Legislation Applied to Norfolk Island
The Norfolk Island Regional Council operates under an applied version of NSW Local Government legislation, the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW)(NI). The most current version of this Act can be viewed on the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts website.
Some other pieces of NSW legislation have been extended to Norfolk Island such as: the Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW)(NI), the Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW)(NI), the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW)(NI) and, the Health Services Act 1997 (NSW)(NI).
Periodically, the Commonwealth will make compilations of NSW laws applied to Norfolk Island. This is done by including the amendments made for Norfolk Island by the Norfolk Island Applied Laws Ordinance 2016 (Cth) to the text of the NSW law. Compilations of such applied laws are accurate at the time they are made and will not include any subsequent amendments made after the compilation date.
Norfolk Island Issued Legislation
The Norfolk Island Government (1979 - 2015) had the power to set laws for Norfolk Island; the majority of this legislation continues to remain in effect and is available to view on the Federal Register.
Historical Norfolk Island legislation as it stood pre-June 2015 is available on Council's website here.
Federal Legislation in Norfolk Island
The Norfolk Island Act 1979 (Cth) and sub-ordinate regulations still apply to Norfolk Island.
Significant changers were made to the Norfolk Island Act in 2015, these changes came in effect through the Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Act 2015 (Cth).
The Federal Minister can make Ordinances and Instruments for Norfolk Island, these are available on the Federal Register.
The Norfolk Island Act 1979 (Cth) states that, unless otherwise specified, Federal legislation extends to Norfolk Island.
An example of Federal Legislation that specifically excludes Norfolk Island is the Federal GST Act; Norfolk Island remains exempt from mainland Australian GST.
The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) is an example of Federal Legislation that does extend to Norfolk island.
Helpful Links
Information regarding legislative changes proposed and/or made by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, including current consultations can be found on their website.
