Legislation Revision and Publication Regulations 2017

The Regulations revolve around a few central legal concepts and operational definitions. The first is the statutory term "legislation", as used in section 3 of the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002. The Regulations prescribe particular subordinate instruments as "legislation" of a prescribed kind for paragraph (c) of that definition (regulation 4). This is a definitional or classification exercise; once an instrument is prescribed, the Act’s machinery for revision and publication will apply to it. The list in regulation 4 is explicit and conditional: some entries include temporal cut‑offs (for example aquaculture policies made on or after 1 January 2005, proclamations made on or after 1 January 2003), some exclude particular items (national environment protection measures that had become environment protection policies under a now‑repealed provision are excluded), and two items are qualified by operation and form (COVID‑19 directions that apply generally throughout the State and are issued as written instruments) (regulation 4(a)-(g)).

The second core concept is revision power. Regulation 5 makes explicit that in revising legislation under the Act, language indicating gender may be reworded so as to avoid referring to gender. The regulation identifies an authorised class of textual changes that are permissible when the Office of Parliamentary Counsel or reviser is exercising the revision power granted by section 7(1)(i) of the Act. This is a narrow, mechanical revision power rather than a substantive amendment power; the text confines the change to expression of gendered language.

The third concept is publication and legal publication status. Regulation 6 provides that publication under the Act can be effected by publishing an electronic copy from the SA legislation website (regulation 6(1)). Regulation 6(2) sets two conditions for an electronic copy downloaded or printed from that site to be "taken to be published under the Act" for the purposes of the Act and any other Act: authorisation by the Commissioner, and the presence of a prescribed statement at the foot of each page. The regulation therefore ties legal publication status to procedural steps: inclusion on a specified website and formal authorisation.

The fourth concept is evidentiary weight. Regulation 7 prescribes the SA legislation website for the purposes of section 9(3) of the Act. The regulation thereby creates a specified online source that has recognised evidentiary standing under the Act for proving the content of legislation. The Regulations also supply an operative definition of the SA legislation website to cover the current URL and any successor site established and maintained by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.

Finally, the Regulations are interlaced with temporal and administrative qualifications, including exceptions for COVID‑19 instruments (regulation 6(2a)) and specific historic commencement dates for instruments to be treated as legislation (regulation 4). These qualifications affect which instruments are captured and which procedural steps are required for publication and evidentiary recognition.

These Regulations affect a set of public offices, instrument-makers, and users of legislation through defined mechanics.

Primary administrative actors named in the Regulations are the Commissioner, and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. The Commissioner has the administrative function of authorising electronic publication; regulation 6(2)(a) makes electronic publication effective only if authorised by the Commissioner. The Office of Parliamentary Counsel is identified as the body that establishes and maintains the SA legislation website that provides public access to South Australian legislation (regulation 6(3) and regulation 7(2)). These two offices therefore control the practical availability and legal recognition of electronic publications under the Act.

Instrument-makers named include the Governor, the State Co‑ordinator under the Emergency Management Act 2004, and Chief Executives in their role under the Emergency Management Act as applied by the South Australian Public Health Act 2011. Regulation 4 expressly treats various instruments made by the Governor (rules under the Road Traffic Act 1961, proclamations under an Act on or after 1 January 2003, notices made by the Governor and published in the Gazette on or after 1 January 2003) as prescribed legislative instruments. Regulations 4(f) and 4(g) bring within scope specific categories of emergency directions and requirements relating to COVID‑19 that are issued by the State Co‑ordinator or by a Chief Executive and that apply generally throughout the State and are issued as written instruments. The effect is that those offices’ instruments, when they meet the listed conditions, are subject to the Act’s revision and publication machinery.

Legally and practically affected third parties include legal practitioners, courts, tribunals, regulated persons and employers, and members of the public who rely on the correctness of published copies of legislation. Regulation 6(2) makes clear that an electronic copy downloaded from the SA legislation website or a print of that electronic copy will be taken to be published under the Act if authorised and correctly labelled, which in turn affects who can rely on such copies as authoritative. Regulation 7 prescribes the SA legislation website as the evidentiary source for s 9(3) of the Act. This affects lawyers, litigants and public authorities who must establish the content of legislation in proceedings or administrative processes, because the regulations identify where authoritative copies can be found and what is recognised for evidential purposes.

Agencies that produce environment protection policies, aquaculture policies, rules under the Road Traffic Act, proclamations, and Governor notices will be affected in the sense that certain of their outputs are defined as "legislation" and thus fall within the revision and publication regime. The Regulations also affect printers and publishers who generate printed versions from the SA legislation website, because the printed or downloaded copy may be taken to be published under the Act only if the conditions in regulation 6(2) are satisfied.

Finally, persons subject to COVID‑19 directions that apply generally throughout the State are implicitly affected by being captured as a prescribed class of legislation when those instruments are issued in written form (regulation 4(f), (g)). The Regulations therefore cover both the producers of such instruments and the persons to whom those instruments apply.

The Regulations allocate particular duties and create legal recognitions that operate within the regime of the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002.

Duties and administrative obligations

• Commissioner’s authorisation: Regulation 6(2)(a) requires that electronic publication must be authorised by the Commissioner for an electronic copy or print downloaded from the SA legislation website to be taken to be published under the Act. The practical duty is upon the Commissioner to authorise publication, and upon the administrative arm responsible for uploading and maintaining content to ensure the Commissioner’s authorisation is in place. The regulation does not elaborate the form of authorisation; it simply conditions legal publication status on that authorisation.
• Labelling of published pages: Regulation 6(2)(b) requires a prescribed statement appear at the foot of each page of the electronic copy: "Published under the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002." That is a duty on the publisher of the electronic copy, subject to the exception in regulation 6(2a) for COVID instruments. The presence of that label is a precondition to the downloaded or printed copy being taken as published under the Act.
• Revision discretion: Regulation 5 permits the reviser, pursuant to section 7(1)(i) of the Act, to alter language indicating gender to avoid referring to gender. The duty here is to exercise that power within the confines of revision; the regulation does not permit substantive change to policy or effect but authorises form changes to gendered language.
• Maintenance of authorised website: Regulations 6(3) and 7(2) define the SA legislation website and thereby imply a duty on the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to establish and maintain a website that supplies public access to South Australian legislation. The Regulations refer to either the current URL or any successor website set up for the same purpose.

Rights and legal recognitions

• Recognised mode of publication: Regulation 6(1) confers legal standing on the mode of publication from the SA legislation website, by stating that legislation may be published under the Act by publishing an electronic copy from that website. Entities and individuals gain the right to rely on that manner of publication having legal effect, subject to the conditions in regulation 6(2).
• Evidentiary prescription: Regulation 7(1) prescribes the SA legislation website for the purposes of section 9(3) of the Act, thereby creating an evidentiary pathway. Parties have a right to rely on materials from the SA legislation website as prescribed evidence under the Act; the regulation fixes the source that courts and decision-makers should treat as the authoritative online repository.
• Exception for certain instruments: Regulation 6(2a) establishes a right for instruments of the kind in regulation 4(f) and (g) to be treated as published under the Act without the footnote statement required by regulation 6(2)(b). This reduces a formality burden for those emergency instruments, provided they meet the other conditions in regulation 4 and regulation 6.

Limitations and conditional elements

• Temporal and conditional qualifications in regulation 4 limit which instruments are covered. Agencies and instrument-makers have a duty to check whether their instruments meet those temporal or other qualifying conditions to determine whether they are within the Act’s definition.
• The Regulations do not themselves create a duty on courts to treat copies a particular way; rather they tie statutory publication and evidentiary recognition under the Act to the Commissioner’s authorisation and the SA legislation website as prescribed source.

These provisions structure procedural obligations for publishers and revisers, confer evidentiary recognition for material from a prescribed website, and provide a limited editorial power in revision to adjust gendered language.

The Regulations themselves do not create criminal sanctions, civil penalties, or administrative fines. No provision in the text of the Legislation Revision and Publication Regulations 2017 imposes a penalty or prescribes enforcement mechanisms such as infringement notices. The document confines itself to classificatory, procedural and evidentiary rules rather than punitive measures.

Enforcement, insofar as the Regulations produce practical legal consequences, operates by statutory effect rather than by sanction. For example:

• Legal status of publication: Regulation 6(2) determines when an electronic copy downloaded from the SA legislation website, or a print of that electronic copy, will be taken to be published under the Act. The effect of failing to satisfy the conditions in regulation 6(2) is that the downloaded or printed copy will not attract the legal recognition of being 'published under the Act'. The Regulations do not specify penalties for failing to meet the conditions; they instead determine the consequences for evidentiary recognition and formal publication status.
• Evidentiary consequences: Regulation 7 prescribes the SA legislation website for the purposes of section 9(3) of the Act. The practical enforcement consequence is evidentiary. Where the SA legislation website is prescribed, parties can produce material from that website to satisfy evidentiary requirements under the Act. The Regulations do not, however, provide enforcement mechanisms for misuse or misrepresentation of materials taken from the website.
• Administrative oversight: The Commissioner and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel are given operational roles (authorisation and website maintenance). Any internal administrative enforcement or compliance mechanisms would arise from those offices’ governance arrangements, but are not specified in these Regulations.

Because the Regulations operate by defining how publication and revision occur, compliance failures most directly affect the legal status and evidential weight of documents rather than exposing persons or agencies to specified penalties in the Regulations themselves. Any sanctions for improper publication, misrepresentation, or other non-compliance would have to be founded on other legislation or on administrative processes not set out here. The Regulations therefore shape the legal effect of documents and identify who has authority to authorise publication, but do not themselves create direct monetary or criminal enforcement provisions.

The Regulations are expressly framed as subordinate to and implementing the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002, and they cross‑reference provisions of other South Australian Acts. The instrument thus functions as an operational adjunct to several statutory regimes.

Primary statutory relationship

• Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002: The Regulations are made under that Act, and they repeatedly refer to specific sections of the Act. Regulation 3 defines "Act" as the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002. Regulation 5 is explicitly "pursuant to section 7(1)(i) of the Act", confirming that the permission to alter gendered language in revision derives from the specific revision power that section confers. Regulation 6 operates "for the purposes of section 8 of the Act" in describing permissible publication methods. Regulation 7 operates "for the purposes of section 9(3) of the Act" when prescribing the SA legislation website for evidentiary purposes. The Regulations therefore operationalise and specify how those sections of the Act are to be implemented.

Specified cross-references and capture of instruments from other Acts

• Environment Protection Act 1993: Regulation 4(a) lists an environment protection policy made under Part 5 of the Environment Protection Act 1993 as a prescribed kind of legislative instrument, with the caveat excluding certain national environment protection measures that had earlier become environment protection policies under a repealed section. The effect is to import those policies into the definition of "legislation" for the purposes of the Act.
• Aquaculture Act 2001: Regulation 4(b) prescribes aquaculture policies made under Part 4 of the Aquaculture Act 2001 on or after 1 January 2005 as legislative instruments of the prescribed kind.
• Road Traffic Act 1961: Regulation 4(c) prescribes rules made by the Governor under that Act as prescribed instruments.
• Emergency Management Act 2004 and South Australian Public Health Act 2011: Regulations 4(f) and 4(g) capture certain emergency directions or requirements made under section 25 of the Emergency Management Act 2004, issued by either the State Co‑ordinator or the Chief Executive (as applied under the South Australian Public Health Act 2011), in respect of the outbreak of the human disease named COVID‑19 within South Australia, provided they apply generally throughout the State and are issued as written instruments. The cross-reference brings emergency management instruments into the revision and publication regime when they meet the listed criteria.
• Governor’s powers: Regulation 4(d) and 4(e) also relate to instruments made by the Governor under Acts, bringing proclamations (on or after 1 January 2003) and notices made by the Governor and published in the Gazette (on or after 1 January 2003) within scope.

Publication and evidence cross-links

• Regulation 6’s tie of publication under the Act to the SA legislation website intersects with administrative law and evidentiary practice by designating a specific repository and imposing labelling and authorisation requirements. Regulation 7’s prescription of the SA legislation website for section 9(3) of the Act establishes an evidentiary channel that will interact with procedural rules of courts and tribunals when parties seek to prove the content of legislation.

Interaction with Gazette publication and existing publication practices

• Regulation 4(e) limits prescription to Governor notices published in the Gazette on or after 1 January 2003. The Regulations therefore overlay the existing Gazette publication regime with the revision and publication Act’s mechanics, creating a connection between Gazette publication practices and the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002.

Temporal and transitional interactions

• The legislative history shows amendments and varying commencement dates. The Regulations’ temporal qualifications for instruments captured (for example the dates in regulation 4(b) through 4(e)) mean that their operation will depend on the dates on which other Acts’ instruments were made. Agencies must therefore consult both the enabling Act and these Regulations to determine whether a particular instrument is within scope.

In short, these Regulations do not operate in isolation; they specify how the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002 applies to instruments produced under various other Acts, define the evidentiary online source, and prescribe the manner of electronic publication. They create procedural linkages that agencies and courts will use to determine the legal recognition and evidentiary value of published instruments.

The Regulations include a concise legislative history section and identify the instruments that were revoked or varied when these Regulations were made and subsequently amended. Key entries and changes recorded in the text are as follows.

Principal instrument and revocation of previous regulations

• The Legislation Revision and Publication Regulations 2017 are the principal regulations being examined. The legislative history states that these regulations revoked the earlier Legislation Revision and Publication Regulations 2002. The principal regulations were made in 2017, appearing as No 254 in the Gazette on 15 August 2017, with the specified commencement entry at rule 2 (Gazette 15.8.2017 p3607; commencement recorded at r 2).

Subsequent variations and amendments

• 2020 variation: The Regulations were varied by 206/2020, Gazette 11 June 2020 p3346. The legislative history records that on 11 June 2020 certain changes occurred, including the omission of r 2 under the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002 (r 2 omitted 11.6.2020). Regulation 4 was varied by 206/2020 r 4 on 11 June 2020. The amendment also inserted regulation 6(2a) on the same date (206/2020 r 5).
• 2021 variation: An amendment recorded as 193/2021 appeared in the Gazette 23 December 2021 p4629 with a commencement noted as 1 January 2022 at r 2. This amendment varied regulation 4 (amended by 193/2021 r 3, commencing 1.1.2022) and inserted regulation 7 (193/2021 r 4, commencing 1.1.2022). The legislative history lists these provisions as varied or inserted by the 2021 instrument.

Provision-level change log recorded in the Regulations

• The legislative history includes a provisions varied table that indicates:
  • r 2 was omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002 on 11.6.2020.
  • r 4 was varied by 206/2020 r 4 (11.6.2020) and later amended by 193/2021 r 3 (1.1.2022).
  • r 6 had an insertion r 6(2a) by 206/2020 r 5 (11.6.2020).
  • r 7 was inserted by 193/2021 r 4 (1.1.2022).
  • Sch 1 was omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002 on 11.6.2020.

Historical versions

• The legislative history notes that earlier versions (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history, and a specific historical version date is shown as 11.6.2020.

Editorial notes provided in the Regulations

• The notes following the Regulations contain administrative advice stating that references in the legislation to other legislation or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the revision and publication program and may therefore be obsolete. That advisory note is part of the legislative history and affects users and revisers in interpreting temporal or terminological elements of the legislation.

Taken together the amendment record shows an initial 2017 enactment, a set of amendments in June 2020 that added the COVID‑19 related exception and varied the definition of prescribed instruments, and further variation at the start of 2022 that amended the list of prescribed instruments and added an explicit prescription of the SA legislation website for evidentiary purposes. The legislative history entries provide the precise Gazette references and effective dates for those changes.

The Regulations themselves do not record any litigation history. The legislative text contains no references to judicial decisions, reported cases, disputes or litigation that interpret or apply these Regulations. There are no named cases, no citations to reported authorities, and no summaries of judicial consideration included in the text.

The absence of litigation history in the document has practical implications that are procedural rather than substantive. Since the Regulations do not present any recorded court outcomes:

• Users and practitioners should not expect to find precedential interpretations of the Regulations within the instrument’s text. Any questions about the meaning of terms such as "applies to persons generally throughout the State", "issued in the form of a written instrument", or the scope of the Commissioner’s authority to "authorise" electronic publication will not be illuminated by case law appearing in the Regulations themselves.
• Where ambiguity or dispute arises about the operation of a provision (for example the conditions for treating a downloaded copy as published under the Act, or whether a particular instrument falls within the scope of regulation 4), resolution will depend on external sources, including court and tribunal decisions, administrative determinations or authoritative guidance from the Office of Parliamentary Counsel or the Commissioner. Those sources are not included in the Regulations.
• The legislative history notes that earlier versions of the Regulations are available; practitioners interested in arguments based on prior form or transitional arrangements will need to consult those versions separately, but again the instrument does not attach any litigation history to those historical versions.

Because the Regulations include an evidentiary prescription of the SA legislation website (regulation 7), litigation involving the contents of legislation or disputes about whether a copy was duly published under the Act will likely engage questions about whether publication was authorised by the Commissioner and whether the page labelling requirements were satisfied. The Regulations do not prescribe procedural remedies or penalties for failure to comply; any enforcement or judicial remedies would derive from other statutes, regulatory regimes, or the common law and would have to be located through targeted legal research beyond the Regulations themselves.

The Regulations are short but contain a number of detail-level traps and operational points that can catch agencies, publishers, lawyers and members of the public if not noticed.

1. Conditional classification in regulation 4 is not automatic

• The items listed in regulation 4 are subject to temporal and other conditions. For example, aquaculture policies are prescribed only where made on or after 1 January 2005; proclamations and notices are prescribed only if made on or after 1 January 2003; and environment protection policies are included subject to a particular exclusion. The implication is that not every instrument of a listed type will be captured; the date and status of the instrument matters. Parties should check whether their instrument satisfies the precise conditions in regulation 4 before treating it as legislation for the Act.

2. The COVID‑19 carve outs are narrowly phrased

• Regulation 4(f) and 4(g) prescribe only directions or requirements that (i) apply to persons generally throughout the State and (ii) are issued as written instruments. That means temporary, targeted or locality‑specific emergency directions that do not apply "generally throughout the State" may not be captured. The COVID‑19 instruments are also treated separately in regulation 6(2a), which exempts them from the page‑footnote requirement; however the exemption applies only to instruments of the kind referred to in regulation 4(f) or (g). Practitioners should not assume all emergency directions are automatically covered.

3. Publication recognition is conditional on Commissioner authorisation

• Regulation 6(2)(a) makes the Commissioner’s authorisation a precondition for a downloaded electronic copy or printed version to be "taken to be published under the Act". If a copy is on the SA legislation website but the Commissioner has not authorised its electronic publication, the downloaded or printed copy will not attract the statutory status. The regulation does not specify how authorisation will be recorded or proved; users therefore need to ensure there is documentary evidence of authorisation when relying on published status.

4. Mandatory footnote statement, except for specific instruments

• Regulation 6(2)(b) requires "Published under the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002." to appear at the foot of each page of the electronic copy, unless the instrument is of the kind in regulation 4(f) or (g). Omitting this statement will mean the downloaded or printed copy is not taken to be published under the Act. Publishers must ensure the statement is included where required.

5. The SA legislation website definition is precise but allows successors

• The Regulations define SA legislation website as www.legislation.sa.gov.au or any other website established and maintained by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for public access. That is flexible, but it makes the Office of Parliamentary Counsel the relevant gatekeeper. If a third party republishes material elsewhere, that copy will not be taken to be published under the Act unless the Commissioner authorises it and it meets the other conditions.

6. Revision power is narrow and limited to gendered language

• Regulation 5 authorises the reviser to alter language indicating gender to avoid referring to gender. That power is tied to section 7(1)(i) of the Act and is procedural. Users should not assume this permits broader editorial changes. The regulation does not authorise substantive changes to meaning, scope, or legal effect.

7. No penalties in the Regulations for non‑compliance

• The Regulations do not set penalties or offences for failing to include the footnote, failing to obtain Commissioner authorisation, or failing to publish on the SA legislation website. The practical consequence is evidentiary and status-based rather than punitive under these Regulations themselves. Parties relying on formal publication status must therefore ensure compliance to secure legal standing; otherwise they may face evidentiary challenges.

8. Advice in the legislative history about obsolete cross-references

• The notes section cautions that references to other legislation, instruments, or bodies are not automatically updated by the revision program and therefore may be obsolete. That means a reference in a published instrument may not reflect current names or statutory structures. Users should verify cross-references rather than assuming internal updates have been applied.

9. The Regulations’ exceptions and temporal nuances were amended over time

• The amendment history shows that regulation 4, regulation 6(2a), and regulation 7 were added or varied in 2020 and 2021. As a result, whether an instrument is captured or whether the footnote is required may depend on when the instrument was made and when the relevant amendment took effect. Practitioners dealing with instruments around those amendment dates should check the historical version applicable at the relevant time.

10. Evidentiary prescription does not eliminate challenges about content or authorship

• Regulation 7 prescribes the SA legislation website for the purposes of s 9(3) of the Act, but that does not mean that a copy produced elsewhere cannot be challenged in litigation for authenticity or accuracy. Parties should use the SA legislation website copies when possible, and be prepared to show Commissioner authorisation and adherence to the page labelling condition for downloaded or printed copies.

These are not exhaustive traps, but they represent concrete procedural points that can create loss of legal recognition, evidentiary difficulty, or administrative confusion if overlooked.

Compliance under these Regulations is primarily procedural: ensure that instruments that fall within the categories in regulation 4 are treated as "legislation" under the Act when appropriate, that revision practices adhere to the authorised limits, and that electronic publication and evidentiary requirements are satisfied.

Practical checklist for agencies and revisers

1. Determine whether an instrument is a "prescribed kind" under regulation 4

   • Check the type and date of the instrument against regulation 4(a)-(e). For example, confirm whether an aquaculture policy was made on or after 1 January 2005, or whether a proclamation was made on or after 1 January 2003. For environment protection policies check for the specified exclusion (national environment protection measures that became environment protection policies under a repealed provision are excluded). For emergency instruments check they apply generally throughout the State and are issued in written form before treating them as captured under regulation 4(f) or (g).

2. Follow the revision rule in regulation 5 when revising text

   • When performing revision under the Act, revisers may reword language that indicates or could be taken to indicate gender so as to avoid referring to gender. Ensure such changes are recorded in revision notes and kept within revision powers; do not treat this as authority for substantive amendments.

3. Use the SA legislation website as the primary publication channel

   • Publish electronic copies from the SA legislation website (www.legislation.sa.gov.au) or a successor site established and maintained by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Confirm that the Office of Parliamentary Counsel has the required infrastructure and that the version uploaded is the correct, authorised text.

4. Obtain Commissioner authorisation for electronic publication

   • Before relying on downloaded or printed copies as being "published under the Act", ensure the Commissioner has authorised the electronic publication per regulation 6(2)(a). Where the Commissioner's authorisation process is internal, retain documentary evidence of authorisation to support the legal status of the downloaded or printed copies.

5. Include the statutory footnote on each page where required

   • Unless the instrument is of the kind in regulation 4(f) or (g), include the statement "Published under the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002." at the foot of each page of the electronic copy. This is a condition for the download or print to be taken as published under the Act (regulation 6(2)(b)). For instruments specified in regulation 4(f) and 4(g) do not expect that footnote to be mandatory because regulation 6(2a) exempts them.

6. For COVID‑19 directions verify the exact conditions

   • If publishing directions or requirements relating to COVID‑19, confirm they (i) apply to persons generally throughout the State and (ii) are issued as written instruments. If both conditions are met, the instrument is treated as a prescribed kind and regulation 6(2a) removes the page footnote requirement for the downloaded or printed copy to be taken as published under the Act.

7. Maintain records of versions and historical forms

   • The legislative history shows amendments over time. Keep a version trail showing when an instrument was uploaded or revised and which version of the Regulations applied at the time. This assists in demonstrating compliance with the relevant publication regime for instruments made or published around amendment dates.

8. Rely on the SA legislation website for evidentiary purposes

   • When proving the content of legislation under section 9(3) of the Act, use the SA legislation website as the prescribed source under regulation 7. Retain evidence that a given copy was authorised by the Commissioner and that it bore the statutory footnote where required.

9. Check cross-references for obsolescence

   • The Regulations explicitly warn that references to other legislation or titles are not automatically updated. Review and, where necessary, annotate instruments for potentially obsolete cross-references before relying on them or distributing them to users.

10. Train staff in the limited nature of revision powers

• Ensure those performing revision understand regulation 5 limits changes to gendered language expression and that other editorial or substantive changes require appropriate legislative or administrative authorisation.

By following these steps an agency can secure the publication status conferred by regulation 6, ensure evidentiary recognition under regulation 7, and avoid failures that would leave published copies without the statutory recognition the Act contemplates.