{"id":"C2004A03182","name":"Australia (Request and Consent) Act 1985","slug":"australia-request-and-consent-act-1985","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"143 of 1985","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7315,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A03182-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australia (Request and Consent) Act 1985","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAustralia (Request and Consent) Act 1985\n\n \n\nNo. 143, 1985\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to request, and consent to, the enactment by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of an Act in the terms set out in the Schedule to this Act\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Short title\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Request and consent to United Kingdom legislation\n\nSchedule \n\n1  Termination of power of Parliament of United Kingdom to legislate for Australia\n\n2  Legislative powers of Parliament of States\n\n3  Termination of restrictions on legislative powers of Parliaments of States\n\n4  Powers of State Parliaments in relation to merchant shipping\n\n5  Commonwealth Constitution, Constitution Act and Statute of Westminster not affected\n\n6  Manner and form of making certain State laws\n\n7  Powers and functions of Her Majesty and Governors in respect of States\n\n8  State laws not subject to disallowance or suspension of operation\n\n9  State laws not subject to withholding of assent or reservation\n\n10  Termination of responsibility of United Kingdom Government in relation to State matters\n\n11  Termination of appeals to Her Majesty in Council\n\n12  Amendment of Statute of Westminster\n\n13  Amendment of Constitution Act of Queensland\n\n14  Amendment of Constitution Act of Western Australia\n\n15  Method of repeal or amendment of this Act or Statute of Westminster\n\n16  Interpretation\n\n17  Citation and commencement\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nAustralia (Request and Consent) Act 1985\n\nNo. 143, 1985\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to request, and consent to, the enactment by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of an Act in the terms set out in the Schedule to this Act\n\n [Assented to 4 December 1985]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\nWHEREAS the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth and the Premiers of the 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:\n\nBE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Australia (Request and Consent) Act 1985.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3  Request and consent to United Kingdom legislation\n\n  It is hereby declared that the Parliament and Government of the Commonwealth, with the concurrence of all the States, request and consent to the enactment by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of an Act in the terms set out in the Schedule.\n\nSchedule\n\n \n\nSection 3\n\n \n\nAn Act to give effect to a request by the Parliament and Government of the Commonwealth of Australia.\n\nWHEREAS the Parliament and Government of the Commonwealth of Australia have, with the concurrence of the States of Australia, requested and consented to the enactment of an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the terms hereinafter set forth:\n\nBe it therefore enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:\n\n1  Termination of power of Parliament of United Kingdom to legislate for Australia\n\n  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.\n\n2  Legislative powers of Parliament of States\n\n (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.\n\n (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.\n\n3  Termination of restrictions on legislative powers of Parliaments of States\n\n (1) 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.\n\n (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.\n\n4  Powers of State Parliaments in relation to merchant shipping\n\n  Sections 735 and 736 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, in so far as they are part of the law of a State, are hereby repealed.\n\n5  Commonwealth Constitution, Constitution Act and Statute of Westminster not affected\n\n  Sections 2 and 3(2) above:\n\n (a) are subject to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act and to the Constitution of the Commonwealth; and\n\n (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.\n\n6  Manner and form of making certain State laws\n\n  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.\n\n7  Powers and functions of Her Majesty and Governors in respect of States\n\n (1) Her Majesty’s representative in each State shall be the Governor.\n\n (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.\n\n (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.\n\n (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.\n\n (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.\n\n8  State laws not subject to disallowance or suspension of operation\n\n  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.\n\n9  State laws not subject to withholding of assent or reservation\n\n (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.\n\n (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.\n\n10  Termination of responsibility of United Kingdom Government in relation to State matters\n\n  After the commencement of this Act Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom shall have no responsibility for the government of any State.\n\n11  Termination of appeals to Her Majesty in Council\n\n (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.\n\n (2) Subject to subsection (4) below:\n\n (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\n\n (b) any other provisions of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in force immediately before the commencement of this Act that make provision 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;\n\nin so far as they are part of the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, are hereby repealed.\n\n (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:\n\nThe Australian Courts Act 1828, section 15\n\nThe Judicial Committee Act 1833\n\nThe Judicial Committee Act 1844\n\nThe Australian Constitutions Act 1850, section 28\n\nThe Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890, section 6.\n\n (4) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section:\n\n (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\n\n (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:\n\n (i) pursuant to leave granted by an Australian court on an application made before that commencement; or\n\n (ii) pursuant to special leave granted by Her Majesty in Council on a petition presented before that commencement;\n\nbut 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.\n\n12  Amendment of Statute of Westminster\n\n  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.\n\n13  Amendment of Constitution Act of Queensland\n\n (1) The Constitution Act 1867–1978 of the State of Queensland is in this section referred to as the Principal Act.\n\n (2) Section 11A of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3):\n\n (a) by omitting from paragraph (a):\n\n (i) “and Signet”; and\n\n (ii) “constituted under Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom”; and\n\n (b) by omitting from paragraph (b):\n\n (i) “and Signet”; and\n\n (ii) “whenever and so long as the office of Governor is vacant or the Governor is incapable of discharging the duties of administration or has departed from Queensland”.\n\n (3) Section 11B of the Principal Act is amended:\n\n (a) by omitting “Governor to conform to instructions” and substituting “Definition of Royal Sign Manual”;\n\n (b) by omitting subsection (1); and\n\n (c) by omitting from subsection (2):\n\n (i) “(2)”;\n\n (ii) “this section and in”; and\n\n (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”.\n\n (4) Section 14 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (2) by omitting “, subject to his performing his duty prescribed by section 11B,”.\n\n14  Amendment of Constitution Act of Western Australia\n\n (1) The Constitution Act 1889 of the State of Western Australia is in this section referred to as the Principal Act.\n\n (2) Section 50 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3):\n\n (a) by omitting from paragraph (a):\n\n (i) “and Signet”; and\n\n (ii) “constituted under Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom”;\n\n (b) by omitting from paragraph (b):\n\n (i) “and Signet”; and\n\n (ii) “whenever and so long as the office of Governor is vacant or the Governor is incapable of discharging the duties of administration or has departed from Western Australia”; and\n\n (c) by omitting from paragraph (c):\n\n (i) “under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom”; and\n\n (ii) “during a temporary absence of the Governor for a short period from the seat of Government or from the State”.\n\n (3) Section 51 of the Principal Act is amended:\n\n (a) by omitting subsection (1); and\n\n (b) by omitting from subsection (2):\n\n (i) “(2)”;\n\n (ii) “this section and in”; and\n\n (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”.\n\n15  Method of repeal or amendment of this Act or Statute of Westminster\n\n (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.\n\n (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.\n\n (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.\n\n16  Interpretation\n\n (1) In this Act:\n\nappeal includes a petition of appeal, and a complaint in the nature of an appeal.\n\nappeal to Her Majesty in Council includes any appeal to Her Majesty.\n\nAustralian court means a court of a State or any other court of Australia or of a Territory other than the High Court of Australia.\n\ncourt includes a judge, judicial officer or other person acting judicially.\n\ndecision includes determination, judgment, decree, order or sentence.\n\nGovernor, in relation to a State, includes any person for the time being administering the government of the State.\n\nState means a State of the Commonwealth and includes a new State.\n\nTerritory means a territory referred to in section 122 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth.\n\nthe Commonwealth means the Commonwealth of Australia as established under the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act.\n\nthe 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.\n\n (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.\n\n (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.\n\n17  Citation and commencement\n\n (1) This Act may be cited as the Australia Act 1986.\n\n (2) This Act shall come into force on such day and at such time as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument appoint.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Schedule implements the stated objective in the Act’s preamble—to alter constitutional arrangements so that UK legislative and appellate roles cease and State legislative autonomy is clarified (preamble; main Act s3; Schedule, sections 1–3, 11). The Schedule also preserves core limits by saving the Commonwealth Constitution and the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Schedule, section 5) and retains an explicit special procedure for amendment or repeal requiring State concurrence (Schedule, section 15). On the face of the text provided, the operative scope aligns with the instrument’s declared purpose and contains internal limits and transitional mechanisms that constrain its effect."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑jurisdictional change: removes UK legislative and appellate roles while reassigning authority to Commonwealth and State institutions (Schedule, sections 1 and 11).","Interplay with existing constitutional instruments: preserves the Commonwealth Constitution and the Statute of Westminster while repealing specified Statute provisions—requires reconciliation (Schedule, sections 5 and 12).","Alteration of historic legal constraints: repeal of Colonial Laws Validity Act effects how repugnancy is treated and how State law may amend earlier UK law as part of State law (Schedule, section 3).","Special amendment/repeal procedure: Schedule requires concurrence of all State parliaments to amend or repeal the Act or the Statute of Westminster as part of Australian law, raising coordination and political‑legal complexity (Schedule, section 15).","Transitional and savings provisions: limited transitional exceptions for pending appeals and particular savings for constitutional provisions increase interpretive workload (Schedule, section 11(4) and section 5).","Varied state‑level adjustments: targeted amendments for Queensland and Western Australia require specific statutory changes in different state constitutional texts (Schedule, sections 13–14).","Manner and form constraint for State constitutional laws: internal procedural requirements create an additional legal gate for the validity of certain State laws (Schedule, section 6).","Multiple actors with discretion: UK Secretary of State sets commencement date; Governors and Premiers have specified roles, producing multiple points of practical discretion (Schedule, sections 7 and 17)."],"plain_english_summary":"What this legislation does (mechanically)\n\n- The Act records that the Commonwealth and all States request and consent to a United Kingdom Act in the terms set out in the Schedule (main Act s3; Schedule preamble).\n- The Schedule removes the ability of the UK Parliament to make laws for Australia after the Schedule comes into force: no UK Act passed later will form part of Australian law (Schedule, section 1).\n- It confirms that each State parliament has full power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the State, including laws with extra‑territorial effect, and also the legislative powers that the UK Parliament might previously have exercised for a State (Schedule, section 2(1)–(2)). The Schedule expressly preserves that States do not gain capacity to conduct foreign relations beyond what they had immediately before commencement (Schedule, section 2(2)).\n- The Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 is removed as a constraint on State laws made after commencement; State laws are not void because they are repugnant to English law or UK Acts, and States may repeal or amend such UK law as part of State law (Schedule, section 3(1)–(2)).\n- Certain provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (sections 735–736) are repealed insofar as they form part of State law (Schedule, section 4).\n- The Schedule preserves the Commonwealth Constitution and limits the operation of State law to avoid conflict with the Commonwealth Constitution, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act and the Statute of Westminster (Schedule, section 5).\n- State laws that deal with the constitution, powers or procedure of a State parliament must be made in the manner and form required by that State’s own law, or they are of no force (Schedule, section 6).\n- Her Majesty’s representative in each State is the Governor, and (subject to limited exceptions) powers and functions of Her Majesty in respect of a State are to be exercised only by the Governor; advice to Her Majesty on State matters is to be tendered by the State Premier (Schedule, section 7(1)–(5)).\n- Once a State Act has been validly assented to by the Governor, it is not subject to disallowance by Her Majesty nor may its operation be suspended pending signification of Her Majesty’s pleasure (Schedule, section 8), and instruments cannot require a Governor to withhold assent or to reserve a Bill for Her Majesty (Schedule, section 9).\n- The UK Government is freed from responsibility for the government of any State after commencement (Schedule, section 10).\n- Appeals to Her Majesty in Council (the Privy Council) from Australian courts are terminated prospectively, with limited transitional exceptions for appeals already instituted or where leave was granted before commencement (Schedule, section 11(1)–(4)). Certain historic UK enactments dealing with appeals are repealed as part of Australian law (Schedule, section 11(2)–(3)).\n- Specified provisions of the Statute of Westminster 1931 (as part of Australian law) are repealed (Schedule, section 12).\n- The Schedule makes specific amendments to the Constitution Acts of Queensland and Western Australia to remove references to certain UK seals and related provisions (Schedule, sections 13–14).\n- The Schedule provides that this Act or the Statute of Westminster, insofar as they form part of Australian law, may be repealed or amended by a Commonwealth Act only if that Act is passed at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all States (Schedule, section 15(1)); an exception preserves alteration by referendum under section 128 of the Commonwealth Constitution (Schedule, section 15(3)).\n- Interpretation and transitional definitions are supplied (Schedule, section 16). The Schedule itself is titled the Australia Act 1986 and comes into force on a day appointed by the UK Secretary of State (Schedule, section 17).\n\nOfficial rationale stated in the text\n\n- The preamble records that the Prime Minister and the Premiers agreed to take 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.” The Schedule is the detailed instrument by which that request and consent are implemented (preamble; main Act s3; Schedule preamble).\n\nTesting that rationale against costs, incentives, trade‑offs and implementation mechanics (source‑grounded)\n\n- Who decides after commencement: State parliaments gain clarified legislative authority (Schedule, section 2). Governors remain the Crown’s representatives in States and exercise the Crown’s State powers (Schedule, section 7). The Commonwealth Constitution and Commonwealth Acts remain controlling where they operate (Schedule, section 5).\n\n- Who bears compliance or administrative costs: State governments and parliaments bear the direct costs of exercising and structuring the expanded or clarified powers (Schedule, sections 2 and 6). Where States amend their constitutions or statutes to remove references to UK instruments (as the Schedule requires for Queensland and Western Australia), those States bear the legislative work (Schedule, sections 13–14).\n\n- Incentives and behaviour change: The prospective end of UK parliamentary legislation and Privy Council appeals (Schedule, sections 1 and 11) shifts final legal authority to Australian institutions and reduces routes to external judicial review. That will change litigation strategy for parties and may increase reliance on Australian appellate mechanisms (Schedule, section 11(1)–(4)). State parliaments may legislate with extra‑territorial effect (Schedule, section 2(1)), which alters legal drafting and enforcement considerations for businesses and individuals operating across borders.\n\n- Limits and retained constraints: The Schedule preserves the supremacy and operation of the Commonwealth Constitution, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, and the Statute of Westminster in force (Schedule, section 5). The Schedule also preserves the States’ pre‑existing limits on foreign relations capacity (Schedule, section 2(2)). These clauses constrain State action despite broader State legislative powers elsewhere in the Schedule.\n\n- Opportunity costs and substitution effects: Ending UK disallowance, reservation and appeals (Schedule, sections 8–11) removes external supervisory routes. The substitution is domestic political and judicial accountability mechanisms (State parliaments, State courts, the High Court and Commonwealth institutions). That shifts the locus of dispute resolution and constitutional contest to Australian forums.\n\n- Implementation risk and transitional detail: The Schedule contains transitional safeguards for appeals already instituted or where leave was granted before commencement (Schedule, section 11(4)). The Schedule also prescribes a special method for repeal or amendment of itself or the Statute of Westminster as part of Australian law, requiring the concurrence of all State parliaments (Schedule, section 15). These mechanisms create coordination requirements and legal questions around timing and effect (Schedule, sections 11(4) and 15).\n\n- Bureaucratic or executive discretion points: The exercise of Crown powers in States is channelled to Governors (Schedule, section 7(2)), and the Premier is specified as the adviser to Her Majesty on State matters (Schedule, section 7(5)). The Secretary of State of the UK determines the commencement day for the Schedule (Schedule, section 17(2)), introducing an external timing discretion for bringing the Schedule into force.\n\nKey practical effects for businesses, courts and citizens (source‑grounded)\n\n- Courts: Privy Council appeals are removed prospectively; the High Court and Australian appellate structure become the final domestic routes (Schedule, section 11).\n- Businesses and individuals: State laws may have extra‑territorial reach and will not be void for repugnancy to English law after commencement, altering legal risk assessments for cross‑border activities (Schedule, sections 2 and 3).\n- Administrations: The UK Government is relieved of responsibility for State government matters after commencement, and State Governors become the primary Crown figure within States for the exercise of Crown powers (Schedule, sections 7 and 10). State legislatures will control their internal parliamentary procedures subject to their own manner and form rules (Schedule, section 6).\n\nPrimary citations: main Act section 3; Schedule sections 1–11, 12, 13–15, 16–17."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: requesting and consenting to UK legislation that terminates British legislative supremacy over Australia. The Schedule reproduces the exact terms of what became the Australia Act 1986, covering termination of UK legislative power, State legislative autonomy, abolition of Privy Council appeals, and related constitutional machinery. There is no scope creep; the Act does precisely what its preamble and long title indicate."},"complexity_factors":["Nested conditional logic with multiple subsections and cross-references (e.g., section 11 has 4 subsections with paragraph and sub-paragraph numbering)","Extensive cross-referencing between the Australian Act and UK legislation (Statute of Westminster 1931, Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865, Merchant Shipping Act 1894, and multiple 19th century UK Acts)","Specific amendments to State Constitution Acts (Queensland and Western Australia) requiring detailed knowledge of those State instruments","Dual commencement mechanisms (Australian Act commences on Royal Assent; UK Act commences by UK statutory instrument)","Savings provisions and transitional arrangements for pending appeals to Privy Council (section 11(4))","Complex manner and form requirements for constitutional amendments (section 6 and section 15)","16 defined terms in the interpretation section, some with recursive definitions (e.g., 'appeal' includes 'petition of appeal')","Territorial operation clauses and extra-territoriality provisions requiring careful parsing","Interaction between State powers and Commonwealth Constitution supremacy clauses (section 5)"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation is Australia's formal request for the United Kingdom Parliament to pass a law called the **Australia Act 1986**. It's a crucial step in Australia's constitutional independence.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Asks Britain to stop making laws for Australia** — The UK Parliament will no longer be able to pass legislation that applies to Australia, its States, or Territories.\n- **Gives State Parliaments full law-making power** — Each Australian State gets complete authority to make laws for its own peace, order and good government, including laws that operate outside State borders (extra-territorial operation). States can also change or repeal old British laws that still apply to them.\n- **Cuts remaining British control over States** — The UK government will no longer be responsible for State matters. British officials can no longer disallow (cancel) State laws, withhold assent (approval) from State bills, or reserve bills for the Queen's personal decision.\n- **Ends appeals to the Privy Council** — Australians can no longer appeal court decisions to the Queen's Privy Council in London. The High Court of Australia becomes the final court of appeal for all Australian matters.\n- **Clarifies the Governor's role** — State Governors become the sole representatives of the Crown in each State for most purposes, taking advice only from their State Premier (not British ministers).\n- **Protects the Australian Constitution** — None of these changes affect Australia's federal Constitution. The Commonwealth Parliament cannot use these new powers to undermine the Constitution.\n- **Makes the changes permanent** — The Australia Act can only be changed if all Australian States and the Commonwealth agree.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **All Australians** — It completes the legal separation from British legislative control.\n- **State governments** — They gain full sovereignty over their own law-making without British interference.\n- **The courts** — The High Court becomes Australia's final court of appeal.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis Act represents the final step in Australia's evolution from a collection of British colonies to a fully independent, sovereign nation. While Australia had been functionally independent for decades, this legislation removes the last legal mechanisms allowing British interference in Australian affairs. It ensures that only Australians, through their own Parliaments and courts, govern Australia."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australia-request-and-consent-act-1985","history":"/api/acts/australia-request-and-consent-act-1985/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australia-request-and-consent-act-1985/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australia-request-and-consent-act-1985/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australia-request-and-consent-act-1985/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australia-request-and-consent-act-1985/documents"}}