How to look up legislation
This page provides a basic overview of how to look up an act, regulation or local law. It focuses on how to find Commonwealth and Victorian legislation using resources that are available free through the internet.
Below are instructions for finding:
Acts & Regulations
What is an Act of Parliament?
An Act is a written law made by the Parliament. An Act can be called a 'statute' or 'legislation'. Acts are divided into numbered sections.
Example: Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic)
In this example the year '2010' is the year the Act was first passed by Parliament. The '(Vic)' means that this is a Victorian law. Section 20 of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) is sometimes written in shorthand as 's 20'.
What are Regulations?
The Parliament can delegate (give away) some of its law-making power under an Act. Many Acts authorise someone other than the Parliament (such as the Governor-General or a local council) to make laws on specific matters.
Laws made under delegation are usually called 'regulations'. They can also be called 'delegated legislation', 'legislative instruments', 'rules', 'ordinances' or 'by-laws.'
Example: The Commonwealth Parliament created the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) to govern the law of privacy in Australia. Section 100 of the Privacy Act gives the Governor-General power to make regulations on privacy law. Using that authority, the Governor-General created regulations that flesh out requirements of the Act - the Privacy (Private Sector) Regulations 2001 (Cth).
For information on how to find Acts or Regulations, go to:
Bills & Explanatory Memorandum
What is a Bill?
A Bill is a draft Act of Parliament. To become an Act, a Bill must pass both Houses of Parliament and receive Royal Assent from the Governor (at the State level) or the Governor-General (at the Commonwealth level).
As a Bill is a draft of an Act, its text is set out in much the same way as an Act, with the provisions numbered (these are referred to as clauses). Most bills are issued with an explanatory memorandum, which explains the content and purpose of the bill. For more information on how Bills become Acts, go to:
For information about how to find Bills or Explanatory Memorandum, go to:
Local laws
What are local laws?
Local laws are laws made by local government or municipal councils. They are a form of delegated legislation and are often called 'by-laws'. Local laws of interest to community organisations may include laws on food safety, fundraising and running community events.
Local laws only apply within a particular municipality (local council area). This means that the local laws may vary from council to council. Generally, there is a lot of similarity between the local laws of different councils.
A council must advertise any local laws that it intends to make and must consider any public submissions it receives about the local law before its implementation. Copies of all of a council's local laws must be available for public inspection and/or purchase at the council offices. Generally, a local law lasts for 10 years and must be renewed after that time to remain valid.
For information about how to find local laws, go to: