Legislation Act 2003

Chapter 2 - Registration of Acts, legislative instruments and notifiable instruments  

Part 2 - Compilations  

Division 3 - Editorial changes and other changes  

SECTION 15X   Definition of editorial change  

(1)    
This section describes the kinds of editorial changes that the First Parliamentary Counsel may make to an Act, legislative instrument or notifiable instrument under section 15V in preparing a compilation of the Act or instrument.

Note:

An editorial change cannot be made to an Act, legislative instrument or notifiable instrument if it would change the effect of the Act or instrument (see subsection 15V(6) ).

(2)    
An editorial change to an Act, legislative instrument or notifiable instrument is a change made by the First Parliamentary Counsel that:

(a) goes only to a matter of spelling, punctuation, grammar or syntax, or the use of conjunctives and disjunctives; or

(b) updates a reference to:

(i) a law covered by subsection (3) (or a provision of such a law); or

(ii) a person, body or other entity, or an office, position, place, document or thing; or

(c) changes the short title of an Act or the name of an instrument, or the name of the types of provision in an instrument; or

(d) numbers or renumbers a provision of the Act or instrument; or

(e) changes the order of definitions or other provisions of the Act or instrument; or

(f) replaces a reference to a provision of a law covered by subsection (3) with a different form of reference to the provision; or

(g) changes the way of referring to or expressing a number, year, date, time, amount of money or other amount, penalty, quantity, measurement or other matter, idea or concept; or

Example

A reference in a form to " this [blank] day of [blank] 19 … " may be changed to " [Date] " .

(h) changes language that indicates gender or that could be taken to indicate gender; or

(i) omits or changes a table of contents or other provision that only describes the arrangement of the Act or instrument (or provisions of the Act or instrument) into groups of provisions; or

(j) omits or changes a reader ' s guide, simplified outline or other text that only describes the nature or effect of the Act or instrument; or

(k) omits a provision, or a reference to a law covered by subsection (3) (or a provision of such a law) that has expired, the operation of which is exhausted or spent, or that is otherwise obsolete or redundant; or

(l) omits, inserts or changes a term that identifies a provision of the Act or instrument as a provision, or part of a provision, of the Act or instrument; or

Example:

The following are examples of references to provisions:

(a) of these regulations;

(b) of this regulation;

(c) of this section;

(d) hereof;

(e) said.

(m) incorporates into the Act or instrument (the principal law ) an application, savings, transitional, validation or similar provision that is contained in another Act or instrument that amends the principal law; or

(n) shows the effect of any amendment of the Act or instrument, or is consequential on any such amendment; or

Example:

The heading to a section may be changed to reflect the effect of an amendment of the section.

(o) if an amendment of the Act or instrument is misdescribed by an amending Act or instrument - gives effect to the misdescribed amendment as intended; or

(p) corrects an error covered by subsection (4); or

(q) is consequential on any other editorial change made to the Act or instrument or to another Act or instrument.

(3)    
This subsection covers the following laws:

(a) an Act;

(b) an instrument made under an Act or another power given by law;

(c) an Act of a State, a Territory or New Zealand, or an instrument made under such an Act.

(4)    
This subsection covers the following errors:

(a) typographical and clerical errors;

(b) grammatical and spelling errors, and errors of punctuation;

(c) errors in numbering, cross-referencing and alphabetical ordering;

(d) errors in references to laws or instruments, or provisions of such laws, covered by subsection (3);

(e) errors in or arising out of an amendment of an Act or instrument, including errors relating to the number of times such an amendment is expressed to be made;

(f) any other errors of a nature similar to those mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (e).