s 1Purpose

The purpose of this Act is—

(a)

to ensure that the power to make subordinate legislation is exercised subject to Parliament's authority and control;

(b)

to regulate the preparation, making, publication and scrutiny of subordinate legislation;

(c)

to provide for public participation in the preparation and scrutiny of subordinate legislation;

(d)

to amend the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 in relation to incorporated documents, the incorporation of amendments and the admissibility of Acts and subordinate instruments.

s 2Commencement

This Act comes into operation on 1 January 1995.

S. 3 amended by No. 78/2010 s. 25(2) (ILA s. 39B(1)).

s 3Definitions

(1)

In this Act—

S. 3(1) def. of amendment substituted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(3)(a).

amendment, in relation to a statutory rule or legislative instrument, means the insertion, omission or substitution of words or expressions in the statutory rule or legislative instrument by another statutory rule, legislative instrument, other subordinate instrument or by an Act;

S. 3(1) def. of authorising Act substituted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(3)(b).

authorising Act means the Act or provision of an Act under which a statutory rule or a proposed statutory rule or a legislative instrument or a proposed legislative instrument is, or is to be, made or purports to be made;

S. 3(1) def. of compliance certificate substituted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(3)(c).

compliance certificate means a certificate issued by the responsible Minister—

(a)

in relation to a statutory rule or proposed statutory rule, under section 10(4);

(b)

in relation to a legislative instrument or proposed legislative instrument, under section 12H;

S. 3(1) def. of exception certificate repealed by No. 78/2010 s. 4(2)(b).

* * * * *

S. 3(1) def. of exemption certificate substituted by No. 78/2010 ss 4(2)(a), 25(3)(d).

exemption certificate means a certificate issued—

(a)

in relation to a proposed statutory rule, by the responsible Minister under section 8(1) or the Premier under section 9;

(b)

in relation to a proposed legislative instrument, by the responsible Minister under section 12F or the Premier under section 12G;

S. 3(1) def. of extension certificate inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 4(1).

extension certificate means a certificate issued under section 5A(1) by the responsible Minister;

S. 3(1) def. of extension regulation inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 4(1).

extension regulation means a regulation made under section 5A extending the operation of a statutory rule;

Government Printer means the person appointed to be the Government Printer for Victoria under section 72 of the Constitution Act 1975;

guidelines means guidelines under section 26;

S. 3(1) def. of human rights certificate inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 4(1), substituted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(3)(e).

human rights certificate means a certificate issued by the responsible Minister—

(a)

in relation to a proposed statutory rule, under section 12A(1); or

(b)

in relation to a proposed legislative instrument, under section 12D(1);

S. 3(1) def. of human rights exemption certificate inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 4(1), substituted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(3)(f).

human rights exemption certificate means a certificate issued by the responsible Minister—

(a)

in relation to a proposed statutory rule, under section 12A(3); or

(b)

in relation to a proposed legislative instrument, under section 12D(3);

S. 3(1) def. of instrument maker inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(1).

instrument maker, in relation to a legislative instrument or proposed legislative instrument, means the entity empowered to make that instrument under the authorising Act;

S. 3(1) def. of legislative instrument inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(1), amended by Nos 9/2020 s. 390(Sch. 1 item 98), 45/2025 s. 298(1)(a)(b).

legislative instrument means an instrument made under an Act or statutory rule that is of a legislative character but does not include—

(a)

a statutory rule; or

(b)

a local law made under Division 3 of Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2020 and any other instrument made by a council under that Act or any other Act; or

(c)

a proclamation of commencement of an Act or any provision of an Act; or

(d)

a planning scheme or an amendment to a planning scheme under the Planning and Environment Act 1987; or

(e)

the Victoria Planning Provisions within the meaning of the Planning and Environment Act 1987; or

(f)

a practice note or practice direction issued by or on behalf of a court or tribunal or an instrument which relates only to a court or tribunal or the procedure, practice or costs of a court or tribunal; or

(g)

an instrument of purely administrative character; or

(h)

a prescribed instrument or a prescribed class of instrument; or

(i)

an internal rule within the meaning of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025 or a substantive rule within the meaning of that Act;

Minister means the Minister administering this Act;

S. 3(1) def. of public sector body inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(1).

public sector body has the same meaning as it has in the Public Administration Act 2004;

S. 3(1) def. of public sector body Head inserted by No. 47/2024 s. 3(1).

public sector body Head has the same meaning as it has in section 4(1) of the Public Administration Act 2004;

S. 3(1) def. of responsible Minister substituted by No. 78/2010 ss 4(3), 25(3)(g).

responsible Minister means the Minister administering the authorising Act under which—

(a)

a statutory rule or a legislative instrument is made; or

(b)

a proposed statutory rule or a proposed legislative instrument is to be made;

Scrutiny Committee means the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee of the Parliament;

section 13 certificate means a certificate issued by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel under section 13;

S. 3(1) def. of statutory rule amended by Nos 47/2024 s. 3(2), 45/2025 s. 298(1)(c).

statutory rule means—

(a)

a regulation—

(i)

made by the Governor in Council; or

(ii)

made with the consent or approval of the Governor in Council; or

(iii)

which the Governor in Council has power to disallow—

other than a regulation made by a local authority or by a person or body with jurisdiction limited to a district or locality or a local law made under Division 3 of Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2020; or

(b)

a rule relating to a court or tribunal or the procedure, practice or costs of a court or tribunal; or

(c)

an instrument or a class of instruments prescribed to be a statutory rule or statutory rules under section 4(1)(a); or

(d)

an instrument or class of instrument that is deemed to be a statutory rule or statutory rules by the authorising Act—

but does not include an instrument or class of instrument specified in paragraph (a) or (b) which is exempted under section 4(1)(b) or referred to in subsection (1A).

S. 3(1A) inserted by No. 45/2025 s. 298(2).

(1A)

An internal rule within the meaning of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025 or a substantive rule within the meaning of that Act is not a statutory rule.

S. 3(2) inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 25(2).

(2)

For the avoidance of doubt, but without limiting paragraph (g) of the definition of legislative instrument, instruments of purely administrative character for the purposes of this Act include, but are not limited to, the following—

(a)

an instrument of delegation;

(b)

an evidentiary certificate;

(c)

an instrument of appointment or an instrument which changes conditions or terms of appointment;

(d)

an instrument which has the sole purpose of giving notice of the making of another instrument;

(e)

an instrument which grants, renews, varies, transfers, suspends or cancels a lease, licence or permit that authorises a specified entity to do any act or not to do any act or an instrument refusing to grant, renew, vary or transfer such a lease, licence or permit;

(f)

an instrument that registers a specified entity or an instrument refusing to register a specified entity;

(g)

an instrument that renews, varies, transfers, suspends or cancels a registration of a specified entity or an instrument refusing to renew, vary, transfer, suspend or cancel a registration of a specified entity;

(h)

an instrument imposing conditions on a lease, licence, permit or registration held by a specified entity;

S. 3(2)(ha) inserted by No. 47/2024 s. 3(3).

(ha)

an instrument that applies to a specific person or a limited number of specific persons rather than applying at large;

(i)

an instrument for the principal purpose of taking disciplinary or enforcement action to ensure compliance with an Act, subordinate instrument or any other law.

S. 3(3) inserted by No. 47/2024 s. 3(4).

(3)

For the avoidance of doubt, but without limiting the definition of legislative instrument, instruments of a legislative character for the purposes of this Act include, but are not limited to, instruments—

(a)

that include offences; or

(b)

that—

(i)

set out mandatory requirements to take certain actions or refrain from taking certain actions with general application to the public or a large class of persons; and

(ii)

include penalties or other sanctions for non-compliance.

S. 3A inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 26.

s 3ATransitional period—legislative instruments

For a period of 2 years from 1 July 2011, any legislative instrument made during that period is not invalid merely because of a failure—

(a)

to characterise or identify that instrument as a legislative instrument; and

(b)

to comply with the requirements of this Act applying to legislative instruments.

s 4Prescribing instrument to be a statutory rule or to be exempt

(1)

The Governor in Council may make regulations under this Act—

(a)

prescribing an instrument or class of instruments to be a statutory rule or statutory rules for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of statutory rule in section 3;

(b)

exempting an instrument or class of instruments that is a statutory rule under paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of statutory rule in section 3 and is not of a legislative character.

(2)

The Minister must consult the Scrutiny Committee before submitting a proposed regulation under subsection (1) to the Governor in Council.

(3)

If an instrument or class of instrument is prescribed to be a statutory rule or statutory rules—

(a)

this Act applies to the instrument or class of instrument; and

(b)

any provision of the Act under which the instrument or class of instrument is made which is inconsistent with, or duplicates, any provision of this Act does not apply to the instrument or class of instrument.

(4)

If an instrument or class of instrument is exempt—

(a)

this Act (other than this subsection) does not apply to the instrument or class of instrument; and

(b)

publication of the instrument in the Government Gazette is sufficient compliance with any requirements in relation to the publication of the instrument that are contained in the Act under which it is made; and

(c)

unless provision is made to the contrary by the Act under which it is made, the instrument or a provision of it comes into operation at the beginning of the day on which the instrument is published in the Government Gazette or at the beginning of such later day as is expressed in the instrument as the day on which the instrument or provision (as the case requires) comes into operation.

S. 4A inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 27.

s 4APrescribing instrument to be a legislative instrument or to be exempt

(1)

The Governor in Council may make regulations under this Act—

(a)

prescribing an instrument or a class of instrument for the purposes of paragraph (h) of the definition of legislative instrument;

(b)

prescribing an instrument or a class of instrument to be, or not to be, a legislative instrument or class of legislative instrument for the purposes of this Act or any specified provision or provisions of this Act, whether or not subject to conditions;

(c)

exempting an instrument or a class of instrument that is a legislative instrument from the operation of this Act or any specified provision or specified provisions of this Act, whether or not subject to conditions.

(2)

If an instrument or a class of instrument is prescribed to be a legislative instrument or legislative instruments—

(a)

this Act applies to the instrument or class of instrument; and

(b)

subject to this Act, any provision of the authorising Act under which the instrument or class of instrument is made which is inconsistent with, or duplicates, any provision of this Act does not apply to the instrument or class of instrument.

(3)

If an instrument or a class of instrument is prescribed as exempt—

(a)

the specified provision or provisions of this Act from which the instrument is prescribed to be exempt does not, or do not, apply to the instrument or class of instrument; and

(b)

unless provision is made to the contrary by the authorising Act under which it is made, the instrument or a provision of it comes into operation—

(i)

at the beginning of the day on which the instrument is published in the Government Gazette; or

(ii)

at the beginning of a later day that is expressed in the instrument as the day on which the instrument or provision (as the case requires) comes into operation.

S. 5 substituted by No. 78/2010 s. 5.

s 5Automatic revocation of statutory rules

S. 5(1) amended by No. 47/2024 s. 4(1).

(1)

Unless an extension regulation is made or unless sooner revoked, a statutory rule is revoked by virtue of this section on the day which is the tenth anniversary of the making of the statutory rule.

Note to s. 5(1) repealed by No. 47/2024 s. 4(2).

* * * * *

(2)

On the revocation of a statutory rule by this section—

(a)

any other statutory rule that amends the statutory rule being revoked; and

(b)

any provision in any other statutory rule that amends the statutory rule being revoked—

is also revoked by virtue of this section, insofar as the amending statutory rule or provision relates to the statutory rule revoked by this section.

S. 5A inserted by No. 78/2010 s. 5.

s 5AExtension regulations

S. 5A(1) amended by No. 47/2024 s. 5(1)(a).

(1)

Subject to subsection (3), the responsible Minister may issue an extension certificate if satisfied that—

(a)

due to special circumstances, there is insufficient time to enable compliance with Part 2 in respect of a proposed statutory rule before the statutory rule it is intended to replace is to be revoked by section 5; and

S. 5A(1)(b) amended by No. 47/2024 s. 5(1)(b).

(b)

the statutory rule which would otherwise be revoked by section 5 should be extended for a specified period not exceeding 12 months by an extension regulation.

(2)

An extension certificate must specify the special circumstances, including the reasons why the extension is necessary.

S. 5A(3) amended by No. 47/2024 s. 5(2).

(3)

Before issuing an extension certificate, the responsible Minister must obtain a certificate from the Premier which specifies that the Premier has agreed that the statutory rule which would otherwise be revoked by section 5 should be extended for the specified period by an extension regulation.

S. 5A(4) substituted by No. 47/2024 s. 5(3).

(4)

The Governor in Council may make an extension regulation extending the operation of a statutory rule that would otherwise be revoked by section 5 for a period specified in the extension regulation.

(5)

Only one extension regulation can be made in respect of the operation of a statutory rule.

s 6Consultation—statutory rules

(1)

The responsible Minister must ensure that where the guidelines require consultation—

(a)

there is consultation in accordance with the guidelines with any other Minister whose area of responsibility may be affected by a proposed statutory rule so as to avoid any overlap or conflict with any other existing or proposed statutory rule or legislation;

S. 6(1)(b) amended by No. 78/2010 s. 6(1).

(b)

there is consultation in accordance with the guidelines with any sector of the public on which a significant economic or social burden may be imposed by a proposed statutory rule so that the need for, and the scope of, the proposed statutory rule is considered;

S. 6(1)(c) amended by No. 78/2010 s. 6(2).

(c)

a certificate of consultation in accordance with the guidelines is issued for that statutory rule.

S. 6(2) inserted by No. 47/2024 s. 6(2).

(2)

Without limiting subsection (1) or the guidelines, the responsible Minister may consult with any relevant public sector body Head whose area of responsibility may be affected by a proposed statutory rule.

S. 6(3) inserted by No. 47/2024 s. 6(2).

(3)

The operation or effect of a statutory rule is not affected by—

(a)

a failure to comply with subsection (1); or

(b)

consultation under subsection (2) not occurring.

S. 6A inserted by No. 12/2006 s. 177.

s 6AInfringements offence consultation certificate

S. 6A(1) amended by No. 9/2008 s. 43(a).

(1)

If a proposed statutory rule provides for the enforcement of an offence by an infringement notice, whether under the Infringements Act 2006 or otherwise, the responsible Minister must certify—

S. 6A(1)(a) amended by No. 47/2024 s. 7.

(a)

that the Department of the Minister administering the Infringements Act 2006 has been consulted about—

S. 6A(1)(a)(i) amended by No. 9/2008 s. 43(b).

(i)

the enforcement of the offence referred to in the proposed statutory rule by infringement notice; and

S. 6A(1)(a)(ii) amended by No. 9/2008 s. 43(b).

(ii)

the suitability of the offence referred to in the proposed statutory rule to be an infringement offence enforced under the Infringements Act 2006; and

(b)

that the Attorney-General's guidelines within the meaning of the Infringements Act 2006 have been taken into account in the preparation of the proposed statutory rule; and

S. 6A(1)(c) amended by No. 9/2008 s. 43(c).

(c)

that the Minister is satisfied that the proposed statutory rule, insofar as it relates to an infringement offence—

(i)

meets the requirements of those guidelines; or

(ii)

does not meet the requirements of those guidelines but should be made despite not meeting those requirements because of the reasons specified in the certificate.

S. 6A(2)(3) repealed by No. 78/2010 s. 7.

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S. 7 (Heading) amended by No. 47/2024 s. 8.

S. 7 substituted by No. 78/2010 s. 8.

s 7Regulatory impact statement must be prepared for statutory rules

(1)

The responsible Minister must ensure that a regulatory impact statement is prepared for a proposed statutory rule.

(2)

Subsection (1) does not apply if an exemption certificate is issued for the proposed statutory rule.

S. 8 (Heading) amended by No. 47/2024 s. 9(1).

S. 8 amended by Nos 30/2002 s. 18, 88/2005 s. 117(Sch. 2 item 7), substituted by No. 78/2010 s. 8.

Subordinate Legislation Act 1994

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