{"id":"nsw:act-1906-002","name":"Railways (Victorian and Queensland By-laws) Enabling Act","slug":"railways-victorian-and-queensland-by-laws-enabling-act","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"2 of 1906","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":112022,"registerId":"nsw-act-1906-002-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Act","content":"#### 1 Name of Act\n\n1 Name of Act\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Railways (Victorian and Queensland By-laws) Enabling Act](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1906-002).","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Victorian and Queensland by-laws applied to Victorian and Queensland railways in New South Wales","content":"#### 2 Victorian and Queensland by-laws applied to Victorian and Queensland railways in New South Wales\n\n2 Victorian and Queensland by-laws applied to Victorian and Queensland railways in New South Wales\n\n> > (1) The Governor may, by order, declare any by-laws made by the Commissioners for Railways of the State of Victoria, or by the Commissioner for Railways of the State of Queensland, to be in force in respect of any railways vested in or worked by the said Commissioners or Commissioner, situate within New South Wales, and of any traffic on such railways, and thereupon such by-laws shall, in respect of such railways and traffic, have the force of law, and may be enforced in the courts of New South Wales. The Governor may revoke or vary any such order. Any such order shall be published in the Gazette.\n> \n> > (2) Penalties imposed by such by-laws may be recovered in the Local Court by any officer appointed in that behalf by such Commissioners or Commissioner and approved of by the Railway Commissioners of New South Wales.\n> \n> > (3) Evidence of such order, and that the same was duly made and published, may be given by the production of a document, purporting to be a copy of any such order, and to be printed by the Government Printer, or by the authority of the Government.\n> \n> > (4) Any document purporting to be a copy of such by-laws, and to be printed by the Government Printer, shall, in any proceedings for penalties, be evidence that the by-laws in the words of such document were duly made by the said Commissioners or Commissioner.\n> \n> **s 2:** Am 2007 No 94, Sch 1.88.","sortOrder":1}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available metadata, there is no evidence the scope of this Act changed from its original intent. The 2009 update appears to be a minor administrative or formatting change rather than a substantive amendment to the Act's purpose or coverage."},"complexity_factors":["The actual text of the Act is not reproduced in the provided document, making full analysis impossible","Historical context of early Federation-era interstate railway coordination adds some interpretive complexity","Cross-jurisdictional nature (NSW enabling Victorian and Queensland by-laws) raises constitutional and federalism questions that would have been complex at the time of drafting","Age of the legislation (1906) means it predates modern legislative drafting conventions, which can make interpretation harder"],"plain_english_summary":"The 1906 Railways (Victorian and Queensland By‑laws) Enabling Act allowed by‑laws made by Victoria and Queensland rail authorities to have legal effect across borders, affecting interstate railway operators and passengers at the time. Today it is effectively a historical relic — technically still on the books but of no practical consequence."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The text provided continues to enable the Governor to apply interstate railway by-laws to specified railways in NSW and sets enforcement and evidentiary rules; nothing in the supplied text indicates a departure from that original enabling scope. The amendment note (s 2: Am 2007 No 94, Sch 1.88) records a later change but the supplied extract does not show a substantive expansion or contraction of scope."},"complexity_factors":["Governor's discretionary power to declare, vary or revoke application of interstate by-laws (s 2(1))","Cross-jurisdictional legal effect: interstate by-laws are given force within NSW territory (s 2(1))","Enforcement pathway in NSW courts and Local Court recovery of penalties (s 2(1)–(2))","Delegated enforcement: penalties recoverable by officers appointed by interstate commissioners but approved by NSW Railway Commissioners (s 2(2))","Evidentiary simplification: government-printed copies of orders and by-laws presumptively admissible as proof (s 2(3)–(4))","Publication requirement for orders (Gazette) creates an administrative step for enforcement (s 2(1))","Statutory amendment history noted (s 2: Am 2007 No 94, Sch 1.88) — potential implementation or interpretation changes over time"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets the Governor of New South Wales declare that by-laws made by Victoria's or Queensland's railway commissioners apply as law to those states' railways located in NSW and allows NSW courts to enforce them. Penalties can be recovered in Local Court by officers appointed by the interstate commissioners and approved by NSW railway authorities.\n\nIt shifts compliance and enforcement costs to operators of those interstate railways in NSW and gives the Governor administrative discretion to adopt, vary or revoke such by-laws."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of enabling cross-border railway regulation. The only change since 1906 has been a 2007 update to reflect modern court naming conventions (replacing 'Court of Petty Sessions' with 'Local Court'), which does not alter the substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 operative sections with 4 subsections total","No defined terms section","Minimal cross-referencing (only internal to the Act itself)","Straightforward conditional logic: Governor makes order → by-laws have force of law → penalties recoverable in Local Court","Simple evidence provisions using standard government printing presumptions","Single amendment note (2007) updating court terminology from 'Court of Petty Sessions' to 'Local Court'"],"plain_english_summary":"This law lets New South Wales recognise and enforce railway rules ('by-laws') made by Victoria and Queensland for their railways that run into NSW.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Allows the NSW Governor to declare that Victorian or Queensland railway by-laws apply to their railways operating within NSW\n- Once declared, these interstate rules have the full force of NSW law and can be enforced in NSW courts\n- The Governor can also cancel or change these declarations\n- Fines for breaking these rules can be collected in NSW Local Courts by approved officers\n- Official printed copies of the declarations and rules are accepted as proof in court\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Passengers and freight operators using Victorian or Queensland railway lines that cross into NSW\n- Railway staff enforcing safety and conduct rules on these interstate lines\n- Courts handling penalty disputes\n\n**Why it matters:**\nBefore federation (1901), Australia's colonies had separate railway systems. This 1906 law solved a practical problem: Victorian and Queensland trains running into NSW needed consistent rules. Rather than duplicate every interstate rule in NSW law, this Act creates a simple mechanism to 'import' the other states' railway regulations and enforce them locally."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/railways-victorian-and-queensland-by-laws-enabling-act","history":"/api/acts/railways-victorian-and-queensland-by-laws-enabling-act/history","analysis":"/api/acts/railways-victorian-and-queensland-by-laws-enabling-act/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/railways-victorian-and-queensland-by-laws-enabling-act/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/railways-victorian-and-queensland-by-laws-enabling-act/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/railways-victorian-and-queensland-by-laws-enabling-act/documents"}}