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Parliamentary Precincts Act 1988 — Zoe

Commonwealth act

Parliamentary Precincts Act 1988

In ForceCTH

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

9 of 1988

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

4/10 complexity

What this law does (mechanics)

It defines the Parliamentary precincts as the land and any buildings, structures and works on, above or below that land inside a roughly circular boundary described by the top edge of a retaining wall and shown on a plan in Schedule 1 (s4).
The Presiding Officers (the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives acting together) are placed in control of the precincts and may take any action they consider necessary for their control and management, subject to any order of either House (s3, s6).
The Presiding Officers can certify that other Commonwealth-owned or leased property outside the boundary is required for parliamentary purposes; the Governor-General may then make regulations to treat that property as part of the precincts (s5, s13).
The Presiding Officers may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, grant leases and licences for commercial use of property in the precincts (except properties added under s5), set the terms and accept consideration on whatever terms they think fit, and exercise related Commonwealth rights (s7).
Arrangements about arrest and custody under orders of either House, the functions of protective service officers in the precincts, and the conduct of prosecutions for offences in the precincts are to be made by agreement between the Presiding Officers and the relevant Commonwealth officials (the Minister administering the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 or the Director of Public Prosecutions) and operate notwithstanding other Acts where stated (s8–s10).

Deep dive

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Parliamentary Precincts Act 1988.

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Official source available

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View on official register

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

Purpose-claims in the Act: the instrument organizes authority over the Parliamentary precincts by establishing a geographic definition (s4, Schedule 1), centralising management with the Presiding Officers (s6), and enabling security, prosecution and public order arrangements to be put in place by agreement with Commonwealth agencies (s8–s11). Those are claims about ensuring defined management and security arrangements for parliamentary property.
Who pays: commercial tenants will provide consideration for leases and licences granted by the Presiding Officers (s7(2)). The Commonwealth remains owner of precinct property; costs of security and prosecutions are borne through arrangements with Commonwealth agencies (s8–s10), meaning public resources fund those functions unless other charging arrangements are agreed.
Who decides and where discretion sits: the Presiding Officers hold wide discretion over management actions (s6(2)) and over lease/licence terms and whether to accept consideration (s7(2)). They also decide if non-boundary Commonwealth property is required for parliamentary purposes (s5). Security and prosecution procedures rely on "general arrangements" agreed between the Presiding Officers and Ministers or the DPP (s8–s10), creating scope for negotiated operational arrangements.
Incentives, trade-offs and compliance burden: granting of commercial leases creates revenue opportunities for the Commonwealth but delegates pricing and terms to the Presiding Officers (s7). That delegation reduces standard administrative constraints (s7(3) overrides ACT lease law) and concentrates decision authority, which may lower transaction costs for tailoring deals but increases reliance on internal controls to manage conflicts of interest and ensure consistent treatment. Adding property to the precincts (s5) allows functional expansion without amending the boundary in s4, but requires certification by the Presiding Officers and a regulation (s5, s13), which creates administrative steps and potential delay. Security and prosecution are dependent on inter-agency agreements (s8–s10), which can allow operational flexibility but create implementation risk if agreements are not promptly finalised.
Effects on private choice and markets: private actors may access commercial opportunities inside the precincts through leases and licences (s7). The Presiding Officers' broad discretion over terms may affect competition and the price of access; properties certified under s5 are excluded from the leasing regime in s7(4), which changes which properties are available to commercial tenants.
Interaction with other laws: the Act cross-references and modifies application of other Commonwealth statutes and leaves existing parliamentary privileges intact (s11, s12, s14 and Schedules). This produces legal layering that requires implementers to check multiple instruments to understand rights and obligations in the precincts.