Western Australian Acts

Links to sources for Acts, with scope notes and search tips. See also which version of the legislation do I need?

Current Acts
Acts as passed
Point-in-time Acts
Repealed Acts
Tables and guides

Current Western Australian Acts

Western Australian Legislation	Click on the first letter of the Act title, then scroll to find the relevant Act. Use the ‘Search – Acts & subsidiary legislation‘ screen to search full text (the default) or to search for keywords in Act titles (select ‘title only’). See also the ‘Legislation tables‘, especially ‘Acts in force’ which lists Acts currently in force with details of assent, commencement, amending Acts and reprint dates. Provided by the State Law Publisher.
Lawlex	Type in the name of the Act in the ‘keywords’ field and the year in the ‘year from’ field. Set the jurisdiction to ‘WA’ and the document type to ‘principal Act’, then click ‘Search’. Each Act on Lawlex has a ‘home page’ – click on the title of the Act to link to the current version of the Act on the Western Australian Legislation website. The Act homepage also includes links to the Second Reading speech and explanatory memorandum (where available). You can also browse legislation by subject – scroll down past the alphabetic index to find the subject index.
AustLII	Browse by title or use the ‘name search’ to find current Acts by title. Use the ‘database search’ to search the full text of Acts. Check the update status for legislation page to see when the database was last updated. Once you are viewing an individual section of an Act, click on ‘note-up’ to find cases considering that section.
Legify	Type in the name of the Act – matching titles will appear as you type. Click on the relevant item to be taken directly to that Act on the Western Australian Legislation website.

Western Australian Acts as passed

Western Australian Legislation	Coverage: 1832- Browse by title or by year. Use the ‘Search – Acts as passed‘ screen to search full text (the default) or to search for keywords in Act titles (select ‘title only’). See also the ‘Legislation tables‘, especially ‘assent, commencement and ceasing information for Acts’, which lists all Western Australian Acts by year. Provided by the State Law Publisher.
AustLII	Coverage: 1832- Browse by year or by title. Use ‘name search’ to search the titles of Acts. Use ‘database search’ to search the full text of Acts.

Point-in-time Western Australian Acts (historical versions)

Western Australian Legislation – versions	Coverage: c.1999- Note: a new version is created each time the Act is amended. Click on the first letter of the Act title, then scroll to find the relevant Act (repealed Acts are listed in red). Click on the title of the Act, then click on ‘Versions of this Act’ near the bottom of the page. Use the ‘Search – Acts & subsidiary legislation‘ screen to search full text (the default) or to search for keywords in Act titles (select ‘title only’). Use the ‘search information as at this date’ section at the bottom of the screen to set a particular date. Ensure you select ‘include superseded versions’. See also the ‘Legislation tables‘, especially ‘Acts in force’ which lists Acts currently in force, with details of assent, commencement, amending Acts and reprint dates. Provided by the State Law Publisher.
Western Australian Legislation – reprints	Coverage: 1950s- Note: these are electronic versions of ‘reprints’, which are also published in hard copy. An Act is usually only reprinted after several / significant amendments have been made, whereas a new ‘version’ is created every time the Act is amended (see above). Click on the first letter of the Act title, then scroll to find the relevant Act. Note that repealed Acts are listed in red. Use the ‘Search – reprint legislation‘ screen to search full text (the default) or to search for keywords in Act titles (select ‘title only’). Ensure you select ‘include superseded versions’ in the ‘search information as at this date’ section at the bottom of the screen. Provided by the State Law Publisher.
Lawlex	Coverage: c.1999- Type in the name of the Act in the ‘keywords’ field and the year in the ‘year from’ field. Set the jurisdiction to ‘WA’ and the document type to ‘principal Act’, then click ‘Search’. Each Act on Lawlex has a ‘home page’ – click on the ‘historical versions’ link to go to historical versions of the Act on the Western Australian Legislation website.

Repealed Western Australian Acts

Western Australian Legislation	Coverage: Acts repealed from 1 January 1996- Click on the first letter of the Act title, then scroll to find the relevant Act. Use the ‘Search – Acts & subsidiary legislation‘ screen to search full text (the default) or to search for keywords in Act titles (select ‘title only’). Select ‘Ceased’ in the ‘Status’ section to search repealed Acts. See also the ‘Legislation tables‘, especially ‘Acts that have ceased to be in force’ and ‘Assent, commencement and ceasing information for Acts’. Provided by the State Law Publisher.
Western Australian Legislation – reprints	Coverage: 1950s- Note: these are electronic versions of ‘reprints’, which are also published in hard copy. An Act is usually only reprinted after several / significant amendments have been made. Click on the first letter of the Act title, then scroll to find the relevant Act (repealed Acts are listed in red). Use the ‘Search – reprint legislation‘ screen to search full text (the default) or to search for keywords in Act titles (select ‘title only’). Ensure you select ‘include superseded versions’ in the ‘search information as at this date’ section at the bottom of the screen. Note that you cannot limit your search to repealed items. Provided by the State Law Publisher.
AustLII	Coverage: Acts repealed from 1 January 1996- Browse by title. You can also use the ‘name search’ to search Act titles (useful if you have incomplete information). Use ‘database search’ to search the full text of Acts.
Lawlex	Coverage: Acts repealed from 1 January 1996- Type in the name of the Act in the ‘keywords’ field and the year in the ‘year from’ field. Set the jurisdiction to ‘WA’ and the document type to ‘principal Act’. Select ‘include repealed / failed legislation’, then click ‘Search’. Each Act on Lawlex has a ‘home page’ – click on the title to go to the Act on the Western Australian Legislation website.

Western Australian legislation – tables and guides

Western Australian Legislation – Acts information	Acts in force: alphabetical table of Acts currently in force, giving assent, commencement, details of amending Acts and reprint dates. Assent, commencement and ceasing information: chronological table listing all Acts passed in Western Australia (plus selected imperial legislation). Acts that have ceased to be in force. Acts that will expire. Acts with administering portfolios and public sector agencies: listed by Act, portfolio or agency. Provided by the State Law Publisher.
Western Australian Legislation – Historical Indexes	As at 1891 As at 1896 As at 1956 (known as the Pilot volume – many other tables and notes refer back to this volume). Covers 1 June 1829 – 30 June 1956,
How to read legislation	A beginner’s guide to reading legislation. Provided by the Western Australian Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.