Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Productivity) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Statute Law Revision Bill (No. 3) 2015 is part of the government's 2015 Spring Repeal Day package.

The bill is part of ongoing efforts to repeal spent or redundant legislation and correct minor errors in Commonwealth laws. The bill improves the clarity and accuracy of the acts it amends without making substantive changes to the law. These many small changes contribute to reducing the burden of regulatory compliance for individuals, community organisations and businesses.

Schedules 1 and 2 to the bill correct technical errors and incorrect cross-references, remove redundant text and renumber text within principal and amending acts.

Correcting these legislative provisions helps to make the law easier to understand and use.

Schedule 3 to the bill amends the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, continuing the work of the previous Statute Law Revision Bill. The amendment makes clear that the Crown in right of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory is bound by the act in question. It also modernises the drafting of the associated provision about the Crown's liability to be prosecuted for an offence.

This change clarifies the intended operation of Commonwealth legislation.

Schedule 4 to the bill modernises language used in offence provisions, while schedule 5 updates indexation provisions to match the current terminology preferences of the Australian Bureau of Statistics

Schedule 6 of the bill repeals spent or obsolete provisions. For example, a provision of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 required a review to be conducted and the resulting report to be tabled in parliament. The review concluded in May 2010 and the report was tabled in September 2010. The provision is therefore redundant and can be repealed.

These ongoing corrections and improvements to legislation are important to ensure that the Commonwealth statute book remains up to date, accurate and user-friendly.

Debate adjourned.

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