{"id":5599,"date":"2025-09-05T06:04:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T06:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/?page_id=5599"},"modified":"2025-09-05T06:28:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T06:28:32","slug":"legislation-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/legislation-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Legislation and Compliance<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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How Australian Law Works<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnderstanding how Australian law works helps individuals, professionals, and organisations\u2014including those working with animals\u2014know their rights, responsibilities, and the systems that govern society.<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Three Arms of Government<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Australia\u2019s legal system is based on the separation of powers between three key institutions:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Arm<\/th>\nRole<\/th>\nExample<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Parliament\n(Legislative)<\/td>\nMakes and changes the laws<\/td>\nPassing Acts like the Companion Animals Act 1998 (NSW)<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Executive\n(Government)<\/td>\nAdministers and enforces laws<\/td>\nGovernment departments and councils implementing animal laws<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Judiciary\n(Courts)<\/td>\nInterprets and applies the law<\/td>\nCourts ruling on whether a law was broken or how it applies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This separation ensures checks and balances in how laws are made, applied, and reviewed.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Levels of Government<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Australia is a federation, which means that power is shared between:<\/span><\/p>

  • Federal (Commonwealth) Government \u2013 handles national issues (e.g. defence, immigration, taxation)<\/li>
  • State and Territory Governments \u2013 handle areas like animal welfare, education, health, and policing<\/li>
  • Local Government \u2013 responsible for local implementation (e.g. council-run pounds)<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    When State and Federal Law Conflict<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    If a valid federal law conflicts with a state law, Section 109 of the Australian Constitution says the federal law takes precedence, and the state law is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.<\/span><\/p>

    However, because animal law is not a federal power, it remains under state and territory jurisdiction. The federal government cannot override these laws unless the Constitution is amended or all states and territories voluntarily agree to adopt uniform legislation\u2014such as in areas like consumer law and workplace health and safety (WHS), where laws remain state-based but are harmonised nationally.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Sources of Law in Australia<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    1. The Constitution
      Outlines the powers and structure of government. It defines which topics the federal government can legislate on, with anything not listed usually falling to the states.

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    2. Statute Law (Legislation)
      Laws made by parliament. These are the main rules that govern society, e.g. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW)

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    3. Regulations and Subordinate Legislation
      Detailed rules made under Acts. These explain how laws operate in practice and often include standards, offences, and enforcement procedures, e.g. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulation 2012 (NSW)<\/i> and related animal welfare codes.

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    4. Common Law (Case Law)
      Law made by judges through decisions in court cases. These legal principles can set precedents that apply in future similar cases, e.g. Mulligan v Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 130<\/i>.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      How Laws Change<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLaws can be changed at both state and federal levels through different processes:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Type<\/th>\nHow it Changes<\/th>\nExample<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
      Acts (Statutes)<\/td>\nAmended or repealed through parliament<\/td>\nPrevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW)<\/i> updated to strengthen enforcement powers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Regulations<\/td>\nModified by government departments, often after consultation<\/td>\nPrevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations 2012 (NSW)<\/i> were introduced to accompany the Act<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Common Law<\/td>\nChanges through new court decisions or higher court appeals<\/td>\nCourt interprets or clarifies statute, e.g. Mulligan v Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 130<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      The Constitution<\/td>\nRequires a referendum (majority of voters in a majority of states)<\/td>\nE.g. 1967 referendum allowed federal laws for Aboriginal people<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Case Study: NSW Animal Management Framework<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Type<\/th>\nDocument<\/th>\nRole<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
      Legislation<\/td>\nCompanion Animals Act 1998 (NSW)<\/i><\/td>\nMain law covering pet registration, dog control, dangerous dogs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Regulation<\/td>\nCompanion Animals Regulation 2018 (NSW)<\/i><\/td>\nAdds detail about microchipping, fines, signage, administration<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Operational Guidelines<\/td>\nCodes of Practice<\/td>\nSupport law enforcement and set industry expectations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Enforcement<\/td>\nLocal councils and the Office of Local Government<\/td>\nCarry out inspections, issue penalties, maintain registers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nLooking for specific laws on animal welfare, management, public access etc? Check out our resources as part of our free membership.<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Legislation and Compliance How Australian Law Works Understanding how Australian law works helps individuals, professionals, and organisations\u2014including those working with animals\u2014know their rights, responsibilities, and the systems that govern society. The Three Arms of Government Australia\u2019s legal system is based on the separation of powers between three key institutions: Arm Role Example Parliament (Legislative) Makes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5599","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5599"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5605,"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5599\/revisions\/5605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}