{"id":"C2004A01225","name":"Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003","slug":"legislative-instruments-transitional-provisions-and-consequential-amendments-act-2003","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"140 of 2003","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6172,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A01225-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003","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\n \n\nLegislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003\n\n \n\nNo. 140, 2003\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to deal with transitional and consequential matters arising from the enactment of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, and for other purposes\n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Schedule(s)\n\nPart 2—Transitional provisions etc.\n\n4 Transitional provisions\n\n5 Transitional regulations\n\nSchedule 1—Amendments and repeals of other legislation\n\nAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989\n\nActs Interpretation Act 1901\n\nAir Navigation Act 1920\n\nAmendments Incorporation Act 1905\n\nAustralian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988\n\nAustralian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988\n\nAustralian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001\n\nCommonwealth Electoral Act 1918\n\nCorporations Act 2001\n\nCriminal Code Act 1995\n\nCustoms Act 1901\n\nFamily Law Act 1975\n\nFederal Court of Australia Act 1976\n\nFederal Magistrates Act 1999\n\nIncome Tax Assessment Act 1936\n\nInternational Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1963\n\nJudiciary Act 1903\n\nPublic Service Act 1999\n\nStatutory Rules Publication Act 1903\n\nSydney Airport Curfew Act 1995\n\nVeterans’ Entitlements Act 1986\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nLegislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003\n\nNo. 140, 2003\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to deal with transitional and consequential matters arising from the enactment of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, and for other purposes\n\n[Assented to 17 December 2003]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences on the day or at the time specified in column 2 of the table.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provision(s) Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent 17 December 2003\n- 2. Sections 4 and 5 Immediately after the commencement of sections 3 to 62 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 1 January 2005\n- 3. Schedule 1 Immediately after the commencement of sections 3 to 62 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 1 January 2005\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.\n\n (2) Column 3 of the table is for additional information that is not part of this Act. This information may be included in any published version of this Act.\n\n3  Schedule(s)\n\n  Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.\n\n\n\n\nPart 2—Transitional provisions etc.\n\n \n\n4  Transitional provisions\n\n (1) If legislation introduced into the Parliament before the commencing day but commencing on or after that day:\n\n (a) authorises an instrument to be made in the exercise of a power delegated by the Parliament; and\n\n (b) is expressed to require that instrument to be published as a statutory rule under the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903;\n\nany instrument so made is taken to be an instrument referred to in paragraph 6(b) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 despite the repeal by this Act of the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903.\n\n (2) If legislation introduced into the Parliament before the commencing day but commencing on or after that day:\n\n (a) authorises an instrument to be made in the exercise of a power delegated by the Parliament; and\n\n (b) is expressed to declare that instrument to be a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901;\n\nany instrument so made is taken to be an instrument referred to in subparagraph 6(d)(i) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 despite the repeal by this Act of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (3) If legislation that is in force immediately before the commencing day or that is introduced into the Parliament before that day but that commences on or after that day:\n\n (a) authorised or authorises an instrument to be made in the exercise of a power delegated by the Parliament that adversely affects the rights of a person, or results in the imposition of liabilities on a person; and\n\n (b) provided or provides that the instrument has effect, to the extent that it adversely affects those rights or results in the imposition of those liabilities, despite subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, before the date of its notification in the Gazette;\n\nthat legislation is to be construed, on and after the commencing day or the day of its commencement, whichever last occurs, as if it had provided instead that the instrument, to the extent that it adversely affects those rights or results in the imposition of those liabilities, has effect, despite subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, before its registration under that Act.\n\n (4) If:\n\n (a) legislation (the enabling legislation) in force immediately before the commencing day:\n\n (i) authorises the making of an instrument; and\n\n (ii) does not declare such an instrument to be a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 but nonetheless makes provision for its disallowance by the application, with or without modification, of the provisions of Part XII of that Act; and\n\n (b) an instrument is made in the exercise of that authority on or after the commencing day; and\n\n (c) the instrument is not a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 or otherwise;\n\nthe enabling legislation has effect, on and after the commencing day, as if:\n\n (d) it had declared such instruments to be disallowable instruments for the purposes of section 46B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901; and\n\n (e) it had provided for such modifications of the operation of that section as are necessary to ensure that the effect of the applied provisions of Part XII of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 is preserved.\n\n (5) In this section:\n\ncommencing day means the commencing day within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.\n\n5  Transitional regulations\n\n (1) The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters of a transitional nature (including prescribing any saving or application provisions) arising out of the amendments made by Schedule 1 to this Act.\n\n (2) Despite subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, regulations made under this section within one year after commencement of this section may take effect on a day earlier than the day on which they are registered under that Act, but not earlier than the commencement of this section.\n\n\n\n\nSchedule 1—Amendments and repeals of other legislation\n\n \n\nAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989\n\n1  Subclause 28(2) of Schedule 4\n\nRepeal the subclause.\n\n2  At the end of clause 28 of Schedule 4\n\nAdd:\n\nNote: Section 59 of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 provides that certain provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 apply, with modification, to rules of court made by the Court. Section 59A of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 provides that regulations may be made modifying or adapting certain provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 in their application to the Court.\n\nActs Interpretation Act 1901\n\n3  Subsection 4(6)\n\nRepeal the subsection, substitute:\n\n (6) In the application of this section to an instrument of a legislative character (including such an instrument made by virtue of this section):\n\n (a) references in this section to the enactment of an Act are to be read as references to the making of such an instrument; and\n\n (b) references in this section to an Act other than the Act concerned are to be read as references to instruments of a legislative character.\n\n4  Paragraph 17(j) (definition of Proclamation)\n\nOmit “published in the Gazette”, substitute “that is published in the Gazette or entered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments established under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003”.\n\n5  Part XI (heading)\n\nRepeal the heading, substitute:\n\nPart XI—Non‑legislative instruments and resolutions\n\n6  Sections 46 and 46A\n\nRepeal the sections, substitute:\n\n46  Construction of instruments\n\n (1) If a provision confers on an authority the power to make an instrument that is neither a legislative instrument within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 nor a rule of court, then, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n (a) this Act applies to any instrument so made as if it were an Act and as if each provision of the instrument were a section of an Act; and\n\n (b) expressions used in any instrument so made have the same meaning as in the enabling legislation; and\n\n (c) any instrument so made is to be read and construed subject to the enabling legislation, and so as not to exceed the power of the authority.\n\n (2) If any instrument so made would, but for subsection (1), be construed as being in excess of the authority’s power, it is to be taken to be a valid instrument to the extent to which it is not in excess of that power.\n\n (3) If a provision confers on an authority the power to make an instrument (that is not a legislative instrument or a rule of court):\n\n (a) specifying, declaring or prescribing a matter or thing; or\n\n (b) doing anything in relation to a matter or thing;\n\nthen, in exercising the power, the authority may identify the matter or thing by reference to a class or classes of matters or things.\n\nNote: This provision has a parallel, in relation to legislative instruments, in section 13 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.\n\n46AA  Prescribing matters by reference to other instruments\n\n (1) If legislation authorises or requires provision to be made in relation to any matter in an instrument that is neither a legislative instrument within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 nor a rule of court, that instrument may, unless the contrary intention appears, make provision in relation to that matter:\n\n (a) by applying, adopting or incorporating, with or without modification, the provisions of any Act, or of any disallowable legislative instrument within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, as in force at a particular time or as in force from time to time; or\n\n (b) subject to subsection (2), by applying, adopting or incorporating, with or without modification, any matter contained in any other instrument or writing as in force or existing at the time when the first‑mentioned instrument takes effect.\n\n (2) Unless the contrary intention appears, the instrument may not make provision in relation to that matter by applying, adopting or incorporating any matter contained in an instrument or other writing as in force or existing from time to time.\n\nNote: This provision has a parallel, in relation to legislative instruments, in section 14 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.\n\n46B  Disallowable non‑legislative instruments\n\n (1) This section applies to instruments:\n\n (a) that are neither legislative instruments within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 nor rules of court; and\n\n (b) that are made under a provision of an Act or legislative instrument (the enabling provision); and\n\n (c) that are expressly declared by the enabling provision or by another provision of the Act or instrument to be disallowable instruments for the purposes of this section.\n\n (2) An instrument to which this section applies that is made on or after the commencing day within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, or a particular provision of such an instrument, takes effect from:\n\n (a) the day specified in the instrument for the purposes of the commencement of the instrument or provision; or\n\n (b) the day and time specified in the instrument for the purposes of the commencement of the instrument or provision; or\n\n (c) the day, or day and time, of the commencement of an Act, or of a provision of an Act, or of the occurrence of an event, that is specified in the instrument for the purposes of the commencement of the instrument or provision; or\n\n (d) in any other case—the first moment of the day next following the day of notification under subsection (5).\n\n (3) If:\n\n (a) an instrument to which this section applies is expressed to take effect before the day of its notification under subsection (5); but\n\n (b) the instrument, or a provision of the instrument:\n\n (i) would adversely affect the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) at a time before the instrument is notified; or\n\n (ii) would result in the imposition of liabilities on a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) in respect of anything done, or omitted to be done, at a time before the instrument is notified;\n\nthe instrument or provision is taken to be of no effect in respect of the period before it is notified to the extent that it would have the effect described in subparagraph (b)(i) or (ii).\n\n (4) The effect of subsections (2) and (3) on an instrument is subject to any contrary provision for commencement of the instrument in the enabling legislation for the instrument if the enabling legislation is an Act or a provision of an Act.\n\n (5) An instrument to which this section applies must be notified in the Gazette and, if the instrument is not so notified by being published in full in the Gazette, a notice in the Gazette of the instrument’s having been made, and of the place or places where copies of it can be purchased, is sufficient compliance with that requirement.\n\n (6) If a notice of the making of an instrument is published in accordance with subsection (5), copies of the instrument must, at the time of publication of the notice or as soon as practicable thereafter, be made available for purchase at the place, or at each of the places, specified in the notice.\n\n (7) If, on the day of publication of a notice referred to in subsection (5), there are no copies of the instrument to which the notice relates available for purchase at the place, or at one or more of the places, specified in the notice, the Minister administering the enabling provision must cause to be laid before each House of the Parliament, within 15 sitting days of that House after that day, a statement that copies of the instrument were not so available and the reason why they were not so available.\n\n (8) Failure to comply with a requirement of subsection (6) or (7) in relation to any instrument does not constitute a failure to comply with subsection (5).\n\n (9) A copy of an instrument to which this section applies must be laid before each House of the Parliament not later than 6 sitting days of that House after the instrument is made and, for that purpose, must be delivered to the House by the person or body authorised to make the instrument.\n\n (10) If a copy of an instrument is not laid before each House of the Parliament in accordance with subsection (9), it thereupon ceases to have effect.\n\n (11) Unless the law otherwise provides, Part 5 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, other than sections 38, 39 and 40, applies in relation to an instrument to which this section applies as if:\n\n (a) references to legislative instruments or to a legislative instrument were references to an instrument to which this section applies; and\n\n (b) references to enabling legislation were references to the enabling provision; and\n\n (c) references to repeal were references to revocation; and\n\n (d) references in subsection 45(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 to another legislative instrument included references to a provision of another non‑legislative instrument made under the enabling provision.\n\n7  Sections 48, 48A, 48B, 49, 49A and 50\n\nRepeal the sections.\n\nAir Navigation Act 1920\n\n8  Section 28\n\nRepeal the section.\n\nAmendments Incorporation Act 1905\n\n9  At the end of the Act\n\nAdd:\n\n4  Incorporation of amendments in reprints of legislative instruments\n\n (1) If the Government Printer reprints a legislative instrument that has been amended at any time, the instrument must be reprinted as amended by:\n\n (a) any repeal or omission of words or figures; and\n\n (b) any substitution of words or figures for any repealed or omitted words or figures; and\n\n (c) any insertion of words or figures.\n\n (2) If a legislative instrument prescribes a method of citing another legislative instrument (the amended instrument), the amended instrument is taken to be amended by omitting the citation of the amended instrument and substituting the prescribed method of citation.\n\n (3) A reprint of an amended legislative instrument must include a reference to the amending legislative instrument or Act. The reference must be set out in the margin of, or in a footnote or endnote to, the reprint.\n\n (4) In this section:\n\nlegislative instrument has the same meaning as in the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.\n\nwords includes Part, Division, Subdivision, heading, regulation, clause, subregulation, subclause, paragraph, subparagraph, sub‑subparagraph and Schedule.\n\nAustralian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988\n\n10  Section 52\n\nOmit all the words before paragraph (a), substitute:\n\n  Neither paragraph 46(1)(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 nor paragraph 13(1)(a) or (b) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 applies to:\n\nAustralian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988\n\n11  Section 33\n\nOmit all the words before paragraph (a), substitute:\n\n  Neither paragraph 46(1)(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 nor paragraph 13(1)(a) or (b) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 applies to:\n\nAustralian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001\n\n12  Section 5A\n\nRepeal the section, substitute:\n\n5A  Application of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901\n\n (1) Until the date of commencement of section 4 of the Legislative Instruments (Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003 (the Legislative Instruments commencement day), the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as in force on 1 November 2000 applies to this Act.\n\n (2) On and after the Legislative Instruments commencement day, the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as in force on that day applies to this Act.\n\n (3) Amendments of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 made after the Legislative Instruments commencement day do not apply to this Act.\n\nCommonwealth Electoral Act 1918\n\n13  Subsection 375(2)\n\nRepeal the subsection.\n\n14  At the end of section 375\n\nAdd:\n\nNote: Section 86 of the Judiciary Act 1903 provides that certain provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 apply, with modifications, to rules of court made by the Court. Section 88 of the Judiciary Act 1903 provides that regulations may be made modifying and adapting certain provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 in their application to the Court.\n\nCorporations Act 2001\n\n15  Section 5C\n\nRepeal the section, substitute:\n\n5C  Application of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901\n\n (1) Until the date of commencement of section 4 of the Legislative Instruments (Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003 (the Legislative Instruments commencement day), the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as in force on 1 November 2000 applies to this Act.\n\n (2) On and after the Legislative Instruments commencement day, the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as in force on that day applies to this Act.\n\n (3) Amendments of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 made after the Legislative Instruments commencement day do not apply to this Act.\n\nCriminal Code Act 1995\n\n16  The Schedule (paragraph 9.4(2)(c) of the Criminal Code)\n\nRepeal the paragraph, substitute:\n\n (c) at the time of the conduct, the subordinate legislation:\n\n (i) has not been made available to the public (by means of the Register under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 or otherwise); and\n\n (ii) has not otherwise been made available to persons likely to be affected by it in such a way that the person would have become aware of its contents by exercising due diligence.\n\nCustoms Act 1901\n\n17  At the end of section 269SC\n\nAdd:\n\n (8) Subsections 269SC(6) and (7) have effect despite section 12 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.\n\n18  At the end of section 269SD\n\nAdd:\n\n (6) This section has effect despite section 12 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.\n\nFamily Law Act 1975\n\n19  Section 26E\n\nRepeal the section, substitute:\n\n26E  Application of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 to rules of court\n\n  The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than sections 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 16 of that Act) applies in relation to rules of court made under sections 26B and 26C of this Act:\n\n (a) as if a reference to a legislative instrument were a reference to a rule of court; and\n\n (b) as if a reference to a rule‑maker were a reference to the Chief Judge acting on behalf of the Judges; and\n\n (c) subject to such further modifications or adaptations as are provided for in regulations made under paragraph 125(1)(baa) of this Act.\n\n20  Subsection 37A(14)\n\nRepeal the subsection, substitute:\n\n (14) The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than sections 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 16 of that Act) applies in relation to rules of court made under this section:\n\n (a) as if a reference to a legislative instrument were a reference to a rule of court; and\n\n (b) as if a reference to a rule‑maker were a reference to the Chief Judge acting on behalf of the Judges; and\n\n (c) subject to such further modifications or adaptations as are provided for in regulations made under paragraph 125(1)(baa) of this Act.\n\n21  Subsection 123(2)\n\nRepeal the subsection, substitute:\n\n (2) The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than sections 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 16 of that Act) applies in relation to rules of court made under this section:\n\n (a) as if a reference to a legislative instrument were a reference to a rule of court; and\n\n (b) as if a reference to a rule‑maker were a reference to the Chief Judge acting on behalf of the Judges; and\n\n (c) subject to such further modifications or adaptations as are provided for in regulations made under paragraph 125(1)(baa) of this Act.\n\n (2A) Despite the fact that section 16 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply in relation to rules of court made under this Act, the Department may provide assistance in the drafting of any of those Rules if the Chief Judge so desires.\n\n22  After paragraph 125(1)(ba)\n\nInsert:\n\n (baa) modifying or adapting the provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than the provisions of Part 5 of that Act or any other provisions whose modification or adaptation would affect the operation of that Part) in their application to the Family Court and any other court exercising jurisdiction under this Act; and\n\nFederal Court of Australia Act 1976\n\n23  Subsection 59(4)\n\nRepeal the subsection, substitute:\n\n (4) The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than sections 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 16 of that Act) applies in relation to rules of court made by the Court under this Act or another Act:\n\n (a) as if a reference to a legislative instrument were a reference to a rule of court; and\n\n (b) as if a reference to a rule‑maker were a reference to the Chief Justice acting on behalf of the Judges of the Court; and\n\n (c) subject to such further modifications or adaptations as are provided for in regulations made under section 59A of this Act.\n\n (5) Despite the fact that section 16 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply in relation to rules of court made by the Court under this Act or another Act, the Department may provide assistance in the drafting of any of those Rules if the Chief Justice so desires.\n\n24  After section 59\n\nInsert:\n\n59A  Regulations modifying or adapting the Legislative Instruments Act 2003\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations for the purpose of subsection 59(4) modifying or adapting the provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than provisions of Part 5 of that Act or any other provisions whose modification or adaptation would affect the operation of that Part) in their application to the Court.\n\nFederal Magistrates Act 1999\n\n25  Subsection 81(3)\n\nRepeal the subsection, substitute:\n\n (3) The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than sections 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 16 of that Act) applies in relation to rules of court made by the Court under this Act or another Act:\n\n (a) as if a reference to a legislative instrument were a reference to a rule of court; and\n\n (b) as if a reference to a rule‑maker were a reference to the Chief Federal Magistrate acting on behalf of the Federal Magistrates; and\n\n (c) subject to such further modifications or adaptations as are provided for in regulations made under section 120 of this Act.\n\n (4) Despite the fact that section 16 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply to rules of court made by the Court under this Act or another Act, the Department may provide assistance in the drafting of any of those Rules if the Chief Federal Magistrate so desires.\n\n26  At the end of section 120\n\nAdd:\n\n (4) The regulations may make provision modifying or adapting provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than the provisions of Part 5 of that Act or any other provisions whose modifications or adaptation would affect the operation of that Part) in their application to the Federal Magistrates Court.\n\nIncome Tax Assessment Act 1936\n\n27  Subsection 109N(4)\n\nOmit all the words after “from time to time,”, substitute “despite any other Act”.\n\nInternational Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1963\n\n28  Subsections 13(3) and (4)\n\nRepeal the sections, substitute:\n\n (3) Subsection (2) has effect despite anything in the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.\n\n (4) If a determination under subsection (2) is made after the commencement of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, the determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of that Act.\n\nJudiciary Act 1903\n\n29  At the end of section 86\n\nAdd:\n\n (2) The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than sections 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 16 of that Act) applies in relation to rules of court made by the Court under this Act or another Act:\n\n (a) as if a reference to a legislative instrument were a reference to a rule of court; and\n\n (b) as if a reference to a rule‑maker were a reference to the Chief Justice acting on behalf of the Justices of the Court; and\n\n (c) subject to such further modifications or adaptations as are provided for in regulations made under paragraph 88(cb) of this Act.\n\n (3) Despite the fact that section 16 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply in relation to rules of court made by the Court under this Act or another Act, the Department may provide assistance in the drafting of any of those Rules if the Chief Justice so desires.\n\n30  Section 87\n\nRepeal the section.\n\n31  After paragraph 88(ca)\n\nInsert:\n\n (cb) modifying or adapting provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (other than provisions of Part 5 of that Act or any other provisions whose modification or adaptation would affect the operation of that Part) in their application to the Court;\n\nPublic Service Act 1999\n\n32  Subsection 42(4)\n\nRepeal the subsection, substitute:\n\n (4) Commissioner’s directions are disallowable non‑legislative instruments for the purposes of section 46B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\nStatutory Rules Publication Act 1903\n\n33  The whole of the Act\n\nRepeal the Act.\n\nSydney Airport Curfew Act 1995\n\n34  Subsections 15(6) and 20(7)\n\nOmit “, before the date specified in paragraph 16(1)(a) of the Legislative Instruments Act 1995,” (wherever occurring).\n\n35  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of clause 1 of the Schedule\n\nOmit “, before the date specified in paragraph 16(1)(a) of the Legislative Instruments Act 1995,” (wherever occurring).\n\nVeterans’ Entitlements Act 1986\n\n36  Paragraph 196W(3)(a)\n\nRepeal the paragraph, substitute:\n\n (a) the period within which the Statement of Principles may be disallowed under section 42 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 has ended; and\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 26 June 2003\n\nSenate on 9 September 2003]\n\n(120/03)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act does exactly what it says on the tin — it was always intended solely as a transitional and consequential amendment vehicle to support the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. It has not grown beyond that original purpose. Its scope is inherently broad (touching 21 Acts) but that breadth was built in by design, not the result of scope creep over time."},"complexity_factors":["Amends 21 separate Commonwealth Acts across widely different subject-matter areas, requiring the reader to cross-reference each of those Acts to understand the full effect","Transitional provisions involve conditional logic — the treatment of pre-existing instruments depends on their status, type, and timing relative to commencement","Regulation-making power for transitional matters (s.5) is broadly drafted and open-ended, adding legal uncertainty about its future exercise","Operates in tandem with the parent Legislative Instruments Act 2003, making it impossible to interpret in isolation — dual-Act cross-referencing required","Commencement provisions are likely staged or tied to the commencement of the parent Act, adding a temporal complexity layer","Schedule 1 amendments are numerous but individually tend to be short textual substitutions — high in breadth, moderate in depth"],"plain_english_summary":"## Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003\n\nThis Act is the **companion piece** to the *Legislative Instruments Act 2003* — the main law that overhauled how the Commonwealth government makes and manages **legislative instruments** (i.e., rules, regulations, and other legally binding documents made by ministers, departments, or agencies under the authority of an Act of Parliament).\n\nThink of it this way: when a big new law comes into force and changes the rules of the game, you need a \"housekeeping\" law to:\n- **Tidy up** the old system so nothing falls through the cracks, and\n- **Update** all the other existing laws that referred to the old way of doing things.\n\nThat's exactly what this Act does. It has two main jobs:\n\n### 1. 🔄 Transitional Provisions (Part 2)\nThese are **\"bridge\" rules** that manage the changeover from the old system to the new one. For example:\n- Instruments (like regulations or ministerial orders) that existed *before* the new system kicked in are treated in a defined way under the new regime — they don't just vanish or become legally uncertain.\n- A regulation-making power is included so the government can quickly fix any unforeseen problems that crop up during the transition, without needing to pass a whole new Act.\n\n### 2. ✏️ Consequential Amendments (Schedule 1)\nThis is the \"find and replace\" part of the Act. It amends **21 other Commonwealth Acts** to bring them in line with the new legislative instruments framework. The Acts updated span a huge range of subject matter, including:\n- Indigenous affairs (*Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989*)\n- Corporations and financial regulation (*Corporations Act 2001*, *ASIC Act 2001*)\n- Criminal law (*Criminal Code Act 1995*)\n- Tax (*Income Tax Assessment Act 1936*)\n- Courts (*Federal Court of Australia Act 1976*, *Family Law Act 1975*, *Judiciary Act 1903*)\n- Customs, electoral law, public service, veterans' entitlements, and more.\n\n### Who does it affect?\nPrimarily **government agencies, ministers, and legal practitioners** who draft, register, or work with Commonwealth legislative instruments. Indirectly, it affects **anyone** whose rights or obligations are shaped by Commonwealth regulations and rules — which is essentially all Australians.\n\n### Why does it matter?\nWithout this Act, switching to the new legislative instruments system would have left dozens of other laws out of step — creating legal uncertainty about whether old instruments were still valid and whether references in existing laws still made sense. This Act ensures the transition is **seamless and legally sound**."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Section 2 (Commencement)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Transitional provisions acts are designed to bridge old and new regimes. However, if the commencement of the transitional rules postdates actions already taken under the old regime, regulated parties cannot retroactively comply with requirements they had no notice of. Without explicit savings clauses (not evident from the structure provided), this creates a gap where pre-commencement conduct is judged by post-commencement standards.","confidence":0.55,"description":"Transitional provisions legislation that commences on a fixed date cannot logically govern the transition of instruments that may have already been made, amended, or relied upon before that commencement date — yet the Act purports to apply transitional rules to pre-existing instruments retrospectively without any clear savings mechanism visible in the table of contents."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Section 5 (Transitional regulations)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The Act exists to manage the transition to the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA 2003). Section 5 empowers the making of 'transitional regulations' to deal with unforeseen transitional matters. Those regulations are themselves legislative instruments and thus fall under LIA 2003's registration, tabling, and disallowance requirements. This creates a bootstrapping circularity: the tool used to manage the transition is itself fully subject to the regime being transitioned into, potentially before the administrative infrastructure for that regime is in place.","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 5 grants a power to make 'transitional regulations', but these regulations are themselves a form of legislative instrument. Under the very Legislative Instruments Act 2003 that this Act supports, those transitional regulations would be subject to the new registration and scrutiny regime — meaning the transitional mechanism is itself subject to the regime it is supposed to be transitioning into, before that regime is fully operational."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Schedule 1 — Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 (repeal)","severity":"high","reasoning":"Repealing the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 without ensuring seamless simultaneous commencement of the LIA 2003 registration and publication regime creates a potential lacuna. Instruments made or registered in the transition window may lack a clear legal basis for their publication, validity, or enforceability. This is a classic legislative transition hazard where the old framework is removed before the new one is fully operative.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The Act repeals the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903, which governed the publication of statutory rules (a category of legislative instruments). However, the repeal takes effect at commencement of the new LIA 2003 regime. Any statutory rules made in the gap between royal assent of this Act and full commencement of the LIA 2003 registration system would fall into a publication and validity void — neither the old Act nor the new Act would clearly govern their status."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Section 3 (Schedules)","severity":"low","reasoning":"When this Act amends the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 through Schedule 1, the rules for interpreting the amending Act are themselves in flux at the moment of amendment. While this is a known and generally manageable feature of legislative drafting, it creates a brief logical circularity: the interpretation of the amendment is governed by the Act being amended, and the amendment changes those very interpretive rules.","confidence":0.6,"description":"Section 3 operates as an enabling provision for Schedule 1, which amends and repeals a large number of Acts. However, several of the Acts listed in Schedule 1 (e.g., Acts Interpretation Act 1901, Judiciary Act 1903) are foundational interpretation statutes. Amending them via a Schedule to a transitional Act — rather than by direct amendment — means the amendment's own interpretation is governed by the very Acts being amended at the moment of amendment, creating a momentary interpretive loop."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 4 (Transitional provisions)","section_b":"Section 5 (Transitional regulations)","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 4 sets out specific transitional provisions on the face of the Act, implying those provisions are exhaustive and self-contained. Section 5 then empowers the Governor-General to make regulations to deal with transitional matters not covered by Section 4. This creates an inherent tension: if Section 4 is meant to be the definitive transitional regime, Section 5 implicitly acknowledges it is incomplete, undermining the legal certainty Section 4 is supposed to provide. Conversely, if Section 5 is the primary safety valve, Section 4's specificity may be rendered redundant or may conflict with later regulations made under Section 5."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Schedule 1 — Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (amendment)","section_b":"Schedule 1 — Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 (repeal)","confidence":0.58,"description":"The Acts Interpretation Act 1901 amendments (also in Schedule 1) likely update definitions and interpretation rules to reflect the new legislative instruments framework. Simultaneously, the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 is repealed. However, the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 may contain cross-references or definitional dependencies on the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903 that, if not perfectly synchronised in this Schedule, would leave dangling references or broken definitional chains at the moment of commencement."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"Section 2 (Commencement)","section_b":"Schedule 1 (Amendments and repeals — multiple Acts)","confidence":0.62,"description":"Section 2 sets commencement dates (likely tied to proclamation or a fixed date), but Schedule 1 amends Acts (such as the Criminal Code Act 1995, Corporations Act 2001, and Income Tax Assessment Act 1936) that operate on their own independent commencement and amendment schedules. If any of the Schedule 1 target provisions have themselves been amended or repealed between royal assent of this Act and its commencement, the amendments in Schedule 1 would operate on non-existent or already-changed text, producing nonsensical or void amendments."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/legislative-instruments-transitional-provisions-and-consequential-amendments-act-2003","history":"/api/acts/legislative-instruments-transitional-provisions-and-consequential-amendments-act-2003/history","analysis":"/api/acts/legislative-instruments-transitional-provisions-and-consequential-amendments-act-2003/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/legislative-instruments-transitional-provisions-and-consequential-amendments-act-2003/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/legislative-instruments-transitional-provisions-and-consequential-amendments-act-2003/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/legislative-instruments-transitional-provisions-and-consequential-amendments-act-2003/documents"}}