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CHAPTER VIII
Alteration of the Constitution
Mode of altering the Constitution
128. This Constitution shall not be altered except in the following manner:
The proposed law for the alteration thereof must be passed by an absolute majority of each House of the Parliament, and not less than two nor more than six months after its passage through both Houses the proposed law shall be submitted in each State and Territory to the electors qualified to vote for the election of members of the House of Representatives.
But if either House passes any such proposed law by an absolute majority, and the other House rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with any amendment to which the first-mentioned House will not agree, and if after an interval of three months the first-mentioned House in the same or the next session again passes the proposed law by an absolute majority with or without any amendment which has been made or agreed to by the other House, and such other House rejects or fails to pass it or passes it with any amendment to which the first-mentioned House will not agree, the Governor-General may submit the proposed law as last proposed by the first-mentioned House, and either with or without any amendments subsequently agreed to by both Houses, to the electors in each State and Territory qualified to vote for the election of the House of Representatives.
When a proposed law is submitted to the electors the vote shall be taken in such manner as the Parliament prescribes. But until the qualification of electors of members of the House of Representatives becomes uniform throughout the Commonwealth, only one half the electors voting for and against the proposed law shall be counted in any State in which adult suffrage prevails.
And if in a majority of the States a majority of the electors voting approve the proposed law, and if a majority of all the electors voting also approve the proposed law, it shall be presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's assent.
No alteration diminishing the proportionate representation of any State in either House of the Parliament, or the minimum number of representatives of a State in the House of Representatives, or increasing, diminishing, or otherwise altering the limits of the State, or in any manner affecting the provisions of the Constitution in relation thereto, shall become law unless the majority of the electors voting in that State approve the proposed law.
In this section, "Territory" means any territory referred to in section one hundred and twenty-two of this Constitution in respect of which there is in force a law allowing its representation in the House of Representatives.
EXHIBIT
(Oath that each member of Parliament must take)
Schedule
Oath
I, A.B., do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Her heirs and successors according to law. SO HELP ME GOD!
Affirmation
I,
A.B., do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will
be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen
Victoria, Her heirs and successors according to law.
(NOTE - The name of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the time being is to be substituted from time to time.)
EXHIBIT
Australia Act 1986
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Sect 1. Termination of power of Parliament of United Kingdom to legislate for
2. Australia Legislative powers of Parliaments of States
3. Termination of restrictions on legislative powers of Parliaments of States
4. Powers of State Parliaments in relation to merchant shipping
5. Commonwealth Constitution, Constitution Act and Statute of Westminster not affected
6. Manner and form of making certain State laws
7. Powers and functions of Her Majesty and Governors in respect of States
8. State laws not subject to disallowance or suspension of operation
9 9. State laws not subject to withholding of assent or reservation
10. Termination of responsibility of United Kingdom Government in relation to
State matters
11. Termination of appeals to Her Majesty in Council
12. Amendment of Statute of Westminster
13. Amendment of Constitution Act of Queensland
14. Amendment of Constitution Act of Western Australia
15 Method of repeal or amendment of this Act or Statute of Westminster
16. Interpretation
17. Short title and commencement
AUSTRALIA ACT 1986
An Act to bring constitutional arrangements affecting the Commonwealth and the States into conformity with the status of the Commonwealth of Australia as a sovereign, independent and federal nation
WHEREAS the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth and the Premiers of the States at conferences held in Canberra on 24 and 25 June 1982 and 21 June 1984 agreed on the taking of certain measures to bring constitutional arrangements affecting the Commonwealth and the States into conformity with the status of the Commonwealth of Australia as a sovereign, independent and federal nation:
AND WHEREAS in pursuance of paragraph 51 (xxxviii) of the Constitution the Parliaments of all the States have
requested the Parliament of the Commonwealth to enact an Act in the terms of this Act:
(the Parliament of the United Kingdom holds no authority to make changes to the Constitution, thus
s51(xxxviii) cannot grant the Federal Parliament that authority)
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:
Termination of power of Parliament of United Kingdom to legislate for Australia
1. No Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement of this Act shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to the Commonwealth, to a State or to a Territory as part of the law of the Commonwealth, of the State or of the Territory.
Legislative powers of Parliaments of States
2. (1) It is hereby declared and enacted that the legislative powers of the Parliament of each State include
full power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of that State that have extra Territorial
operation.
(2) It is hereby further declaredand enacted that thelegislative powers ofthe Parliament ofeach
State include all legislative powers that the Parliament of the United Kingdom might have exercised before the
commencement of this Act for the peace, order and good government of that State but nothing in this subsection
confers on a State any capacity that the State did not have immediately before the commencement of this Act to
engage in relations with countries outside Australia.
Termination of restrictions on legislative powers of Parliaments of States
3. (1) The Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865
shall not apply to any law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament of a State.
(2) No law and no provision of any law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament of a State shall be void or inoperative on the ground that it is repugnant to the law of England, or to the provisions of any existing or future Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or to any order, rule or regulation made under any such Act, and the powers of the Parliament of a State shall include the power to repeal or amend any such Act, order, rule or regulation in so far as it is part of the law of the State.
Powers of State Parliaments in relation to merchant shipping
4. Sections 735 and 736 of the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, in so far as they are part of the law of a State, are hereby repealed.
Commonwealth Constitution, Constitution Act and Statute of Westminster not affected
5. Sections 2 and 3(2) above:
(a) are subject to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act and tothe Constitution of the
Commonwealth; and
(b) do not operate so as to give any force or effect to a provision ofan Act of the Parliament of a State
that would repeal, amend or be repugnant to this Act, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, the
Constitution of the Commonwealth or the Statute of Westminster 1931 as amended and in force from time to
time.
Manner and form of making certain State Laws
6. Notwithstanding sections 2 and 3(2) above, a law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament of a State respecting the constitution, powers or procedure of the Parliament of the State shall be of no force or effect unless it is made in such manner and form as may from time to time be required by a law made by that Parliament, whether made before or after the commencement of this Act.
Powers and functions of Her Majesty and Governors in respect of States
7. (1) Her Majesty's representative in each State shall be the Governor.
(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) below, all powers and functions of Her Majesty in respect of a State are exercisable only by the Governor of the State.
(3) Subsection (2) above does not apply in relation to the power to appoint, and the power to terminate the appointment of; the Governor of a State.
(4) While Her Majesty is personally present in a State, Her Majestyis not precluded from exercising any of Her powers and functions in respect of the State that are the subject of subsection (2) above.
(5) The advice to Her Majesty in relation to the exercise of the powers and functions of Her Majesty in respect of a State shall be tendered by the Premier of the State.
State laws not subject to disallowance or suspension of operation
8. An Act of the Parliament of a State that has been assented to by the Governor of the State shall not, after the commencement of this Act, be subject to disallowance by Her Majesty, nor shall its operation be suspended pending the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon.
State laws not subject to withholding of assent or reservation
9. (1) No law or instrument shall be of any force or effect in so far as it purports to require the Governor of a State to withhold assent from any Bill for an Act of the State that has been passed in such manner and form as may from time to time be required by a law made by the Parliament of the State.
(2) No law or instrument shall be of anyforce or effectin so far as it purports to require the reservation of any Bill for an Act of a State for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon.
Termination of responsibility of United Kingdom government in relation to State matters
10. After the commencement of this Act Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom shall have no responsibility for the government of any State.
Termination of appeals to Her Majesty in Council
11. (1) Subject to subsection (4) below, no appeal to Her Majesty in Council lies or shall be brought, whether by leave or special leave of any court or of Her Majesty in Council or otherwise, and whether by virtue of any Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Royal Prerogative or otherwise, from or in respect of any decision of an Australian Court.
(2) Subject to subsection (4)below:
(a) the enactments specified in subsection (3) belowand any orders, rules, regulations or other instruments made under, or for the purposes of; those enactments; and
(b) any other provisions of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in force immediately before the commencement of this Act that make provision for or in relation to appeals to Her Majesty in Council from or in respect of decisions of courts, and any orders, rules, regulations or other instruments made under, or for the purposes of; any such provisions, in so far as they are part of the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, are hereby repealed.
(3) The enactments referred to in subsection (2) (a) above are the following Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom or provisions of such Acts:
The Australian Courts Act 1828, section 15 The Judicial Committee Act 1833 The Judicial Committee Act 1844 The Australian Constitutions Act 1850, section 28 The Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890, section 6.
(4) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section:
(a) affects an appeal instituted before the commencement of this Act to Her Majesty in Council from or in respect of a decision of an Australian court; or
(b) precludes the institution after that commencement of an appeal to Her Majesty in Council from or in respect of such a decision where the appeal is instituted:
(i) pursuant to leave granted by anAustralian court on anapplication made before that commencement; or
(ii) pursuant to special leave granted byHer Majesty in Council ona petition presented before that commencement, but this subsection shall not be construed as permitting or enabling an appeal to Her Majesty in Council to be instituted or continued that could not have been instituted or continued if this section had not been enacted.
Amendment of Statute of Westminster
12. Sections 4, 9(2) and (3) and 10(2) of the Statute of Westminster 1931, in so far as they are part of the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, are hereby repealed. ( No Australian Parliament can amend a statute of a other parliament, unless authority to do so is granted under that statute, please note that s9(2) and 10(2) were never adopted in the first place and cannot be tampered with)
Amendment of Constitution Act of Queensland
13. (1) The Constitution Act 1867-1978 of the State of Queensland is in this section referred to as the Principal Act.
(2) Section 1 lA of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3):
(a) by omitting from paragraph (a):
(i) " and Signet"; and
(ii) "constituted under Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom";
and
(b) by omitting from paragraph (b):
(i) "and Signet"; and
(ii) "whenever and so long as the office of Governor is vacant or the Governor is
incapable of discharging the duties of
administration or has departed from Queensland".
(3) Section 1 lB of the Principal Act is amended:
(a) by omitting "Governor to conform to instructions" and substituting "Definition of Royal Sign
Manual";
(b) by omitting subsection (1); and
(c) by omitting from subsection (2):
(i) "(2)";
(ii) "this section and in"; and
(iii) "and the expression 'Signet' means the seal commonly used for the sign manual
of the Sovereign or the seal with which
documents are sealed by the Secretary of State in the United Kingdom on behalf
of the Sovereign".
(4) Section 14 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (2) by omitting", subject to his performing his duty prescribed by section 1 lB,".
Amendment of Constitution Act of Western Australia
14. (1) The Constitution Act 1889 of the State of Western Australia is in this section referred to as the Principal Act.
(2) Section 50 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3):
(a) by omitting from paragraph (a):
(i) "and Signet"; and
(ii) "constituted under Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom";
(b) by omitting from paragraph (b):
(i) "and Signet"; and
(ii) "whenever and so long as the office of Governor is vacant or the Governor is incapable of discharging the duties of
administration or has departed from Western Australia"; and
(c) by omitting from paragraph (c):
(i) "under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom"; and
(ii) "during a temporary absence of the Governor for a short period from the seat of
Government or from the State".
(3) Section 51 of the Principal Actis amended:
(a) by omitting subsection (1);and
(b) by omitting from subsection(2):
(i)"(2)";
(ii) "this section and in"; and
(iii) "and the expression 'Signet' means the seal commonly used for the sign manual
of the Sovereign or the seal with which documents are sealed by the Secretary of State in the
United Kingdom on behalf of the Sovereign".
Method of repeal or amendment of this Act or Statute of Westminster
15. (1) This Act or the Statute of Westminster 1931, as amended and in force from time to time, in so far as it is part of the law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, may be repealed or amended by an Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth passed at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all the States and, subject to subsection (3) below, only in that manner.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above, an Act of the Parliamentof the Commonwealth that is repugnant to this Act or the Statute of Westminster 1931, as amended and in force from time to time, or to any provision of this Act or of that Statute as so amended and in force, shall, to the extent of the repugnancy, be deemed an Act to repeal or amend the Act, Statute or provision to which it is repugnant.
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) above limits or prevents the exercise by theParliament of the Commonwealth of any powers that may be conferred upon that Parliament by any alteration to the Constitution of the Commonwealth made in accordance with section 128 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth after the commencement of this Act.
Interpretation
16. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
"appeal" includes a petition of appeal, and a complaint in the nature of an appeal;
"appeal to Her Majesty in Council" includes any appeal to Her Majesty;
"Australian court" means a court of a State or any other court of Australia or of a Territory other than
the High Court;
"court" includes a judge, judicial officer or other person acting judicially; "decision" includes determination,
judgment, decree, order or sentence;
"Governor", in relation to a State, includes any person for the time being administering the
government of the State;
"State"
means a State of the Commonwealth and includes a new State; "the Commonwealth of
Australia Constitution Act" means the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act;
“the Constitution of the Commonwealth” means the Constitution of the Commonwealth set forth in
section 9 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, being that Constitution as altered and
in force from time to time;
“the Statute of Westminster 1931” means the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as
the Statute of Westminster 1931.
2. The expression of a law made by that Parliament” in section 6 above and the expression of a law made by the Parliament” in section 9 above include, in relation to the State of Western Australia, the Constitution Act 1889 of that State.
2. A reference in this Act to the Parliament of a State includes, in relation to the State of New South Wales, a reference to the legislature of that State as constituted from time to time in accordance with the Constitution Act, 1902, or any other Act of that State, whether or not, in relation to any particular legislative act, the consent of the Legislative Council of that State is necessary.
Short title and commencement
2. (1) This Act may be cited as the Australia Act 1986.
2. This Act shall come into operation on a day and at a time to be fixed by Proclamation.
NOTES
2. Act No.142, 1985; assented to 4 December 1985 and came into operation on
3 March 1986 at 5.00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (see Gazette 1986, No. S85, p.’).
2. In addition to this Australia Act 1986 an Australia Act 1986, in substantially identical terms, was enacted by the United Kingdom Parliament (1986 Chapter 2) pursuant to a request made and consent given by the Parliament and Government of the Commonwealth in the Australia (Request and Consent) Act 1986 and with the concurrence of all the States of Australia (see the Australia Acts Request Act 1985 of each State).