Delegated Legislation

Which of the following is NOT a subordinate authority?

• Parliament

• a Government Department

• The Australian Electoral Commission

• ASIO

For all delegated legislation, the delegating authority:

• is the Executive who created the law and has the authority granted by the people to delegate their law-making power

• is the Parliament who created the law and has the authority granted by the people to delegate their law-making power

• is the Executive who is entrusted with law-making power by an Act of Parliament

• is the Government Minister who is entrusted with law-making power by an Act of Parliament

Two accurate reasons why Parliament delegates law-making authority to the executive is:

• Due to parliamentary sovereignty parliament is elected by the people and thus sovereign over all other forms of law-making and also because of the separation of powers principle the executive should also have the power to make laws

• So that the executive can provide checks and balances on Parliament's Statute law capabilities and also so that the executive can avoid Parliamentary scrutiny of their delegated legislation

• because the executive may have less expertise in the areas of subordinate legislation and Parliament should focus on their other roles rather than making law

• For efficiency as some laws do not need the deliberative process of Parliamentary law-making and so the government can respond quickly to crises without the slow process of Statute law

The Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 is an example of:

• Delegated Legislation

• A Parliamentary Statute which delegates power to the Department of Environment and Energy to make laws concerning national parks

• A legal instrument created by the subordinate authority of the Department of Environment and Energy

• A delegating authority

As of 4 December 2020, the Senate Committee which retains oversight and control over the legislation created by the executive is called:

• The Senate Select Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation

• The Senate Regulations and Ordinances Committee

• The House Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation

• The Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation

In 2024, how many instruments were considered by the Committee (SCSDL)?

• 148

• 1500

• 328

• 2400

What is the primary mechanism by which Parliament exercises control over delegated legislation through its Senate Committee?

• By repealing the enabling Act that delegated the original law-making power

• Through asking Questions of the Minister in charge of the delegated legislation in Question Time

• Disallowance which allows Parliament to veto a legislative instrument

• Through having meetings with the Ministers in charge of the delegated legislation and having them explain their actions

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Senate Committee in charge of scrutinising delegated legislation was concerned about the broad discretionary powers given to ministers under:

• the Marriage (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Amendment Bill 2017

• the Migration Amendment (Urgent Medical Treatment) Bill 2018

• the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2018

• the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No2) Bill 2020

How many pieces of delegated legislation have been disallowed by the Senate between 2024-2026?

• None

• One

• Two

• Three

It can be argued that delegated legislation violates the separation of powers principle because:

• there are no checks and balances in place to ensure that Parliament retains oversight over the Executive laws

• the Executive should not be infringing on the Legislative's role of creating legislation

• the division of powers should be shared equally

• parliamentary sovereignty means the executive laws override parliament's laws