Legal Information Skills

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Online Access to Bills

Some recently introduced Bills are now available via the Web.

Jurisdiction	Parliament web site	Coverage
Commonwealth of Australia	http://www.aph.gov.au/bills/index.htm	1996 to present
New South Wales	http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/	1997 to present
Australian Capital Territory	http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/b/	1989 to present
Northern Territory	http://www.notes.nt.gov.au/dcm/legislat/Acts.nsf?OpenDatabase	2001 to present
Queensland	http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/Bills.htm	1992 to present
Victoria	http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/	1996 to present

Another useful web site offering direct access to information concerning the passage of legislation through Parliament is The Australian Office of Parliamentary Counsel (http://www.opc.gov.au). The principal function of the OPC is the drafting of Bills for introduction into federal Parliament. It also has responsibility for drafting amendments of Bills. Information available from the OPC web site includes:

explanations of the OPC’s function and objectives
links to the full text of OPC publications
links to the drafting offices of the states and territories
links to sites offering the full text of Commonwealth Acts and Bills. In addition to the links to the full text of Bills, this site also gives access to the explanatory memorandum (sometimes also called explanatory notes) and the second reading speech for each Bill.

What is the second reading speech?

The second reading speech occurs when the Minister or Senator responsible for the Bill's introduction, delivers a speech in Parliament outlining the purpose, general principles and the effects of the Bill. The explanatory memorandum, explaining the reasons for the Bill and outlining its provisions, is also made available at this time. The second reading speech is followed by the second reading debate. Both the second reading speeches and debates are recorded in the Parliamentary Debates (often referred to as 'Hansard').

The Parliamentary Debates for each jurisdiction can be accessed via the web sites listed under Online Access to Bills. In addition, the Library holds print copies of the Parliamentary Debates for the Commonwealth and NSW.

The Parliamentary debates (Hansard) for the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia can be found at J905.K2

Those for the Senate of the Commonwealth of Australia are at J905.H25
For New South Wales, the Parliamentary Debates of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly are shelved at J911.H2

In addition, two electronic resources also give access to the full text of Bills. These are ComLaw/SCALEPlus and LawLex, and will be covered in more detail in the section covering Statutes.

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