SOCI10001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Vicarious Liability, Bicameralism, Royal Assent
25 Jul 2018
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Week 2 E-tutorial
Typical procedure of the legislative process in Australian legislatures with bicameral
legislatures:
1. Proposals for new legislation
- A government’s proposal for new laws is first considered by cabinet to
settle any policy issues. Then the Office of Parliamentary Counsel is asked
to prepare a draft of the proposed law.
- Legislation can first be introduced into either House of a bicameral
legislature, except for financial bills which must be first introduced in the
lower house.
2. Procedure in the House of Origin
- 1st Reading= A member of the house formally proposes that the Bill be
read a first time. The clerk of the House reads out the long title of the Bill.
There is no debate. If the Bill passes via majority vote, it goes into the
second reading.
- 2nd Reading= The Minister responsible for the relevant portfolio outlines
the provisions of the Bill, what it will achieve, and the reasons for its
introduction. After the second reading speech, members are permitted to
debate fully the provisions in the Bill. It is possible for any member of the
legislature to suggest changes. If a majority of members support the
changes, they will be adopted.
3. Procedure in the House of Review (This stage is omitted in
territories/states with unicameral legislatures)
- 3rd Readings= in a bicameral legislature, the same process takes place all
over again in the House of Review. If the House of Review suggests any
amendments to the Bill, these must be referred back to the House of
Origin, which may then accept or reject the amendments.
4. Final stages before the Bill become operational as law
- Although royal assent is, by convention, always given, the Crown does
have a theoretical right to reject a Bill, even after it has been approved by
the legislature. The crown, however, has no right to make changes to the
provisions contained in the Bill. If no date is specified, it will commence
operation 28 days after receiving Royal assent.
- The Act is published in the Government Gazette
*Laws are amended in the same way they’re created
*Laws are repealed in the same way laws are made
Different Types of Acts:
• Amending Act
• Repealing Act
• Original Act
• Codifying Act
• Consolidating Act
Document Summary
Typical procedure of the legislative process in australian legislatures with bicameral legislatures: proposals for new legislation. A government"s proposal for new laws is first considered by cabinet to settle any policy issues. Then the office of parliamentary counsel is asked to prepare a draft of the proposed law. Legislation can first be introduced into either house of a bicameral legislature, except for financial bills which must be first introduced in the lower house: procedure in the house of origin. 1st reading= a member of the house formally proposes that the bill be read a first time. The clerk of the house reads out the long title of the bill. If the bill passes via majority vote, it goes into the second reading. 2nd reading= the minister responsible for the relevant portfolio outlines the provisions of the bill, what it will achieve, and the reasons for its introduction.
