{"id":"constitutional-powers-request-act-1980","name":"Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980","slug":"constitutional-powers-request-act-1980","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":177712,"registerId":"vic-constitutional-powers-request-act-1980-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980","content":"Version No. 003\n\n**Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980**\n\n**No. 9408 of 1980**\n\nVersion as at  \n23 August 2012\n\n**table of provisions**\n\n*Section Page*\n\n1 Short title and commencement 2\n\n2 Request for enactment of Commonwealth Act 2\n\n__________________\n\nSCHEDULE 3\n\nENDNOTES 5\n\n1. General Information 5\n\n2. Table of Amendments 6\n\n3. Explanatory Details 7\n\n**Version No.** **003**\n\n**Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980**\n\n**No. 9408 of 1980**\n\nVersion as at  \n23 August 2012\n\nAn Act to request the Parliament of the Commonwealth to enact an Act to remove certain Restrictions on the Exercise of Legislative Power by the Parliament of Victoria.\n\n**Preamble**\n\nWHEREAS it is provided inter alia by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia that the Parliament of the Commonwealth shall, subject to that Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to the exercise within the Commonwealth, at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all the States directly concerned, of any power which could at the establishment of that Constitution be exercised only by the Parliament of the United Kingdom or the Federal Council of Australasia:\n\nAnd whereas it is expedient that certain restrictions on the powers of the Parliament of Victoria with respect to the enactment of laws that are repugnant to the law of England should be removed:\n\nAnd whereas, under the said provision of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Parliament of the Commonwealth has power, at the request of the Parliament of the State, to remove those restrictions:\n\n**BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say):**\n\n\t1 Short title and commencement\n\ns. 1\n\n(1) This Act may be cited as the **Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980**.\n\n(2) This Act shall come into operation on the day upon which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n\t2 Request for enactment of Commonwealth Act\n\nThe Parliament requests the enactment by the Parliament of the Commonwealth of an Act in or substantially in the terms set out in the Schedule.\n\n__________________\n\nSCHEDULE\n\nSch.\n\n**AN ACT**\n\nTo remove certain Restrictions on the exercise of Legislative Power by the Parliament of Victoria.\n\nWHEREAS, in pursuance of paragraph (xxxviii) of section 51 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, the Parliament of Victoria has, by the **Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980** of that Parliament, requested the Parliament of the Commonwealth to enact an Act in or substantially in the terms of this Act:\n\nBE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:\n\n1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the **State Powers (Victoria) Act 1980**.\n\n2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act—\n\n**\"the Colonial Laws Validity Act\"** means the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as The Colonial Laws Validity Act, 1865;\n\n**\"the Parliament of the United Kingdom\"** includes any Parliament that at any time has or had general power to enact laws having force in England;\n\n**\"the State\"** means Victoria.\n\n4. State laws repugnant to Imperial Acts or law of England\n\n(1) Notwithstanding sections 2 and 3 of the Colonial Laws Validity Act and any principle or rule of the common law but subject to this section, no law and no provision of any law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament of the State shall be void or inoperative on the ground that or shall be affected in its operation by reason that it is repugnant 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 the State shall include the power to repeal or amend any such Act, order, rule or regulation in so far as the same is part of the law of the State.\n\n(2) Sub-section (1) of this section does not affect the continued operation of section 3 of the Colonial Laws Validity Act in so far as that section has the effect that a law of the State is not to be or to be deemed to have been void or inoperative on the ground of repugnancy to the law of England other than repugnancy of the kind referred to in sub-section (1) of this section.\n\n(3) Sub-section (1) of this section does not operate so as to give any force or effect to—\n\n(a) a provision of an Act of the Parliament of the State that would abrogate or affect the operation of section 5 of the Colonial Laws Validity Act in so far as that section requires an Act of the Parliament of the State respecting the constitution, powers or procedure of that Parliament to be passed in such manner and form as may from time to time be required by any Act of that Parliament for the time being in force in the State; or\n\nSch.\n\n(b) a provision of an Act of the Parliament of the State that would repeal or amend, or be repugnant to, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, the Constitution of the Commonwealth or the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the Statute of Westminster, 1931.\n\n\n\nENDNOTES\n\nEndnotes\n\n1. General Information\n\n\nThe **Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980** was assented to on 20 May 1980 and came into operation on 20 May 1980: section 1(2).\n\n1. Table of Amendments\n\n\nEndnotes\n\nThere are no amendments made to the **Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980** by Acts and subordinate instruments.\n\n1. Explanatory Details\n\n\nEndnotes\n\nNo entries at date of publication.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: requesting the removal of colonial-era restrictions on Victorian legislative power. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific constitutional referral under section 51(xxxviii) of the Commonwealth Constitution."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (only 2 operative sections plus a Schedule)","Only 3 defined terms in the draft Commonwealth Act (Colonial Laws Validity Act, Parliament of the United Kingdom, the State)","Simple linear structure: short title, commencement, single operative request, attached draft legislation","Limited conditional logic — only two specific carve-outs/exceptions in section 4(2) and 4(3) protecting existing constitutional safeguards","No cross-references to other Victorian legislation (except self-referential)","Clear purpose and straightforward drafting style typical of referral/request statutes under s 51(xxxviii)"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short Victorian law from 1980 that formally asks the Australian Federal Parliament to pass a specific law giving Victoria more independence from old British legal restrictions.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **The problem:** Since colonial days, Victorian laws could be struck down if they were \"repugnant to\" (inconsistent with) British laws. This came from an old 1865 UK law called the Colonial Laws Validity Act.\n- **The solution:** Victoria passes this Act to request that the Commonwealth Parliament use a special constitutional power (Section 51(xxxviii) of the Australian Constitution) to remove these restrictions.\n- **The Schedule:** The Act includes a draft Commonwealth law (the \"State Powers (Victoria) Act 1980\") that would:\n  - Stop Victorian laws being void just because they conflict with UK laws\n  - Let Victoria repeal or amend UK laws that still apply in Victoria\n  - **But** it protects two important things: (1) the rules about how Victoria's own Parliament must operate, and (2) the Australian Constitution itself — Victoria can't touch those.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Primarily the Victorian Parliament — it gets clearer authority to make laws without worrying about old British statutes\n- Victorian courts — they no longer need to check if Victorian laws conflict with UK laws\n- The Commonwealth Parliament — it receives the formal request and (historically) passed the matching law\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis was part of Australia's gradual move toward full legal independence from Britain. It cleaned up leftover colonial rules that made Victorian laws potentially invalid if they contradicted British law. It's a technical but important step in Australia's constitutional evolution."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope has not changed from the Act as enacted. The statute (assented and commenced on 20 May 1980) continues to request Commonwealth enactment of the model State Powers (Victoria) Act and the Schedule still sets the same removal-of-repugnancy rule subject to the express exceptions preserving section 3 of the Colonial Laws Validity Act and protections for constitution-related provisions (Schedule, s.4(1)–(3); s.1(2); Endnotes). The provision remains dependent on Commonwealth action (s.2)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-jurisdictional references to Imperial law (the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 and 'law of England') create interpretive complexity about what counts as 'repugnant' and which imperial instruments remain relevant (Schedule, s.3; Schedule, s.4(1)).","The Act operates by requesting Commonwealth legislation rather than directly changing State or federal constitutional text, so practical effect depends on another Parliament taking action (s.2; Schedule preamble).","Express carve-outs and saved rules narrow the change and require fine legal reading: preservation of section 3 of the Colonial Laws Validity Act and prohibitions on affecting section 5 and constitutional instruments (Schedule, s.4(2)–(3)(a)–(b)).","Temporal limitation: the Schedule applies to laws made after commencement, which raises questions about transitional application and retrospective effect (Schedule, s.4(1)).","Concentration of decision-making in parliaments with limited administrative discretion reduces rule-making flexibility but increases substantive legal risk that will be resolved by courts (s.2; Schedule, s.4).","Potential compliance and litigation costs fall on persons and entities governed by Victorian law because courts will need to assess validity against a changed source hierarchy (Schedule, s.4(1)–(3)).","No amendments since assent means interpretive reliance rests on the original text as enacted (Endnotes: Table of Amendments: none; s.1(2) for commencement)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act asks the Commonwealth Parliament to pass a law (the proposed State Powers (Victoria) Act 1980) that would allow the Parliament of Victoria to make laws that would not be void for being repugnant to Acts, orders or the law of the United Kingdom or England, and to repeal or amend such imperial provisions insofar as they form part of Victorian law. It changes which legal sources courts may consult and affects the scope of Victoria’s legislative authority."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"There is insufficient substantive content in the provided text to determine whether the scope of this Act changed from its original intent. The available metadata shows it remains 'in force' and has a consolidated version, suggesting it has not been fundamentally altered, but no detailed amendment history is visible to confirm this with confidence."},"complexity_factors":["Involves constitutional law concepts (division of powers between state and federal government) that are inherently technical","The mechanism of 'request' Acts under section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution requires background constitutional knowledge to understand","Insufficient substantive text provided — the actual operative clauses are not visible, making full assessment impossible","The 1980 context may require understanding of historical intergovernmental arrangements that are no longer obvious","Complexity score is moderate rather than high because 'request' Acts are typically short and procedural in nature"],"plain_english_summary":"The Constitutional Powers (Request) Act 1980 is a Victorian law formally asking the Commonwealth to exercise powers that would otherwise belong to the state. It’s a cooperative constitutional tool used to enable national or uniform federal laws affecting Victorians, businesses and government bodies in the subject area covered by the request. Its significance lies in allowing federal action where states seek coordinated regulation. Note: the provided text is largely metadata; the Act’s precise effects need the operative provisions."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/constitutional-powers-request-act-1980","history":"/api/acts/constitutional-powers-request-act-1980/history","analysis":"/api/acts/constitutional-powers-request-act-1980/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/constitutional-powers-request-act-1980/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/constitutional-powers-request-act-1980/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/constitutional-powers-request-act-1980/documents"}}