These are 35 terms you meet when you follow Australian policy and legislation, listed alphabetically. The definitions are in our own words and are based on official sources: the Federal Register of Legislation, the Parliamentary Education Office, the Office of Impact Analysis and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Most terms describe the Commonwealth. Where a term comes from a particular government's practice, the entry says so.
How do these terms fit together?
Policy development often includes papers that invite comment, such as a green paper, a consultation paper or an exposure draft. A bill then goes through readings in each house until it receives Royal Assent and becomes an Act. Acts often let ministers and agencies make legislative instruments, which are tabled in Parliament and can be disallowed. For the process in detail, see how a bill becomes law in Australia (opens in a new tab) and what is a disallowable legislative instrument (opens in a new tab).
Some definitions are based on content from the Federal Register of Legislation at 20 October 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.
This glossary is general information, not legal advice. Check the official source before you rely on a definition.
Terms
- Act of Parliament
- A law made by a parliament. In the Commonwealth, an Act is passed by both houses and given Royal Assent. Acts are numbered, and once enacted they can generally be amended or repealed only by another Act. They are also called primary legislation.
- Appropriation bill
- A bill that appropriates public money for the government to spend. Under section 53 of the Constitution, it can't start in the Senate, and neither can a bill imposing taxation. The Senate can't amend tax bills or bills appropriating money for the government's ordinary annual services, but it can ask the House of Representatives to make changes.
- An official copy of a law on the Federal Register of Legislation, in PDF form and marked with specific wording. Courts treat it as a reliable record of the law unless shown otherwise.
- Bill
- A draft of a proposed law that is put before a parliament to be debated and voted on. In the Commonwealth, it becomes an Act once both houses pass it and it receives Royal Assent.
- Caretaker period
- The time from the dissolution of the House of Representatives until the election result is clear or, if government changes, until the new government is appointed. Government business continues, but the caretaker conventions ask a government to avoid major policy decisions, significant appointments and major contracts that would bind an incoming government. The conventions aren't legally binding.
- Commencement
- The time a law takes effect. Different parts of a law can start at different times. An Act that sets no start date generally commences on the 28th day after Royal Assent.
- Compilation
- A consolidated version of a law showing its text as amended up to a particular date. It carries a compilation number and endnotes that list the amendments.
- Consideration in detail
- An optional stage in the House of Representatives in which the bill's provisions are worked through in detail and amendments can be moved. The Senate's equivalent is called the committee of the whole.
- Consultation paper
- A paper that sets out a proposal or an issue and invites written responses, often through questions. A 2024 Treasury paper on merger notification thresholds, for example, put questions through the text and invited answers to some or all of them.
- Delegated legislation
- Rules made under powers an Act gives to someone else, such as a minister, rather than by Parliament directly. It is also called subordinate or secondary legislation. Regulations are a common example.
- Disallowance
- Parliament's power to cancel a disallowable legislative instrument, in whole or in part, by a majority vote in either house. The Legislation Act 2003 sets time limits counted in sitting days. A disallowed instrument generally can't be remade for six months.
- Double dissolution
- A federal election held after the Governor-General dissolves the House of Representatives and the whole Senate at the same time, which can follow a deadlock between the houses over a bill. Section 57 of the Constitution sets the conditions.
- Explanatory memorandum
- A document that explains how a bill is expected to operate and sets out its individual provisions. It is based on the bill as introduced, and a supplementary one may follow if Parliament amends the bill.
- Explanatory statement
- The equivalent document for a legislative instrument. There are three types: initial, replacement and supplementary. An initial statement must explain the instrument's purpose and operation and describe any consultation undertaken.
- Exposure draft
- A draft of a bill released for comment before it is introduced to Parliament. The Office of Impact Analysis says legislation should usually go through an exposure draft process, released close to finalisation but with time left for stakeholders to give feedback.
- First reading
- The point at which a bill is formally introduced into a house. Usually a parliamentary Clerk reads the bill's long title.
- Gazette
- An official publication of notices that law requires to be published. The Commonwealth of Australia Gazette has been published electronically only since 1 October 2012 and is available through the Federal Register of Legislation. State and territory gazettes appear on their own governments' websites.
- Green paper
- A discussion document that sets out issues and options before a government settles its position. The Office of Impact Analysis describes green papers as “policy options papers” and says one should be released early, before a preferred option is locked in.
- Hansard
- The official written transcript of parliamentary debates. Senate estimates hearings are recorded by Hansard too.
- Impact analysis
- A document prepared for a regulatory proposal that assesses the costs and benefits of the options and records the consultation undertaken. It was formerly called a regulation impact statement. The Australian Government Impact Analysis Framework took effect on 1 July 2026, and its default format is a short Dashboard Impact Analysis.
- Incorporated material
- A document an instrument includes by referring to it instead of reproducing its text, so that it binds as if it were written in the instrument. While an instrument is open to disallowance, either house can require the incorporated documents to be made available for inspection.
- Legislative instrument
- A detailed law made under a power that Parliament has delegated, such as a regulation, rule or determination. It must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation and tabled in Parliament. Most can be disallowed and are subject to sunsetting.
- Notifiable instrument
- A kind of instrument made under an Act that Parliament can't disallow and that doesn't sunset. Commencement instruments, which only bring other laws into force, have been registered as notifiable instruments since March 2016.
- Private member's bill
- A bill put forward by a member of the House of Representatives other than a minister. When a senator other than a minister introduces one, it is a private senator's bill.
- Proclamation
- A formal declaration made under legal authority that takes legal effect. A Commonwealth proclamation is made by the Governor-General and registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. Some proclamations only set the date on which an Act or provision commences.
- Regulation
- A law made under the authority of an Act. Most Commonwealth regulations are legislative instruments.
- Royal Assent
- The Governor-General's formal approval of a bill that both houses have passed. It makes the bill an Act.
- Second reading
- The stage at which the main idea of a bill is explained in a speech, then debated and voted on.
- Select committee
- A committee appointed to look into one particular matter and report on it. It usually ends once it has reported.
- Senate estimates
- Public hearings in which Senate committees question ministers and senior public servants about government spending. Eight Senate committees run them, usually several times a year, and questions that can't be answered on the spot are taken on notice.
- Standing committee
- A committee with an ongoing brief in one subject area. It stays in place for the term of a Parliament, rather than being set up for a single inquiry, and can look at bills and other issues in that area.
- Sunsetting
- The automatic repeal of a legislative instrument after a fixed period. Most Commonwealth legislative instruments are repealed on the first 1 April or 1 October on or after the tenth anniversary of their registration, unless they are exempt, deferred or kept in force by a house.
- Tabling
- Formally presenting a document to a house of Parliament during its proceedings. Commonwealth legislative instruments must be tabled within 6 sitting days of registration.
- Third reading
- The final vote on a bill in a house, taken once any amendments have been dealt with. Debate can continue even after it.
- White paper
- A paper that sets out a government's settled policy on a significant topic. An archived 1995 New South Wales Premier's memorandum described it that way. Commonwealth guidance names white papers without defining them.
Questions
What is the difference between an explanatory memorandum and an explanatory statement?
An explanatory memorandum explains a bill. An explanatory statement explains a legislative instrument. Both describe the purpose and operation of the document they accompany.
What is the difference between an Act and a legislative instrument?
An Act is a law passed by both houses and given Royal Assent. A legislative instrument is a detailed law made under a power that Parliament has delegated, usually by a minister or agency, which is registered and tabled in Parliament.
What is the difference between a green paper and a white paper?
A green paper sets out issues and options for discussion. A white paper sets out a government's settled policy on a topic, as an archived 1995 New South Wales Premier's memorandum described it.
Sources
- Glossary (opens in a new tab), Federal Register of Legislation, Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Gazettes (opens in a new tab), Federal Register of Legislation, Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Legislation Act 2003 (Compilation No. 39, 24 February 2019) (opens in a new tab), Federal Register of Legislation, Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Compilation No. 39, 28 March 2026) (opens in a new tab), Federal Register of Legislation, Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Glossary (opens in a new tab), Parliamentary Education Office. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Senate estimates (opens in a new tab), Parliamentary Education Office. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- The usual path of a bill (opens in a new tab), Parliamentary Education Office. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- The Australian Constitution online: Part V, Powers of the Parliament (opens in a new tab), Parliamentary Education Office. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Guidance on Caretaker Conventions (December 2024) (opens in a new tab), Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Best practice consultation (guidance note, July 2023) (opens in a new tab), Office of Impact Analysis, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Framework key changes over time (opens in a new tab), Office of Impact Analysis, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Australian Government Impact Analysis Framework: new framework page (opens in a new tab), Office of Impact Analysis, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Guide to the legislation process (opens in a new tab), Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Merger Notification Thresholds (consultation paper, 30 August 2024) (opens in a new tab), The Treasury. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
- Premier's Memorandum M1995-35, Government Policy Papers (archived and superseded) (opens in a new tab), NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet. Read on 20 Oct 2026.
AI-generated summaries. Verify against the official source. Not legal advice.