Acts Citation Act 1976

No. 37, 1976

An Act relating to the Citation of Acts

[Assented to 26 May 1976]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Acts Citation Act 1976.

2 Commencement

This Act shall come into operation on 1 July 1976.

3 Application of Act

Section 2 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as amended and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act is amended by omitting sub-section (1) and substituting the following sub-section:

“(1) Except so far as the contrary intention appears, this Act applies to all Acts, including this Act.”

4 Repeal and substitution of sections

Sections 10 and 10a of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as amended and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act are repealed and the following section is substituted:

“10 References to amended or re‑enacted Acts

Where an Act contains a reference to a short title that is or was provided by law for the citation of another Act as originally enacted, or of another Act as amended, then, except so far as the contrary intention appears:

(a) the reference shall be construed as a reference to that other Act as originally enacted and as amended from time to time; and

(b) where that other Act has been repealed and re‑enacted, with or without modifications, the reference shall be construed as including a reference to the re‑enacted Act as originally enacted and as amended from time to time and, where, in connexion with that reference, particular provisions of the repealed Act are referred to, being provisions to which provisions of the re‑enacted Act correspond, the reference to those particular provisions shall be construed as including a reference to those corresponding provisions.”

5 Incorporation of amendments in reprints of Acts

(1) Section 2 of the Amendments Incorporation Act 1905 as amended and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act is amended by omitting sub-section (2a) and substituting the following sub-section:

“(2a) Sub-section (2) does not apply in relation to an amendment:

(a) deemed to have been made by the sub-section for which this sub-section was substituted by the Acts Citation Act 1976; or

(b) made by section 6 of that Act.”

(2) Notwithstanding sub-section (1), an amendment that was, immediately before the date of commencement of this Act, deemed to be in force by virtue of the provision omitted by sub-section (1) continues in force, subject to section 6 and to any further amendment, or any repeal, coming into operation on or after that date.

6 Short titles of amended Acts

(1) Where:

(a) immediately before the commencement of this Act, an Act was in force as amended; and

(b) the Act, as so in force, contained, by virtue of an amendment deemed to have been made by sub-section 2(2a) of the Amendments Incorporation Act 1905 as amended and in force at any time, a provision that the Act may be cited by a method of citation that contains figures referring to 2 years, that provision is amended by omitting so much of the method of citation as follows the reference to the first of those years.

(2) Where:

(a) immediately before the commencement of this Act, an Act was in force as amended; and

(b) the Act, as so in force, contained, by virtue of an amendment deemed to have been made by sub-section 2(2a) of the Amendments Incorporation Act 1905 as amended and in force at any time, a provision that the Act may be cited by a method of citation that contains the word “Acts” immediately before figures referring to a year;

that provision is amended by omitting the word “Acts” and substituting the word “Act”.