Australian government documents
Acts
ComLaw includes all Commonwealth Sessional Acts, Reprints and Consolidated Acts since 1973.
Library holdings of paper Acts are found at D349.94/A931a.
Acts Tables
An Acts Table contains passage and commencement information for Acts which have received the royal assent in a particular calendar year. Acts Tables dating back to 1993 are available online.
Tables of Acts
This source is held at D349.94/A932t. It lists all Acts published 1901–91 and is a consolidation of Acts Tables.
Reprinted Acts
For full text of Reprinted Acts see ComLaw. The Library keeps the latest reprint of each Act at R349.94/A939a. Reprinted Acts are filed alphabetically into binders and are not recorded separately in the catalogue.
Repealed Acts
Repealed Acts for 1901–93 are held at D349.94/A9325r. ComLaw provides a list of Commonwealth Acts: Published, Replaced, Repealed for 1979–2006.
Bills
Current Bills before Parliament are available from Bills page at the Parliament site. This source provides Explanatory Memoranda and Second Reading Speeches. The Bills Lists for the House and Senate allows tracking of Bills through the current Commonwealth Parliament.
Bound issues of Bills are kept at D349.94/A930b. These are divided into House of Representatives and Senate and filed in alphabetical order.
You can also use the Commonwealth Bills Tables and Associated Material to track the progress of a Bill. These are cumulated at the end of each session and are held in print at D349.94/A930bt.
Explanatory Memoranda
These are produced for most Bills and are filed with the relevant Bill in paper. In addition to the Bills page at the Parliament site, ComLaw provides Explanatory Memoranda for Bills in Act form, including these with the online text of the Act.
The Parliamentary Library has an online Index to Explanatory Memoranda 1901–1982.
Budget Papers
The Budget Papers are available online. Budget Papers proper are held at P354.9400722/A938b. Budget-related papers are held at P354.9400722/A9382.
Census
Information from the latest census is available from the ABS site. The library holds census materials from 1911 onwards at D319.4/A938/2000.
Constitution
The Australian Constitution is on the Web. The Australian Constitution as on 30 April 1991 is available at R342.94/A938c/1991.
Debates
Recent Hansards for the House of Representatives and the Senate are available from the Parliament site.
The House of Representatives Weekly Cumulations and the bound volumes are held at D328.9402/A941p. Senate Weekly Cumulations and the bound volumes are at D328.9402/A937p.
The Parliamentary Web site also provides the full text of recent Committee Reports.
Electoral Rolls
Electoral rolls are not available online. The Australian Electoral Commission site has information on results of recent elections and information about the Electoral Act.
The Library holds current electoral rolls for each State at R324.9944/E38
Federal Legislation Annotations
The Library holds the Federal Statutes Annotations in paper at D349.94/A9335. This source provides material relating to the judicial interpretation of statutory legislation, legislative history and the academic literature relevant to specific pieces of legislation.
Government Directories
The Government On-Line Directory (GOLD) is available on the Web. There is also the Commonwealth Government Directory in paper. This was first issued in 1918 under the title Index to Departmental Activities. The Directory lists all members of parliament, committees, courts, tribunals and departments. The latest issue (2006–07) is held at R354.94/C7341. Earlier issues are available at Q354.94/C7341.
Government Gazettes
The Commonwealth of Australia Gazette has been published since Federation. The Library has copies of past Gazettes in paper. Recent Commonwealth Gazettes are also available online. The current parts of the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette are as follows:
AVPMA Gazette. Formerly the NRA Gazette, the APVMA Gazette is published by the Australian Pesticides & Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). It contains the approvals of the registration of agricultural and veterinary chemical products, notices, related legislation and a range of other APWMA material. The Library holds this title at D354.94/A938c.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Gazette. The ASIC Gazette is published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The Gazette contains a range of private company notices. These include instruments, notices of variation, changes of company type, company reinstatements and company deregistrations. The Library holds this title at D354.94/A938c.
Business Gazette. The Business Gazette is also published by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). It contains private company notices advertised by companies under the Corporations Act 2001. The Library holds this title in paper at D354.94/A938c.
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Chemical Gazette. The Chemical Gazette is published under the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). It contains information regarding changes to NICNAS legislation, newly assessed chemicals and the Register of Industrial Chemical Introducers. The Library holds this title from 1990 onwards at D354.94/A938c.
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Food Standards Gazette. The Food Standards Gazette is published by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). Notices in the Food Standards Gazette were previously published by the Australian Government in Periodic or Special Commonwealth Gazettes.
Government Notices Gazette. The regular Government Notices Gazette contains a range of notices including information about legislation, notices of Australian Government Departments, Courts notices, and other notices required under Commonwealth law. The Special Notices Gazette normally contains a single notice and may be published at any time. Special Gazettes published during the week are republished at the end of the next regular Government Notices Gazette. The Library holds this title from 2000 onwards at D354.94/A938c.
Periodic Notices Gazette. The Periodic Notices Gazette is published irregularly and may contain multiple notices relating to a specific subject area. The Library holds this title from 1977 onwards at D354.94/A938c.
Public Service Gazette. The Public Service Gazette is published by the Australian Public Service Commission. It includes notices of APS employment opportunities, APS staff movements, promotions and terminations of employment. The Library holds this title from No.1 (1977– ) at D354.94/A938c
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Purchasing and Disposals Gazette. This title is no longer published.
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Tariff Concessions Gazette. Published by the Australian Customs Service, this source provides information on tariffs and is available online. The Library holds this title from 1983 onwards at D354.94/A938c.
The Index to the Commonwealth Gazette is held at D354.94/A938c
Government Publications
The Library receives a wide range of publications from Commonwealth departments and agencies. These items are listed in the Library catalogue and can be found under title or corporate author.
GovPubs: the Australian Government Publications Guide is a site at the National Library which offers a guide to selected types of Commonwealth Government publications in Australian libraries and online. This source provides a description of each publication.The Australian Government’s Publications Register offers a search engine which covers Commonwealth Web sites. GovRAP is a free monthly reference service listing recent government publications.
Journals of the Senate
The full text of the Senate Journals are available on the Web. Daily issues, published while Parliament is sitting, are filed at D325.9401/A937.
Notice Papers
From 1997 onwards, the full text House of Representatives and Senate Notice Papers are available on the Web. The latest year of the House of Representatives Notice Papers is at D328.9404/A939, and the Senate at D328.9404/A938.
Parliamentary Papers
Parliamentary Papers from 2002 onwards are available on the Web. There is an Index to Parliamentary Papers from 1992 onwards at the Parliamentary Library site.
The bound volumes of Parliamentary Papers from 1901–02 onwards are at D329.9401/A939. Annual indexes are also included with the bound volumes.
Statutory Rules
ComLaw provides historic and current compilations of Statutory Rules. Loose issues of Statutory Rules are held at D349.94/A940s
The earlier title Statutory Rules Made Under Acts of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia is also held at D349.94/A940s.
The Statutory Rules Tables provide a cumulative index of Statutory Rules and these are held with the loose Rules at D349.94/A940s.
Tables of Statutory Rules 1901–1991 are held at D349.94/A940s. This publication is a consolidation of past Statutory Rules Tables.
The Library keeps the latest reprinted Statutory Rules at D349.94/A946s. These are filed in alphabetical order.
Treaties
The Australian Treaties Database (ATD) provides a list of treaties to which Australia is signatory. The ATD can be browsed by date, subject, agreement type and country. It is also searchable by subject, date or keyword. In addition, the ATD site includes information on treaties and treaty making in Australia.
The Australian Treaties Library (ATL) at AustLII contains a searchable database of the full text of Australian treaties. The site also includes a wide range of treaty-related resources.
The Library holds the Australian Treaties Series published by the AGPS from No. 2 (1948) onwards at P341.294/A938t.
Votes and Proceedings
The full text of past Votes and Proceedings for the House of Representatives are available on the Web.
Daily issues, published while Parliament is sitting, are shelved at D328.9401/A938.
Wicks Subject Index to Commonwealth Legislation
The Annual Subject index to the Acts and Regulations of the Commonwealth of Australia is held at D349.94/A933s. This title is not available online.