivisions. An Act only has subdivisions if there are divisions. Some larger Acts – for example, the Criminal Code Act 1995 – group these units into chapters. Always use an initial capital for a specific reference to a ‘Chapter’, ‘Part’, ‘Division’ or ‘Subdivision’. Choose how to cite units below section levelCommonwealth Acts cite units at the smallest unit below section level. This is a convention used by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in legislative drafting. Some jurisdictions cite at section level. ExampleThese citations specify the smallest unit of text:
Other jurisdictions might cite as ‘section 113V(4)(a)(ii)’. [A citation at section level] Whether to cite at section level or below will depend on the context for your content. You can choose which method to follow. Content that discuss the operation and effect of certain subsections, paragraphs and subparagraphs will cite at the smallest unit level. A general discussion about the provisions of an Act might only cite at section level. Follow in-house style. Otherwise, be guided by the type of content you’re writing, and its purpose and audience. Don’t use a full stop after the shortened forms of unitsThe units of an Act are written in long or shortened form (an abbreviation or contraction), depending on the context. Never begin a sentence with the shortened form. Don’t use a full stop after the shortened form when you use it in a citation or note. The units of an ActLong formExampleShortened formExamplePartThe Auditor-General’s main functions and powers are defined in Part 4 of the Act.Pt... the Auditor-General Act 1997 (Cth), Pts 4 and 6.Division… under Division 2 of Part 9 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002Div... the LEPRA, Div 2, Pt 9.Subdivision… under Subdivision 20-A of the Commonwealth Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA).Subdiv... the TASA, Subdiv 20-A.sectionSection 476B of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) provides …s... the Copyright Act 1968, s 4.sectionsCivil penalty provisions are contained in sections 4, 5 and 7 of the Act.ss... the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), ss 4, 99, 105, 109, 113.subsectionSubsection 7(7) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973.subsThe Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973, subs 7(7) requires …subsectionsSubsections 6 and 6A require the Tribunal to …subss... to the Chief Minister of the ACT (subss 6, 6A).paragraph... is described in paragraph 21(3)(a).para… the offences as defined (para 11.2A(1)).paragraphsParagraphs 17(1)(a)–(c) outline ...paras... produce documents when required (paras 17(1)(a)–(c)).subparagraphSubparagraph 2A (a)(iv) allows ...subpara... the Crimes Act 1914, subpara 2A(a)(iv).subparagraphsUnder subparagraphs 8ZD(2)(b)(i)–(ii) ...subparas... the Taxation Administration Act 1953, subparas 8ZD(2)(b)(i)–(ii).Titles of Acts from other countries are in roman typeWrite all legislation from foreign countries in roman type, followed by the country abbreviation. If you’re not sure of an abbreviation, write the sentence to make the jurisdiction clear. Example
Reference to Australia’s Constitution needs capitalisation onlyAlways capitalise ‘Constitution’ when writing about Australia’s Constitution. The Constitution was enacted by the British Parliament. The long title of the Act is the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (UK). Like all foreign Acts of parliament, it is written in roman type, not italics. The original version is available on the UK Government Legislation website. A compilation including amendments is on the Legislation Register. How you refer to Australia’s Constitution depends on the context.
Release notesThe digital edition has considerable advice on how to cite legal material. It includes new material on Commonwealth tribunals and Australian Tax Office rulings. It expands on sixth edition information on treaties. The digital edition departs from sixth edition guidance about the capitalisation, punctuation and italicisation of citation elements for some legal material. The current edition also recommends the contraction ‘Cth’ rather than ‘Cwlth’. These departures are informed by legal material and general publications from Australian courts, government agencies working in the legislative context and academic sources. The digital edition style is for general, rather than specialist, legal content. The Content Guide briefly mentioned legislation in relation to capitalisation. There was no detailed guidance about how to cite legislation. About this pageReferencesAttorney-General’s Department (2017) Style guide, Australian Government, Canberra. Department of the House of Representatives (2018) ‘Bills — the parliamentary process’, in Elder DR (ed) House of Representatives practice, 7th edn, Department of the House of Representatives, accessed 16 June 2020. Department of the Senate (2016) ‘Chapter 12: legislation’, in Laing R (ed) Odgers’ Senate practice, 14th edn, Department of the Senate, accessed 16 June 2020. Hansard (2020) Hansard style guide, Department of Parliamentary Services, Parliament of Australia, Canberra. Melbourne University Law Review Association Inc and Melbourne Journal of International Law (2018) Australian guide to legal citation, 4th edn, Melbourne University Law Review Association Inc, accessed 16 June 2020. OPC (n.d.) Drafting directions, OPC website, accessed 16 June 2020. OPC (n.d.) Drafting manuals, OPC, accessed 16 June 2020. OPC (n.d.) Glossary, Federal Register of Legislation website, accessed 16 June 2020. OPC (n.d.) Information, Federal Register of Legislation website, accessed 16 June 2020. Parliamentary Library (n.d.) Key internet links on Australian law, Parliament of Australia website, accessed 16 June 2020. Parliamentary Library (2017) The 45th Parliament: parliamentary handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia 2017, Department of Parliamentary Services, Parliament of Australia, accessed 16 June 2020. PM&C (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) (2017) Legislation handbook, PM&C, accessed 16 June 2020. Thomson Reuters Australia (2017) ‘Legislation and commentary table of abbreviations’, Westlaw AU Guides, Thomson Reuters Australia, accessed 16 June 2020. University of Technology Sydney and University of New South Wales Faculties of Law (n.d.) Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII), AustLII website, accessed 16 June 2020. Whitbread D and Leary K (2016a) AGS editorial style guide, Australian Government Solicitor, Canberra. What is Act for Australia?The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is home to one major city - Canberra - a young, vibrant community that embraces diversity.
What is an Act vs legislation?The passage of legislation
Under a bicameral system, bills (or proposed laws) pass through several stages in both of the Houses of Parliament, before being sent to the Governor for assent. Bills that have received assent are known as Acts.
What does an Act mean in law?When a bill is passed in identical form by both the Senate and the House, it is sent to the president for his signature. If the president signs the bill, it becomes a law. Laws are also known as Acts of Congress. Statute is another word that is used interchangeably with law.
What is the difference between a title and an Act?In reference to an act, (such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act), the word title refers to a large portion or subset of the act. For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is codified in Title 42 of the United States Code.
|
What is an Act in Australian law
Related Posts
Copyright © 2024 SignalDuo Inc.
