Australia Act 1986

No. [142] of 1985

[AMB]

Australia Act 1986

No. [142] of 1985

table of provisions

Section
	1.	Termination of power of Parliament of United Kingdom to legislate for Australia
	2.	Legislative powers of Parliaments of States
	3.	Termination of restrictions on legislative powers of Parliaments of States
	4.	Powers of State Parliaments in relation to merchant shipping
	5.	Commonwealth Constitution, Constitution Act and Statute of Westminster not affected
	6.	Manner and form of making certain State laws
	7.	Powers and functions of Her Majesty and Governors in respect of States
	8.	State laws not subject to disallowance or suspension of operation
	9.	State laws not subject to withholding of assent or reservation
	10.	Termination of responsibility of United Kingdom Government in relation to State matters
	11.	Termination of appeals to Her Majesty in Council
	12.	Amendment of Statute of Westminster
	13.	Amendment of Constitution Act of Queensland
	14.	Amendment of Constitution Act of Western Australia
	15.	Method of repeal or amendment of this Act or Statute of Westminster
	16.	Interpretation
	17.	Short title and commencement

	

Australia Act 1986

No. [142] of 1985

										

	
	An Act 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

			5		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:

	and whereas in pursuance of paragraph 51 (xxxviii) of the
Constitution the Parliaments of all the States have requested the Parliament of
the Commonwealth to enact an Act in the terms of this Act:
	
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			15		be it therefore enacted by the Queen, and the Senate and the
House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, 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

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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.

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	10	
Termination of restrictions on legislative powers of Parliaments of States
	3. (1)  The Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as 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.
	
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	20	
Powers of State Parliaments in relation to merchant shipping
	4.  Sections 735 and 736 of the Act of the Parliament of the United
Kingdom known as the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, in so far as they are part
of the law of a State, are hereby repealed.
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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.
	
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	35	
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
	
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	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.
	
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	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.	

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		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	
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			30		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	

			35		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

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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,	
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	10	
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.
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	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—	
	25	
			(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,		30	
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.
	
	35	
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.	

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		(2)  Section 11a of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3)—
	(a)  by omitting from paragraph (a)—	

			5				(i)	“and Signet”; and
			(ii)	“constituted under Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom”; and	
		(b)  by omitting from paragraph (b)—	

			10				(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—	

			15		(a)  by omitting “Governor to conform to instructions” and substituting
“Definition of Royal Sign Manual”;
	(b)  by omitting subsection (1); and
	(c)  by omitting from subsection (2)—	

			20				(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,”.

			25

	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)—	

			30				(i)	“and Signet”; and
		   (ii)	“constituted under Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the
                         United Kingdom”;	
		(b)  by omitting from paragraph (b)—	

			35				(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)—	

			40				(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”.

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	(3)  Section 51 of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a)  by omitting subsection (1); and
	(b)  by omitting from subsection (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”.
	
	5

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.
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	15

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	25	
Interpretation
	16.  (1)  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—		
	“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;
	“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;
	“the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act” means the Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the Commonwealth of
Australia Constitution Act;
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			5		“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;
	“the Statute of Westminster 1931” means the Act of the Parliament of the
United Kingdom known as the Statute of Westminster 1931.

			10		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.

			15		(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.
	
	Short title and commencement	
		17.  (1)  This Act may be cited as the Australia Act 1986.
	
	      (2) This Act shall come into operation on a day and at a time to be fixed by
Proclamation.	

	

I hereby certify that the above is a fair print of the Australia Bill 1986
which originated in the House of Representatives and has been finally passed by
the Senate and the House of Representatives.

										[A.R. Browning]

							         Clerk of the House of Representatives

In the name of Her Majesty, I assent to this Act.

						[Sir Ninian Stephen]								Governor-General

										[4] December 1985

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