Page 2823 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 2013
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Today I have moved a number of minor and technical amendments that respond to concerns raised by the scrutiny of bills committee. In its report the committee made a number of comments about this bill, and I thank them for their consideration. I have responded directly to all of the committee’s comments, and I am happy to provide that response to other members. There are three main comments that I wish to address in relation to these amendments today: the committee’s comments on rectification orders, comments on the delegation of legislative powers and comments on issues around access to law.
The scrutiny report included comments about proposed provisions for rectification orders under section 38 of the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act. These provisions inserted words to clarify that the stated action under a rectification order could include the provision of written information as part of rectifying work. The committee was concerned that the clauses could be read to provide no limitation to the information that could be required. Clauses 1 and 2 of the amendments address this comment and further clarify, as outlined in the explanatory statement, that written information would relate to any work required to be done under the order. The amendments affect clauses 31 and 32 of the bill.
The committee also raised questions about the appropriateness of delegation of legislative power. In this context I make the following observations: any legislation that provides regulation of work is likely to include powers for certain entities to manage aspects of the legislation rather than all instruments having to be made by the Assembly. This is a practical arrangement that draws on the skills and resources of the various entities that are better placed to determine certain regulatory requirements on behalf of the Assembly.
In the case of the legislation covered by amendments in this act, this includes the minister, the Architects Board and statutory office holders, such as the Construction Occupations Registrar. Logically, regulations for construction or other work will rely on a number of technical standards and documents describing how that work should be done. Regulations should provide for evolving standards of work, materials and equipment as practices and performance requirements shift over time. This may be by applying or adopting an external technical document.
In recognition of this, a number of proposed sections provide that a specific regulation or instrument may apply, adopt or incorporate a law of another jurisdiction or instrument as in force from time to time. The current method of adopting documents as in force from time to time means industry are aware that documents will be used on an ongoing basis and it is less likely that different documents will be used from one period to the next. A minor amendment to one of the many standards used by the industry should not require the making of a new instrument each time. This is not only unwieldy but impractical.
When new legislation is made, it is prudent to consider whether instruments adopted in the ACT legislation should be caught up in force from time to time and what powers, should, in effect, be delegated. There will naturally need to be a balance
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