Before legislation is introduced in the Parliament, it must be approved by the minister nominated by the Prime Minister as part of the legislation approval process (LAP). The LAP ensures that policy approval has been obtained, that the legislation is consistent with policy approval and that all relevant ministers have been consulted. Chapter 8 describes this process, commencing with the lodgement of papers with the Legislation Section in PM&C.
Amendments arise when the Government decides to amend a bill before the Parliament. Government amendments require all the same approvals as a bill. This process is summarised in Chapter 9, including the requirements for supplementary support material.
Chapter 10 provides further information on the party clearance mechanism. Governments require that all government bills and amendments are subject to internal party clearance.
The next three chapters describe the parliamentary process in more detail—from the introduction of a bill (Chapter 11) through to its subsequent consideration by the House of Representatives (Chapter 12) and the Senate (Chapter 13). For a bill to become law, it must be passed in the same form by each house and assented to by the Governor-General. Broadly speaking, the process in both houses for passing a bill is the same and involves the following steps:
- giving notice of intention to present a bill;
- presentation of the bill and first reading;
- second reading—the minister tables the explanatory memorandum and moves that the bill be read a second time and either reads or incorporates the second reading speech;
- resumption of second reading debate and consideration of a bill in detail (in the House) or by the committee of the whole (in the Senate);
- in the Senate, report of the committee of the whole and adoption of that report; and third reading, i.e. passage by that house.
Chapters 12 and 13 also provide background on the referral of a bill to a House, Senate or joint committee. A committee has no power to amend a bill referred to it, but it may recommend amendments or that the House or the Senate agree to a bill without amendments. Bills are also examined by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, pursuant to their terms of reference. Once a bill has been passed by both houses, the final stage in the legislation process is for the bill to be presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's assent (known as Royal Assent). The Governor-General may assent to the bill in the Queen's name, withhold assent or reserve the proposed law for the Queen's pleasure. This process is described in further detail in Chapter 14.
While the handbook is the principal guide to developing legislation, it is important that guidance is sought in matters that remain unclear or when additional advice is required. Therefore, agencies are asked to consult their Legislation Liaison Officers, the Legislation Section of PM&C, the Parliamentary Liaison Officers, the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and officers of the Table Offices, as required, in accordance with the directions in this handbook.
