The official NSW legislation website (www.legislation.nsw.gov.au) has been redeveloped and now contains authorised versions of NSW Acts, Regulations etc, and Environmental Planning Instruments.

The website has been maintained by the NSW Parliamentary Counsel's Office (PCO) since 2001 and the content extended and improved on an incremental basis. The latest series of enhancements provided the capacity to authorise, under section 45C(5) of the Interpretation Act 1987, most of the legislative content. This means that NSW legislation published online now has the same status as authorised printed legislation.

An additional feature of the website, to provide for the online notification of the making of subordinate legislation instead of by publication in the Gazette, is now in place and will come into general use on:

• 26 January 2009 for all environmental planning instruments, and
• 2 March 2009 for other instruments drafted by PCO and made by the Governor (mainly regulations and commencement proclamations).

The requirements for notification of these instruments on the website are contained in amendments made by the Interpretation Amendment Act 2006 that are to be commenced on the above dates.

This means that this category of instruments normally forwarded to the Gazette for publication will need to be sent instead to the PCO for online notification. The instruments, generally made by the Governor on Wednesday, will be notified online on the legislation website on the following Friday, unless a different date is required. As is currently the case with special Gazettes, arrangements can continue to be made for urgent notification of instruments at any time.

The notification page on the website is linked to the “as made” online collection of statutory instruments which is fully searchable. In addition, the notified instruments will be included as links in the weekly email service provided by PCO. The instruments notified online will also be listed in the Gazette for the week following notification.

Starting from the above dates, instruments for notification are to be sent via email or fax to the PCO:

[email protected] OR
(02) 9232 4796 (fax)

The telephone contact for notifications will be Ms Colleen Godfrey (02) 9321 3389

I would appreciate it if you would ensure that your agencies are made aware of these new arrangements.

Other enhancements planned for the legislation website include the provision of historical statutes from 1824 to 1989 and the addition progressively of other types of statutory instruments to enhance public access to all instruments of a legislative nature.

Nathan Rees
Premier