A law is a rule or set of rules made by the Parliament. Laws made by the Parliament of NSW (also known as 'legislation') include acts and statutory instruments.
Law making in NSW follows a similar pattern to that used in most other Australian States, the Australian Federal Parliament and the British Parliament, where there is a bicameral or two house Parliament.. Under a bicameral system, bills (or proposed laws) pass through several stages in both of the Houses of Parliament, before being sent to the Governor for assent. Bills that have received assent are known as acts.
Bills can be introduced into either House of Parliament, with the exception of money bills (see below) which must originate in the Legislative Assembly. Bills introduced by ministers are considered during the time allocated for government business, usually on Tuesday and Wednesday of a sitting week. Bills introduced by private members are considered during the time allocated for general business, usually on the last sitting day of the week.
- Notice of Motion -
A bill is initiated when a Minister or private member gives a notice of motion seeking leave (permission) to introduce a bill, usually on the next sitting day. During the Routine of Business, the Presiding Officer or Chair of each House will call for notices of motions for bills. Government ministers followed by private members who wish to introduce a bill rise and say: "Mr Speaker, I desire to give notice that tomorrow I shall move that leave be given to bring in the [Bill Title] bill".
The full text of the notice, including the long title of the bill, is published in the 'Notices of Motions and Orders of the Day' for the next sitting day.
- Introduction and First Reading -
At a subsequent sitting, the Chair will call on the notice of motion for the bill. The minister/member will then move a motion to introduce the bill. If the motion is agreed to, the minister/member says: "Mr Speaker, I bring up the bill" and hands three copies to the Clerk. The Clerk reads the short title of the bill (known as the first reading) and the bill becomes a public document. Copies of the bill are then made available via the Parliament's website.
The minister/member then makes a speech outlining the principles of the bill (the second reading speech). After the speech, unless Standing Orders have been suspended to allow urgent consideration of the bill, debate is then adjourned for five clear days.
- Second Reading -
During the second reading debate, members express their opinions about the principles of the bill. At the conclusion of the debate, a vote is taken on the question "that this bill be now read a second time". If the House agrees, the bill proceeds to either the committee stage (if there are amendments to be considered) or directly to the third reading stage. If the House disagrees, then the bill is defeated.
- Committee of the Whole (optional) -
If a member wishes to amend a bill, the House forms itself into a "Committee of the Whole" to deal with the bill in detail. During this stage the Presiding Officer leaves the Chair and the Mace (in the Legislative Assembly) or Black Rod (in the Legislative Council) is placed under the Table. The Chairman of Committees presides over the Committee and, at the end of this stage, reports the bill to the Speaker with or without amendments.
Where a bill has been amended, a second print version, incorporating the amendments, is prepared by the Parliamentary Counsel. The bill then proceeds to the third reading stage, unless a motion is agreed to that the bill be recommitted for further consideration.
- Third Reading -
After the bill has passed the second reading or the committee stage, a vote is taken on the question "that this bill be now read a third time". If this is agreed to, the bill has passed all stages in the House of origin. The short title of the bill is read again and the bill is sent, with a message, to the other House for consideration.
- Consideration by the other House -
The Presiding Officer or Chair advises the House that a message has been received seeking concurrence with a bill. (This replaces the notice of motion stage in the House of origin.) The bill then proceeds through the first, second, committee (if required) and third reading stages before being returned to the House of origin, either with the House's agreement or with amendments for consideration by the House of origin.
- Consideration of Amendments by the House of Origin -
The Committee of the Whole also considers bills that have been returned from the other House with amendments. If the committee agrees to those amendments, the bill is sent to the Governor for assent. If, however, the committee disagrees, both Houses exchange messages until agreement is reached or the bill is set aside.
Where a Bill (other than a Bill appropriating revenue) is amended by the Other House, the Bill is returned to the House of Origin for consideration of those amendments. If the House of Origin agrees with the amendments, the Bill is forwarded to the Governor for assent. However, if the House of Origin does not agree, both Houses exchange messages until the Bill either passes both Houses or is laid aside. Where agreement cannot be reached, and the House of Origin does not wish to lay the bill aside, a conference and joint sitting of both Houses can be held to discuss the Bill. If necessary, the Legislative Assembly can then submit the Bill to the people of NSW by referendum, under s.5B of the Constitution Act 1902.
Under s.5A of the Constitution Act 1902, the Legislative Assembly may direct that any Bill appropriating revenue be presented to the Governor for assent where that Bill has been rejected, not passed or amended by the Legislative Council without the agreement of the Legislative Assembly.
- Assent -
Once a bill has passed both Houses, it is forwarded to the Governor for assent or agreement. The Governor seeks an opinion from the Crown Solicitor as to the constitutionality of the bill. Once satisfied, the bill receives final approval at a meeting of the Executive Council and is signed by the Governor into law.
The bill is then allocated a number by the Parliament and the original signed copy is sent to the Registrar-General for safe keeping as an historical record of the State of NSW.
- Commencement -
An act comes into force 28 days after it is assented to, or on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation. A clause, stating whether the act comes into force by assent or proclamation, usually appears at the beginning of each bill.
When an act or clauses of an act come into force by proclamation, this date is determined by the minister who, on behalf of the Governor, places an announcement in the Government Gazette shortly before the date of commencement. It should be noted that not all clauses of an act will come into force at the same time.
The Government is required to lodge notification with the Parliament of all legislation remaining unproclaimed after 90 days.
Information about the commencement dates of acts can be obtained from the "Weekly Acts Tables" section under "Legislation Guides" on the Parliamentary Counsel's web site.
- Private Bills -
A private member may also introduce a 'private bill' (not to be confused with a private member's public bill) which deals only with specific private matters which affect a private person or body. This type is bill is rare in NSW, with the most recent example being the Tamworth Tourist Information Centre Act of 1992.
Unlike private member's public bills which are introduced to the Parliament by way of a notice of motion, a private bill requires the publication of a notice in the Government Gazette followed, after a period of three months, by the lodgement of a petition accompanied by a copy of the proposed bill. After completion of the first reading stage, the bill is referred to a select committee for consideration. The bill is then returned to the Parliament for consideration, and if passed in the usual way, is presented to the Governor for assent. Unlike public acts, private acts are not numbered.
- Statutory Instruments -
Statutory instruments are rules, regulations, by-laws, ordinances, rules of the court or proclamations made under certain acts. Statutory instruments are published in the NSW Government Gazette and a notice providing details of the instrument and gazette number is then tabled in both Houses of Parliament. Statutory instruments are not debated in the Parliament unless a member of either House lodges a motion to disallow part or all of that rule or instrument within 15 sitting days of the tabling of the notice.