Understanding and Decoding Legislation

Overview

If you’re working in government, then you are probably working with Acts and regulations. There are over 500 pieces of legislation administered by the public sector in Queensland alone. Deciphering what an Act of Parliament means can be a complex and frustrating task. If you want to immediately improve your understanding about how an Act is made and how an Act should be decoded, then this course is for you.

Course Content

The course content includes a discussion about the power of statute law, how statutes are made, and how statute law interacts with case law. It also focuses on the types on statutes that are made, when they commence, what is part of a statute and how the standard and quality of statute law is maintained through key Parliamentary committees. It covers the difficulties involved in drafting and interpreting legislation and provides a summary of the approaches that have been developed by both judges and Parliament to overcome these difficulties. Throughout the course, references to statutes used by relevant government agencies are made to illustrate key points, and participants are encouraged to discuss specific issues that they face.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course attendees should be able to:

• understand how an Act is made and structured
• read and deal with an Act confidently
• understand legislation reform
• know where to seek further and more detailed information

Benefits to your organisation

• efficient and effective reforms of legislation
• broadened understanding of how your department's legislation fits within a whole-of-government framework
• improved staff motivation and competence

Benefits to you

• improved understanding of how legislation is made and structured
• increased confidence in reading and dealing with an Act
• more knowledge of where to seek further and more detailed information relating to legislation reform