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

As of 22 May 2020, how many legislative instruments had been made and what percentage were exempt from disallowance from the Senate?

• 148 legislative instruments, 23.6% exempt from disallowance

• 168 legislative instruments, 48.3% exempt from disallowance

• 122 legislative instruments, 20.5% exempt from disallowance

• 179 legislative instruments, 43.6% exempt from disallowance

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

The 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 in 2021?

• 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