Forms
255 Forms
This section applies if an Act, subordinate law or disallowable instrument (the authorising law) authorises or requires a form to be approved or prescribed under an Act or statutory instrument (the relevant law).
Note See also s 46 (3), which deals with the repeal and replacement of forms that are legislative instruments and prevents their amendment.
The authorising law authorises a form to be approved or prescribed in relation to any matter under or in relation to the relevant law.
To remove any doubt, a form may be approved or prescribed for a provision of the relevant law even though the provision does not mention a form.
Substantial compliance with a form is sufficient.
However, if a form requires—
the form to be signed; or
the form to be prepared in a particular way (for example, on paper of a particular size or quality or in a particular electronic form); or
the form to be completed in a particular way; or
particular information to be included in the form, or a particular document to be attached to or given with the form; or
the form, information in the form, or a document attached to or given with the form, to be verified in a particular way (for example, by statutory declaration);
the form is properly completed only if the requirement is complied with.
Despite subsection (5), the person need not comply with the requirement mentioned in subsection (5) (d) (and the form is taken to be properly completed despite the noncompliance) if—
the form is approved or prescribed for a purpose; and
the information or document is not reasonably necessary for the purpose.
Examples
1 A person need not comply with a requirement of an approved form to include personal information (eg marital status) irrelevant to a purpose for which the form is required.
2 A person need not comply with a requirement of an approved form that has some relevance to a purpose for which the form is required, but intrudes to an unreasonable extent on personal privacy.
If—
a form (form 1) may be approved or prescribed for a purpose; and
another form (form 2) may be approved or prescribed for the same or another purpose; and
separate forms 1 and 2 are approved or prescribed;
a combination form, consisting of forms 1 and 2, may be approved or prescribed and used for the purpose or purposes.
If, under a law, a form is authorised or required to be filed with (however described), or served on (however described), a person, the form may be filed with, or served on, someone else under arrangements made between them.
This section is a determinative provision.
Note See s 5 for the meaning of determinative provisions, and s 6 for their displacement.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory statementSecond reading speech
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