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Interpretation of Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015
Introduction Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Clause Notes
Clause 1 sets out the purpose of the Bill which is to amend the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984--
· to include new definitions and interpretive provisions to
improve the operation of that Act; and
· to provide for the updating of Acts and statutory rules to
bring them into conformity with current drafting style.
Clause 2 provides for the Bill to come into operation on 1 July 2015.
Clause 3 provides that in the Bill, the Interpretation of Legislation Act
1984 is called the Principal Act.
Clause 4 amends section 10 of the Interpretation of Legislation Act
1984. That section provides for the ways in which Acts may be
cited. One of the ways an Act may be cited is by the title that
appears before the enacting words or, if there is a preamble,
before the preamble.
The amendment provides that a citation of an Act by the title that
appears before the enacting words or, if there is a preamble,
before the preamble, being a citation that is in italics without
bolding, is sufficient for the purposes of that section.
This amendment supports the style changes set out in clause 10
of this Bill.
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Clause 5 amends section 14(2) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act
1984. That section provides that the repeal, amendment, expiry,
lapsing or ceasing to have effect of an Act or a provision of an
Act does not, unless the contrary intention expressly appears,
revive or affect any of the matters set out in the section.
The amendment inserts a reference to an immunity or indemnity
to the list of matters set out in the section so that the repeal,
amendment, expiry, lapsing or ceasing to have effect of an Act or
a provision of an Act does not affect--
· any immunity or indemnity conferred or given by or
under the Act or provision; or
· any legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such
immunity or indemnity.
Clause 6 amends section 19(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act
1984. That section provides for the meaning of citations of
certain references in Acts. The amendment made by this clause
relates to Acts that contain Chapters and in which Parts are
designated by decimal numbers. The amendment provides that in
these cases, a reference to a Part is taken to be a reference to a
Part of the whole Act. This will allow Parts that are designated
by decimal numbers to be referred to directly within the Act in
which they occur.
This is in contrast to Acts that contain Chapters in which Parts
are designated by numbers that are not decimal numbers.
In those cases, a reference to a Part is taken to be a reference to
a Part of the Chapter in which the reference occurs.
Clause 7 inserts a definition of police officer in section 38 of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984. That section contains
definitions that apply to all Victorian Acts and subordinate
instruments unless the contrary intention appears.
The amendment will allow the term police officer to be used
across the Statute Book without further definition.
Clause 8 inserts a new section 38EA in the Interpretation of Legislation
Act 1984 that contains a definition of registered medical
practitioner. The new section will allow the term registered
medical practitioner to be used in certain Acts and instruments
without further definition.
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The new section provides that, unless the contrary intention
appears, the section (and definition) applies to--
· an Act that is passed, or a subordinate instrument that is
made, on or after 1 July 2015; or
· an Act that is passed, or a subordinate instrument that is
made, before 1 July 2015 into which a reference to
registered medical practitioner is inserted on or after
1 July 2015 and which does not contain a reference to
registered medical practitioner immediately before
1 July 2015.
This prospective operation ensures that existing use of the term
without definition in the particular Act or subordinate instrument
in which it occurs is not affected.
Clause 9 amends section 42A(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act
1984. That section provides for the construction of a power to
delegate. This clause amends that section to provide that unless
the contrary intention appears, a power to delegate does not
include the power to delegate the power of delegation.
The amendment will avoid the need to expressly state this in
delegation provisions in the future, thereby reducing the length of
delegation provisions.
Clause 10 amends Schedule 1 to the Interpretation of Legislation Act
1984 to provide for three further style changes to apply to the
publication of Victorian Acts and statutory rules.
The first style change is for Part headings (including Part
headings that occur within Schedules), Schedule headings and
Form headings to be formatted in the same style as Division and
Subdivision headings, that is, in sentence case.
An example of the style change provided for by the amendment
to clause 2 of Schedule 1 is--
Old Part heading style New Part heading style
PART 1--PRELIMINARY Part 1--Preliminary
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An example of the style change provided for by new clause 2A of
Schedule 1 is--
Old Schedule heading style New Schedule heading style
SCHEDULE 1 Schedule 1--Savings and
SAVINGS AND transitional provisions
TRANSITIONAL
PROVISIONS
The second style change is for citations of Acts and statutory
rules by titles that are not italicised or that appear in bold to be
substituted with citations that are formatted in italics without
bolding.
The third style change is for the omission of the line appearing at
the end of a Part of an Act.
Clause 11 provides for the automatic repeal of this Bill on 1 July 2016.
The repeal does not affect the operation of the amendments made
by it (see section 15(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act
1984).
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