Commonwealth Explanatory Memoranda

Explanatory Memoranda (EMs) are companion documents to bills. They are intended to explain the purpose of the bill and are written in plain English. They may be used for statutory interpretation (Acts Interpretation Act 1901 s 15AB).

See ‘About the documents associated with bills‘ for information about the different types of EMs, including supplementary and revised EMs, which are vital if the bill has been amended.

If you are searching for EMs for old bills, remember to check the year the bill was introduced, as it may be a year or two earlier than you expect. The publication of explanatory memoranda has only been standard practice since 1982. If you are looking for an EM prior to 1982, check the Index to EMs to see if an EM was issued.

 

Sources of Explanatory Memoranda

Parliament
    • Coverage: 1996-
    • EMs are linked to the bill’s ‘home page’.
    • Use ‘search all bills’ to locate a bill. Note that the default is set to the current Parliament. If you are searching for an old bill, set the date range to ‘none’ and add ‘royal assent’ / ‘not passed’ in the status area.
    • Includes supplementary and revised EMs.
AustLII
    • Coverage: 1980-
    • Includes supplementary and revised EMs.
    • Browse by title or by year, or use the ‘name search’ to locate EMs.
    • Use the ‘database search’ to search full text.
    • Click on the ‘download’ link (once you have located the EM) to access versions formatted for printing etc.
    • Also includes a link to the bill.
Lawlex
  • Coverage: 1996-  (links back to Parliament)
  • EMs 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).
  • Includes supplementary and revised EMs.
  • 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 ‘COM’, then click search.
  • On the ‘home page’ for the Act or bill, click on the ‘explanatory memorandum’ link in the ‘related links’ section.
ComLaw
    • Coverage: 1996-
    • Only contains the original EM, not any supplementary or revised EMs.
    • EMs are linked to the record for the bill.
    • Click on the ‘download’ tab (once you have located the bill) to access the EM for the bill as introduced.
ATO Legal Database
    • Coverage: 1936-
    • Contains selected EMs relating to taxation.
    • Click on ‘Explanatory Memorandum & SRS’, then click on the relevant year, then click on the title of the bill.
    • Also includes the text of the Second Reading speech from both Houses for each bill.
Takeovers Panel
  • Coverage: 1979-
  • Contains selected EMs relating to corporations law.
Parliamentary Library
  • Coverage: 1983-
  • Contains selected EMs which are not available elsewhere on the internet.
Senate Tabled Papers Database
    • Coverage: 1901-
    • Contains over 1500 EMs, mainly for Bills introduced in the Senate and Supplementary Explanatory Memoranda for Bills introduced and amended in the House of Representatives.
    • Click on the ‘+’ symbol next to ‘Tabled Papers’ in the left hand menu, then click ‘search’ to access the database.
    • Enter the title of the bill in the ‘title’ field, in the following format: %evidence bill 1994% and select ‘bill – explanatory memorandum’ from the ‘description’ menu. See the search help for more information about the unusual search syntax.
GovPubs
  • Contains information about sources for Commonwealth EMs, including print holdings in the National Library and State / Territory Libraries – useful for locating older EMs which are not available online.

 

Information about Explanatory Memoranda

Index to EMs
    • Coverage: 1901-1982
    • The provision of EMs was not standard practice until 1982. This index identifies all the EMs that were published between 1901-1982.
    • Also includes ‘comparative memoranda’ (CMs) which simply include the text of the Act as it would be if the bill were to be passed.
    • Created by the Parliamentary Library.
Was there an EM?
  • History of explanatory memoranda and explanatory statements for regulations. Written to accompany the Parliamentary Library’s Index to EMs.
GovPubs
  • Contains a brief overview of the history of EMs, plus information about the different sources of EMs.

 

Related pages

See also Commonwealth Bills

 

Last updated: 28 January 2015