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Act Repealed Latest version as at 12 December 2012 | 1920 No 46 | Administered by Parliamentary Counsel Office

Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920

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Act Repealed Latest version as at 12 December 2012 | 1920 No 46 | Administered by Parliamentary Counsel Office
Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920
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Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920: repealed, on 12 December 2012, by section 77(1) of the Legislation Act 2012 (2012 No 119).

Reprint
as at 12 December 2012

Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920

Public Act 1920 No 46
Date of assent 5 November 1920

  • Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920: repealed, on 12 December 2012, by section 77(1) of the Legislation Act 2012 (2012 No 119).

Note

Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this eprint.

A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this eprint, together with other explanatory material about this eprint.

This Act is administered in the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

Contents

Title

1 Short Title

2 Parliamentary Counsel Office established

3 Bill Drafting Department and Compilation Department

4 Duties of officers of Bill Drafting Department

5 Duties of officers of Compilation Department

6 Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and Compiler of Statutes

6A Remuneration and conditions of employment

7 [Repealed]

8 Regulations

8A Power to authorise drafting and printing of Government Bills by Inland Revenue Department

8B Delegation of functions, responsibilities, duties, or powers

8C Absence or incapacity of Chief Parliamentary Counsel or vacancy

8D Revocation of delegations

9 Repeals

Schedule

An Act to provide for the establishment of a Parliamentary Counsel Office, and for the appointment of a Chief Parliamentary Counsel, a Compiler of Statutes, and other officers

  • The Long Title was substituted, as from 21 November 1973, by section 2(1) Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1973 (1973 No 102).

1 Short Title

  • This Act may be cited as the Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920.

2 Parliamentary Counsel Office established

  • (1) There shall be an office of Parliament to be called the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

    (2) The Parliamentary Counsel Office shall be under the control of the Attorney-General. If during any period there shall be no Minister of the Crown who is Attorney-General, the office shall during such period be under the control of the Prime Minister.

    The words “Parliamentary Counsel Office” were substituted, as from 21 November 1973, for the words “Law Drafting Office” by section 2(2)(a) of the Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1973 (1973 No 102).

3 Bill Drafting Department and Compilation Department

  • There shall be 2 Departments of the Parliamentary Counsel Office—namely, the Bill Drafting Department and the Compilation Department.

    The words “Parliamentary Counsel Office” were substituted, as from 21 November 1973, for the words “Law Drafting Office” by section 2(2)(a) of the Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1973 (1973 No 102).

4 Duties of officers of Bill Drafting Department

  • (1) The duties of the officers of the Bill Drafting Department shall be—

    • (a) to draft such Government Bills as the Ministers of the Crown may direct to be prepared for the consideration of Parliament, and such amendments of such drafts as may from time to time be required by Ministers of the Crown during the passage of such Bills in Parliament:

    • (b) to supervise the printing of such Bills and amendments:

    • (c) to examine all local Bills and to report to the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General whether and to what extent the provisions of any local Bill affect the rights of the Crown or of the public, or repeal, extend, or amend the provisions of any public statute, and generally as to the form and effect of each local Bill:

    • (d) if and when so directed by the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General, to report as to the form and effect of any Bills other than local Bills introduced by private members into the House of Representatives:

    • (e) such other duties relating to the drafting and preparation of statutes and regulations to be made under the authority of statutes as the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General may from time to time assign to be performed by the Bill Drafting Department.

    (2) In addition to the duties hereinbefore referred to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel shall, if and when so directed by the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General upon the request of a local authority, revise any local Bill proposed to be promoted by such local authority.

    (3) In respect of such revision by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel of any Local Bill there shall be payable by the local authority such fees as may be prescribed by regulations under this Act.

    (4) All fees under this section shall be paid into the Public Account and form part of the Consolidated Account.

    In subsection (1)(d) the reference to “the House of Representatives” was substituted for a reference to either House of Parliament by section 2(4) Legislative Council Abolition Act 1950.

    In subsections (2) and (3) the words “Chief Parliamentary Counsel” were substituted for the words “Law Draftsman” by section 2(2)(b) Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1973.

    In subs. (4) the reference to the “Consolidated Account” was substituted for a reference to the Consolidated Revenue Account (as substituted for a reference to the Consolidated Fund by section 4(4) Public Revenues Amendment Act 1963) by section 114(6) Public Finance Act 1977. The terms Public Account and Consolidated Account were abolished by section 83(1) Public Finance Act 1989 and should now be read as a reference to the Crown Bank Account.

5 Duties of officers of Compilation Department

  • The duties of the officers of the Compilation Department shall be—

    • (a) as and when directed by the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General, to compile, with their amendments, statutes, amendments whereof have been enacted, and to supervise the printing of such compilations:

    • (b) to report to the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General upon verbal or technical alterations of language which may be adopted for the purpose and in the course of any compilation:

    • (c) to consider the language and effect of the statutes, compilation whereof is directed, and to state for the consideration of the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General suggestions or proposals for the alteration of the law enacted by such statutes, or for the extension or limitation of the effect of such statutes, or for amendment of the wording of any such statute:

    • (d) such other duties relating to the compilation of statutes and the amendment or extension or limitation of the effect of statutes enacted by Parliament as the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General may from time to time assign to be performed by the Compilation Department.

6 Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and Compiler of Statutes

  • (1) The chief officer of the Bill Drafting Department shall be called the Chief Parliamentary Counsel. There shall be appointed 1 or more Parliamentary Counsel. The Chief Parliamentary Counsel and the Parliamentary Counsel shall be principal officers of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

    (2) The chief officer of the Compilation Department shall be called the Compiler of Statutes, and shall be a principal officer of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

    (3) The principal officers of the Parliamentary Counsel Office shall be appointed by the Governor-General upon the advice of the Prime Minister, and shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor-General.

    (4) The staff of the Parliamentary Counsel Office other than the principal officers shall be appointed by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel; but the number of those staff shall not exceed a number determined from time to time by the Attorney-General.

    (5) [Repealed]

    Subsection (1) was substituted, as from 21 November 1973, by section 2(3) Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1973.

    In subsections (2), (3) and (4) the words “Parliamentary Counsel Office” were substituted for the words “Law Drafting Office” by section 2(2)(a) Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1973.

    The reference in the original subsection (4) to the House of Representatives was substituted for a reference to both Houses of Parliament by section 2(4) Legislative Council Abolition Act 1950, and the reference to Speaker was substituted for a reference to Speakers.

    Subsection (4) was substituted, as from 1 October 1985, by section 64 Parliamentary Service Act 1985 (1985 No 128).

    Subsection (5) was repealed, as from 21 November 1973, by section 2(2)(c) Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1973.

6A Remuneration and conditions of employment

  • (1) The Chief Parliamentary Counsel shall be paid—

    • (a) such remuneration as is determined from time to time by the Remuneration Authority; and

    • (b) such additional allowances, being travelling allowances or other incidental or minor allowances, as may be determined from time to time by the Minister of Finance.

    (2) The other principal officers of the Parliamentary Counsel Office must be paid remuneration (including travelling allowances and other incidental allowances) that the Chief Parliamentary Counsel determines.

    (3) The staff of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (other than the principal officers) must be employed on terms and conditions of employment and be paid salaries and allowances that the Chief Parliamentary Counsel determines.

    (3A) Before entering into a collective agreement under the Employment Relations Act 2000, the Chief Parliamentary Counsel must consult with the State Services Commissioner about the conditions of employment to be included in the collective agreement.

    (4) Subject to The Remuneration Authority Act 1977, any determination made under this section may be made so as to come into force on a date to be specified for that purpose in the determination, being the date of the making of the determination, or any other date, whether before or after the date of the making of the determination.

    (5) Every determination made under this section in respect of which no date is specified as aforesaid shall come into force on the date of the making of the determination.

    Section 6A was inserted, as from 1 April 1988, by section 2 Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 38).

    Section 6A was amended, as from 1 April 2003, by section 4(1) Remuneration Authority (Members of Parliament) Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 54) by substituting the words “Remuneration Authority” for the words “Higher Salaries Commission” in both places where they appear.

    Subsections (2) and (3) were substituted, as from 25 January 2005, by section 18 State Sector Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 114).

    Subsection (3A) was inserted, as from 25 January 2005, by section 18 State Sector Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 114).

7

  • [Repealed]

    Repealed, as from 30 April 1953, by section 5 Finance Act 1953 (1953 No 9).

8 Regulations

  • The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.

8A Power to authorise drafting and printing of Government Bills by Inland Revenue Department

  • (1) Notwithstanding anything in section 4(1), the Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council, made on the recommendation of the Attorney-General, authorise the Inland Revenue Department—

    • (a) to draft (subject to such exceptions as may be specified in the order) such Government Bills (being Bills intended to become Acts administered by that Department) as the Minister of the Crown who is responsible for that Department may direct to be prepared for the consideration of Parliament, and such amendments of such drafts as may from time to time be required by that Minister during the passage of such Bills in Parliament; and

    • (b) to supervise the printing of the Bills and amendments referred to in paragraph (a).

    (2) Any Order in Council made under subsection (1) may be at any time varied or revoked by a subsequent Order in Council.

    (3) Every Order in Council made under subsection (1) or subsection (2) shall be deemed to be a regulation for the purposes of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 and the Regulations (Disallowance) Act 1989.

    Section 8A was inserted, as from 30 November 1995, by section 2 Statutes Drafting and Compilation Amendment Act 1995 (1995 No 59).

8B Delegation of functions, responsibilities, duties, or powers

  • (1) The Chief Parliamentary Counsel—

    • (a) may from time to time, either generally or particularly, delegate to any Parliamentary Counsel or other staff member of the Parliamentary Counsel Office any of the functions, responsibilities, duties, or powers of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, including functions or powers delegated to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel under any Act:

    • (b) must ensure that an appropriate delegation is at all times in place under this section to enable a person to act in place of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel during any absence or incapacity of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel or during any vacancy in the office of Chief Parliamentary Counsel.

    (2) The person to whom any functions, responsibilities, duties, or powers are delegated under this section may perform or exercise those functions, responsibilities, duties, or powers in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred on that person directly by this Act and not by delegation.

    (3) Subsection (2) is subject to any general or special directions given or conditions imposed by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel.

    (4) A person purporting to act under any delegation under this section is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, presumed to be acting in accordance with the terms of the delegation.

    (5) A delegation under this section may be made to—

    • (a) a specified person or persons of a specified class; or

    • (b) the holder or holders for the time being of a specified position, or of a specified class of positions.

    (6) No delegation under this section affects or prevents the performance or exercise of any function, responsibility, duty, or power by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, or affects the responsibility of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel for the actions of any person acting under the delegation.

    Section 8B: inserted, on 30 August 2011, by section 6 of the Duties of Statutory Officers (Census and Other Remedial Provisions) Act 2011 (2011 No 64).

8C Absence or incapacity of Chief Parliamentary Counsel or vacancy

  • (1) A person who holds a delegation referred to in section 8B(1)(b) may act in place of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel while the Chief Parliamentary Counsel is absent or incapacitated or during any vacancy in the office of Chief Parliamentary Counsel.

    (2) No acts done by the person acting in place of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel under subsection (1) may, in any proceedings, be questioned on the ground that the occasion for the authorisation had not arisen or had ceased.

    Section 8C: inserted, on 30 August 2011, by section 6 of the Duties of Statutory Officers (Census and Other Remedial Provisions) Act 2011 (2011 No 64).

8D Revocation of delegations

  • (1) A delegation under section 8B is revocable at any time in writing.

    (2) A delegation, until it is revoked, continues to have effect according to its terms even if the Chief Parliamentary Counsel by whom it was made has ceased to hold office.

    (3) A delegation made by a Chief Parliamentary Counsel who has ceased to hold office continues to have effect as if made by the successor in office of that Chief Parliamentary Counsel.

    Section 8D: inserted, on 30 August 2011, by section 6 of the Duties of Statutory Officers (Census and Other Remedial Provisions) Act 2011 (2011 No 64).

9 Repeals

  • The enactments mentioned in the Schedule are hereby repealed.

Schedule

s 9
Amendments Incorporation Act 1913 (1913 No 9)
Reprint of Statutes Act 1895 (1895 No 24)
Statutes Compilation Act 1908 (1908 No 186)
Statutes Compilation Amendment Act 1915 (1915 No 6)

Contents

  • 1General

  • 2About this eprint

  • 3List of amendments incorporated in this eprint (most recent first)

Notes
1 General

  • This is an eprint of the Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920. The eprint incorporates all the amendments to the Act as at 12 December 2012. The list of amendments at the end of these notes specifies all the amendments incorporated into this eprint since 3 September 2007.

    Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that contain transitional, savings, or application provisions that cannot be compiled in the eprint are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order.

2 About this eprint
3 List of amendments incorporated in this eprint (most recent first)

  • Legislation Act 2012 (2012 No 119): section 77(1)

    Duties of Statutory Officers (Census and Other Remedial Provisions) Act 2011 (2011 No 64): section 6

Act Repealed Latest version as at 12 December 2012
Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920