PREAMBLE
States at conferences held
in Canberra on 24 and 25 June 1982 and 21 June 1984 agreed on the
taking
of certain measures to bring constitutional arrangements affecting the
Commonwealth and the States into conformity with the status of the
Commonwealth
of Australia as a sovereign, independent and federal nation:chanrobles virtual law library
And, WHEREAS, in pursuance
of paragraph 51 (xxxviii) of the Constitution the Parliaments of all
the
States have requested the Parliament of the Commonwealth to enact an
Act
in the terms of this Act:chanrobles virtual law library
BE IT, THEREFORE, ENACTED
by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth
of Australia, as follows:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
SECTION 1Termination
of
Power
of Parliament of United Kingdomto
Legislate for
Australia
No Act of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement of this Act shall
extend,
or be deemed to extend, to the Commonwealth, to a State or to a
Territory
as part of the law of the Commonwealth, of the State or of the
Territory.
(Minister's second reading speech made in Senate on 29 November 1985;
House
of Representatives on 13 November 1985).
SECTION 2Legislative
Powers
of
Parliaments of States
(1) It is hereby declared
and enacted that the legislative powers of the Parliament of each State
include full power to make laws for the peace, order and good
government
of that State that have extra-territorial operation.cralaw:red
(2) It is hereby further
declared and enacted that the legislative powers of the Parliament of
each
State include all legislative powers that the Parliament of the United
Kingdom might have exercised before the commencement of this Act for
the
peace, order and good government of that State but nothing in this
subsection
confers on a State any capacity that the State did not have immediately
before the commencement of this Act to engage in relations with
countries
outside Australia.
SECTION 3Termination
of
Restrictionson
Legislative
Powers
of Parliaments of States
(1) The Act of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom known as the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865
shall
not apply to any law made after the commencement of this Act by the
Parliament
of a State.cralaw:red
(2) No law and no provision
of any law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament of
a State shall be void or inoperative on the ground that it is repugnant
to the law of England, or to the provisions of any existing or future
Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or to any order, rule or
regulation
made under any such Act, and the powers of the Parliament of a State
shall
include the power to repeal or amend any such Act, order, rule or
regulation
in so far as it is part of the law of the State.
SECTION 4Powers
of State
Parliamentsin
Relation to
Merchant
Shipping
Sections 735 and 736 of the
Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the Merchant
Shipping
Act 1894, in so far as they are part of the law of a State, are hereby
repealed.
SECTION 5Commonwealth
Constitution,
Constitution Act and Statute of Westminster Not Affected
Sections 2 and 3 (2) above:chanrobles virtual law library
(a) are subject to the Commonwealth
of Australia Constitution Act and to the Constitution of the
Commonwealth; and cralaw:red
(b) do not operate so as
to give any force or effect to a provision of an Act of the Parliament
of a State that would repeal, amend or be repugnant to this Act, the
Commonwealth
of Australia Constitution Act, the Constitution of the Commonwealth or
the Statute of Westminster 1931 as amended and in force from time to
time.
SECTION 6Manner
and Form of
Making
Certain State laws
Notwithstanding sections
2 and 3 (2) above, a law made after the commencement of this Act by the
Parliament of a State respecting the constitution, powers or procedure
of the Parliament of the State shall be of no force or effect unless it
is made in such manner and form as may from time to time be required by
a law made by that Parliament, whether made before or after the
commencement
of this Act.
SECTION 7Powers
and
Functions
of Her Majestyand
Governors in
Respect
of States
(1) Her Majesty's representative
in each State shall be the Governor.cralaw:red
(2) Subject to Subsections
(3) and (4) below, all powers and functions of Her Majesty in respect
of
a State are exercisable only by the Governor of the State.cralaw:red
(3) Subsection (2) above
does not apply in relation to the power to appoint, and the power to
terminate
the appointment of, the Governor of a State.cralaw:red
(4) While Her Majesty is
personally present in a State, Her Majesty is not precluded from
exercising
any of Her powers and functions in respect of the State that are the
subject
of Subsection (2) above.cralaw:red
(5) The advice to Her Majesty
in relation to the exercise of the powers and functions of Her Majesty
in respect of a State shall be tendered by the Premier of the State.
Section 8State
Laws Not
Subject
to Disallowanceor
Suspension of
Operation
An Act of the Parliament
of a State that has been assented to by the Governor of the State shall
not, after the commencement of this Act, be subject to disallowance by
Her Majesty, nor shall its operation be suspended pending the
signification
of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon.
SECTION 9State
Laws Not
Subject
toWithholding
of
Assent
or Reservation
(1) No law or instrument
shall be of any force or effect in so far as it purports to require the
Governor of a State to withhold assent from any Bill for an Act of the
State that has been passed in such manner and form as may from time to
time be required by a law made by the Parliament of the State.cralaw:red
(2) No law or instrument
shall be of any force or effect in so far as it purports to require the
reservation of any Bill for an Act of a State for the signification of
Her Majesty's pleasure thereon.
SECTION
10Termination
of
Responsibility
of United Kingdom Governmentin
Relation to
State
Matters
After the commencement of
this Act Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom shall have no
responsibility
for the government of any State.
SECTION
11Termination
of
Appeals
to Her Majesty in Council
(1) Subject to Subsection
(4) below, no appeal to Her Majesty in Council lies or shall be
brought,
whether by leave or special leave of any court or of Her Majesty in
Council
or otherwise, and whether by virtue of any Act of the Parliament of the
United Kingdom, the Royal Prerogative or otherwise, from or in respect
of any decision of an Australian court.cralaw:red
(2) Subject to Subsection
(4) below:chanrobles virtual law library
(a) the
enactments
specified
in Subsection (3) below and any orders, rules, regulations or other
instruments
made under, or for the purposes of, those enactments; and
(b) any
other
provisions
of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in force immediately
before
the commencement of this Act that make provisions for or in relation to
appeals to Her Majesty in Council from or in respect of decisions of
courts,
and any orders, rules, regulations or other instruments made under, or
for the purposes of, any such provisions, in so far as they are part of
the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, are hereby
repealed.cralaw:red
(3) The enactments referred
to in Subsection (2) (a) above are the following Acts of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom or provisions of such Acts:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
The
Australian Courts
Act
1828, Section 15
The
Judicial
Committee Act
1833
The
Judicial
Committee Act
1844
The
Australian
Constitutions
Act 1850, Section 28
The
Colonial Courts
of Admiralty
Act 1890, Section 6.cralaw:red
(4) Nothing in the foregoing
provisions of this Section:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(a) affects
an appeal
instituted
before the commencement of this Act to Her Majesty in Council from or
in
respect of a decision of an Australian court; or
(b)
precludes the
institution
after that commencement of an appeal to Her Majesty in Council from or
in respect of such a decision where the appeal is instituted:chanrobles virtual law library
(i)
pursuant to leave
granted
by an Australian court on an application made before that commencement;
or
(ii)
pursuant to
special
leave granted by Her Majesty in Council on a petition presented before
that commencement, but this subsection shall not be construed as
permitting
or enabling an appeal to Her Majesty in Council to be instituted or
continued
that could not have been instituted or continued if this section had
not
been enacted.cralaw:red
SECTION
12Amendment
of
Statute
of Westminster
Sections 4, 9 (2) and (3)
and 10 (2) of the Statute of Westminster 1931, in so far as they are
part
of the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, are
hereby
repealed.
SECTION
13Amendment
of
Constitution
Act of Queensland
(1) The Constitution Act
1867-1978 of the State of Queensland is in this section referred to as
the Principal Act.cralaw:red
(2) Section 11A of the Principal
Act is amended in subsection (3)(a) by omitting from paragraph (a):chanrobles virtual law library
(b) by
omitting from
paragraph
(b):chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(3) Section 11B of the Principal
Act is amended:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(a) by
omitting
"Governor
to conform to instructions" and substituting "Definition of Royal Sign
Manual";
(b) by
omitting
subsection
(1); and cralaw:red
(c) by
omitting from
subsection
(2) -
(i) "(2)";
(ii)
"this section
and in"; and cralaw:red
(iii)
"and the
expression
'Signet' means the seal commonly used for the sign manual of the
Sovereign
or the seal with which documents are sealed by the Secretary of State
in
the United Kingdom on behalf of the Sovereign."
(4) Section 14 of the Principal
Act is amended in Subsection (2) by omitting",subject to his performing
his duty prescribed by Section 11B."
SECTION
14Amendment
of
Constitution
Act of Western Australia
(1) The Constitution Act
1889 of the State of Western Australia is in this section referred to
as
the Principal Act.cralaw:red
(2) Section 50 of the Principal
Act is amended in subsection (3):chanrobles virtual law library
(a) by
omitting from
paragraph
(a):chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(b) by
omitting from
paragraph
(b):chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(c) by
omitting from
paragraph
(c):chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(3) Section 51 of the Principal
Act is amended:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(i) "(2)";
(ii)
"this section
and in"; and cralaw:red
(iii)
"and the
expression
'Signet' means the seal commonly used for the sign manual of the
Sovereign
or the seal with which documents are sealed by the Secretary of State
in
the United Kingdom on behalf of the Sovereign."
SECTION
15Method
of Repeal
or
Amendmentof this
Act or
Statute
of Westminster
(1) This Act or the Statute
of Westminster 1931, as amended and in force from time to time, in so
far
as it is part of the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a
Territory,
may be repealed or amended by an Act of the Parliament of the
Commonwealth
passed at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all
the States and, subject to Subsection (3) below, only in that manner.cralaw:red
(2) For the purposes of Subsection
(1) above, an Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth that is
repugnant
to this Act or the Statute of Westminster 1931, as amended and in force
from time to time, or to any provision of this Act or of that Statute
as
so amended and in force, shall, to the extent of the repugnancy, be
deemed
an Act to repeal or amend the Act,Statute or provision to which it is
repugnant.cralaw:red
(3) Nothing in Subsection
(1) above limits or prevents the exercise by the Parliament of the
Commonwealth
of any powers that may be conferred upon that Parliament by any
alteration
to the Constitution of the Commonwealth made in accordance with section
128 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth after the commencement of
this
Act.
SECTION
16Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the
contrary intention appears:chanrobles virtual law library
"appeal" includes a petition
of appeal, and a complaint in the nature of an appeal;
"appeal to Her Majesty in
Council" includes any appeal to Her Majesty;
"Australian court" means
a court of a State or any other court of Australia or of a Territory
other
than the High Court;
"court" includes a judge,
judicial officer or other person acting judicially;
"decision" includes determination,
judgment, decree, order or sentence;
"Governor", in relation to
a State, includes any person for the time being administering the
government
of the State;
"State" means a State of
the Commonwealth and includes a new State;
"the Commonwealth of Australia
Constitution Act" means the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
known as the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act;
"the Constitution of the
Commonwealth" means the Constitution of the Commonwealth set forth in
section
9 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, being that
Constitution
as altered and in force from time to time;
"the Statute of Westminster
1931" means the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as
the
Statute of Westminster 1931.cralaw:red
(2) The expression "a law
made by that Parliament" in Section 6 above and the expression "a law
made
by the Parliament" in Section 9 above include, in relation to the State
of Western Australia, the Constitution Act 1889 of that State.cralaw:red
(3) A reference in this Act
to the Parliament of a State includes, in relation to the State of New
South Wales, a reference to the legislature of that State as
constituted
from time to time in accordance with the Constitution Act, 1902, or any
other Act of that State, whether or not, in relation to any particular
legislative act, the consent of the Legislative Council of that State
is
necessary.
SECTION
17Short
Title and
Commencement
(1) This Act may be cited
as the Australia Act of 1986.cralaw:red
(2) This Act shall come into
operation on a day and at a time to be fixed by Proclamation.