An explanatory statement is “a document that accompanies a bill, subordinate law or disallowable instrument and explains its purpose and detail” (Source: ACT Legislation Register Glossary). Explanatory statements may be used to interpret legislation, see the Legislation Act 2001 s 141-142.
Sources of Australian Capital Territory Explanatory Statements
| ACT Legislation Register |
- Coverage: 1940s-
- Includes explanatory statements for bills, ordinances, subordinate laws, disallowable instruments, notifiable instruments, approved forms and exposure drafts (see the ACT Legislation Register glossary for definitions of these terms).
- Browse by title.
- To search explanatory statements, use the advanced search and select ‘explanatory statements’ in the ‘legislation category’ section of the screen.
- Provided by the ACT Government.
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| Lawlex |
- Coverage: links back to Legislation Register
- Explanatory Statements are linked to the record for both the Act and the bill. Note that the free version of Lawlex only provides access to current bills (a deeper archive is available to subscribers).
- Type in the name of the Act or bill in the ‘keywords’ field and the year in the ‘year from’ field. Set the jurisdiction to ‘ACT’, then click search.
- On the ‘home page’ for the Act or bill, click on the ‘explanatory statement’ link in the ‘related links’ section.
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| AustLII – Explanatory Statements for Bills |
- Coverage: 2002-
- Browse by year or by title.
- Use ‘name search’ to search the titles of bills (the items are listed under bill title).
- Use ‘database search’ to search the full text of explanatory statements.
- Once you have located the explanatory statement, click on the ‘download’ tab to access the PDF version.
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| AustLII – Explanatory Statements for Regulations |
- Coverage: 1986-
- Browse by year or by title.
- Use ‘name search’ to search the titles of regulations (the items are listed under regulation title).
- Use ‘database search’ to search the full text of explanatory statements.
- Click on the ‘download’ tab once you have located the explanatory statement to access the PDF version.
- Click on the ‘related items’ tab to access the relevant regulation.
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| Bills Volume |
- “This document contains links to each Bill, explanatory statement and compatibility statement if applicable. It also contains links to relevant Scrutiny Committee reports, each amendment moved, supplementary explanatory statements, Hansard and the relevant Act.”
- Historical bills volumes from 2004- are also available.
- Provided by Parliament.
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| GovPubs |
- Contains information about print holdings of ACT bills and explanatory statements in the National Library and State / Territory Libraries.
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Information about Australian Capital Territory Explanatory Statements
| GovPubs |
- Contains a brief history of explanatory statements in the ACT.
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| Guide to writing an explanatory statement |
- Contains information on the purpose and structure of explanatory statements.
- Publication of the Standing Committee on Justice & Community Safety, ACT Legislative Assembly, March 2011.
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Related pages
See also Bills and Second Reading speeches
Last updated: 3 March 2014
