The Acts and Instruments (Framework Reform) Bill 2014 was introduced on Wednesday in Federal Parliament. The Bill seeks to make various changes, including:

• renaming the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 the Legislation Act 2003.
• the current database of Commonwealth Acts and the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, which are both accessed through ComLaw, will be integrated into a single Register called the Federal Register of Legislation.
• the amendments will also enable the First Parliamentary Counsel to make minor editorial changes in preparing registered compilations of Acts and instruments that do not change the effect of the legislation.
• it will move certain content from the Act to regulations to help consolidate detail that may be more suitably placed in delegated legislation and which may need to be updated regularly.
• it will also allow the First Parliamentary Counsel to make rules about matters for the purpose of meeting his or her obligation to maintain a consistent, accurate and up-to-date Register. This mechanism will facilitate a level of procedural detail that may not be appropriate for including in the Act or the regulations. The rules will be a legislative instrument, which means they will be subject to parliamentary oversight.

The Bill & EM can be found at:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r5364