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
See Rule 3.2 in the AGL4 for rules and examples on how to Bills.
See Rule 3.7 in the AGL4 for rules and examples on how to cite Explanatory Memoranda/Statements/Notes.
See Rule 7.5.1 in the AGL4 for rules and examples on how to cite parliamentary debates (this includes second reading speeches).
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.
Second reading speeches can be found in the parliamentary debates, or 'Hansard'.
Explanatory memoranda (EMs) are also called 'explanatory notes' or 'explanatory statements', depending on the jurisdiction.
Explanatory Memorandum
Explanatory Notes
Explanatory Statement
Explanatory Notes
Explanatory Statement
South Australia doesn't have separately issued EMs but the second reading speech gives a clause-by-clause explanation of the Bill.
Tasmania doesn't have EMs but has Fact Sheets and Clause Notes that contain similar information. These are found in the Bill's record
Explanatory Memorandum
Explanatory Memorandum
Bills, Second reading speeches (NT only), and some EMs can also be found in AustLII.
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