The Department of Premier and Cabinet has released a Circular outlining procedures for preparing miscellaneous amendments to laws proposed by Departments and Agencies.
The Circular says the program of regular statute law revision would continue in 2010 and that Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bills would be prepared for each sitting of Parliament.
It sets out the principles and procedures to be observed to enable the timely preparation of the Bills for Parliament.
Director General of DPC, Brendan O’Reilly, signed off on the Circular which says that the Bills should contain only minor amendments that were non-controversial and no major policy changes.
DPC sets out Parliamentary procedures
It says the Bills can only contain a small number of amendments to one Act, proposals to repeal obsolete or unnecessary Acts, transfers of savings, and other revisions proposed by the Parliamentary Counsel.
Mr O’Reilly said there were a number of matters that were inappropriate for inclusion in the Statute Law Revision Program, including amendments to increase imprisonment or financial penalties; amendments that prejudiced the rights of any person; and amendments to Acts with controversial subject matter.
He said amendments that had been the subject of disputes between Agencies were also inappropriate.
Mr OReilly said Agencies should be aware of the procedures for submitting proposals or should find out from their Ministers.
“Requests for matters to be included in Bills should be drafted for the Minister’s signature and addressed to the Parliamentary Counsel,” he said.
“Requests should be accompanied by a Parliamentary briefing note of not more than one page per proposal.”
He said the briefing note should use plain English to outline the reason for the proposal, who proposed it, the context of the proposal and its implications.
“To facilitate preparation of Bills, Ministers should ensure that proposals from their Agencies are submitted to the Parliamentary Counsel as soon as the need for an amendment is identified,” he said.
Mr O’Reilly said proposals must be received by the Parliamentary Counsel by 17 April to be included in the Bill for the Budget Session of Parliament and by 17 September to be included in the Bill for the Spring Session.
“Proposals submitted after these dates will be considered for inclusion in the following Session’s Bill unless formally withdrawn,” he said.
The Circular could be accessed at www.dpc.nsw.gov.au
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