6.18 Printing, notification and tabling processes

OQPC is responsible for managing and coordinating the notification and publication of subordinate legislation (except exempt subordinate legislation) for the government as a whole, including formal notification on the Legislation website. Requirements for notification and tabling are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1992, part 6. To ensure these requirements are fulfilled, processes have been established between OQPC and departments, the Executive Council, the government printer and the Table Office of Parliament House.

In summary, the procedures for subordinate legislation going before the Governor or Governor in Council according to the usual schedule are as follows:

1. The administering department notifies the Executive Council Secretariat that subordinate legislation is to be signed by the Governor at the Executive Council meeting on a particular Thursday and submits the certified copy of the legislation and printed copies of the explanatory notes.
2. The Executive Council Secretariat advises OQPC in advance of each meeting which subordinate legislation is to be made at that meeting.
3. OQPC allocates subordinate legislation numbers and advises departments so those numbers can be included in the explanatory notes.
4. OQPC prepares the subordinate legislation for printing in the subordinate legislation series and also prepares the notification information for publishing on the Legislation website on Friday.
5. Following the Executive Council meeting on Thursday, departments email copies of the explanatory notes for subordinate legislation made at the meeting to OQPC by 2:00pm and OQPC then supplies all files to the government printer.
6. The government printer prints the subordinate legislation and explanatory notes ready for delivery to relevant administering departments and to the Table Office on Friday from 10:00am.
7. OQPC notifies subordinate legislation made the preceding day on the Legislation website by 10:00am on Friday and also publishes the legislation and explanatory notes on the website.

8. The Table Office automatically tables the subordinate legislation in the Legislative Assembly within fourteen sitting days of notification.

   For subordinate legislation made by an entity other than the Governor or Governor in Council, for example, by a Minister or board, and where there is no subsequent Governor or Governor in Council involvement, the administering department must liaise directly with OQPC to arrange notification. OQPC requires advice about the date the subordinate legislation was made and the date it is to be notified. The subordinate legislation is then printed, notified and tabled according to the procedures outlined in items 3 to 8 above.

It is sometimes necessary for the Minister to table an erratum to the explanatory notes presented with subordinate legislation to correct an error or other inaccuracy. For this purpose, the department arranges for the government printer to print the erratum document and deliver copies to the Table Office of Parliament House in accordance with its requirements. After the document is tabled, the department is also responsible for supplying OQPC with an electronic version for publication on the Legislation website.

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