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Australian Law
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4 Geo 1 c11 (Legislature)
The Imperial Parliament passes a statute (4 Geo 1 c11) which permitted judges to commute the death sencences of most prisoners on condition that they agreed to go to one of the colonies. -
Prisoners arrive in Australia (Legislature)
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The New South Wales Act (The 1823 Act) (Judiciary)
Established on a statutory basis the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land. s2 of the New South Wales Act gave the judges of the new courts 'Like jurisdiction and authority in New South Wales as the judged of the courts of the King's Bench, Common Pleas and Exchequer in England'. In other words, the judges were to enjoy security and independence. -
Australian Courts Act (Judiciary and Legislature)
The New South Wales Act was meant only to be experimental and was said to cease having force in 1828. In addition to fixing the date of reception of English law and establising that criminal matters be tried by jury, the Australian Courts Act made a number of ammendments to the form of government set up by the 1823 Act. For example, it increased the size of the Legislative Council to between 10 and 15 members. Power that the Governor had under the previous Act to ignore advice is eliminated. -
Australian Courts Act (Legislature)
All laws and statutes in force in England on 25 July 1828 which were applicable to the conditions in NSW and Van Diemen's Land were deemed to be in force there. -
Judicial committee Act 1833 (Judiciary)
Created a formal Judicial Committee of the Privy Council whose job was to hear appeals from the colonial possessions of the Empire. -
Australian Constitutions Act (No 1) (Legislature)
Expanded the Legislative Council to 36 members, of whom two-thirds were to be elected (the rest being nominated by the Crown). The Governor was no longer selected to be a part of the legislature. Governor could still introduce bills, but the Legislative Council could reject or pass them. And the Governor could still give, or withhold, Royal Assent to the bills passed in the council, a legislative role that the Governor-General still holds today. Introduced 3 branches of government -
Australian Constitutions Act (No 2) (Legislature)
Created the separate colony of Victoria out of the Port Phillip District of NSW, and provided for the eventual creation of Queensland. The act conferred upon the colonial legislatures the power, subject to final approval by the Imperial authorities, to remodel their constitutions to accommodate full responsible government. -
New South Wales Constitution Statute 1855 (Legislature)
The Bill provided for a bicameral legislature, with an elected lower house and an appointed upper house -
Colonial Laws Validity Act (Legislature)
Reiterated the supremacy of English law, but in s 3 it provided that no colonial law was to be invalidated on the basis of repugnancy unless it was inconsistent with Imperial legislation that 'extended to' the colony. Under s 1, legislation is to 'extend to' a colony where it is 'made applicable to such colony by the express words or necessary intendment of any Act'. The Act sent a clear message to both colonial legislatures and judges that their task was not to replicate English societies. -
Federal Council of Australasia Act (Legislature)
Provided for a Federal Council with limited legislative power in areas of common concern. This did not prosper however, as NSW chose not to become a member. -
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Legislature)
Gave power to the federation of 1901. Legislative poweres were divided between the parliaments of the six existing Australian colonies and the new national Parliament. The Act also contains the Australian Constitution. -
Australian Federation (Legislature)
The Commonwealth Parliament was given power to legislate on specific topics such as tax, trade and commerce, immigration and industrial arbitration, matters which the designers of the new constitution considered suitable for national lawmaking. By contrast, the legislative power of the states is expressed in their Constitutions in general terms, for example the power to legislate 'for the peace, welfare and good government of the state' -
The Statute of Westminster (Legislature)
Governor-General was to act on the advice of the local government, rather than London. In s 4 it provided that thereafter, the British Parliament would not pass legislation applying to any of the dominons unless it was at the dominion's request. Further, s 2 repealed the last vestiges of the repugnancy doctrine (colonial validity Act); dominon laws would no longer be held void on grounds that they were inconsistent with English Law. -
Limitations of the Statute of Westminster
The states were, at the time, embroiled in a controversy with the Commonwealth over financial power and did not want to sever their direct constitutional links with Britain. So an express provision was included in the statute which excluded its application to Australian states. Moreover s 10(1) said that the operative provisions of the statute were not to come into effect in a dominon until the dominon passed legislation to that effect. -
Statute of Westminster Adoption Act (Legislature)
This act provided that the operative provisions of the Statute of Westminster were to be deemed to have had effect since 1939. It solidified what was proposed in the Balfour Declaration: that no longer was there a master-servant relationship. Instead, the Empire was a partnership. The Balfour declaration of 1926 said 'autonomoous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect, though united by a common allegience to the Crown' -
Privy Council (Limitation of Appeals) Act (Judicial)
Appeals on federal matters were abolished. -
Privy Council (Appeals from the High Court) Act (Judicial)
Appeals from the High Court on matters of state law are abolished. -
Australia Acts (Requests) Acts (Legislature)
These statutes requested the British and Commonwealth Parliaments to pass legislation by which the UK would give up whatever remaining legislative powers it had over the states. -
Australia Acts (Legislature)
The British and Commonwealth Parliaments each passed virtually identically-worded statutes called the Australia Acts. The central provision is s 1, which provides in straightforward terms: No act of the parliament of the UK passed after the commencement of this Act shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to the Commonwealth, to a State or Territory as part of the law of the Commonwealth of the State, or of the Territory.