Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts[s. 5]
[Heading amended by No. 19 of 2010 s. 4.]
An Act to request, and consent to, the enactment by the Parliament of the
United Kingdom of an Act in the terms set out in the Schedule to this Act
WHEREAS the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth and
the Premiers of the States at conferences held in Canberra on 24 and
25 June 1982 and 21 June 1984 agreed on the taking of
certain measures to bring constitutional arrangements affecting the
Commonwealth and the States into conformity with the status of the
Commonwealth of Australia as a sovereign, independent and federal nation:
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen, and the
Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as
follows:
1. This Act may be
cited as the Australia (Request and Consent) Act 1985 .
2. This Act shall come
into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent 4 .
Request and consent to United Kingdom legislation
3. It is hereby
declared that the Parliament and Government of the Commonwealth, with the
concurrence of all the States, request and consent to the enactment by the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of an Act in the terms set out in the
Schedule.
_________
Schedule
Section 3
An Act to give effect to a request by the Parliament and Government of the
Commonwealth of Australia.
WHEREAS the Parliament and Government of the
Commonwealth of Australia have, with the concurrence of the States of
Australia, requested and consented to the enactment of an Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom in the terms hereinafter set forth:
Be it therefore enacted by the Queen’s most
Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the
authority of the same, as follows:
Termination of power of Parliament of United Kingdom to legislate for
Australia
1. No Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement of this Act
shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to the Commonwealth, to a State or to a
Territory as part of the law of the Commonwealth, of the State or of the
Territory.
Legislative powers of Parliaments of States
2. (1)
It is hereby declared and enacted that the legislative powers of
the Parliament of each State include full power to make laws for the peace,
order and good government of that State that have extra-territorial operation.
(2) It is hereby
further declared and enacted that the legislative powers of the Parliament of
each State include all legislative powers that the Parliament of the United
Kingdom might have exercised before the commencement of this Act for the
peace, order and good government of that State but nothing in this subsection
confers on a State any capacity that the State did not have immediately before
the commencement of this Act to engage in relations with countries outside
Australia.
Termination of restrictions on legislative powers of Parliaments of States
3. (1)
The Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 shall not apply to any
law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament of a State.
(2) No law and no
provision of any law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament
of a State shall be void or inoperative on the ground that it is repugnant to
the law of England, or to the provisions of any existing or future Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom, or to any order, rule or regulation made
under any such Act, and the powers of the Parliament of a State shall include
the power to repeal or amend any such Act, order, rule or regulation in so far
as it is part of the law of the State.
Powers of State Parliaments in relation to merchant shipping
4. Sections 735
and 736 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, in so far as they are part of
the law of a State, are hereby repealed.
Commonwealth Constitution, Constitution Act and Statute of Westminster not
affected
5. Sections 2 and
3(2) above —
(a) are
subject to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act and to the
Constitution of the Commonwealth; and
(b) do
not operate so as to give any force or effect to a provision of an Act of the
Parliament of a State that would repeal, amend or be repugnant to this Act,
the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, the Constitution of the
Commonwealth or the Statute of Westminster 1931 as amended and in force from
time to time.
Manner and form of making certain State laws
6. Notwithstanding
sections 2 and 3(2) above, a law made after the commencement of this Act
by the Parliament of a State respecting the constitution, powers or procedure
of the Parliament of the State shall be of no force or effect unless it is
made in such manner and form as may from time to time be required by a law
made by that Parliament whether made before or after the commencement of this
Act.
Powers and functions of Her Majesty and Governors in respect of States
7. (1)
Her Majesty’s representative in each State shall be the
Governor.
(2) Subject to
subsections (3) and (4) below, all powers and functions of Her Majesty in
respect of a State are exercisable only by the Governor of the State.
(3)
Subsection (2) above does not apply in relation to the power to appoint,
and the power to terminate the appointment of, the Governor of a State.
(4) While Her Majesty
is personally present in a State, Her Majesty is not precluded from exercising
any of Her powers and functions in respect of the State that are the subject
of subsection (2) above.
(5) The advice to Her
Majesty in relation to the exercise of the powers and functions of Her Majesty
in respect of a State shall be tendered by the Premier of the State.
State laws not subject to disallowance or suspension of operation
8. An Act of the
Parliament of a State that has been assented to by the Governor of the State
shall not, after the commencement of this Act, be subject to disallowance by
Her Majesty, nor shall its operation be suspended pending the signification of
Her Majesty’s pleasure thereon.
State laws not subject to withholding of assent or reservation
9. (1)
No law or instrument shall be of any force or effect in so far
as it purports to require the Governor of a State to withhold assent from any
Bill for an Act of the State that has been passed in such manner and form as
may from time to time be required by a law made by the Parliament of the
State.
(2) No law or
instrument shall be of any force or effect in so far as it purports to require
the reservation of any Bill for an Act of a State for the signification of Her
Majesty’s pleasure thereon.
Termination of responsibility of United Kingdom Government in relation to
State matters
10. After the
commencement of this Act Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom
shall have no responsibility for the Government of any State.
Termination of appeals to Her Majesty in Council
11. (1)
Subject to subsection (4) below, no appeal to Her Majesty
in Council lies or shall be brought, whether by leave or special leave of any
court or of Her Majesty in Council or otherwise, and whether by virtue of any
Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Royal Prerogative or
otherwise, from or in respect of any decision of an Australian court.
(2) Subject to
subsection (4) below —
(a) the
enactments specified in subsection (3) below and any orders, rules,
regulations or other instruments made under, or for the purposes of, those
enactments; and
(b) any
other provisions of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in force
immediately before the commencement of this Act that make provision for or in
relation to appeals to Her Majesty in Council from or in respect of decisions
of courts, and any orders, rules, regulations or other instruments made under,
or for the purposes of, any such provisions,
in so far as they are part of the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a
Territory, are hereby repealed.
(3) The enactments
referred to in subsection (2)(a) above are the following Acts of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom or provisions of such Acts:
The Australian Courts Act 1828,
section 15
The Judicial Committee Act 1833
The Judicial Committee Act 1844
The Australian Constitutions Act 1850,
section 28
The Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890,
section 6.
(4) Nothing in the
foregoing provisions of this section —
(a)
affects an appeal instituted before the commencement of this Act to Her
Majesty in Council from or in respect of a decision of an Australian court; or
(b)
precludes the institution after that commencement of an appeal to Her Majesty
in Council from or in respect of such a decision where the appeal is
instituted —
(i) pursuant to leave granted by an
Australian court on an application made before that commencement; or
(ii) pursuant to special leave
granted by Her Majesty in Council on a petition presented before that
commencement,
but this subsection shall not be construed as permitting or enabling an appeal
to Her Majesty in Council to be instituted or continued that could not have
been instituted or continued if this section had not been enacted.
Amendment of Statute of Westminster
12. Sections 4,
9(2) and (3) and 10(2) of the Statute of Westminster 1931, in so far as they
are part of the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, are
hereby repealed.
Amendment of Constitution Act of Queensland
13. (1)
The Constitution Act 1867-1978 of the State of Queensland
is in this section referred to as the Principal Act.
(2) Section 11A
of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3) —
(a) by
omitting from paragraph (a) —
(i) “and Signet”; and
(ii) “constituted under
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom”; and
(b) by
omitting from paragraph (b) —
(i) “and Signet”; and
(ii) “whenever and so long as
the office of Governor is vacant or the Governor is incapable of discharging
the duties of administration or has departed from Queensland”.
(3) Section 11B
of the Principal Act is amended —
(a) by
omitting “Governor to conform to instructions” and substituting
“Definition of Royal Sign Manual”;
(b) by
omitting sub-section (1); and
(c) by
omitting from sub-section (2) —
(i) “(2)”;
(ii) “this section and
in”; and
(iii) “and the expression
‘Signet’ means the seal commonly used for the sign manual of the
Sovereign or the seal with which documents are sealed by the Secretary of
State in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Sovereign”.
(4) Section 14 of
the Principal Act is amended in subsection (2) by omitting “,
subject to his performing his duty prescribed by section 11B,”.
Amendment of Constitution Act of Western Australia
14. (1)
The Constitution Act 1889 of the State of Western Australia
is in this section referred to as the Principal Act.
(2) Section 50 of
the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3) —
(a) by
omitting from paragraph (a) —
(i) “and Signet”; and
(ii) “constituted under
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom”;
(b) by
omitting from paragraph (b) —
(i) “and Signet”; and
(ii) “whenever and so long as
the office of Governor is vacant or the Governor is incapable of discharging
the duties of administration or has departed from Western Australia”;
and
(c) by
omitting from paragraph (c) —
(i) “under the Great Seal of
the United Kingdom”; and
(ii) “during a temporary
absence of the Governor for a short period from the seat of Government or from
the State”.
(3) Section 51 of
the Principal Act is amended —
(a) by
omitting sub-section (1); and
(b) by
omitting from sub-section (2) —
(i) “(2)”;
(ii) “this section and
in”; and
(iii) “and the expression
‘Signet’ means the seal commonly used for the sign manual of the
Sovereign or the seal with which documents are sealed by the Secretary of
State in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Sovereign”.
Method of repeal or amendment of this Act or Statute of Westminster
15. (1)
This Act or the Statute of Westminster 1931, as amended and in
force from time to time, in so far as it is part of the law of the
Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, may be repealed or amended by an
Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth passed at the request or with the
concurrence of the Parliaments of all the States and, subject to
subsection (3) below only in that manner.
(2) For the purposes
of subsection (1) above, an Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth
that is repugnant to this Act or the Statute of Westminster 1931, as amended
and in force from time to time, or to any provision of this Act or of that
Statute as so amended and in force, shall, to the extent of the repugnancy, be
deemed an Act to repeal or amend the Act, Statute or provision to which it is
repugnant.
(3) Nothing in
subsection (1) above limits or prevents the exercise by the Parliament of
the Commonwealth of any powers that may be conferred upon that Parliament by
any alteration to the Constitution of the Commonwealth made in accordance with
section 128 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth after the
commencement of this Act.
16. (1)
In this Act —
appeal includes a petition of appeal, and a
complaint in the nature of an appeal;
appeal to Her Majesty in Council includes any
appeal to Her Majesty;
Australian court means a court of a State or any
other court of Australia or of a Territory other than the High Court of
Australia;
court includes a judge, judicial officer or other
person acting judicially;
decision includes determination, judgment, decree,
order or sentence;
Governor , in relation to a State, includes any
person for the time being administering the government of the State;
State means a State of the Commonwealth and
includes a new State;
Territory means a territory referred to in
section 122 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth;
the Commonwealth means the Commonwealth of
Australia as established under the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act;
the Constitution of the Commonwealth means the
Constitution of the Commonwealth set forth in section 9 of the
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, being that Constitution as altered
and in force from time to time.
(2) The expression
“a law made by that Parliament” in section 6 above and the
expression “a law made by the Parliament” in section 9 above
include, in relation to the State of Western Australia, the Constitution Act,
1889 of that State.
(3) A reference in
this Act to the Parliament of a State includes, in relation to the State of
New South Wales, a reference to the legislature of that State as constituted
from time to time in accordance with the Constitution Act, 1902, or any other
Act of that State, whether or not, in relation to any particular legislative
act, the consent of the Legislative Council of that State is necessary.
17. (1)
This Act may be cited as the Australia Act 1986 .
(2) This Act shall
come into force on such day and at such time as the Secretary of State may by
order made by statutory instrument appoint.