{"id":"law-reform-commission-act-1972","name":"Law Reform Commission Act 1972","slug":"law-reform-commission-act-1972","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30742,"registerId":"wa-law-reform-commission-act-1972-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Law Reform Commission Act 1972","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nLaw Reform Commission Act 1972\n\nWestern Australia\n\nLaw Reform Commission Act 1972\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Commission established; members of 1\n\n5. Chairman 2\n\n6. Qualification of members 2\n\n7. Term of office 3\n\n8. Removal from office 4\n\n9. Conditions of appointment 4\n\n10. Acting members 5\n\n11. Functions of Commission 6\n\n12. Meetings of Commission; delegation by Commission 7\n\n13. *Financial Management Act 2006* and *Auditor General Act 2006*, application of 8\n\n14. Staff 8\n\n15. Funds of Commission 9\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 10\n\nUncommenced provisions table 11\n\nOther notes 11\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nLaw Reform Commission Act 1972\n\nAn Act to establish the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia and for purposes incidental thereto.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Law Reform Commission Act 1972*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by proclamation.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\nIn this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —\n\n  Chairman means Chairman of the Commission;\n\n  Commission means the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia established under this Act;\n\n  member means full‑time member or part‑time member of the Commission; and\n\n  section means section of this Act.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 91 of 1978 s. 3.]\n\n##### 4. Commission established; members of\n\n(1) There shall be a Commission to be known as the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia which, except as provided in section 10, shall, subject to subsection (1a) of this section, consist of 5 members, appointed by the Governor.\n\n(1a) Of the 5 members appointed under subsection (1) —\n\n(a) 3 members shall be members who are part‑time members; and\n\n(b) 2 members shall be members who are full‑time members.\n\n(2) So long as there are 3 members, no act or proceeding of the Commission or of any member shall be vitiated by reason only that, at the time when the act or proceeding was done, taken or commenced, there was a vacancy in the office of any member.\n\n[Section 4 amended: No. 91 of 1978 s. 4.]\n\n##### 5. Chairman\n\n(1) The Commission shall elect the Chairman from amongst its members.\n\n(2) The member elected as the Chairman shall hold that office for a term not exceeding one year.\n\n(3) The outgoing Chairman shall be eligible for re‑election at the next succeeding election, and at each subsequent election, of the Chairman.\n\n(4) Where the Chairman is absent, the Commission shall elect another member to act temporarily as the Chairman during that absence and, while so acting, that other member shall be deemed to be the Chairman.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 91 of 1978 s. 5.]\n\n##### 6. Qualification of members\n\n(1) Of the members who are part‑time members —\n\n(a) one shall be a legal practitioner of at least 8 years’ standing and experience;\n\n(b) one shall be a person who is engaged in the teaching of law at a university in the State with a status not less than that of senior lecturer or the equivalent thereof;\n\n(c) one shall be a legal practitioner who is an officer of the State Solicitor’s Office of at least 8 years’ standing and experience.\n\n(2) A person shall not be eligible for appointment as a member who is a full‑time member unless he —\n\n(a) is or has been a legal practitioner of not less than 8 years’ standing; or\n\n(b) is, in the opinion of the Governor, suitable for appointment as a member by reason of his legal qualifications and experience, whether in this State or elsewhere.\n\n[(3) deleted]\n\n[Section 6 inserted: No. 91 of 1978 s. 6; amended: No. 31 of 1993 s. 51; No. 65 of 2003 s. 45 and 94; No. 21 of 2008 s. 672; No. 9 of 2022 s. 369.]\n\n##### 7. Term of office\n\n(1) Each member who is a part‑time member shall hold office for such period, not exceeding 3 years, as is specified in the instrument of his appointment.\n\n(2) Each member who is a full‑time member shall hold office for such period, not exceeding 5 years, as is specified in the instrument of his appointment.\n\n(3) A member whose term of office has expired shall be eligible for reappointment, but —\n\n(a) a member who is a part‑time member shall not hold office for a period exceeding 6 consecutive years; or\n\n(b) a member who is a full‑time member shall not hold office for a period exceeding 8 consecutive years,\n\nunless, in the opinion of the Governor, there are special circumstances warranting an extension of that period.\n\n[Section 7 amended: No. 91 of 1978 s. 7.]\n\n##### 8. Removal from office\n\n(1) If a member ceases to have the qualifications under which he was appointed, his office shall become vacant.\n\n(2) A member may resign his office in writing under his hand addressed to the Attorney General.\n\n(3) The Governor may remove a member from office if he —\n\n(a) becomes incapable of performing his duties as member; or\n\n(b) is guilty of misconduct; or\n\n(c) is convicted of an indictable offence; or\n\n(d) fails to comply with the conditions of his appointment.\n\n##### 9. Conditions of appointment\n\n(1) A member shall be paid such remuneration and allowances as the Governor may from time to time determine.\n\n(2) The Governor shall not determine the remuneration and allowances to be paid to a member who is a part‑time member who is a person to whom Part 3 of the *Public Sector Management Act 1994* applies except with the prior approval in writing of the Public Sector Commissioner.\n\n(3) The appointment of a member shall, subject to this Act, be in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be specified in the instrument of his appointment.\n\n(4) Acceptance of or acting in the office of member by any person shall not of itself —\n\n(a) render the provisions of Part 3 of the *Public Sector Management Act 1994*, or any other Act applying to persons as officers of the Public Service of the State, applicable to him; or\n\n(b) in the case of a member who is a part‑time member, affect or prejudice the application to him of the provisions referred to in paragraph (a) if those provisions applied to him at the time of the acceptance of or acting in that office.\n\n(5) A member who is a full‑time member who, immediately prior to his appointment, occupied an office under Part 3 of the *Public Sector Management Act 1994* —\n\n(a) shall, if he resigns his office or if his term of office expires by effluxion of time and he is not reappointed, be entitled to be appointed to an office under that Part not lower in status than the office which he occupied immediately prior to his appointment as a full-time member; and\n\n(b) shall continue to retain his existing and accruing rights,; including his rights under the *Superannuation and Family Benefits Act 1938* 1, as if his service as a full‑time member were service as a public service officer within the meaning of the *Public Sector Management Act 1994*.\n\n(6) In relation to a member who is a full‑time member to whom subsection (5) does not apply —\n\n(a) the Commission is deemed to be a department; and\n\n(b) that full‑time member is deemed to be an employee,\n\nwithin the meaning and for the purposes of the *Superannuation and Family Benefits Act 1938* 1, but he is not compelled to become a contributor for pension, superannuation or benefits under that Act.\n\n[Section 9 amended: No. 91 of 1978 s. 8; No. 32 of 1994 s. 19; No. 42 of 1997 s. 8; No. 39 of 2010 s. 89.]\n\n##### 10. Acting members\n\n(1) The Attorney General may, on such terms and conditions as he things fit, appoint a person to act temporarily as a member during the absence of any member, and a person so appointed shall, while so acting, be deemed to be a member.\n\n(2) A person shall not be appointed an acting member unless he has the like qualification, within the meaning of section 6, as the member who is absent.\n\n##### 11. Functions of Commission\n\n(1) The Commission shall prepare and submit to the Attorney General from time to time proposals for the review of any area of law with a view to reform, and for this purpose may consider any proposals for the reform of the law which may be made to it by any person.\n\n(2) The Attorney General may refer to the Commission —\n\n(a) any of the matters in the proposals submitted to him by it under subsection (1); or\n\n(b) any other matter.\n\n(3) On a reference made to it by the Attorney General under subsection (2), the Commission shall —\n\n(a) examine critically the law with respect to the matter mentioned in the reference; and\n\n(b) report to the Attorney General on the results of the examination of that law and make any recommendations with respect to the reform of that law, that it considers to be desirable.\n\n(4) Without limiting the generality of subsection (3) the commission shall examine the law to which the reference relates for the purposes of ascertaining and reporting whether that law —\n\n(a) is obsolete, unnecessary, incomplete or otherwise defective; or\n\n(b) ought to be changed so as to accord with modern conditions; or\n\n(c) contains anomalies; or\n\n(d) ought to be simplified, consolidated, codified, repealed or revised,\n\nand, if appropriate, whether new or more effective methods for the administration of that law should be developed.\n\n(5) The Commission shall deal with references made by the Attorney General in the order of priority, if any, approved by him.\n\n(6) The Commission may for the purposes of this section hold and conduct such inquiries as it thinks fit, and inform itself on any matter in such manner as it thinks fit, and obtain such information as to the law and the administration of justice of other countries as appears to the Commission likely to facilitate the performance of any of its functions.\n\n(7) The Attorney General shall cause the proposals and reports (including the recommendations) made by the Commission pursuant to the other provisions of this section to be presented to each House of Parliament as soon as practicable after they have been submitted to him.\n\n[Section 11 amended: No. 98 of 1985 s. 3.]\n\n##### 12. Meetings of Commission; delegation by Commission\n\n(1) The Commission shall meet from time to time at such places and times as the Chairman directs.\n\n(2) The Commission may regulate and conduct the proceedings at its meetings as it thinks fit and shall keep minutes of those proceedings.\n\n(3) Subject to this Act, the Commission may delegate to any of the members any of its powers, authorities, duties, or functions except this power of delegation.\n\n(4) The Commission may revoke a delegation given under subsection (3) and no delegation so given prevents the exercise or discharge by the Commission of any of its powers, authorities, duties, or functions.\n\n##### 13. *Financial Management Act 2006* and *Auditor General Act 2006*, application of\n\nThe provisions of the *Financial Management Act 2006* and the *Auditor General Act 2006* regulating the financial administration, audit and reporting of statutory authorities apply to and in respect of the Commission and its operations.\n\n[Section 13 inserted: No. 98 of 1985 s. 3; amended: No. 77 of 2006 Sch. 1 cl. 95(1).]\n\n##### 14. Staff\n\n(1) There shall be appointed under and subject to Part 3 of the *Public Sector Management Act 1994*, such officers and temporary employees as may be necessary to provide administrative, research, and other services to the Commission to enable it to exercise and perform the powers, functions, and duties conferred on the Commission by this Act, and to permit the Commission to undertake studies and research concerning law reform and to make investigations and reports with regard to the carrying out of this Act.\n\n(2) The Minister may, on the request of the Commission, engage, under contract for services, such professional and research or other assistance as may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out effectively its functions under this Act, and enter into arrangements with —\n\n(a) a Minister of the Crown of any State of the Commonwealth, a Minister of the State of the Commonwealth, a department or an instrumentality of the Commonwealth or any State of the Commonwealth; or\n\n(b) a university or other tertiary institution; or\n\n(c) any other body or person,\n\nwith respect to the conduct of any investigation, study or research that may be necessary or desirable for the purposes of this Act.\n\n[Section 14 amended: No. 32 of 1994 s. 19.]\n\n##### 15. Funds of Commission\n\n(1) The funds available to the Commission for the purpose of enabling it to exercise its functions, powers, and duties under this Act are —\n\n(a) moneys from time to time appropriated by Parliament for that purpose;\n\n(b) any other moneys made available to the Commission for the purposes of this Act.\n\n(2) An agency special purpose account called the Law Reform Commission Account is established under section 16 of the *Financial Management Act 2006* to which the moneys referred to in subsection (1) are to be credited.\n\n(3) All expenditure incurred by the Commission for the purposes of giving effect to this Act shall be charged to the account referred to in subsection (2).\n\n[Section 15 amended: No. 49 of 1996 s. 64; No. 77 of 2006 Sch. 1 cl. 95(2).]\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Law Reform Commission Act 1972* and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for information about any reprints, see the compilation table. For provisions that have not yet come into operation see the uncommenced provisions table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Law Reform Commission Act 1972* | 59 of 1972 | 31 Oct 1972 | 19 Jan 1973 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 19 Jan 1973 p. 83) |\n| *Law Reform Commission Act Amendment Act 1976* | 50 of 1976 | 10 Sep 1976 | 10 Sep 1976 |\n| *Law Reform Commission Act Amendment Act 1978* | 91 of 1978 | 8 Nov 1978 | 1 Oct 1979 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 21 Sep 1979 p. 2919) |\n| *Acts Amendment (Financial Administration and Audit) Act 1985* s. 3 | 98 of 1985   (as amended by No. 4 of 1986) | 4 Dec 1985 | 1 Jul 1986 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 30 Jun 1986 p. 2255) |\n| *Acts Amendment (Ministry of Justice) Act 1993* Pt. 13 2 | 31 of 1993 | 15 Dec 1993 | 1 Jul 1993 (see s. 2) |\n| *Acts Amendment (Public Sector Management) Act 1994* s. 19 | 32 of 1994 | 29 Jun 1994 | 1 Oct 1994 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 30 Sep 1994 p. 4948) |\n| *Financial Legislation Amendment Act 1996* s. 64 | 49 of 1996 | 25 Oct 1996 | 25 Oct 1996 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| *Equal Opportunity Amendment Act (No. 3) 1997* s. 8 | 42 of 1997 | 9 Dec 1997 | 6 Jan 1998 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| **Reprint of the *Law Reform Commission Act 1972* as at 26 Oct 2001**   (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Acts Amendment and Repeal (Courts and Legal Practice) Act 2003* s. 45 and 94 | 65 of 2003 | 4 Dec 2003 | 1 Jan 2004 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 30 Dec 2003 p. 5722) |\n| *Financial Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2006* Sch. 1 cl. 95 | 77 of 2006 | 21 Dec 2006 | 1 Feb 2007 (see s. 2(1) and *Gazette* 19 Jan 2007 p. 137) |\n| *Legal Profession Act 2008* s. 672 | 21 of 2008 | 27 May 2008 | 1 Mar 2009 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 27 Feb 2009 p. 511) |\n| *Public Sector Reform Act 2010* s. 89 | 39 of 2010 | 1 Oct 2010 | 1 Dec 2010 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 5 Nov 2010 p. 5563) |\n| **Reprint 2: The *Law Reform Commission Act 1972* as at 7 Sep 2012**   (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2022* Pt. 17 Div. 12 | 9 of 2022 | 14 Apr 2022 | 1 Jul 2022 (see s. 2(c) and SL 2022/113 cl. 2) |\n\n\nUncommenced provisions table\n\nTo view the text of the uncommenced provisions see *Acts as passed* on the WA Legislation website.\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *State Superannuation (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2000* s. 53 | 43 of 2000 | 2 Nov 2000 | To be proclaimed (see s. 2(2)) |\n\n\nOther notes\n\n1 The *Superannuation and Family Benefits Act 1938* was repealed by the *State Superannuation Act 2000* s. 39 but its provisions continue to apply to and in relation to certain schemes because of the *State Superannuation (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2000* s. 26.\n\n2 The *Acts Amendment (Ministry of Justice) Act 1993* Pt. 19 is a savings and transitional provision that is of no further effect.\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nChairman 3\n\nCommission 3\n\nmember 3\n\nsection 3\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains focused on its original purpose of establishing and governing the Law Reform Commission. While amendments have updated administrative details (superannuation references, financial management compliance, public sector management alignment), these are maintenance amendments that keep the machinery functioning rather than expanding the Commission's substantive role."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 defined terms in the interpretation section (section 3)","Straightforward institutional structure with clear membership rules","Some cross-referencing to other Acts (Financial Management Act 2006, Public Sector Management Act 1994, Superannuation legislation) but these are standard administrative provisions","Simple conditional logic (e.g., quorum rules in section 4(2), term limits in section 7)","No nested exceptions or highly technical procedural requirements","Length is moderate (15 sections) with clear section headings"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates the **Law Reform Commission of Western Australia** — an independent body that reviews and recommends improvements to the state's laws.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Establishes a Commission of 5 members (2 full-time, 3 part-time) appointed by the Governor\n- Sets out who can serve: experienced lawyers, law academics, and public sector legal officers\n- Gives the Commission power to examine laws, identify problems (outdated laws, anomalies, inefficiencies), and propose reforms\n- Requires the Attorney General to table Commission reports in Parliament\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The legal profession and judiciary (through law reform recommendations)\n- Government (which receives and must respond to recommendations)\n- The public (who benefit from improved laws)\n- Commission members and staff (whose employment terms are governed by this Act)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is the machinery that keeps Western Australia's laws modern and effective. Rather than waiting for political pressure, the Commission proactively identifies legal problems — whether laws are obsolete, unfair, or impractical — and suggests fixes. It ensures continuous improvement of the legal system independent of day-to-day politics."},"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"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act continues to establish a law‑reform body whose core purpose is to review and report on areas of law (s11). Amendments recorded in the compilation table and in the text mainly add or update administrative, financial and employment arrangements (for example, applying contemporary Financial Management and Auditor General Acts (s13), updating staff provisions under the Public Sector Management Act (s14), and modernising superannuation references (s9)). Those changes alter how the Commission is funded, staffed and audited, and clarify governance, but do not materially expand the Commission’s substantive remit beyond law review and reporting. In that sense the statutory scope (to examine and report on law reform matters) remains the same; the changes are implementation and governance updates rather than a substantive enlargement of purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute: 15 substantive sections (plus notes and schedules).","Four defined terms in interpretation (Chairman, Commission, member, section) (s3).","Specific numeric and categorical membership composition requirement (5 members: 3 part‑time, 2 full‑time) with qualifications attached to particular part‑time roles (s4(1a), s6).","Multiple conditional rules on terms, reappointment caps and Governor discretion for extensions (s7).","Cross‑references to several external Acts governing employment, finance and audit (Public Sector Management Act 1994; Financial Management Act 2006; Auditor General Act 2006; Superannuation legislation) (s9, s13, s14, s15).","Several separate appointment and removal routes (Governor appointments, Attorney General acting appointments, Public Sector Commissioner consent for certain remuneration) producing scattered administrative checks (s4, s9(2), s10).","Some nested conditions (e.g. remuneration approvals for certain part‑time members under Part 3 of Public Sector Management Act) increasing administrative steps (s9(2), s9(4))."],"plain_english_summary":"The Act creates a permanent Law Reform Commission of Western Australia to review areas of law, hold inquiries, commission research and report recommendations to Parliament. It sets membership, appointment and tenure rules, and subjects the body to standard public‑sector financial and staffing rules. The Attorney‑General controls referrals and priorities, funding comes from the public purse, and the Commission’s influence depends on referrals, resources and whether government acts on its recommendations."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative content was available for analysis. The source material contained only a broken-link error message, not the text of the Law Reform Commission Act 1972 (WA)."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — only a 404-style error page was provided","Impossible to assess complexity without access to the actual Act","Score of 1 reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"**No legislation content available to analyse.**\n\nThe page that was supposed to contain the *Law Reform Commission Act 1972* (Western Australia) is no longer accessible — the link is broken or the page has been removed during a website upgrade.\n\n**What this means for you:** No meaningful legal analysis can be provided because the actual text of the law was not retrieved. Only an error message and a website acknowledgement of country were returned.\n\n**What you can do:**\n- Visit the Western Australian legislation website directly at [legislation.wa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) and search for the Act by name\n- Contact the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk as suggested on the page\n- Try the Federal Register of Legislation or AustLII as alternative sources"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/law-reform-commission-act-1972","history":"/api/acts/law-reform-commission-act-1972/history","analysis":"/api/acts/law-reform-commission-act-1972/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/law-reform-commission-act-1972/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/law-reform-commission-act-1972/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/law-reform-commission-act-1972/documents"}}