{"id":"a-1973-24","name":"Enforcement of Public Interests Act 1973","slug":"enforcement-of-public-interests-act-1973","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"24 of 1973","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":23535,"registerId":"act-a-1973-24-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Enforcement of Public Interests Act 1973","content":"Australian Capital Territory\nEnforcement of Public Interests Act\n1973 No 24\nRepublication No 2\nRepublication date: 16 July 2002\nAct not amended up to this date\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Enforcement of Public Interests Act 1973, including any\namendment made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes), as in force\non 16 July 2002. It also includes any amendment, repeal or expiry affecting the\nrepublished law.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in\nendnotes 3 and 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see\nthe ACT legislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been\nmade by an Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115\nand s 117). The changes are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are\ndesirable to bring the law into line, or more closely into line, with current legislative\ndrafting practice.\nThis republication includes amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced or is affected by an\nuncommenced amendment, the symbol U appears immediately before the provision\nheading. The text of the uncommenced provision or amendment appears only in the last\nendnote.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the symbol M\nappears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying provision\nappears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see Legislation Act 2001,\nsection 95.\nPenalties\nThe value of a penalty unit for an offence against this republished law at the republication\ndate is—\n(a) if the person charged is an individual—$100; or\n(b) if the person charged is a corporation—$500.\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nEnforcement of Public Interests Act\n1973\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of Act 2\n2 Form of certain proceedings instituted with consent of Attorney-\nGeneral 2\n3 Powers of court and rights of Attorney-General if direction given 2\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 4\n2 Abbreviation key 4\n3 Legislation history 5\n4 Earlier republications 5\n\n\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nEnforcement of Public Interests Act\n1973\nAn Act relating to the conduct of certain proceedings in courts\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Enforcement of Public Interests Act 1973 R2\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of Act\nThis Act is the Enforcement of Public Interests Act 1973.\n2 Form of certain proceedings instituted with consent\nof Attorney-General\n(1) If the Attorney-General gives his or her consent to the\ninstitution of proceedings in a court on the relation of a person,\nthe title of the proceedings shall, if the Attorney-General so\ndirects—\n(a) describe that person as the plaintiff in the proceedings; and\n(b) contain words to the effect that the proceedings are\ninstituted with the consent of the Attorney-General.\n(2) If, either before or after the commencement of this Act,\nproceedings have been instituted in a court in the name of the\nAttorney-General as plaintiff on the relation of a person, the\nAttorney-General may, if the Attorney-General considers\nappropriate, direct that, on and from the date of the direction,\nthe title of the proceedings shall be changed so that the person\nnamed in the proceedings as the relator is described as the\nplaintiff in the proceedings.\n(3) If a direction is given under subsection (2) in relation to\nproceedings, the title of the proceedings shall, on and after the\ndate when a copy of the direction is lodged with the registrar of\nthe court, be deemed to have been changed so that the person\nnamed in the proceedings as relator is described as the plaintiff\nwith the addition of the words ‘with the consent of the Attorney-\nGeneral’.\n3 Powers of court and rights of Attorney-General if\ndirection given\n(1) If a direction is given under section 2 (1) in relation to\nproceedings, the Attorney-General has the same rights in\n\nSection 3\nR2 Enforcement of Public Interests Act 1973 page 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nrelation to those proceedings as the Attorney-General would\nhave had if the proceedings had been instituted in his or her\nname as plaintiff on the relation of a person.\n(2) If a direction is given under section 2 (2) in relation to\nproceedings, the Attorney-General has, on and after the date of\nthe direction, the same rights as the Attorney-General would\nhave had if the direction had not been given.\n(3) In proceedings in relation to which a direction has been given\nunder section 2 (1), a court has the same powers as it would\nhave had if the proceedings had been instituted in the name of\nthe Attorney-General on the relation of a person.\n(4) In proceedings in relation to which a direction has been given\nunder section 2 (2), a court has, on and after the date when a\ncopy of the direction is lodged with the registrar of the court, the\nsame powers as it would have had if the direction had not been\ngiven.\n\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\npage 4 Enforcement of Public Interests Act 1973 R2\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and\nthe amendment history. Current modifications are not included in the\nrepublished law but are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3\nare annotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can\nbe obtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws and expiries are listed in the legislation\nhistory and the amendment history. These details are underlined.\nUncommenced provisions and amendments are not included in the\nrepublished law but are set out in the last endnote.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\nIf the republished law includes penalties, current information about penalty\nunit values appears on the republication inside front cover.\n2 Abbreviation key\nam = amended ord = ordinance\namdt = amendment orig = original\nch = chapter p = page\ncl = clause par = paragraph\ndef = definition pres = present\ndict = dictionary prev = previous\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative (prev...) = previously\nAssembly prov = provision\ndiv = division pt = part\nexp = expires/expired r = rule/subrule\nGaz = Gazette reg = regulation/subregulation\nhdg = heading renum = renumbered\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 reloc = relocated\nins = inserted/added R[X] = Republication No\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 s = section/subsection\nLR = legislation register sch = schedule\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 sdiv = subdivision\nmod = modified / modification sub = substituted\nNo = number SL = Subordinate Law\nnum = numbered underlining = whole or part not commenced\no = order or to be expired\nom = omitted/repealed\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR2 Enforcement of Public Interests Act 1973 page 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nThis Act was originally a Commonwealth ordinance—the Enforcement of\nPublic Interests Act 1973 A1973-24 (Cwlth).\nThe Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cwlth),\ns 34 (4) converted most former Commonwealth ordinances in force in the\nACT into ACT enactments. This allowed the ACT Legislative Assembly to\namend and repeal the laws. This Act was converted into an ACT enactment\non 1 July 1992 under the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act\n1988 (Cwlth), s 34 (7).\nAs with most ordinances in force in the ACT, the name was changed from\nOrdinance to Act by the Self-Government (Citation of Laws) Act 1989\nA1989-21, s 5 on its conversion to an ACT enactment on 1 July 1992.\nBefore 11 May 1989, ordinances commenced on their notification day unless\notherwise stated (see Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 (Cwlth),\ns 12).\nEnforcement of Public Interests Act 1973 A1973-24\nnotified 5 July 1973\ncommenced 5 July 1973\n4 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1\nrefers to the publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published\nin electronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of\nauthorised republications have also been published in printed format. These\nrepublications are marked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Except for the\nfooter, electronic and printed versions of an authorised republication are\nidentical.\nRepublication No Amendments to Republication date\n1 not amended 31 August 1993\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at\nwww.legislation.act.gov.au\n© Australian Capital Territory 2002","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: regulating the form and titling of relator proceedings in ACT courts. It has not expanded beyond this narrow procedural scope since its enactment as a Commonwealth ordinance in 1973 and conversion to an ACT Act in 1992."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 operative sections (sections 1-3)","No defined terms section or dictionary","Minimal cross-referencing (only internal references between sections 2 and 3)","Simple conditional logic (if-then structure without nested exceptions)","Straightforward procedural mechanism with no substantive rights or offences created","Total length is approximately 3 pages of substantive content"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets the ACT Attorney‑General consent to or later direct that a public‑interest lawsuit brought “on the relation of” a private person be titled with that private person as the plaintiff instead of the Attorney‑General, while explicitly preserving the Attorney‑General’s legal rights and the court’s powers. It affects relators, the ACT Attorney‑General, and courts, enabling visible citizen-led litigation with retained official oversight."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The republished text records the Act’s conversion from a Commonwealth ordinance into an ACT enactment and a citation/name change, but the republished law contains no recorded substantive amendments to the operative provisions. The operational scope of the Attorney‑General’s power over proceeding titles and the consequential rights/powers of the court remains as originally enacted (see legislation history)."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (3 substantive sections) limiting interpretive load","Use of technical phrase “on the relation” which requires understanding of relator litigation","Discretion given to the Attorney‑General to direct titling and conversion of proceedings (s 2)","Procedural trigger: lodging a copy of the direction with the court registrar changes legal status (s 2(3), s 3(4))","Provision that confers equivalent rights and powers to Attorney‑General and courts, requiring cross‑reference to ordinary court procedure to see practical effects (s 3)","Republication/front matter references (penalty unit values, editorial amendments) may create apparent but not substantive complexity","Legislation history notes conversion from Commonwealth ordinance to ACT enactment, raising drafting/citation issues but not substantive change"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act lets the Attorney‑General permit or direct that civil proceedings brought “on the relation” of a private person be styled in that person’s name ‘with the consent of the Attorney‑General’, or convert proceedings previously brought in the Attorney‑General’s name into the relator’s name (ss 2–3). When the Attorney‑General gives such a direction and lodges it with the court registry, the Attorney‑General retains the same rights and the court the same powers as if the Attorney‑General were the named plaintiff."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/enforcement-of-public-interests-act-1973","history":"/api/acts/enforcement-of-public-interests-act-1973/history","analysis":"/api/acts/enforcement-of-public-interests-act-1973/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/enforcement-of-public-interests-act-1973/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/enforcement-of-public-interests-act-1973/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/enforcement-of-public-interests-act-1973/documents"}}