{"id":"parliamentary-privileges-act-1891","name":"Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891","slug":"parliamentary-privileges-act-1891","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":105960,"registerId":"wa-parliamentary-privileges-act-1891-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nParliamentary Privileges Act 1891\n\nWestern Australia\n\nParliamentary Privileges Act 1891\n\nContents\n\n1. Privileges, immunities and powers of Council and Assembly 1\n\n2. Printed copies of journals of House of Commons to be evidence 2\n\n3. Designation of Legislature 2\n\n4. Power to order attendance of persons 2\n\n5. Order to attend to be notified by summons 2\n\n6. Attendance of members 3\n\n7. Objection to answer questions or produce documents to be reported to House 3\n\n8. Houses empowered to punish summarily for certain contempts 3\n\n9. President or Speaker to issue warrant 4\n\n10. Persons disturbing proceedings of House may be arrested without warrant 5\n\n11. Form of warrant 5\n\n12. Sheriff’s officers, constables and others to assist in execution of warrant or verbal order 5\n\n13. Doors may be broken open in executing warrant 6\n\n14. House may direct Attorney General to prosecute instead of proceeding summarily 6\n\n15. House may direct Attorney General to prosecute for other contempts 6\n\n17. Short title 7\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 8\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nParliamentary Privileges Act 1891\n\nAn Act for defining the privileges, immunities, and powers of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, respectively.\n\nPreamble\n\nWhereas by the *Constitution Act 1889* it is enacted that it is lawful for the Parliament of the State by any Act to define the privileges, immunities, and powers to be held, enjoyed, and exercised by the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly and by their members:\n\nBe it therefore enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: —\n\n[Preamble amended: No. 41 of 2004 s. 6.]\n\n##### 1. Privileges, immunities and powers of Council and Assembly\n\nThe Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, and their members and committees, have and may exercise —\n\n(a) the privileges, immunities and powers set out in this Act; and\n\n(b) to the extent that they are not inconsistent with this Act, the privileges, immunities and powers by custom, statute or otherwise of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom and its members and committees as at 1 January 1989.\n\n[Section 1 inserted: No. 41 of 2004 s. 7.]\n\n##### 2. Printed copies of journals of House of Commons to be evidence\n\nSubject to the provisions of this Act, any copy of the journals of the House of Commons printed, or purporting to be printed by the order or printer of the House of Commons, shall be received as *prima facie* evidence without proof of its being such copy, upon any inquiry touching the privileges, immunities, and powers of the said Council or Assembly, or of any Committee or member thereof respectively.\n\n##### 3. Designation of Legislature\n\nThe Legislature of Western Australia shall be and is hereby designated ‘The Parliament of Western Australia’.\n\n##### 4. Power to order attendance of persons\n\nEach House of the Parliament of the said Colony, and any Committee of either House, duly authorised by the House to send for persons and papers, may order any person to attend before the House or before such Committee, as the case may be, and also to produce to such House or Committee any paper, book, record, or other document in the possession or power of such person.\n\n##### 5. Order to attend to be notified by summons\n\n(1) Any such order to attend or to produce documents before either House shall be notified to the person required to attend or to produce documents by a summons under the hand of the President or Speaker as the case may be, and any such order to attend or to produce documents before any such Committee shall be notified to the person required to attend or to produce documents by a summons under the hand of the Clerk of the House authorised by the Chairman of the Committee.\n\n(2) In every such summons shall be stated the time and place when and where the person summoned is to attend, and the particular documents which he is required to produce.\n\n(3) The summons shall be served on the person mentioned therein, either by delivering to him a correct copy of such summons, or by leaving a correct copy of the same with some adult person at his usual or last known place of abode in the Colony.\n\n(4) There shall be paid or tendered to the person so summoned a reasonable sum for his expenses of attendance.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 19 of 2010 s. 51.]\n\n##### 6. Attendance of members\n\nA member of either House may be ordered by the House of which he is a member to attend before either House, or before any Committee of either House, without summons.\n\n##### 7. Objection to answer questions or produce documents to be reported to House\n\nIf any person ordered to attend or produce any paper, book, record, or other document to either House, or to any Committee of either House, shall object to answer any question that may be put to him, or to produce any such paper, book, record, or other document on the ground that the same is of a private nature and does not affect the subject of inquiry, the President, or Speaker, or Chairman of the Committee, as the case may be, shall report such refusal, with the reason thereof, to the House, who shall thereupon excuse the answering of such question, or the production of such paper, book, record, or other document, or order the answering or production thereof, as the circumstances of the case may require.\n\n##### 8. Houses empowered to punish summarily for certain contempts\n\nEach House of the said Parliament is hereby empowered to punish in a summary manner as for contempt by fine according to the Standing Orders of either House, and in the event of such fine not being immediately paid, by imprisonment in the custody of its own officer in such place within the Colony as the House may direct until such fine shall have been paid, or until the end of the then existing session or any portion thereof, any of the offences hereinafter enumerated whether committed by a member of the House or by any other person —\n\n(a) disobedience to any order of either House or of any Committee duly authorised in that behalf to attend or to produce papers, books, records, or other documents, before the House or such Committee, unless excused by the House in manner aforesaid;\n\n(b) refusing to be examined before, or to answer any lawful and relevant question put by the House or any such Committee, unless excused by the House in manner aforesaid;\n\n(c) assaulting, obstructing, or insulting any member in his coming to or going from the House, or on account of his behaviour in Parliament or endeavouring to compel any member by force, insult, or menace to declare himself in favour of or against any proposition or matter depending or expected to be brought before either House;\n\n(d) sending to a member any threatening letter on account of his behaviour in Parliament;\n\n(e) sending a challenge to fight a member;\n\n(f) offering a bribe to, or attempting to bribe a member;\n\n(g) creating or joining in any disturbance in the House, or in the vicinity of the House while the same is sitting, whereby the proceedings of such House may be interrupted.\n\n[Section 8 amended: No. 19 of 2010 s. 51.]\n\n##### 9. President or Speaker to issue warrant\n\nFor the purpose of punishing any of the contempts aforesaid, the President or Speaker, as the case may be, is hereby empowered upon the resolution in that behalf of the House to issue his warrant under his hand for the apprehension and imprisonment as aforesaid of any person adjudged by the House guilty of any such contempt, if such fine shall not have been paid as aforesaid.\n\n##### 10. Persons disturbing proceedings of House may be arrested without warrant\n\nAny person creating or joining in any disturbances in the House during its actual sitting may be apprehended without warrant on the verbal order of the President or Speaker as the case may be, and may be kept in the custody of the officer of the House until a warrant can be made out for the imprisonment of such person in the manner aforesaid.\n\n##### 11. Form of warrant\n\n(1) Every such warrant shall contain a statement that the person therein mentioned has been adjudged guilty of contempt by the House, the President or Speaker whereof shall have issued the same, specifying the nature of such contempt in the words of this Act defining the same, or in equivalent words.\n\n(2) Every warrant shall be sufficient from which it can be reasonably collected that the person mentioned therein has been adjudged guilty of any of the contempts aforesaid, and no particular form shall be necessary to be observed in such warrant.\n\n[Section 11 amended: No. 19 of 2010 s. 51.]\n\n##### 12. Sheriff’s officers, constables and others to assist in execution of warrant or verbal order\n\n(1) The Sheriff and his officers, and all constables and other persons, are hereby required to assist in the apprehension and detention of any person in pursuance of the verbal order as aforesaid of the President or Speaker, as the case may be, and also to be aiding and assisting in the execution of any such warrant as aforesaid.\n\n(2) Where any such warrant directs that the person mentioned therein shall be imprisoned in any gaol, the keeper thereof is hereby required to receive such person into his custody in the said gaol, and there to imprison him according to the tenor of the warrant.\n\n[Section 12 amended: No. 19 of 2010 s. 51.]\n\n##### 13. Doors may be broken open in executing warrant\n\nIt shall be lawful for any person charged with, or assisting in the execution of any warrant under the hand of the President or Speaker issued under the authority of this Act, to break open in the daytime all doors of places where the person for whose apprehension such warrant was issued is concealed.\n\n##### 14. House may direct Attorney General to prosecute instead of proceeding summarily\n\n(1) The publishing of any false or scandalous libel of any member touching his conduct as a member by any person other than a member is hereby declared to be a crime.\n\n(2) It shall be lawful for either House to direct the Attorney General to prosecute before the Supreme Court any such person committing any such crime.\n\n(3) Any such person convicted before the said Court of any such crime shall be liable to imprisonment for any period not exceeding 2 years, or to a fine not exceeding $200 or to both such punishments.\n\n[Section 14 amended: No. 70 of 2004 s. 82; No. 19 of 2010 s. 51.]\n\n##### 15. House may direct Attorney General to prosecute for other contempts\n\nIt shall be lawful for either House to direct the Attorney General to prosecute before the Supreme Court any such person guilty of any other contempt against the House which is punishable by law.\n\n[**16.** Deleted: 1 & 2 Edw. VII No. 14 s. 3(2).]\n\n##### 17. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891* 1.\n\n[Section 17 inserted: No. 81 of 1966 s. 2.]\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This reprint is a compilation as at 12 September 2014 of the *Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Untitled 2 | 1891 (54 Vict.   No. 4) | 26 Feb 1891 | 26 Feb 1891 |\n| *Criminal Code Act 1902* s. 3(2) | 1902    (1 & 2 Edw. VII No. 14) | 19 Feb 1902 | 1 May 1902 (see s. 2) |\n| *Statute Law Revision (Short Titles) Act 1966* s. 2 | 81 of 1966 | 12 Dec 1966 | 12 Dec 1966 |\n| **Reprint of the *Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891* as at 9 Oct 1987**   (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| **Reprint 2: The *Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891* as at 6 Jun 2003**   (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Constitution (Parliamentary Privileges) Amendment Act 2004* Pt. 3 | 41 of 2004 | 3 Nov 2004 | 3 Nov 2004 (see s. 2) |\n| *Criminal Law Amendment (Simple Offences) Act 2004* s. 82 | 70 of 2004 | 8 Dec 2004 | 31 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 14 Jan 2005 p. 163) |\n| *Standardisation of Formatting Act 2010* s. 51 | 19 of 2010 | 28 Jun 2010 | 11 Sep 2010 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 10 Sep 2010 p. 4341) |\n| **Reprint 3: The *Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891* as at 12 Sep 2014**   (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n\n\n2 Now called the *Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891*; short title inserted (see note under s. 17).\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"source":"grok-batch-everything"},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation retains its original 1891 scope of defining the privileges, immunities and powers of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly as authorised by the Constitution Act 1889. Amendments (including the 2004 update to the UK privileges cut-off date in s. 1 and modernisation of penalties and formatting) have clarified and updated mechanics without expanding the fundamental purpose or adding new subject-matter areas."},"complexity_factors":["Incorporation by reference of all privileges, immunities and powers of the UK House of Commons as at 1 January 1989 (s. 1(b))","Detailed procedural steps for summons, service, objections, warrants, and execution (ss. 4–13)","Enumerated list of seven specific contempts that can be punished summarily (s. 8)","Multiple cross-references to the Standing Orders of the House, the Constitution Act 1889, and external statutes such as the Criminal Code","Layered options for punishment (summary fine/imprisonment by the House versus directing the Attorney General to prosecute)"],"plain_english_summary":"**This law sets out the special rights, protections, and powers that Western Australia's parliament and its members have so they can work freely without outside pressure or legal threats.**\n\nIt gives the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly (the two houses that make up the Parliament of Western Australia) the same privileges that the UK's House of Commons had on 1 January 1989, as long as those do not clash with this Act. In simple terms, this means parliament can:\n\n* Call any person to appear before it or its committees and bring documents (sections 4–7).\n* Investigate and punish certain disrespectful actions (called 'contempts'), such as ignoring a summons, bribing a member, sending threats, or disrupting proceedings (section 8).\n* Arrest people who cause disturbances and issue warrants for imprisonment if fines are unpaid (sections 9–13).\n* Ask the Attorney General to take someone to court for serious offences like publishing false statements about a member (sections 14–15).\n\nThe law affects Members of Parliament, parliamentary committees, witnesses who are summoned, and any member of the public whose actions might interfere with parliament. It matters because it helps parliament debate issues, question people, and hold the government accountable while protecting its independence. Without these rules, members could face lawsuits or intimidation for things said during debates, and parliament could be prevented from getting the information it needs."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act's scope has been expanded since the original enactment. It now expressly incorporates, where not inconsistent with the Act, the privileges, immunities and powers of the UK House of Commons as at 1 January 1989 (s1(b)), thereby importing an external body of privilege law. Amendments also added and updated enforcement and penalty provisions (for example, the criminalisation and specified penalties for publishing certain libels at the direction of a House (s14(1)–(3)), and procedural clarifications on summonses and warrants (s5, s11)). These changes broaden the sources and mechanisms through which parliamentary privileges can be identified and enforced compared with the original text."},"complexity_factors":["Incorporation by reference of the privileges, immunities and powers of the UK House of Commons as at 1 January 1989 (s1(b)) which imports external customary and statutory material","Dual enforcement pathways: summary parliamentary sanctions (fines and imprisonment in House custody) and referral to criminal courts via the Attorney General (s8–s9, s14–s15)","Multiple decision-makers and delegated actors with discretion (the Houses, President/Speaker, Clerk, Committee Chair, Attorney General, Sheriff and gaol keepers) (s5(1), s9, s12, s14–s15)","Interplay between parliamentary standing orders and statutory provisions for fines and procedure (s8)","Procedural detail for summons service, attendance expenses and grounds to object to production or testimony (s5, s7)","Use of ordinary law‑enforcement powers to execute parliamentary warrants, including forcible entry and custody arrangements (s12–s13)","Historical amendments and cross-references in the compilation (affecting penalties and forms) increase interpretive steps (see s14 amendments noted in compilation table and s11 amendments)"],"plain_english_summary":"What this law does, in plain terms\n\n- Mechanically, the Act sets out what legal privileges, immunities and powers belong to the Western Australian Parliament (the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly), their members and committees (s1). It also: requires that summonses to attend or produce documents be issued and served in a particular way and that reasonable attendance expenses be paid (s5); gives each House and authorised committees the power to summon people and documents (s4); permits summary punishment (fine and, if unpaid, imprisonment in the House’s custody) for specified contempts (s8–s11); allows the President or Speaker to order immediate arrest for disturbances during sittings (s10); authorises assistance from the Sheriff, constables and others to execute parliamentary warrants (s12); allows forcible entry when executing a warrant during daytime (s13); and enables either House to direct the Attorney General to bring criminal proceedings for libel of a member or other contempts (s14–s15). The Act also treats printed copies of the UK House of Commons journals as prima facie evidence in inquiries about parliamentary privileges (s2), and formally names the Legislature “The Parliament of Western Australia” (s3).\n\nWho is affected\n\n- Members and committees of the two Houses (s1, s6).  \n- Any person summoned to attend, give evidence or produce documents (s4–s7).  \n- Persons who cause disturbances in or near the House while it is sitting (s8(g), s10).  \n- Publishers or persons who publish allegedly false or scandalous libels about a member (s14).  \n- Officers involved in enforcement: the President or Speaker, the Clerk (for committee summons), the Sheriff and his officers, constables and gaol keepers (s5(1), s9, s12).\n\nWhy it matters (stated purpose, then what that implies mechanically)\n\n- The Act was enacted under the Constitution Act 1889 to define and put into statute the privileges, immunities and powers of the Parliament and its members (Preamble; s1). It therefore converts certain parliamentary authorities into enforceable legal powers and procedures.\n\n- Mechanically this creates several incentive and cost channels:  \n  - Private persons summoned must choose between complying (producing documents, answering questions) or invoking a House excuse, and refusal can be dealt with by the House summarily (s4–s8). That imposes a compliance burden on witnesses and document-holders (s5(2)–(3), s8(a)–(b)).  \n  - Where a fine is imposed and not paid, the Act permits imprisonment in custody appointed by the House until the fine is paid or the session ends (s8). That gives the House a non-judicial enforcement route (s8–s9).  \n  - The Houses can shift certain matters into the criminal justice system by directing the Attorney General to prosecute (s14–s15). That changes the forum from a parliamentary summary process to judicial processes with standard criminal penalties (s14(2)–(3)).  \n  - Parliament bears direct administrative costs related to summonses (the statute requires a reasonable sum for attendance expenses) and enforcement uses state officers (s5(4); s12). The State’s law‑enforcement resources are required to assist execution of warrants and custody (s12).  \n\nDecision makers and discretion\n\n- Key discretionary actors are the Houses themselves (they resolve to punish, to direct prosecutions, and to issue warrants) and the presiding officers: the President or Speaker (who issues warrants, may give verbal arrest orders) and the Clerk or Committee Chair for committee summonses (s5(1), s9–s10, s11, s14–s15). Those actors determine whether to proceed summarily or to involve the Attorney General (s8, s9, s14–s15). The Act grants scope to House standing orders (for fines) and to customary/imported privileges where not inconsistent with the Act (s1(b), s8).\n\nTrade-offs, implementation risk and likely effects on behaviour (mechanisms, not judgments)\n\n- Summary vs judicial enforcement: the Act gives Houses the option of acting internally (summary fines and imprisonment in House custody) or of referring matters to the courts (s8, s9, s14–s15). The practical effect is a choice between internal parliamentary discipline and formal criminal prosecution; each route uses different procedures, actors and costs.  \n\n- Incorporation of UK Commons practice: the Act imports, to the extent not inconsistent with it, privileges and powers of the UK House of Commons as at 1 January 1989 (s1(b)). That introduces a body of external custom and statutory practice into Western Australian parliamentary law; the size and content of that body are not set out in the Act itself, so application requires reference to those external materials.  \n\n- Compliance burden on private parties: persons compelled to attend or to produce documents face requirements about service and must make choices about contesting production (s5(1)–(3), s7). Non‑compliance is explicitly an enumerated contempt and can attract summary punishment (s4, s7–s8).  \n\n- Use of state enforcement resources: execution of warrants and custody require the Sheriff, constables and gaol keepers to cooperate (s12), meaning enforcement draws on ordinary law‑enforcement and corrections infrastructure.  \n\n- Press and speech effects: publishing “false or scandalous libel” of a member about their conduct as member is defined as a crime (s14(1)) and either House may ask the Attorney General to prosecute (s14(2)–(3)). That removes certain alleged libels from purely parliamentary sanction into the criminal law arena at the direction of a House.  \n\nConcrete operational points to note (section pointers)\n\n- Summons form, service rules and payment of attendance expenses: s5(1)–(4).  \n- Summary contempts and punishment mechanism (fine and imprisonment in House custody): s8–s9.  \n- Immediate arrest without warrant for disturbance on verbal order of presiding officer: s10.  \n- Assistance required from Sheriff, constables and gaol keepers when warrants are issued: s12.  \n- Power to direct criminal prosecution for libel or other contempts: s14–s15.  \n- Incorporation of Commons privileges as at 1 Jan 1989 and use of House of Commons journals as prima facie evidence: s1(b), s2.\n\nOverall, the Act turns a set of parliamentary protections and enforcement mechanisms into statutory powers, specifies how summonses and enforcement must operate, creates both internal (summary) and external (criminal prosecution) enforcement pathways, and assigns decision-making authority primarily to the Houses and their presiding officers (see s1, s4–s5, s8–s15)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be meaningfully assessed as the legislative text was not available. The source document is a website error page, not the legislation. No comparison between original intent and current provisions is possible."},"complexity_factors":["No actual legislative text was retrievable — source returned a website error page only","Analysis is based on general knowledge of the Act rather than its specific provisions","Cannot assess amendments, schedules, or regulatory interactions without the text","Parliamentary privilege law itself can be constitutionally complex, but that complexity cannot be properly assessed here"],"plain_english_summary":"## ⚠️ Content Unavailable\n\nThe actual text of the **Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 (WA)** could not be retrieved. The link provided returns a website error page — not the legislation itself.\n\n**What we do know about this Act generally:** The Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 is a Western Australian law that protects members of State Parliament (MPs and MLCs) and others involved in parliamentary proceedings from being sued or prosecuted for things said or done in Parliament. This concept — called **parliamentary privilege** — is a cornerstone of democracy, allowing elected representatives to speak freely without fear of legal consequences.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council\n- Witnesses appearing before parliamentary committees\n- Anyone involved in official parliamentary business\n\n**Why it matters:** Without this protection, politicians could be silenced by wealthy or powerful interests threatening lawsuits. It also means courts generally cannot scrutinise what happens inside Parliament.\n\n> ⚠️ **Important:** This summary is based on general knowledge of this class of legislation, not the actual retrieved text. The provided source contained only an error message. A full legal analysis requires access to the current, consolidated Act."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/parliamentary-privileges-act-1891","history":"/api/acts/parliamentary-privileges-act-1891/history","analysis":"/api/acts/parliamentary-privileges-act-1891/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/parliamentary-privileges-act-1891/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/parliamentary-privileges-act-1891/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/parliamentary-privileges-act-1891/documents"}}