Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Legislation Amendment (Sunsetting Review and Other Measures) Bill 2018 makes a range of technical amendments to two key pieces of federal legislation: the Legislation Act 2003 and the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. It also makes some other consequential amendments to other federal acts. The main purpose of the bill is to harmonise and streamline the operation of sunsetting provisions. The sunsetting framework is designed to ensure that legislative instruments only remain in force for as long as they are needed by stipulating that they are automatically repealed 10 years after commencement.

The changes to be made by this bill implement the recommendations of a committee that last year conducted a review of sunsetting provisions in the Legislation Act. The committee was made up of three senior Commonwealth officials—Mr Ian Anderson, who also chaired the committee, Mr Peter Quiggin PSM and Ms Alison Larkins. The committee made 45 recommendations in its sunsetting review report, which was tabled in this house on 23 October 2017. This bill complements guidelines issued by the Attorney-General's Department to improve the management of sunsetting for legislative instruments.

The measures in the bill broaden the scope of the Attorney-General's power to defer sunsetting; remove the restriction on the parliament's power to roll over the sunsetting dates of a legislative instrument; provide a carve-out to ensure that the rules made by federal courts are not subject to the sunsetting framework; clarify the definition of 'sitting day' for the purposes of disallowance under the Legislation Act, consistent with current practice; and clarify that provision in the Legislation Act allowing a legislative or notifiable instrument to commence before the instrument is registered operates despite any rule or principle of common law to the contrary, subject to a prohibition on any retrospective effect that adversely affects the rights or liabilities of a person other than the Commonwealth.

Labor supports this bill because the sunsetting framework helps to keep the statute books free from redundant instruments. I note that the sunsetting framework put in place by this bill does not apply to acts of the parliament but only to regulations. I commend this bill to the Senate.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank those opposite for their contributions to this debate and I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.