Bills and extrinsic material
Definitions
Bill: A legislative document in the form of a proposed Act of Parliament that has not yet been passed by parliament or received royal assent.
Extrinsic material: Material that does not form part of an Act but that may assist in the interpretation of that Act. Such material includes explanatory memoranda, reports of law reform commissions and parliamentary committees, and second reading speeches.
- LexisNexis, Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary
Citing Bills and extrinsic materials in AGLC4
See Rule 3.2 in the AGLC4 for rules and examples on how to Bills.
See Rule 3.7 in the AGLC4 for rules and examples on how to cite Explanatory Memoranda/Statements/Notes.
See Rule 7.5.1 in the AGLC4 for rules and examples on how to cite parliamentary debates (this includes second reading speeches).
Accessing Bills and extrinsic materials
Use the tabs below to access Bills, Hansard and explanatory memoranda from the government sources.
Bills, second reading speeches and explanatory memoranda for all jurisdictions can also be searched through Lawlex and Lexis Advance. Both these databases link to the official government sources for these, and can provide a quicker, more streamlined way to research and access.
Commonwealth (Cth)
Queensland (Qld)
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
New South Wales (NSW)
Northern Territory (NT)
South Australia (SA)
Tasmania (Tas)
Victoria (Vic)
Western Australia (WA)
Second reading speeches can be found in the parliamentary debates, or 'Hansard'.
Commonwealth (Cth)
Queensland (Qld)
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
New South Wales (NSW)
Northern Territory (NT)
South Australia (SA)
Tasmania (Tas)
Victoria (Vic)
Western Australia (WA)
Explanatory memoranda (EMs) are also called 'explanatory notes' or 'explanatory statements', depending on the jurisdiction.
Commonwealth (Cth)
Explanatory Memorandum
- Parliament of AustraliaFound in the Bill's record.
- Explanatory Memoranda IndexLists all items identified as Explanatory Memoranda or as Comparative Memoranda from 1901 to the end of 1982.
Queensland (Qld)
Explanatory Notes
- Queensland LegislationFound in the Bill's record.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
Explanatory Statement
- ACT Legislation RegisterFound in the Bill's record.
New South Wales (NSW)
Explanatory Notes
- Parliament of New South WalesFound in the Bill's record.
Northern Territory (NT)
Explanatory Statement
- Northern Territory LegislationFound in the Bill's record.
South Australia (SA)
South Australia doesn't have separately issued EMs but the second reading speech gives a clause-by-clause explanation of the Bill.
Tasmania (Tas)
Tasmania doesn't have EMs but has Fact Sheets and Clause Notes that contain similar information. These are found in the Bill's record
Victoria (Vic)
Explanatory Memorandum
- Victorian LegislationFound in the Bill's record.
Western Australia (WA)
Explanatory Memorandum
- Parliament of Western AustraliaFound in the Bill's record.
Researching Bills and extrinsic material
- Lawlex This link opens in a new window
Contains bills and legislation for all Australian jurisdictions. Includes progress of bills, commencement information, governing Act, amendments, history of amendments, gazette reference notices
- Lexis + Australia This link opens in a new window
Lexis+ replaced Lexis Advance from January 2024.
Contains Australian law material including CaseBase cases, Unreported Judgments, Halsbury’s Laws of Australia, Queensland Reports (QR),College of Law Practice papers and LawNow.
LexisNexis Practical Guidance modules are also included.
- Video - Browsing for Bills, EMs and 2nd reading speechesWatch this short video to see how to locate Bills, EMs and second reading speeches using LawNow in Lexis Advance
Bills, Second reading speeches (NT only), and some EMs can also be found in AustLII.
- AustLii This link opens in a new window
Australian primary and secondary sources of law such as federal and state acts and cases, journals, scholarship, treaties and law reform resources.
Other helpful resources for locating extrinsic material
- Senate tabled papers databaseTabled papers include documents and artefacts presented to Parliament in the course of its proceedings. The term ‘tabled’ literally means that a document has been laid on the Table in either or both chambers. The tabling of a document effects the publication of that document and the protection of parliamentary privilege. Documents tabled in Parliament include reports from parliamentary committees, annual reports of departments and agencies, reports from the Auditor-General and legislative instruments.
- Parliament of Australia guided searchesUse the guided search function to quickly locate information under the following search areas:
Speeches by a Senator or Member; Documents relating to a Bill; Estimate Hearings for a Department; Second Reading;Speeches for a Bill; Biography - Historic HansardCommonwealth of Australia parliamentary debates (Hansard) from 1901-1980, from both House of Representatives and Senate.
- Was there an EM?Useful resource on the history and development/use of Explanatory Memoranda, including when they were introduced in each state.
- Australasian law reform libraryThis library includes databases of law reform reports of all permanent Australian and New Zealand law reform bodies available on AustLII and NZLII.
- HeinOnline Australian law reform commission libraryThis collection contains commission reports and research papers on various subjects from the early days of the ALRC to current.
- Queensland Law CollectionContains historical Queensland legislation and other legal materials relating to Queensland