Explanatory Notes (ENs) are documents that are issued with bills. They are written in plain English and are intended to explain the purpose of a bill. Explanatory Notes may be used for statutory interpretation (Interpretation Act 1987 s 34).
In NSW, the Explanatory Note is attached to the first print of the bill. It is not revised if the bill is amended during its progress through Parliament.
Sources of NSW Explanatory Notes
| NSW Legislation |
- Coverage: 1990-
- ENs from 2003 onwards are found on the relevant bill ‘home page, as they are attached to the first print of the bill. Search or browse to locate the bill, then open the pdf version of the first print of the bill. Bills from 1999-2002 are not available in full text on the site at this time.
- ENs from 1990-2006 are found in the ‘explanatory notes prior to 1999’ section.
|
| Parliament |
- Coverage: 1999-
- ENs are linked to the bill’s ‘home page’.
- Choose ‘Current session bills’, ‘Assented bills’ or ‘All bills’ from the left hand menu, then browse by title. Once you have located the bill, click on ‘Show full Explanatory Notes’ or open the pdf (if available).
- You can also search for bills using the advanced search – select ‘Bills’ from the options at the top of the search screen. There is no option to search the full text of ENs.
|
| AustLII |
- Coverage: 1978-
- Browse by year or by title.
- Use ‘name search’ to search the titles of bills (ENs are listed under bill title).
- Use ‘database search’ to search the full text of ENs.
- Click on the ‘download’ link once you have located the EN to access versions formatted for printing etc.
- Also includes a link to the bill (where available on AustLII).
|
| Lawlex |
- Coverage: 1990-
- ENs 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 ‘NSW’, then click search.
- On the ‘home page’ for the Act or bill, click on the ‘explanatory note’ link in the ‘related links’ section.
|
| GovPubs |
- Contains information about sources for NSW Bills (which have the EN attached to the first print), including print holdings in the National Library and State / Territory Libraries. This can be useful for locating older bills and ENs which are not available online.
|
Information about NSW Explanatory Notes
The NSW Legislative Assembly Practice, Procedure and Privilege handbook contains the following information about explanatory notes, including the date from which they have been mandatory:
Chapter 21: Consideration in Detail:
21.5: Constitutent Parts of a Bill
(1) Explanatory Note.
Since 1938 it has been a requirement under the standing orders for an “Explanatory Note” to be affixed to the front of each bill when it is introduced. Such notes briefly and simply set out the provisions of the bill. The Explanatory Note is not considered in detail. In 1994 the standing order was amended to delete this reference and to simply provide that any explanatory note affixed to the bill be printed after the first reading. Under the current standing orders a bill is printed, with an explanatory note if applicable, once it has been introduced (S.O. 188(7)).
Related pages
See also Bills and Second Reading speeches.
Last updated: 28 February 2014
