parliamentary counsel’s office

New South Wales

Parliamentary

Counsel’s

Office

Annual Report2004–2005

Parliamentary Counsel’s OfficeLevel 12 Goodsell Building

8–12 Chifley Square

Sydney NSW 2000

Postal addressGPO Box 4191

Sydney NSW 2001

DXDX 1272, Sydney

Telephone(02) 9228 7139

Fax(02) 9232 4796

[email protected]

URLwww.pco.nsw.gov.au

www.legislation.nsw.gov.au

Business hours8.30 am – 5.30 pm

Monday to Friday

[Special arrangements apply on

days when Parliament is sitting]

Published by the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office

New South Wales Government

October 2005

ISSN 1039 0839

Contents

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Contents

Director-General’s letter to the Minister 4

Parliamentary Counsel’s letter to the Director-General, The Cabinet Office 5

Mission statement 6

Overview of 2004–2005 6

Key statistics 6

History, structure and services 7#History and establishment #Structure and organisation #W ork organisation andgroups #Organisation chart #Services provided #Functions and key objectives#Stakeholders

Report of operations 2004–2005 10#Legislative drafting #Legislative publishing #Advice and information #Electronicservice delivery and Internet access #Corporate services #Challenges and problemareas

Management and customer service improvement 15#Quality control, professional standards and plain language #Performancemeasurement and review

Personnel, EEO and workplace reform 18#Senior Executive Service report #Code of Conduct #Personnel information#Occupational health and safety #EEO outcomes summary #Disability Action Plan#Ethnic Affairs Priorities Statem ent #Spokeswomen’s Program #W orkplace reform

Miscellaneous management matters and reporting requirements 23#Committees and directorships #Consultants #Contractors #Consumer response#Contracting and Marketing Test Policy #Economic factors #Government EnergyManagem ent Policy #Grants to comm unity organisations #Guarantee of Service#Issues raised by Auditor-General #Land disposals #Legal changes #Legislationadministered #Major assets #Major works #Overseas travel #Overseas visitors#Payment of accounts #Privacy Management Plan #Research and development#Risk m anagem ent #State records #Subsidiary organisations #W aste Reductionand Purchasing Policy (WRAPP)

Financial statements 29

Appendices 1 Bills introduced or formally exposed 47

2 Principal statutory rules gazetted 51

3 Perform ance measurem ent and targets 53

4 Personnel and EEO statistical information 59

5 Publications 63

6 Freedom of Information Statement 66

Guarantee of Service and Contact Directory 69

Index 71

Parliamentary Counsel’s Office Annual Report 2004–2005

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Director-General’s letter to the Minister

Dear Premier

I am pleased to forward to you the 2004–2005 Annual Report for the Parliamentary Counsel’s Officefor presentation to Parliament. I am forwarding it to you in the exercise of my Department Headfunctions in relation to the Office.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the Annual Reports (Departments) Act 1985 andincludes the financial statement prepared in accordance with the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983and the statement of affairs required by the Freedom of Information Act 1989.

Yours sincerely

Roger B WilkinsDirector-GeneralThe Cabinet Office

Dated: 31 October 2005

Letters

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Parliamentary Counsel’s letter to the Director-General, The CabinetOffice

Dear Mr Wilkins

I am pleased to present to you the 2004–2005 Annual Report for the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.

I believe that the Office has performed very well during the year, which witnessed the customarystrong demands on our core drafting and publishing services.

The comprehensive range of programs provided by the Office were maintained, all key performancetargets were met, and I consider that the Office operated at the highest levels of timeliness andquality.

The Office’s IT systems have been enhanced and now enable draft legislation, and updated NSWlegislation on the Internet, to be produced more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Thesesystems are in the process of being further developed to provide additional and improved products.

I commend to you the performance of the staff of the Office. They have continued to demonstrateunrivalled expertise, commitment and professionalism.

Yours sincerely

Don ColagiuriParliamentary Counsel

Dated: 28 October 2005


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Mission statementTo provide the Government with a comprehensive and integrated range of high quality services forthe drafting and development of legislation, the publication of legislation, and the giving of adviceand information about legislation.

Overview of 2004–2005

The overall workloads and demands for theOffice’s services were very similar to those ofrecent years.

The number of Bills drafted and introduced(including amendments in committee) wasslightly less than the previous year. However,the number of pages drafted increased byalmost six per cent, reflecting the size andcomplexity of the legislation drafted this year.

There was a decrease in the overall number ofstatutory instruments and environmentalplanning instruments dealt with but this wasbalanced by an increase in the number ofcomplex and very large planning instruments,instead of the higher volume of simpleamending instruments in previous years.

The other key drafting programs conducted bythe Office, the Statute Law Revision and StagedRepeal of Subordinate Legislation Programs,involved similar workloads and outputs torecent years.

A trend noted in last year’s report and one thathas continued is the extensive consultation thatnow occurs during the process of drafting Billsand other statutory instruments. It is noted thattwice as many instruments were exposed thanthe previous year, with the number of pagesdrafted for exposure increasing threefold. Thestatistics maintained by the Office have notshown much change over the years in thenumber of instruments drafted, but it is clearthat the drafting process is tending tocommence at an earlier stage and involve moreexploratory drafts and revision work, althoughthe volume of this additional work is hard toquantify.

The formalised after-hours service onparliamentary sitting nights by drafting andeditorial staff was maintained.

The editorial and publishing work of the Officeis directly affected by the volume of legislationdrafted and passed. Similarly, this volumeaffects the amount of work required to maintain

the electronic database of NSW legislation(which feeds the legislation website), theReprints Program, and the information guidesand tables compiled by the Office.

The higher target for turnaround times foradding new material to the NSW legislationwebsite was met with material now being addedwithin three days of assent or gazettal instead offive days. The legislation website is nowattracting an average of over 3,500 visits daily,an increase of nearly 50% since last year. Anew IT project to provide greater automation ofoffice processes and further enhance the onlinedelivery of legislation commenced during theyear and system development is underway.

The structure, function and organisation of theOffice did not change significantly during theyear. Staffing levels fell to their lowest level inmany years but returned to more normal levelsby the end of the reporting year. Recruitmentactivities were directed toward successionplanning to build drafting strength inpreparation for the retirement of experienceddrafting staff in the next five to ten years.

The net cost of services was only one per centhigher than the previous year, despite theincreases in staff salaries during the year. Thiswas due to a combination of the drop in staffinglevels during the year and the Office’s carefulmanagement of non-salary expenditure.

Key statistics03–04 04–05

Bills introduced into Parliament 161 131

Amendments in committee

drafted 380 325

Parliamentary sitting days 67 55

Regulations and otherinstruments drafted 837 814

Environmental planninginstruments drafted 564 480

Pages of reprints published 10,082 10,272

Average staff number (EFT) 45.2 47.5

Net cost of services $6.28m $6.34m

Note. Comprehensive 5-year workflow figures andperformance targets appear in Appendix 3 at p 53.

History, structure and services

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History and establishment

The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office derivesfrom the institution set up by the firstpermanent Parliamentary Draftsman over 125years ago. A detailed history and chronology ofParliamentary Draftsmen/Counsel is reproducedon the Office’s corporate website.

In 1991, the Parliamentary Counsel’s Officebecame a separate Administrative Office,reporting to the Premier through theDirector-General of The Cabinet Office. Thiswas effected by proclamations under theConstitution Act 1902 and the Public SectorManagement Act 1988, published 28 June 1991.

Structure and organisation

The Parliamentary Counsel is responsible forthe efficient operation of the Office and theDirector-General of The Cabinet Officeexercises Department Head functions.Approximately half of the staff of the Office arelegislative drafters and the balance includeseditorial, administrative and other support staff.The organisation chart on p 8 sets out theOffice’s structure and distribution of staff (for aprofile of Senior Executive Service (SES)positions see p 59).

Work organisation and groups

The executive staff and legal officers areprincipally involved in the drafting anddevelopment of legislation and in providing therange of legal and administrative servicesassociated with these activities.

The clerical staff is divided into five looselydefined groups with a number ofcomplementary functions:• The Administrative Support Group

provides administrative and executivesupport services to the Office.

• The Database Group compiles andmaintains the Legislation Database,ensuring material is captured and updatedon a continuing basis.

• The Editorial Group checks and proofsdraft legislation. It also compiles tablesand ancillary publications and deals withthe majority of the telephone calls ande-mails received on the LegislationInformation Hotline Service.

• The IT Support Group maintains anddevelops the Office’s computer systemsand provides technological support andtraining to staff.

• The Reprints Group produces hard copyreprints of legislation (Acts andsubordinate legislation).

Staff from all Groups provide editorial servicesduring periods of peak workloads. Emphasis isplaced on flexibility and multi-skilling, so thatteams can be constituted or reconstituted tomeet special or urgent needs. Special care istaken to ensure that the work of each team orgroup is fully integrated with the work of otherteams and groups. The Office’s structures, bothformal and informal, are designed to ensureeffective and timely delivery of services.

In addition to the five main work groups, theposition of Quality Assurance Managerindependently monitors the entire range ofpaper and electronic publications produced bythe Office to ensure that editorial qualitystandards are maintained.


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Organisation chart

As at 30 June 2005


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Services provided

Legislative drafting• Drafting the written law of the State for the

Government (Bills for Acts andregulations).

• Providing advice and assistance to theGovernment concerning legislativeproposals and assisting in the developmentand determination of legislative policy.

• Drafting amendments in committee for theGovernment.

• Drafting Bills and amendments incommittee for non-Government Membersof Parliament in accordance witharrangements approved by the Governmentfrom time to time.

• Co-ordinating and drafting new statutoryinstruments for the Staged Repeal ofSubordinate Legislation Program under theSubordinate Legislation Act 1989.

• Preparing explanatory notes for the writtenlaw.

• Drafting and settling environmentalplanning instruments.

• Drafting and settling rules of court.• Providing opinions as to the legality of

proposed subordinate legislation andenvironmental planning instruments.

• Assisting in the management andco-ordination of the Government’slegislative program.

• Producing documents for the legislativeprocess and providing advice and assistanceabout this process.

• Providing documents to implementlegislative and administrative change.

• Drafting uniform or complementaryAustralian legislation and participating inthe work of the Australasian ParliamentaryCounsel’s Committee.

• Co-ordinating and contributing to theStatute Law Revision Program.

• Preparing draft legislation for the LawReform Commission.

Legislative publishing• Providing a complete legislation publishing

service to Parliament that is integrated withthe drafting of Bills, the passage of Billsthrough Parliament and the presentation ofBills to the Governor for Royal Assent.

• Publishing and maintaining the LegislationDatabase on the Internet(www.legislation.nsw.gov.au).

• Publishing electronic and hard copyinformation publications about legislation.

• Producing camera-ready copy and data toenable the printing and distribution of:< new written laws (Acts and subordinate

legislation).< reprinted and updated written laws.< publications containing information

relating to written laws.• Providing source data for legislation.

Advice and information• Providing legal and administrative advice to

the Government.• Carrying out research relevant to the

Office’s role in the processes of drafting,reviewing and renewing the written law.

• Compiling, developing and maintaining acomprehensive Legislation Database.

• Developing methods for distributinginformation from, and providing access to,the Legislation Database.

• Compiling and developing legislationinformation publications.

• Providing a Legislation Information HotlineService to the Government and the public(telephone hotline and e-mail).

A copy of the Office’s Guarantee of Serviceand Contact Directory is included in this reportat p 69.

Functions and key objectives

The functions and key objectives of theOffice correspond exactly with the serviceslisted above. A more detailed descriptionof these features is included in the Office’sCorporate Plan, printed copies of which areavailable on request. The Plan is alsopublished on the Office’s corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au).

Stakeholders

The principal client of the PCO is theGovernment, including Ministers of the Crownand Government agencies of all kinds. Its otherclients include Parliament, individual Membersof Parliament, and the public.


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Report of operations 2004–2005

Legislative drafting

BillsThe volume of Bills drafted and introducedwas less than that of recent years. However,performance levels were impacted on by thenumber of large, complex items of legislationintroduced, indicated by the number of pagesof Bills introduced, which was consistent withthat of recent years.

Major Bills and packages of Bills drafted andintroduced included legislation dealing with:• Environmental planning and assessment

(infrastructure and other planning reforms).• Civil proceedings in NSW courts (and

uniform court rules).• Uniform regulation of the legal profession.• Brigalow legislation.

A total of 108 Government Bills wereintroduced during the reporting period. Forreasons of confidentiality only those Billsintroduced into Parliament or formally exposedare reported in detail. However, a number ofBills were completed but not proceeded with,or were in the course of preparation, at 30 June2005.

The Office continued to provide a completedrafting service for non-Government Membersof Parliament. Twenty-three non-GovernmentBills were introduced and a similar numberwere in the completed or advanced categoriesat the end of the reporting period. This isremarkably consistent with the number of non-Government Bills drafted and introduced ineach of the last four years. The number ofnon-Government amendments in committeedrafted was 220, which is the lowest numberfor five years. This reduction is entirely afeature of the political landscape. Non-Government drafting work also inevitablycoincides with the busiest part of theParliamentary sittings.

Where practicable, Bill drafting work was doneon a collegiate basis using small draftingteams. Draft Bills continued to be scrutinisedby the Bill Review Group, using a qualitycontrol process initiated several years ago. AllBills received comprehensive editorial checks.In addition, the practice of subjecting all Bills

to a final pre-print check by a legal officer notinvolved in the drafting of the Bill wasmaintained. A new position of QualityAssurance Manager was created in 2002 andthis position also checked all Bills prior tointroduction to Parliament. These intensivequality control systems remained in placedespite the frequently tight deadlines.

The nature of the Parliamentary sittings,particularly the volume of requests foramendments in committee and for reprints ofBills actually amended, required the Office tomaintain a formal after-hours service on sittingnights. Senior drafting staff and support staffwere rostered on duty until Parliament hadrisen for the day or until it was clear that theOffice’s services were no longer required andany urgent drafting or printing work needed forthe next morning had been completed.

Note. A complete list of all Bills introduced orformally exposed appears at p 47 and 5-yearcomparative tables for Bills and amendments incommittee appear at p 53 in Appendix 3. Details ofthe non-Government drafting service are containedin the Manual for the Drafting of Non-GovernmentLegislation, published by the Office. The Bill reviewand other quality control processes are described atp 15.

Standing Committee on Legislation

The Cabinet Standing Committee onLegislation streamlines the process of finalisingand programming the introduction of Bills. TheCommittee consists of four Ministers: theLeader of the House in the LegislativeAssembly, the Leader of the Government in theLegislative Council, the Attorney General, andthe Special Minister of State. TheParliamentary Counsel attends meetings of theCommittee as an adviser and briefs it on thestatus of draft Bills. The Committee met on 38occasions during the reporting period.

The role of the Committee is to clear Bills thathave been drafted largely in conformity withCabinet’s in-principle approval. This processhelps ensure the more efficient operation ofCabinet by removing the need for Cabinet torevisit legislative proposals that it haspreviously approved. As a rule, all Bills are thesubject of a report by the ParliamentaryCounsel that states whether the Bill has beendrafted in accordance with Cabinet’s approval.


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The Committee clears Bills that have beendrafted largely in conformity with Cabinet’sin-principle approval, but those that containsignificant differences are referred to the fullCabinet for consideration.

Statute Law Revision Program

Two Statute Law Bills were introduced andpassed during the reporting period. These Billsamended 447 Acts and instruments andrepealed 79 Acts and instruments. The Programhas been in place for 20 years and is generallyaccepted as an effective and economical meansof dealing with house-keeping and minoramendments.

The Program has three aspects. The first is themaking of amendments of a purely statute lawrevision nature, sponsored by the Office. Thesecond is the making of minor, uncontroversialamendments, sponsored largely byDepartments and other agencies. The third isthe repeal of expired and other Acts, sponsoredlargely by the Office. The Office is responsiblefor co-ordinating the Program, in associationwith The Cabinet Office.

Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’s

Committee and uniform or

complementary legislation

The Committee consists of the heads of thelegislative drafting offices of all Australianjurisdictions and also of New Zealand. Itprovides a forum for the preparation of uniformor complementary legislation, the promotion ofconsistent styles of legislation in Australia andNew Zealand, and the exchange of ideas. TheNSW Parliamentary Counsel is the currentSecretary of the Committee, which met on fouroccasions during the reporting period.

A significant amount of uniform andcomplementary legislation was completed orprogressed during the reporting periodincluding provisions relating to defamation,national legal profession model laws, consumercredit code legislation and national electricitylaws.

Statutory instrumentsThe number of statutory instruments draftedduring the reporting period was slightly lessthan the previous year. Of the 814 statutoryinstruments drafted (including proclamationsand orders), 73% were completed within 20

working days of receipt of instructions. Theseturnaround times are within the Office’stargets.

Statistics for statutory instruments draftedduring the year are provided at p 54 and a listof the principal statutory rules gazetted appearsin Appendix 2 at p 51.

Rules of court

The statutory rules drafted by the Officeinclude rules of court for the Supreme Court,District Court, Local Court, Dust DiseasesTribunal, Industrial Relations Commission andWorkers Compensation Commission. In thereporting period, the Office also drafted newUniform Civil Procedure Rules for the SupremeCourt, District Court, Dust Diseases Tribunaland Local Court.

Tabling

The centralised scheme for notifyingParliament of regulations and other statutoryinstruments that require tabling continued tooperate efficiently and effectively. Under thesystem, the Office identifies those instrumentsthat are required to be tabled in Parliament andthat either House of Parliament may disallowand provides the necessary documents forParliament on a weekly basis.

Staged Repeal of SubordinateLegislation ProgramThe Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 providesfor the staged repeal of statutory rulesfollowing the fifth anniversary of their date ofpublication in the Gazette.

Stages 1–14 have been reported on in detail inprevious annual reports.

Stage 15 of the program was completed on1 September 2005. That stage dealt with 196statutory rules published before 1 September2000, including 93 statutory rules fromprevious stages that were grantedpostponements of repeal in those previousstages. The repeal of 84 statutory rules on1 September 2005 was postponed by an orderunder section 11 of the Subordinate LegislationAct 1989. Other legislation repealed a further15 of the 196 statutory rules. Of the remaining97 statutory rules, four had their repeal datesextended by amending legislation and the restwere repealed under the Act or by a


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replacement statutory rule. Only four of therepealed statutory rules were allowed to lapse.As some of the statutory rules to be remadewere combined or consolidated with existingstatutory rules, a total of 78 new statutory ruleswere made as part of Stage 15 of the program.

It is noted that the volume of subordinatelegislation has continued to decline since theinception of the program: from 976 instrumentscomprising approximately 15,000 pages as at1 July 1990 to 399 instruments comprising7,899 pages as at 1 September 2005.

Environmental planning instrumentsThe Office drafts or settles environmentalplanning instruments before they are madeunder the Environmental Planning andAssessment Act 1979. It also provides opinionson the legality of the instruments. They consistof State environmental planning policies,regional environmental plans and localenvironmental plans (LEPs).

The overall number of instruments completedhas been declining in recent years and therewas a reduction in the number of instrumentscompared with previous reporting periods.However, the number of complex or very largeplans has been increasing at the expense of thehigh volume but smaller amending plans thatonce predominated.

75% of these instruments were completedwithin 20 working days of receipt ofinstructions, which is within the Office’s targetfor this program. Additional statistics showingthe number of opinions given and turnaroundtimes appear at p 55.

The planning reforms introduced by theEnvironmental Planning and AssessmentAmendment (Infrastructure and OtherPlanning Reform) Act 2005 are expected toimpact on the Office’s LEP drafting program inthe future. The Act provides for thestandardisation of local environmental planninginstruments to ensure greater consistency andto reduce the time required to prepare newLEPs. These reforms also provide for a stagedrepeal and remaking of existing instrumentsthat do not meet the new standard format. Untilthe standard instrument process is fully

implemented the drafting of new standardinstruments will increase the volume of LEPsdrafted.

Legislative publishing

Publishing services reflect the volume of Billsand statutory rules drafted during the year andthe Office’s reprinting program. It is clear thatInternet access and the increasing use ofelectronic copies of Bills and other legislativepublications will continue to reduce the amountof traditional printing. The development ofInternet publishing is described on pp 13, 16.

BillsThe Office publishes Bills for introduction intoParliament and republishes them if they areamended during the Parliamentary process.Bills released as exposure drafts are alsoproduced by the Office. During the year, theseactivities required the production of over 4,000original pages. The volume of Bills thatrequired reprinting following amendment incommittee was substantial (15 of the 131 Billsintroduced) and the production deadlines forthese second prints were generally only a fewhours. In addition, 22 of the 90 vellumsproduced required the incorporation ofamendments. The original pages for Bills andamended Bills were used by the Office’sin-house printing facility to produce over444,000 impressions for Parliament. All Billswere published on time and, as a result ofstringent quality control checks, were free fromsignificant printing errors. Additional statisticson this activity appear at p 55.

Statutory instrumentsThe Office produces typeset-quality proofs ofinstruments, which are then generally submittedto the Executive Council. The Office transmitsthe approved instruments electronically toNSW Government Advertising and Informationfor publication in the Gazette. It then extractsthe instruments from the Gazette and producesindividual pamphlet copies of them.

A total of 625 instruments were published asseparate pamphlets and were provided to NSWGovernment Advertising and Information,within one week of gazettal.


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ReprintsThis has been a consistently high volumeprogram for many years. An annual target of10,000 pages is set under the Office’sLegislation Reprinting Policy. A total of10,272 pages were produced in 2004–2005.Additional statistics on this activity appearat p 56.

Advice and information

Legal and administrative adviceIn addition to the advice provided to Ministersand Departments in the course of draftinglegislation, the Office provided major formaladvice on 93 separate matters during the year.Additional statistics on this activity appear atp 57.

Legislation DatabaseThe compilation of the Database has beendeveloped in conjunction with the Office’spublishing activities. NSW Acts andsubordinate legislation are captured on asystematic basis and stored in SGML formatand this process has been detailed in previousannual reports.

The process of capturing these instruments alsoentails keeping them up-to-date within threeworking days of any amendments coming intoeffect (new legislation is also captured withinthree working days). All superseded versionsare preserved so as to provide a point-in-timeresearch facility. The Legislation Database wasmaintained throughout the reporting period.This involved the maintenance of over:• 4,700 Acts• 2,400 statutory instruments• 1,400 environmental planning instrumentswhich includes historical and repealed versionsand represents just under 3,000 megabytes ofdata. The Database is directly accessible on-line and free-of-charge from the Office’slegislation website(www.legislation.nsw.gov.au).

Source data from the Legislation Databasecontinued to be made available to Governmentagencies and commercial publishers. A copy ofthe Legislation Database is also provided to theAustralasian Legal Information Institute(AustLII) for use on its free-access Internetservice. The Office provides a technical andeditorial advisory service to

Database customers. Additional statistics onthis activity appear at p 58.

Legislation information publicationsThe Office compiles the following legislationinformation publications, which it supplies toNSW Government Advertising and Informationto arrange mass production and distribution:• Monthly Acts Tables and Statutory

Instruments Tables.• Quarterly editions of the Legislation in

Force guide.• Status of Statutory Rules guide.• Annual Volumes of Statutes, Explanatory

Notes and Statutory Instruments.

These publications are described in Appendix 3at p 58 and Appendix 5 at pp 63–65 and areavailable on the Office’s corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au).

Legislation Information HotlineServiceThis service received over 1,600 enquiry callsand over 390 e-mail enquiries in 2004–2005.The information publications produced by theOffice, including its Guarantee of Service andContact Directory, carry details of this serviceand invite readers to seek assistance regardingthe commencement and status of NSWlegislation. The hotline service was extended toe-mail requests in 1997 and from June 2002 hasbeen integrated with the new legislationwebsite, which has significantly increased thevolume of inquiries.

Electronic service delivery andInternet access

Electronic Service DeliveryThe Office has fully complied with theGovernment’s policy in this area. Allappropriate publications and services areavailable on-line. In the case of up-to-date andhistorical versions of NSW legislation, thisservice is accessed via the Office’s legislationwebsite (www.legislation.nsw.gov.au) and forall other legislative publications and guidesincluding the Weekly Bulletin service—fromthe Office’s corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au).


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Weekly BulletinThis is an on-line and e-mail service, publishedon Friday afternoon, covering NSW legislativeevents that have occurred during the week. Itincludes:• Details of Bills introduced, amended or

passed by the NSW Parliament and Actsassented to by the Governor.

• Statutory instruments (regulations,proclamations, environmental planninginstruments etc) gazetted.

• Details of any Bills released for publicexposure purposes.

• Reprints of NSW legislation completed.• Legislation website events.

The service has proved to be very popular andhas over 1,600 subscribers.

External servicesIn addition to developing and maintaining itstwo websites, the Office provides electronicversions of all Bills introduced, reprinted orpassed to Parliament for publication on itswebsite. It also provides source data tocommercial publishers and Governmentagencies.

Corporate services

The Office carries out many of its corporatesupport functions but the high volume servicessuch as pay-roll, personnel records andpayment of accounts and some specialisedpersonnel and financial management serviceshave been, since 1 July 1996, provided by theCentral Corporate Services Unit of theDepartment of Commerce (CCSU) under aservice partnership arrangement.

Internal auditCCSU engages the Internal Audit Bureau(IAB) to audit its in-house operations tomaximise the efficiency and accuracy ofcorporate services provided to client agencies.The Office was previously a member ofCCSU’s Internal Audit Committee thatmonitored this process. However, CCSUchanged the structure of that committee inearly 2005 and the Office is no longerrepresented on the committee. The Office willinstead participate in a new series of forums tocommence in late 2006 that will includefeedback on the internal audit process. In the

past, the Office has engaged from time to timethe services of the IAB to audit some of itsin-house operations.

Challenges and problem areas

No new significant challenges or problemsarose during the year. Two challenging areasare maintaining the drafting capacity of theOffice and the effective harnessing of IT tosupport the core business of the Office.

Drafting and succession planning

A number of senior drafters have retired duringrecent years or are expected to retire in thecoming five years. A succession plan has beenin place for some time but the need to recruitand retain skilled drafters remains critical. Thelead time in training effective drafters is in theorder of seven years and there is a world-wideshortage in this highly specialised field. In2004–2005, the Office undertook entry andmid-level recruitment activities in order toaddress this challenge.

IT and the PAS Project

The Office has been funded to develop aprocess automation system (PAS) that builds onthe Legislative Drafting and Database System(LDDS) completed in 2002.

The PAS will automate and integrate theend-to-end business processes associated withdrafting and publishing legislation. This willinclude:• An electronic data management and

workflow system that is integrated with thenew SGML-based environment.

• A catalogue or repository of all items ofNSW legislation, which will provide a“cradle to the grave” legislation life-cyclemanagement system that can be used fortracking and to generate informationguides.

• Greater automation of work processes.• The enhancement of the on-line version of

legislation, leading to its officialauthorisation.

During the reporting period, the LegislationLifecycle and Job Management System (themain component of PAS) was put to tender andwork on the system development commenced.

Management and customer service improvement

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Quality control, professionalstandards and plain language

The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office is unusualin that all of its “products” are published andwidely available. Not only are the products(Acts, regulations etc) published in widelydistributed pamphlets, Government Gazettesand bound volumes, they are often of criticalimportance and subject to intense publicscrutiny. The products are also published on-line at the Office’s legislation website(www.legislation.nsw,gov.au) and sourcematerial from the Legislation Database is usedby many commercial publishers.

To ensure the highest levels of quality in termsof professional standards, accuracy andconsistency, the Office has developed acomprehensive review and quality controlprocess. For example, draft Bills are checkedby editorial and legal staff and thenexhaustively reviewed by the Bill ReviewGroup. Proofs of draft Bills are then fullyproofread and checked by editorial staffincluding the Quality Assurance Manager.(This position was created in 2002 anddesigned to constantly review all PCOpublications and provide a wider form ofquality assurance across the full range ofproducts.) A final check is performed prior tofinal printing by a member of the legal staffwho has not previously worked on the Bill.There are similar multiple checking proceduresused across the range of legislativepublications produced by the Office.

Bill Review GroupThis Group reviews draft Bills and any othercritical instruments. The review ensures thedrafting is of the highest quality and that theprinciples of plain language adopted by theOffice are applied to the maximum extentpossible.

The Group consists of the ParliamentaryCounsel, Deputy Parliamentary Counsel andAssistant Parliamentary Counsel. The Groupbrings an unrivalled depth of skill andexperience to legislative drafting projects andmakes a major contribution to the developmentof legislation, although it is acknowledged that

it is very demanding in terms of theparticipants’ time.

Training and performancemanagementAppropriate training is integral to thedevelopment and maintenance of professionalstandards and quality control processes.Training for legislative drafters is carried out attwo levels. The first is at a practical level andinvolves the collegiate system of drafting,under which junior officers receive on-the-jobtraining under the supervision of more seniorofficers. The second involves a moretheoretical approach, under which officersparticipate in external drafting conferences,in-house courses, or meetings involvingstructured reading and discussion. Meetings ofdrafting staff are held on a regular basis andprofessional development material is widelycirculated. This professional developmenttraining program has been recognised asmeeting the requirements for continuing legaleducation. Officers are also encouraged toparticipate in appropriate external trainingprograms.

Intensive training in new areas of technology isprovided to all staff. General management andspecialised training is provided to staff asappropriate.

All staff are subject to formal performancemanagement systems, involving performanceagreements and progress and annual reviews.The systems are kept under review and all staffare informed of any new developments.

Plain languageThe Office is fully committed to the principleof communicating the message of legislation inplain language. The Office has adopted thefollowing definition of plain language:

Plain language is clear intelligible English.It is not simplistic English. It does notinvolve any loss of precision.

Plain language is a characteristic of legislationnow expected by the community, and theOffice was one of the first Australian draftingoffices to make a formal commitment to its use.


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Also, the Office was the first in Australia touse gender-neutral language in all newlegislation. The process of removinggender-specific language from older items oflegislation was accelerated through the StatuteLaw Revision Program and was largelycompleted by the end of 1997.

The Office’s Plain Language Policy ispublished on the Office’s corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au) together with theOffice’s external manuals and policydocuments.

Training in plain language principles isprovided to staff and practical and theoreticalaspects of these principles are discussed instaff meetings and circulars.

A new print design was applied to all NSWlegislation in 1996 and has since beenmaintained and kept under review. The designmakes printed legislation more user-friendlyand easier to navigate and continues to attractfavourable responses. Key elements of theNSW design also appear in the redesign oflegislation in other jurisdictions, withinAustralia and overseas.

On-line servicesThe most significant customer serviceimprovement in recent years has been theprovision of on-line services.

The Weekly Bulletin e-mail service introducedin 1999 as the result of a customer request hasbeen an unqualified success and is beingemulated in other jurisdictions. The legislationwebsite has been operating since June 2002and is providing authoritative and up-to-dateaccess to NSW legislation to a much wideraudience than ever before. The traditionalpaper-based information guides and tables tolegislation are also now available on-line, freeof charge and distributed far more effectivelythan in the past. Customer input into thedevelopment of these services has been, and isexpected to continue to be, invaluable.

Performance measurement andreview

Monitoring and management plansThe Office maintains extensive tracking andrecords systems to measure and monitor thework it performs. These systems are built intothe Office’s Corporate Plan, which is reviewedand revised annually.

These monitoring systems are expected to beincorporated into a far more sophisticatedworkflow system to be developed in2005–2006 as part of the PAS projectdescribed on p 14.

Measurement and key performanceindicatorsThe Office aims to provide the Governmentand its other clients with timely and efficientservices at the highest possible levels of qualityand accuracy. The Office’s integrated draftingand publishing services are almost entirelydemand-driven, and the Office often plays onlya partial role in a larger process—it does notcontrol the inputs or outcomes in the legislativeprocess. This makes the development of simpleand meaningful performance indicators of aqualitative kind a particularly challenging task.

To ensure the efficient and timely delivery ofservices, the Office has well-establishedturnaround times and closely monitors andrecords workflow and activities. Theseperformance details are shown in 5-yearcomparative tables in Appendix 3 at p 53.

The structured, internal review andmulti-checking procedures described on p 15ensure the highest levels of quality andaccuracy. These quality control measures areenhanced by the breadth and depth ofprofessional and technical expertise that havebeen developed within the Office.

Few errors are found in NSW legislation or theancillary publications. The Office frequentlyreceives compliments and expressions ofappreciation for its work, suggesting a highlevel of customer satisfaction.


17

ReviewThe Office is continually reviewing its coreactivities and seeking more effectiveperformance measures. The main avenues forthis review work are through the Office’sinternal processes, through the Office’sinvolvement in the Australasian ParliamentaryCounsel’s Committee and in benchmarkingactivities that have been described in previousannual reports. The Committee (described onp 11) meets regularly and there are both formal

and informal discussions and exchanges ofinformation, comparing operational methodsand performance measurement. The Committeeestablished an Information Technology Forumin 1995. The Forum meets annually and isproviding an effective mechanism forexchanging technical information, seekingsolutions to common problems and evaluatingnew and emerging technology in the legislativedrafting and publishing fields.


18

Personnel, EEO and workplace reform

Senior Executive Service report

Senior Executive positionsA table showing a 5-year SES position profileappears in Appendix 4 at p 59. The names andqualifications of all SES staff as at 30 June2005 appear in the Office’s organisation chartat p 8.

As at 30 June 2005 one SES level 1 positionwas vacant.

Performance statementDon Colagiuri

Parliamentary Counsel (SES Level 6)Appointed Parliamentary Counsel on14 February 2001.

The Director-General has expressed hissatisfaction with Mr Colagiuri’s performanceof his responsibilities as ParliamentaryCounsel.

Mr Colagiuri has successfully met theperformance criteria contained in hisperformance agreement. These include theeffective management of the ParliamentaryCounsel’s Office and the provision oflegislative drafting, publishing and relatedservices. These services and the performanceof the Office are described elsewhere in thisReport.

All legislation required for the Governmentwas completed within the time frames set bythe Government’s legislative programs. Thehigh standards of drafting work associated withthe Office have been maintained.

Major achievements for the year have included:• a wide range of Bills drafted, including

many prepared to very short deadlines, anda number of items of significant and highlycomplex legislation, including legislationrelating to environmental planning andassessment (infrastructure and otherplanning reforms), uniform regulation ofthe legal profession, civil proceedings inNSW courts and uniform court rules andthe Brigalow legislation.

• the management of the drafting ofregulations, proclamations andenvironmental planning instruments,

including the drafting work arising fromthe Staged Repeal of SubordinateLegislation Program.

• the maintenance and further developmentof the source website for NSW legislation,which has greatly enhanced public accessto legislation.

Mr Colagiuri has ensured that all aspects of theOffice’s work have been carried out efficientlyand economically.

Executive remuneration reporting requirement:total remuneration package $283,993.

Code of Conduct

There has been no change to the Code ofConduct since it was reviewed and revised inApril 2004. Issues dealt with by the Code havebeen raised in staff meetings throughout thereporting period. The Code appears on theOffice’s corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au).

Personnel information

During the reporting period:• Sick leave taken amounted to an average of

5.8 days per employee.• Maternity leave was taken by one officer.• One workers compensation claim arose

(see occupational health and safety reporton p 19).

• Flexible work practices were maintained(see separate report on p 19).

• Recruitment activities are shown in thetable at p 60.

• As a result of the Crown Employees(Public Sector—Salaries 2004) Award,staff received a salary increase of 4% inJuly 2004.

• As a result of the determination by theStatutory and Other Offices RemunerationTribunal, SES staff received salaryincreases linked to individual performance.

• At 30 June 2005 the value of untakenrecreation leave was $404,118 and thevalue of untaken long service leave was$1,431,025.


19

• Electronic Self-Service (ESS) throughKiosk was made available to all staff,providing them with direct access to theirown personnel records.

• The Employee Assistance Programinitiated in 1996 was maintained.

Personnel and industrial relationspoliciesPersonnel policies and practices wereimplemented in conformity with public sectorrequirements.

Industrial relations policies and practiceswithin the Office accorded with the directionand guidance provided by the Office ofIndustrial Relations, Public EmploymentOffice, public sector requirements andGovernment policies.

No industrial disputes involving the Officearose during the year.

Detailed personnel statistics appear inAppendix 4 at p 59.

Flexible work practicesThe Office implemented its Flexible WorkPractices Policy in 1996 and this has beenreported on in detail since then. The policycovers the NSW public sector catalogue ofidentified flexible work practices and makes itclear that these are available subject to meetingthe operational and equity requirements of theOffice.

The following flexible work practices wereutilised during the reporting period:• Three members of staff worked part-time.• Four members of staff worked from home

for occasional days.• Family and Community Service leave

continued to be widely used and 21members of staff took this form of leave.

• Information on vacation care arrangementscontinued to be made available to staffwith young children.

• The Office continued its sponsorship of theNanbaree Child Care Centre.

• The modified flextime system, firstintroduced in 1996 as a pilot system, wasmaintained. The system provides staff withthe option of taking additional flexdays andgreater flexibility in the way that flextimeis accrued, stored and managed. It has

clearly reduced the number of unpaid hoursforfeited by some staff and has been verywell received by them.

Occupational health and safety

The Office maintained its active interest inmonitoring and improving occupational healthand safety (OH&S). The following events andactivities took place during the reportingperiod:• Three meetings of the Office’s

Occupational Health and Safety Committeewere held and all staff were consulted onissues to be raised and action arising fromthose meetings.

• Occupational health and safety issues wereregularly discussed at staff meetings.

• Close liaison was maintained with buildingmanagement in relation to office cleaning,repairs, airconditioning, lift maintenance,facade safety and security needs.

• New employee representatives wereelected to the OH&S Committee.

• Four Committee members completedaccredited OH&S training.

• All supervisors’ performance agreementscontinued to reflect OH&S responsibilitiesand targets.

• Formal OH&S induction procedurescontinued.

• Eye screening tests were offered to newstaff.

• Adjustments were made to severalworkstations and computer equipment toimprove ergonomic functions.

• Fire Warden training was held twice.• A building evacuation drill was held.• A new First Aid Officer was appointed and

trained.• No significant accidents occurred but there

was one workers compensation claimfollowing a minor incident. There were noearlier claims in progress and noprosecutions under the OccupationalHealth and Safety Act 2000.

EEO outcomes summary

The Office uses an Equal EmploymentOpportunity (EEO) Plan and reporting processbased on the model developed for use in smallagencies by the Office of Employment Equityand Diversity.


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The EEO outcomes are summarised below anddetailed EEO statistics are provided with otherpersonnel statistics in Appendix 4 at p 59 (seealso the reports on the following three pages).

Integration of EEO• The EEO principles and responsibilities

developed for the Office are incorporatedin the Corporate Plan and were reviewed in2004 in conjunction with the broaderreview of the Corporate Plan. The reviseddocuments were issued in July 2004 underthe Corporate Plan 2004–2008. They areavailable on request and are also publishedon the Office’s corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au).

• EEO target groups were represented on allinternal committees and all staff members,including those from EEO target groups,were given the opportunity to comment onoffice policies and procedures that weredeveloped or reviewed during the year.

• EEO issues were also raised at other staffmeetings throughout the year.

• As position descriptions and performanceagreements were reviewed or created theywere checked to ensure that they includedup-to-date EEO and relatedaccountabilities.

• The Spokeswomen’s Program continued tobe actively encouraged and theSpokeswoman was involved in a range ofactivities (see p 22 for further details).

Freedom from discrimination• Six people were recruited from outside the

Office during the reporting period. Fourwere from EEO target groups.

• Seven members of staff were promotedwithin the Office during the reportingperiod. Four were from EEO target groups.

• EEO target groups were represented on theOccupational Health and SafetyCommittee, Selection Committees andinternal IT working committees.

• As position descriptions, performanceagreements and recruitment advertisementswere reviewed or created, they werechecked to ensure that they were free ofdiscriminatory criteria.

• New supervisors received Merit Selectiontraining.

Implementation of EEO measures• The majority of training opportunities were

taken by EEO target group members, aswere the opportunities to act in higherpositions (5 out of 9).

• Special training and workplace adjustmentswere made for staff with disabilities orother special needs (see separate report,p 21).

• The Disability Action Plan continued to bereflected in the EEO program (see p 21).

• The majority of opportunities for flexiblework practices such as part-time work andfamily and community service leave weretaken by EEO target group members (seeseparate report, p 19).

• The placing of advertisements in the KooriMail and with Disability Works Australiacontinued to form part of regularrecruitment activities. Feedback fromapplicants and selection committeesindicates the success of this strategy inattracting a diverse range of applicants.

• The Cadet Legal Officer employed by theOffice through the Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander Cadetship Programcompleted his cadetship in December 2004and has subsequently been appointed as afull-time Legal Officer.

• All staff attended training in cross-culturalawareness.

Prevention of harassment andvictimisation• All staff are provided with the Office’s

Code of Conduct, Policy for Preventingand Dealing with Harassment and Bullyingand Grievance and Dispute ResolutionProcedures. Copies are available to staff onthe Office’s Intranet site.

• These policies were reviewed during theyear and all staff were given theopportunity to contribute to those reviews.

• Any instances of harassment reported orgrievances lodged were resolved inaccordance with Office policies.

Initiatives for 2005–2006In 2005–2006 the Office intends to: • Continue its regular reviewing and

monitoring initiatives, particularly inrelation to the review of policy documents,position descriptions and performanceagreements.

• Maintain wider recruitment advertisingthrough both Indigenous and disabilitymedia.

• Encourage EEO target group members toparticipate in career development andsuccession planning activities.

• Review merit selection training for relevantstaff.


21

• An office-wide training audit will beconducted in order to ascertain staff skillsand possible training needs. The audit willtake in the training needs of EEO targetgroup members and the need for specificEEO-related skills for supervisors,recruiters and general staff. A training planfor the next few years will then bedeveloped from any gaps identified by theaudit.

Disability Action Plan

The Office’s Disability Action Plan wasdeveloped with the assistance of the thenAgeing and Disability Department in 1999.The plan has been integrated into the Office’sCorporate Plan. The Disability Action Plan andCorporate Plan are available on request and arealso published on the Office’s corporatewebsite (www.pco.nsw.gov.au).

The plan was reviewed and re-issued in July2004 with the new Corporate Plan 2004–2008.Key elements of the plan include the furtherdevelopment of the Office’s legislation websiteto improve access to information, and thestrengthening of the existing EEO ManagementPlan in relation to disability issues. Recentoutcomes are summarised below:• A position first created using reasonable

adjustment principles on a temporary, trialbasis in 1995 has been maintained. Theposition was originally filled as apermanent part-time position but became afull-time position in October 2003.

• Staff with disabilities were provided withspecialised training as required.

• Staff with disabilities or other specialneeds were provided with specialequipment and furniture and flexible workoptions, such as working from home whennecessary.

• Legislation in RTF electronic format ismade available on request for the visuallyimpaired.

• The Legislation Website maintained by theOffice includes instructions for usingspecialist software to enable the visuallyimpaired to access documents in PDF.

• All externally advertised positions weredistributed to disability employmentagencies via Disability Works Australia.Feedback from selection committees andapplicants indicates that this form ofadvertising is reaching potential applicantswith a disability.

Ethnic Affairs PrioritiesStatement

The Office’s Ethnic Affairs PrioritiesStatement (EAPS) is incorporated in theCorporate Plan. The Statement was reviewedand re-issued in July 2004 with the newCorporate Plan 2004–2008. The EAPS andCorporate Plan are available on requestand are also published on the Office’scorporate website (www.pco.nsw.gov.au). TheStatement contains the key ethnic affairsinitiatives and priorities of the Office. Asummary of progress and outcomes in2004–2005 for the key result areas is set outbelow.

Social justice• The Office continued its commitment to

the use of plain language in draftinglegislation and its policy document on thistopic is published on its corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au).

• The Office continued to improve access toNSW legislation and informationpublications, particularly through thedevelopment of its legislation website(www.legislation.nsw.gov.au).

• The Office maintained its practice ofkeeping the NSW Legislation Databaseup-to-date on a weekly basis. This materialis used for the legislation website(www.legislation.nsw.gov.au) and a copyis also provided for the website operated bythe Australasian Legal InformationInstitute (www.austlii.edu.au).

• All staff are provided with training incross-cultural issues on a regular basis,generally every two or three years. Staffwere provided with training in cross-cultural awareness during the reportingperiod.

• Information about the EAPS is included inthe information package provided to jobapplicants.

• The EAPS is also maintained on theOffice’s Internet and Intranet sites and isincorporated into the induction process fornew staff. Position descriptions andperformance agreements continued to bereviewed to ensure that they reflect theEAPS. This requirement is consideredwhen new documents are created and whenthey are reviewed as part of the recruitmentor performance management cycle.


22

Community harmonyThe Office maintained its flexible workpractices that allow for cultural diversityincluding such matters as religious leave,prayer at work and dietary requirements.

Economic and cultural opportunitiesThe Office provides training courses inlegislative drafting to lawyers from developingcountries. These opportunities generally occurevery three or four years.

In 2005, one drafter from the Office workedwith the State Law Office in Vanuatu for twomonths as part of the AusAID Legal SectorStrengthening Project co-ordinated by theNSW Attorney General’s Department. This is areciprocal arrangement whereby a drafter fromVanuatu worked with the NSW Office for threemonths during the same period. The Office alsohosted short visits from officers involved in thelegislative process in Singapore, China andMongolia.

2005–2006The key ethnic affairs strategies for 2005–2006are substantially the same as those developedfor the previous year.

AgreementsThe Office has not entered into any agreementswith the Community Relations Commissionunder the Community Relations Commissionand Principles of Multiculturalism Act 2000.

Spokeswomen’s Program

The Office continued to actively encourage theprogram. A morning tea was held to celebrateInternational Women’s Day. TheSpokeswoman kept abreast of current issuesrelating to women in the workforce and sharedinformation with other women in the Office onmany of these issues. However, theSpokeswoman was unable to attend theSpokeswomen’s Program Annual Conferenceas, due to scheduling delays, it was not heldduring the reporting period.

The Spokeswoman also monitored initiativessponsored by the Office for Women in thePremier’s Department. It is noted that theOffice is not required to have any specific

programs or strategies under requirementsrelating to the NSW Government Action Planfor Women although it is clear that the Officehas a longstanding commitment to the spirit ofthis initiative through its EEO, EAPS, OH&Sand workplace reform programs.

In addition, the Spokeswoman took part in theOccupational Health and Safety Committee andattended merit selection and supervisortraining. She also circulated information tostaff on a regular basis and provided feedbackto the Spokeswomen’s ManagementCommittee.

The Women’s Liaison Officer liaised with theSpokeswoman on a number of mattersthroughout the year.

Workplace reform

Restructuring and workforceplanningThe structure of the Office did not changesignificantly during the reporting period.Several mid-level drafting positions were filledon an acting basis to provide careerdevelopment and facilitate succession planningfor anticipated retirements.

Office accommodationDiscussions continued with State Property andTreasury in relation to the futureaccommodation needs of the Office, in light ofthe decision to relocate government tenantsfrom the Goodsell Building in 2007–2008. AFacility Plan is in place and will form the basisfor any new tenancy and office fit-out. Newpremises have not yet been found but work iscontinuing on locating premises that meet theOffice’s business needs.

Miscellaneous managem ent m atters and reporting requirements

23

Miscellaneous management matters and reporting

requirements

Committees and directorships

No significant committees were established orabolished.

The Parliamentary Counsel is the Secretary ofthe Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’sCommittee and further details of the activitiesof the Committee are reported at pp 11, 17.

The Parliamentary Counsel is an adviser to theCabinet Standing Committee on Legislation,described at p 10.

Consultants

During the reporting period no consultantswere engaged.

Contractors

• The following contractors were engaged toprovide services in relation to the ProcessAutomation System (PAS) project andenhancement of the Legislation Website:< Inquirion Pty Ltd< Department of Commerce< Opticon Australia Pty Ltd< Write with Type Pty Ltd.

• Dennis Murphy, former ParliamentaryCounsel, was engaged by the Office toprovide legislative drafting services on acontract basis. This engagement is thecontinuation of longstanding arrangementsdesigned to provide additional draftingresources for particular projects, using veryexperienced former employees.

Consumer response

The Office continues to attract favourablefeedback from stakeholders. It maintains bothformal and informal involvement with focusgroups and key users of its services and invitesconsumer response through its Guarantee ofService and Contact Directory, informationguides and websites. In addition, the Officeworks closely with counterpart agencies inother jurisdictions on the monitoring and

improvement of core activities and theassociated measurement of performance andcustomer satisfaction.

Contracting and Marketing TestPolicy

The core legislative drafting and publishingfunctions of the Office are not consideredappropriate for contracting out and aContracting and Marketing Test Plan has notbeen developed. Some of the more peripheralactivities associated with the Office aresuitable for contracting out. In particular, somecorporate services are provided by CCSUunder a service partnership arrangement.

Economic factors

There were no economic or related factors thatsignificantly affected the achievement of theOffice’s operational objectives.

Government EnergyManagement Policy

Corporate commitment

In response to the NSW Government’scommitment to the reduction of energy use andgreenhouse gas emissions throughout thepublic sector the Office formulated an EnergyManagement Plan that was reviewed by allstaff. This plan has been distributed to all staffand is included on the Office’s Intranet site.

PlanningAccountability and responsibilities established

An Energy Manager for the Office has beennominated and the Ministry of Energy andUtilities advised accordingly. Responsibilitieshave been incorporated in performanceagreements for the Parliamentary Counsel andthe Energy Manager.

Government targets

All NSW Government agencies are requiredto reduce the statewide total energyconsumption of government buildings, wherecost-effectively feasible, by 15% of the


24

1995/96 level by the year 2001 and by 25% ofthe 1995/96 level by the year 2005.

The Office is supportive of these targets andthe energy efficiency principles outlined in theNSW Government Energy Management Policy.It undertakes to implement energy reform tothe best of its ability, given its particularconstraints as a small agency occupying a partof a building of relatively old design and thespecific problem of obtaining precise energydata concerning energy consumption (forfurther details of these issues, see section 4 ofthe Office’s Energy Management Plan,available on request).

Relationship to corporate planning

The requirement for the preparation andmaintenance of the Energy Management Planhas been incorporated in the Office’s corporateplanning cycle.

ImplementationPolicy initiatives undertaken

The Office has already undertaken certainenergy saving measures and these relateparticularly to adopting best practice criteria inthe purchase and use of Energy Star compliantoffice equipment. NSW Government Contractprocesses are used for the procurement ofassets and energy requirements are consideredwhen planning purchases and liaising withsuppliers.

Staff are regularly encouraged to turn off lightswhen leaving the premises after hours, and thepractice of senior staff working at homeoutside business hours reduces the overallpower usage of the Office. However, this maybe somewhat negated by the unavoidableextended operating hours of the Office due toParliamentary sittings. During extended workhours, lights in the unused parts of the Officeare switched off. Variable lighting has alsobeen installed in the reception area to cater forthe differing needs of staff working in that partof the Office and to reduce unnecessary energyusage.

Energy consumption

Based on information provided by theDepartment of Commerce, it is estimated thatduring the 2004–2005 reporting period theOffice consumed 356,730 kWh of electricity(including 6% Greenpower) at a cost of$29,731 and 93,318 Mj of natural gas at a cost

of $1,165. The Premier’s Department advisesthat in this period the motor vehicles leased bythe Office’s SES officers used 7,829 L ofpetrol at a cost of $7,262.

Goals

Goals for the Office’s Energy ManagementPlan will be developed when the currentdifficulties with measuring and monitoringenergy usage have been resolved (for furtherdetails, see section 4 of the Office’s EnergyManagement Plan). The Office is alreadyworking on this issue with BuildingManagement and the Attorney General’sDepartment (the major tenant in the GoodsellBuilding).

Future direction

As the major tenant, the Attorney General’sDepartment is co-ordinating and reporting onthe overall environmental performance of thebuilding. However, the Office will work withBuilding Management and other tenants in theGoodsell Building to seek any possible energysavings.

The Office will also generally keep abreast ofdevelopments in the field and implement newpractices and equipment as appropriate.

The Office will relocate to another buildingwithin the next two years. Given thecommitment of the Office to reducing energyuse, energy efficiency will be one of thecriteria considered by the Office in theselection of new premises. As the Office willundertake a new fit-out or major refurbishmentfor the new tenancy, the Office will also toseek to ensure this fit-out is as energy efficientas possible, where cost-effective.

Grants to communityorganisations

There were no grants made to non-Governmentcommunity organisations.

Guarantee of Service

A Guarantee of Service was first implementedin 1993 and has been revised and distributed tostakeholders on an annual basis. The currentGuarantee of Service and Contact Directory


25

appears at p 69 of this report and is alsoavailable on the Office’s corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au).

Issues raised byAuditor-General

There were no significant issues raised by theAuditor-General.

Land disposals

The Office does not own any land or buildings.

Legal changes

There were no legal changes that significantlyaffected the Office or the services provided toits clients.

Legislation administered

The Office is involved in the administration ofthe Reprints Act 1972, and has responsibilitiesunder the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989. Itis also charged with the responsibility ofkeeping the Interpretation Act 1987 underreview.

Major assets

Assets under the care, control and managementof the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office, valuedat $5,000 or more, include:

Purchased during 2004–2005:• One Fastback thermal binder.

Purchased prior to 2004–2005:• Legislative Drafting and Database System

(LDDS).• Upgraded computer and printing rooms.• Computer and printing equipment, including

file servers, rack mounted servers, rackmounted power units, ESI RAID subsystem,teleworking system, intelligent workstations,minicomputers, laser printers, laptops,copiers, scanner, electric stitcher and digitalcopier/printer/scanners.

• Conference room and office furniture andcompactus storage units.

• Library.

Major works

There were no major works in progress otherthan the PAS Project, which commenced inJuly 2003 and is reported at p 14.

Overseas travel

No overseas travel was undertaken during thereporting period, although a reimbursement of$2,343 was paid for a return airfare to Londonenabling the Parliamentary Counsel to attendthe Commonwealth Law Conference and theconference of the Commonwealth Associationof Legislative Drafters (CALC). The twoconferences will be held back-to-back inLondon in September 2005. The ParliamentaryCounsel will be presenting a paper at theCALC conference.

One officer travelled to Vanuatu as part of anAusAID program, with the travel expenses metentirely by that program.

Overseas visitors

• Ms Jane Bani, a legislative drafter from theState Law Office in Vanuatu joined theOffice for a three month training program.

C Mr Charles Lim, Mr Ken Hwee Tan, MrHsiao Chung Phang, Mr Wee Tong Oh andMs Yvonne Lau, from the Attorney-General’s Chambers in Singapore visited theOffice to discuss IT.

C The Parliamentary Counsel hosted a visitingprofessor from China who was engaged bythe central oversight office for the draftingof Chinese legislation to advise the centralgovernment on constitutional and humanrights issues arising from draft legislation.

C Mr Radnaased Shatarbal, Mr Solongo Dorjand Mr Enkhbat Amarjargal from theCabinet Secretariat of Mongolia visited theOffice to discuss the role of theParliamentary Counsel in NSW.


26

Payment of accounts

The Office forwards its accounts to CCSU forpayment (see p 14). During the 2004–2005period there were no instances where penaltyinterest was paid in accordance with clause 18 ofthe Public Finance and Audit Regulation 2000.There were no significant events that affectedpayment performance during the reportingperiod.

Aged analysis (1)

The aged analysis at the end of each quarter is asfollows:

Quarter Current(ie withindue date)

$

Lessthan 30

daysoverdue

$

30–60days

overdue

$

60–90days

overdue

$

Morethan 90

daysoverdue

$

Sept 4,161 0 0 0 0

Dec 0 0 0 0 0

March 957 0 0 0 0

June 5,732 0 0 0 0

Accounts paid on time(1)

Accounts paid on time within each quarter are asfollows:

Quarter Total Accounts Paid on Time Total AmountPaid($)Target

%Actual

%$

Sept 88 99 259,117 260,172

Dec 88 100 158,463 158,463

March 88 95 220,989 267,765

June 90 96 497,711 717,864

Note. (1) Figures provided by CCSU (see p 14).

Privacy Management Plan

The Office initially issued its PrivacyManagement Plan in June 2000. The Plan wasreviewed and re-issued in December 2004, toensure that it complied with the Health Records

and Information Privacy Act 2002, whichcommenced in September 2004.

A copy of this Plan was provided to all staffand is available on-line on the Office’s Internetand Intranet sites. This Plan outlines theOffice’s compliance with the requirements ofthe Privacy and Personal InformationProtection Act 1998 and includes details of theOffice’s internal review procedures. During thereporting period no complaints were receivedand no reviews were conducted by the Office.

Research and development

The Office is engaged in a number ofcontinuing and long-term projects:• The development and use of plain language

in legislative drafting.• The development of computerised systems

for legislative research and drafting.• The redesign of printed legislation.• The development of computerised systems

for publishing and providing access tolegislation.

These projects are intrinsically related to themajor functions of the Office and are notseparately funded or resourced, apart from thecurrent Process Automation System (PAS)project that is described on p 14.

Risk management

Contributions are made to the TreasuryManaged Fund for workers compensation,motor vehicle accidents, property loss, publicliability and various other insurable risks. TheOffice also maintains a Disaster Recovery Planthat addresses its IT systems and operations.This Plan is currently being revised, andsupplementary risk management documents arebeing developed, as part of the AS7799certification process. The Office also keepsabreast of general developments in riskmanagement standards and best practicethrough the Public Sector Risk ManagementAssociation.

State records

The Office’s records policies and practiceshave been developed in line with requirementsunder the State Records Act 1998. The Office’sRecords Management Policy and Program was


27

updated and issued to all staff in 2002. Staffinvolved in record management activities keptabreast of developments in record-keeping andattended briefings held by the State RecordsAuthority of New South Wales during thereporting period.

In addition, the Office has been involved in theCCSU Records and Information ManagementSystem (RIMS) Programme, with arepresentative on the RIMS small agenciessteering committee.

Subsidiary organisations

No subsidiary organisations exist.

Waste Reduction andPurchasing Policy (WRAPP)

The Office continued its recycling and wastemanagement practices detailed in last year’sAnnual Report. A Waste Reduction andPurchasing Policy (WRAPP) was formulated in1998 and was revised in August 2003 in conjunction with the WRAPP reportingrequirements. The Policy was undergoing anotherrevision at the end of the reporting period andwas re-issued in August 2005. A copy of thisPolicy is available to all staff via the OfficeIntranet and is included in the induction processfor new staff.

Reducing the generation of waste

The Office is preparing for a relocation ofpremises in 2006–2007 and WRAPP principleswill inform all planning for that relocation.Replacement and maintenance of furniture andrelated assets is taking place on a wear and tearor needs basis, with a view to making thoseassets last as long as possible and preferably upuntil the relocation date. Items still in a useablecondition will be re-used in the new premises.

The practices outlined in the Office’s WRAPPcontinue to see a significant reduction in printingand the use of paper and associated resources.For example, since the introduction of theWRAPP the number of reams of copy paperpurchased each year has been halved and thenumber of toner cartridges purchased has beenreduced by almost 30%.

Internet access and the increasing use ofelectronic copies of Bills and other legislativepublications have reduced the amount oftraditional printing undertaken by the Office,resulting in a reduction in printing-relatedpurchases. Wherever possible the Office hasreplaced hard copy collections of material,such as Annual Volumes of legislation andlibrary subscriptions, with electronic and on-line versions of the same material.

All network printers and photocopiers arecapable of duplex printing and staff areencouraged to use this facility. Staff are alsoencouraged to re-use any one-sided printmaterial for note-taking purposes, subject toconfidentiality requirements being met. Themultiple use of other paper-based productssuch as manilla folders and cardboard dividersis also encouraged. These policies are regularlyreinforced in staff meetings and via email.

The functions of the Office do not involvewaste products such as vegetation materials orconstruction or demolition materials.

Resource recovery

A waste audit conducted in 2005 indicated thatthe Office recycles 98% of its waste paper and100% of its toner cartridges. Special boxes andbins are provided at all workstations and atother locations throughout the building for theremoval and recycling of general paper andcardboard waste. A second set of locked binsare kept in the Office for the disposal ofconfidential papers that are shredded andrecycled by the Government RecordsRepository. The Office also maintains a centralcollection point for used toner cartridges thatare regularly collected for recycling. Otherpaper products such as telephone directories,newspapers, magazines and cardboardpackaging are also recycled. Steps have beentaken to identify and close any gaps in currentpaper and cardboard recycling practices.

The building management has also installedspecial bins in the building for the collection ofglass and aluminium cans. Although staff havebeen encouraged to use these bins, the WasteAssessment conducted in 2005 found thatmany plastic bottles and cups and aluminiumcans were not being recycled. As this ispossibly due to the inconvenient placement ofthe recycling bins, PCO has purchased bins to


28

be placed on its premises to enable staff to moreeasily recycle these materials.

The use of recycled material

All purchasing is made through one officer whomonitors the availability of recycled products andmakes purchases according to the WRAPP. Themost commonly purchased stationery itemsinclude note pads, post-it-notes, manilla folders,envelopes and diaries. Recycled products makeup approximately 97% of these purchases. Wherepossible, Office publications (such as this report)are printed on recycled paper. The printing ofBills for Parliament is one of the core functionsof the Office. In the past, the use of high-speedcopiers for this purpose limited the opportunitiesfor using recycled-content paper or toner forthose publications.

In 2004, through continuing trials of differentsources of paper, the Office found a 50%recycled content paper that meets the technicaland quality requirements for its legislationbulk-printing service. Changing to paper withrecycled content has been successful and theOffice will continue to use this paper. TheOffice will also continue, from time to time, totrial paper with increased recycled content toascertain whether the quality has improved.Almost all paper purchased by the Office nowcontains some recycled content.

Financial statem ents

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Appendix 1

47

Appendix 1 Bills introduced or formally exposed1

Government BillsAboriginal Land Rights Amendment (Gandangara Estate) Bill 2004Administrative Decisions Tribunal Amendment Bill 2004Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2004Appropriation Bill 2005

Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2005Appropriation (Special Offices) Bill 2005Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2005State Revenue Legislation Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2005

Appropriation (Budget Variations) Bill 2005Brigalow and Nandewar Community Conservation Area Bill 2005Building Legislation Amendment (Smoke Alarms) Bill 2005Building Professionals Bill 2005Civil Liability Amendment (Food Donation) Bill 2004Civil Liability Amendment (Offender Damages) Bill 2005Civil Procedure Bill 2005Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Amendment(Uniform Classification) Bill 2004Coal Acquisition Amendment (Fair Compensation) Bill 2005Court Security Bill 2005Courts Legislation Amendment Bill 2005Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Amendment (Norfolk Island Prisoners) Bill 2004Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Amendment (Parole) Bill 2004Crimes Amendment (Child Pornography) Bill 2004Crimes Amendment (Grievous Bodily Harm) Bill 2005Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Existing Life Sentences) Bill 2005Criminal Assets Recovery Amendment Bill 2005Criminal Procedure Amendment (Evidence) Bill 2005Criminal Procedure Further Amendment (Evidence) Bill 2005Crown Lands Legislation Amendment Bill 2005Drug Misuse and Trafficking Amendment Bill 2005Dust Diseases Tribunal Amendment (Claims Resolution) Bill 2005Duties Amendment (Land Rich) Bill 2004Electricity Supply Amendment Bill 2005Energy Administration Amendment (Water and Energy Savings) Bill 2005Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Development Contributions) Bill2004Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Infrastructure and Other PlanningReform) Bill 2005Fire Brigades Amendment (Community Fire Units) Bill 2005Forestry (Darling Mills State Forest Revocation) Bill 2004Gambling (Two-up) Amendment Bill 2005Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2005Gaming Machines Amendment Bill 2004Gaming Machines Amendment Bill 2005Gene Technology (GM Crop Moratorium) Amendment Bill 2004


48

Health Legislation Amendment (Complaints) Bill 2004Health Registration Legislation Amendment Bill 2004Nurses and Midwives Amendment (Performance Assessment) Bill 2004

Health Legislation Further Amendment Bill 2004Health Services Amendment Bill 2004Historic Houses Amendment Bill 2004Home Building Amendment Bill 2004Independent Commission Against Corruption Amendment Bill 2005James Hardie Former Subsidiaries (Special Provisions) Bill 2005Jury Amendment Bill 2004Juvenile Offenders Legislation Amendment Bill 2004Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Amendment (In-car Video Systems) Bill2004Legal Profession Amendment Bill 2005Legal Profession Bill 2004Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Amendment (Photo ID) Bill 2004Local Government Amendment Bill 2005Local Government Amendment (Public-Private Partnerships) Bill 2004Local Government and Valuation of Land Amendment (Water Rights) Bill 2005Marine Safety Amendment (Random Breath Testing) Bill 2004National Park Estate (Reservations) Bill 2005National Parks and Wildlife (Adjustment of Areas) Bill 2005National Parks and Wildlife (Further Adjustment of Areas) Bill 2005Noxious Weeds Amendment Bill 2004NSW Self Insurance Corporation Bill 2004Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Workplace Deaths) Bill 2005Passenger Transport Amendment (Maintenance of Bus Services) Bill 2005Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Amendment Bill 2005Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Amendment (Permits and Leases) Bill 2005Photo Card Bill 2004Police Integrity Commission Amendment Bill 2004Poultry Meat Industry Amendment (Prevention of National Competition Policy Penalties) Bill2005Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Bill 2004Prisoners (Interstate Transfer) Amendment Bill 2005Professional Standards Amendment Bill 2004Protected Estates Amendment (Missing Persons) Bill 2004Redfern–Waterloo Authority Bill 2004Registered Clubs Legislation Amendment Bill 2004Road Transport (General) Bill 2004Road Transport Legislation (Speed Limiters) Amendment Bill 2004Rookwood Necropolis Amendment Bill 2004Rural Workers Accommodation Amendment Bill 2005Security Industry Amendment Bill 2005Sheriff Bill 2005Shops and Industries Amendment (Special Shop Closures) Bill 2004Smoke-free Environment Amendment Bill 2004Special Commission of Inquiry (James Hardie Records) Bill 2004Special Commission of Inquiry (James Hardie Records) Amendment Bill 2004Standard Time Amendment (Co-ordinated Universal Time) Bill 2005State Records Amendment Bill 2004

Appendix 1

49

State Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill 2005Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill (No 2) 2004Stock Medicines Amendment Bill 2004Superannuation Legislation Amendment Bill 2004Surveying Amendment Bill 2005Sydney 2009 World Masters Games Organising Committee Bill 2005Teaching Services Amendment Bill 2004Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Warrants) Bill 2005Threatened Species Legislation Amendment Bill 2004Transport Administration Amendment (Transport Levy for Major Events) Bill 2005Transport Legislation Amendment (Waterfall Rail Inquiry Recommendations) Bill 2005University Legislation Amendment Bill 2004Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (New South Wales) Bill 2005Workers Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2004Workplace Surveillance Bill 2005

Non-Government BillsClassification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Amendment (X 18+Films) Bill 2005Crimes Amendment (Corporate Manslaughter) Bill 2005Crimes Amendment (Protection of Innocent Accused) Bill 2005Crimes and Firearms Legislation Amendment (Apprehended Violence Orders) Bill 2004Criminal Appeal Amendment (Jury Verdicts) Bill 2004Crown Lands Amendment (Access to Property) Bill 2005Duties Amendment (Abolition of Bob Carr’s Vendor Tax) Bill 2005Fair Trading Amendment (Responsible Credit) Bill 2005Fisheries Management Amendment (Catch History) Bill 2005Government School Assets Register Bill 2004Jury Amendment (Majority Verdicts) Bill 2004Legislation Review Amendment (Family Impact) Bill 2005Mining Amendment (Cyanide Leaching) Bill 2004Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Voting Age) Bill 2005Police Integrity Commission Amendment (Shaw Investigation) Bill 2005Protection of Agricultural Production (Right to Farm) Bill 2005Public Lands Protection Bill 2004Rural Communities Impacts Bill 2004Save Orange Grove Bill 2004Smoke-free Environment Amendment (Motor Vehicle Prohibition) Bill 2005Sydney University Settlement Incorporation Amendment Bill 2005Transport Legislation Amendment (Implementation of Waterfall Rail InquiryRecommendations) Bill 2005Wilderness Amendment Bill 2004

Exposure BillsCivil Procedure Bill 2005Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 20052

Consumer Credit (New South Wales) Amendment (Maximum Annual Percentage Rate) Bill2005


50

Health Legislation Amendment (Complaints) Bill 2004Health Registration Legislation Amendment Bill 2004Nurses and Midwives Amendment (Performance Assessment) Bill 2004

Occupational Health and Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Fatalities) Bill 2004Protection of the Environment Operations Amendment Bill 2005

Notes. 1 Cognate Bills are shown indented. Many other Bills were prepared or were in the course of preparation, but

were not introduced or formally exposed and, therefore, are not listed.2 The Uniform Civil Procedure Rules are included as they were part of the Civil Procedure Bill 2005.

Appendix 2

51

Appendix 2 Principal statutory rules gazetted

Administrative Decisions Tribunal (General) Regulation 2004Agricultural Industry Services (Interstate Arrangements) Regulation 2004Agricultural Industry Services (Polls and Elections) Regulation 2005Anglican Church of Australia (Lakes Grammar—An Anglican School Board) Order 2004Anglican Church of Australia (The Armidale School Council) Order 2004Anti-Discrimination Regulation 2004Business Names Regulation 2004Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust Regulation 2004Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection—Child Employment) Regulation 2005Coastal Protection Regulation 2004Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Regulation 2004Crimes (Interstate Transfer of Community Based Sentences) Regulation 2004Criminal Records Regulation 2004Dental Practice Regulation 2004Dust Diseases Tribunal (Standard Presumptions—Apportionment) Order 2005Election Funding Regulation 2004Electricity Supply (Country Energy) Regulation 2005Energy Services Corporations (Dissolution of Australian Inland Energy Water Infrastructure)Regulation 2005Entertainment Industry Regulation 2004Evidence (Children) Regulation 2004Fisheries Management (Continuation of Activities in Lowland Darling River Catchment)Interim Order 2005 No 2Fisheries Management (Continuation of Activities Relating to Southern Bluefin Tuna)Interim Order 2004Fisheries Management (Continuation of Activities Relating to Southern Bluefin Tuna)Interim Order 2005Food (Plant Products Food Safety Scheme) Regulation 2005Forestry Regulation 2004Freedom of Information Regulation 2005Game and Feral Animal Control Regulation 2004Gas Supply (Gas Appliances) Regulation 2004Greyhound and Harness Racing Administration (Appeals) Regulation 2004Home Building Regulation 2004Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority Regulation 2005Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (Water Services) Order 2004Institute of Teachers Regulation 2005Insurance Premiums Order 2005–2006James Hardie Former Subsidiaries (Special Provisions) (Savings and Transitional) Regulation2005Jury Regulation 2004Land and Environment Court Regulation 2005Landlord and Tenant Regulation 2004Law Enforcement and National Security (Assumed Identities) Regulation 2004Lord Howe Island Regulation 2004Luna Park Site Regulation 2004Motor Accidents Compensation (Determination of Loss) Order No 5Motor Accidents (Determination of Non-Economic Loss) Order No 15


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Motor Dealers Regulation 2004Mutual Recognition (New South Wales) Temporary Exemptions Regulation 2004Petroleum Products Subsidy Regulation 2004Prisoners (Interstate Transfer) Regulation 2004Professional Standards Regulation 2004Protection of the Environment Operations (Penalty Notices) Regulation 2004Public Sector Employment and Management (Department of Primary Industries) Order 2005Public Sector Employment and Management (Festival Development Corporation) Order 2004Public Sector Employment and Management (Lands) Order 2004Public Sector Employment and Management (Minister for Fair Trading) Order 2005Public Sector Employment and Management (Minister for Health) Order 2004Public Sector Employment and Management (Minister for Lands) Order 2005Public Sector Employment and Management (Ministers) Order 2005Public Sector Employment and Management (Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Authority)Order 2005Public Sector Employment and Management (Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Authority)Order (No 2) 2005Regional Development Regulation 2004Registration of Interests in Goods Regulation 2004Roman Catholic Church Communities’ Lands Regulation 2004Sheriff Regulation 2005Sporting Injuries Insurance Regulation 2004Stock Diseases (General) Regulation 2004Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium By-law 2004Transport Administration (State Transit Authority—Fares) Order 2004Transport Administration (Sydney Ferries—Fares) Order 2004Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (New South Wales) Temporary Exemptions Regulation2004Travel Agents Order 2005Treasury Corporation Regulation 2004Unlawful Gambling Regulation 2004Valuers (Corresponding Laws) Order 2005Valuers Regulation 2005Water Management (General) Regulation 2004Water Management (Minister’s Plans) Order No 1 of 2004Water Management (Minister’s Plans) Order No 1 of 2005Water Management (Minister’s Plans) Order No 2 of 2004Water Management (Water Supply Authorities) Regulation 2004Wild Dog Destruction Regulation 2004Wool, Hide and Skin Dealers Regulation 2004Workers Compensation (Medical Practitioner Fees) Order 2005 No 1Workers Compensation (Orthopaedic Surgeon Fees) Order 2004Workers Compensation (Public Hospital Rates) Order 2004 No 1Workers Compensation (Public Hospital Rates) Order 2005 No 1Workers Compensation (Surgeon Fees) Order 2005Young Offenders Regulation 2004Zoological Parks Regulation 2004

Appendix 3

53

Appendix 3 Performance measurement and targets

Legislation drafting services

Government Bills and Amendments in Committee

The Office drafts Bills and amendments in committee for the Government in accordance with theGovernment’s Parliamentary Program.

All Bills and amendments in committee required by the Government were drafted on time.

A list of Bills introduced or formally exposed during the year appears in Appendix 1.

This work naturally tends to be concentrated during Parliamentary sittings, and the deadlinesinvolved frequently require staff to work at night and on weekends.

The following data provides an indication of workloads:

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05

Bills introduced(1) 113 141 119 139 108Pages 4,203 5,067 4,047 3,837 4,053Acts amended 442 678 592 363 536Acts repealed 205 132 265 130 126

Bills exposed 3 6 4 4 8Pages 153 439 344 152 604Amendments in committee 57 106 155 109 105

(1) Other Bills were prepared, or were in the course of preparation, but were not introduced or formally exposedand, therefore, are not recorded.

Non-Government drafting

The Office drafts non-Government Bills and amendments in committee as requested—subject tothe Government’s legislative priorities and the availability of resources and in accordance witharrangements approved by the Government from time to time.

Non-Government drafting work was provided as requested and in accordance with arrangementsapproved by the Government.

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05

Non-Government Bills introduced(1) 21 18 24 22 23Pages 159 212 279 231 240Non-Government amendments in committee 337 462 312 271 220

(1) Other Bills were prepared, or were in the course of preparation, but were not introduced or formally exposedand, therefore, are not recorded.


54

Statutory rules

The Office will draft, settle and provide opinions on statutory rules within a 20 working dayperiod.(1)

00/01 01/02 02/03(2) 03/04 04/05(3)

Number completed 530 476 684 837 814% within 10 days or less - - - - 47% within 11–20 days 75 74 74 75 26% within 21–40 days 15 15 17 16 16% after 21–40 days 10 11 9 9 12

(1) It is anticipated that up to 30% of statutory rules may take longer than 4 weeks to complete—usually becauseof their size or complexity or delays in receiving instructions. Also, priority of resources is devoted to the draftingof Government legislation for introduction into Parliament.(2)From 1 January 2003 all proclamations and orders were included in the category of “statutory rules”. This hashad an impact on figures in this category and also the category of “proclamations and orders”—see below.(3)From 1 July 2004 new reporting categories and timeframes were reported under the revised 2004–2008Corporate Plan. This included adding a new category calculating the percentage of instruments completed in10 days or less, and specifying the timeframes as working days rather than weeks.

Staged Repeal of Subordinate Legislation Program

The Office will co-ordinate the staged repeal of subordinate legislation and draft any replacementlegislation before its repeal.

This program is prescribed by the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 and its main objective is to causethe substantive review of subordinate legislation and reduce its volume. Recent progress of theprogram is described at p 11.

The Office compiles the Status of Statutory Rules guide which contains full details of the repealprogram. This publication is issued three times a year.

Proclamations and orders(1)

The Office will draft, settle and provide opinions on proclamations and orders within a 2-weekperiod.(2)

00/01 01/02 02/03(1)

Number completed 306 279 163% within 2 weeks 81 78 81% in 2–4 weeks 13 14 13% after 4 weeks 6 8 6

(1) From 1 January 2003 all proclamations and orders were included in the category of “statutory rules”—seeabove.(2) It is anticipated that up to 30% of proclamations and orders may take longer than 2 weeks tocomplete—usually because of their complexity or delays in receiving instructions. Also, priority of resources isdevoted to the drafting of Government legislation for introduction into Parliament.

Appendix 3

55

Environmental planning instruments

The Office will provide opinions on environmental planning instruments within a 20 working dayperiod.(1)

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05(2)

Number completed 746 613 683 564 480% within 10 days or less - - - - 57% within 4 weeks 82 86 78 72 18% in 4–8 weeks 14 12 16 19 15% after 8 weeks 3 4 6 9 7

(1) It is anticipated that up to 30% of environmental planning instruments may take longer than 4 weeks tocomplete because of their length or complexity. Also, priority of resources is devoted to the drafting ofGovernment legislation for introduction into Parliament.(2) From 1 July 2004 new reporting categories and timeframes were reported under the revised 2004–2008Corporate Plan. This included adding a new category calculating the percentage of instruments completed in10 days or less, and specifying the timeframes as working days rather than weeks.

Legislation publishing services

Bills

The Office will publish Bills for introduction into Parliament (or formal exposure) and subsequentprints and vellums in accordance with the Parliamentary Program.

All Bill publishing deadlines were met and data on workloads is as follows:

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05

Bills introduced (Govt and Non-Govt) 134 159 143 161 131Pages 4,362 5,279 4,326 4,068 4,293Impressions 478,000 630,000 446,000 442,000 444,000

Bills reprinted following amendment inParliament 32 15 18 19 15Pages 1,078 623 708 648 718

Bills exposed 3 6 4 4 8Pages 153 439 344 152 604

Vellums 87 156 91 156 90Pages 2,748 4,492 2,419 3,494 2,979Vellums incorporating amendments(1) - - 2 24 22Pages(1) - - 25 702 666

(1) Reporting on these items commenced from 1 January 2003 under the 2002–2006 Corporate Plan.


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Statutory rules and other instruments

The Office will prepare published, pamphlet versions of statutory rules and other instrumentspublished in the Gazette within three working days of gazettal.(1)

All statutory rules and other instruments (other than some court rules) were prepared and delivered toGovernment Advertising and Information within three working days.

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05

Rules and other instruments 831 625 807 692 625Pages 5,883 4,153 5,293 4,015 3,402

(1) Some court rules and other instruments not drafted by the Office may take longer than three days as the datahas to be captured following gazettal.

Reprints

An annual target of approximately 10,000 pages (in a range of 8,000–12,000 pages) is set underthe Paper Reprints Policy.

The target was met.

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05

Titles 113 114 104 102 102Pages 12,008 11,008 10,278 10,082 10,272

Annual volumes

The Office will provide the material for annual volumes to the Government Printing Service withinsix weeks of the end of the year in question.

The material for the 2004 volumes was provided on 17 February 2005.

Appendix 3

57

Electronic publishing services

The Office will:• Provide electronic versions of Bills for Parliament within 24 hours of introduction or reprint.• Publish electronic versions of new Acts and statutory instruments on its website within three

working days of authorisation or gazettal.• Compile and publish a weekly bulletin of legislative activity on its website.

• Publish electronic versions of its information publications on its website.

Targets were met and electronic versions of Bills provided to Parliament and legislative publicationspublished on www.pco.nsw.gov.au were within the target time frame.

The weekly bulletin was maintained and has over 1,600 subscribers.

See also Legislation Database and Website statistics on page 58.

Advice and information services

Legal and administrative advice

The Office will provide timely and confidential legal and administrative advice.(1)

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05

Items of major advice 39 35 53 60 93Hours involved 59 58 67 56 119

(1) These are matters referred to the Office in addition to advice provided in the course of preparing draftlegislation.

Legislation Information Hotline Service

The Office will provide a hotline service to deal with inquiries about the status of NSW legislationand related matters.

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05

Phone inquiries dealt with 1,560 1,678 1,998 1,737 1,619E-mail inquiries dealt with 110 140 457 347 397


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Information publications

The Office will compile and deliver to NSW Government Advertising and Information thefollowing publications:• Monthly Acts Tables and Statutory Instruments Tables—within 10 working days of the end of

each month.• NSW Legislation in Force guide—within 10 working days of each quarterly issue date.• Status of Statutory Rules guide—within 10 working days of each issue date (1 January, 1 May

and 1 September).

Information publications were produced on time.

Legislation Database and Website

The Office will:• Capture all new Acts and principal statutory instruments, including local environmental plans,

within three working days of authorisation by Parliamentary officers following assent, orgazettal (except where the volume of legislation makes such a deadline unattainable).

• Update the Database within three working days of any amendment commencing (except wherethe volume of legislation makes such a deadline unattainable).

• Capture other significant instruments, including historical versions.• Make the Database available to the public by publishing it on the Internet

(www.legislation.nsw.gov.au).

The new ongoing capturing and updating 3-day turnaround times were met.

The entire Database is available in its continually updated form on the Internet(www.legislation.nsw.gov.au).

The Database has been further enhanced in 2004–2005 by the addition of some significant repealedActs.

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05

No of new Acts captured - - 10 134 131No of new Statutory Instruments captured - - 17 77 75No of amendments incorporated (creating anew version) - - 438 1,574 1,375No of other updates made - - 758 2,028 2,283No of other significant instruments captured - - 120 184 53

Note. The Legislation Database has only been measured since 1 January 2003.

Appendix 4

59

Appendix 4 Personnel and EEO statistical information

Senior Executive Service positions profile at 30 June 2004(1)

Level Number of positions

2000–2003(2)

Number of positions

2003–2005(3)

Total Female occupants Total Female occupants

8 0 0 0 07 0 0 0 06 1 0 1 05 0 0 0 04 2(4) 0 2 13 4 1 4 12 0 0 0 01 4(4) 2 4(5) 2

11 3 11 4

(1) See p 8 for organisation chart including names and qualifications of SES staff and p 18 for a report on SESstaff.(2) The number of positions and levels did not change during the period 2000–2003. Also, the number of femaleoccupants and their levels did not change.(3) The number of positions and levels did not change during the period 2003–2005. Also, the number of femaleoccupants and their levels did not change.(4) One position was vacant as at 30 June 2003.(5) One position was vacant as at 30 June 2005.

Staff profile at 30 June 2005

Notes.Legal staff are included in the appropriate salary categories. The numbers shown represent actual officers employed including those on leave without pay etc, not the EFTfigures which are given in the table on the following page.


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Staff profile—3 year comparison at 30 June—EFT staff figures(1)

Grade 02/03 03/04 04/05

Below CO1 0 0 0CO1—Grade 1 2 2 1A & C Grades 1–2 5 4 4A & C Grades 3–5 4.4 8.4 6.4A & C Grades 6–9 16 6.6 11.8A & C Grades 10–12 9.6 11 11.4Above A & C Grade 12 11 12 12

Total 48 44 46.6

(1) The numbers shown in this table are the EFT (equivalent full-time) figures which allow for part-time staff andexclude staff on long-term leave without pay (as at 30 June). The legal staff are included in the appropriatesalary categories.

Recruitment

The following table indicates the recruitment activities undertaken in the Office.

Analysis of staff recruitment

02/03 03/04 04/05

Positions advertised in PublicService Notices or press 4(1) 11 12(2)

Successful applications: Total number of positions filled 8 11 13 Male 2 3 6 Female 6 8 7 With tertiary qualifications 7 10 10 Without tertiary qualifications 1 1 3 From out of service 5 2 6 From other Departments 1 0 0 From within Office 2 9 7

(1) Four positions were filled without advertising. Those positions were filled using eligibility lists, a secondmentfrom another agency and, in the case of an identified reasonable adjustment position, with the assistance of aspecialist disability training agency.(2) One position was filled without advertising, using an eligibility list.

Appendix 4

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Staff development

The following information indicates staff development activities undertaken within the Office (seealso p 15 for information about training strategies).

Internal training

Course Duration

(hours)

Female Male Hours per

course × No of

participants

FrameMaker 7 Training 2 14 5 38

Canon photocopier training 2 8 3 22

Assets Management Workshop 2 2 1 6

GST Workshop 1 2 0 2

Workforce Profile Seminar 2 1 0 2

OHS Consultation Training 28 2 2 112

Cultural UnderstandingWorkshop

3 26 19 135

Induction 7 1 0 7

Totals 47 56 30 324

External training

External training opportunities were provided to staff including:

• Advanced Resuscitation• Government Lawyers CLE• Selection Techniques—Refresher• PSRMA Seminar• Cross-Cultural Seminar• 2004 Buying Green Conference• Employee Assistance Program Briefing• First Aid Re-certification• Introduction to Project Management• Project Management• Fundamentals for Supervisors• Open Publish Conference• AustLII Internet Legal Research• Merit Selection


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EEO statistical information

Table A Trends in Representation of EEO Groups(1)

% of Total Staff(2)

EEO Group

Benchmark

or Target 2002 2003 2004 2005

Women 50 57 58 59 58

Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders 2 0 2 2.2 2

People whose first language was not English 20 21 24 26 20

People with a d isability 12 8 8 7 8

People with a disability requiring work-related

adjustment

7 4.1 2 4.3 4

Table B Trends in Distribution of EEO Groups(1)

Distribution Index(3), (4)

EEO Group

Benchmark

or Target 2002 2003 2004 2005

Women 100 87 86 - 87

Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders 100 - - - -

People whose first language was not English 100 - - - -

People with a d isability 100 - - - -

People with a disability requiring work-related

adjustment

100 - - - -

(1) Staff numbers are as at 30 June.

(2) Excludes casual staff.

(3) A Distribution Index of 100 indicates that the centre of the distribution of the EEO group across salary levels isequivalent to that of other staff. Values less than 100 mean that the EEO group tends to be more concentratedat lower salary levels than is the case for other staff. The more pronounced this tendency is, the lower the indexwill be. In some cases the index may be more than 100, indicating that the EEO group is less concentrated atlower salary levels. The Distribution Index is automatically calculated by the software provided by ODEOPE (nowthe Office of Employment Equity and Diversity).

(4) The Distribution Index is not calculated where EEO group or non-EEO group numbers are less than 20.

Appendix 5

63

Appendix 5 Publications

Electronic legislation

The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office maintainsthe NSW Legislation Database that is used tokeep legislation in an up-to-date form and togenerate on-line and printed NSW legislation.

Up-to-date NSW legislation (both Acts andstatutory instruments) is available free ofcharge on-line from the Office’s website(www.legislation.nsw.gov.au). 2,060 Acts,statutory instruments and environmentalplanning instruments are kept up-to-date andall amendments are fully consolidated andtabulated within three working days of theircommencement. From July 2002, allsuperseded and repealed versions of thelegislation are retained on the site to providepoint-in-time access. This has beensupplemented by the addition of historicalversions of selected Acts and some significantrepealed titles also.

In addition to the up-to-date and point-in-timeversions of legislation, the site also providesaccess to all Acts, statutory instruments,environmental planning instruments as theywere enacted or made, from 1990 to date.Explanatory notes for Bills as first introducedare also retained on this archive. Over 15,000titles are maintained in this static archive, withnew Acts and instruments added within threeworking days of their assent or gazettal.

Further information about the contents of thesite, including a detailed user manual, isavailable from the site.

The Office also maintains a corporate website(www.pco.nsw.gov.au) that contains theinformation guides, tables and manualsdescribed in this Appendix. This site alsoprovides access to the Weekly Bulletin. This isa free e-mail service that contains informationabout the preceding week’s legislative eventsincluding:• Bills exposed, introduced, amended, passed

or assented to.• Proclamations commencing Acts.• Regulations and other instruments, including

environmental planning instrumentsgazetted.

• Acts and Regulations reprinted.

• Any significant website events.

Paper legislation

Copies of the printed legislation andinformation guides described in this Appendixare available for purchase in pamphlet orbound form from the NSW GovernmentBookshop (contact details are shown on p 68).

Acts

Bills

The Office provides Parliament with printedand electronic copies of Bills for introductioninto Parliament and reprints of Bills amendedduring the Parliamentary process. Electroniccopies are available on-line from theParliament House website(www.parliament.nsw.gov.au).

New Acts

The Office prepares individual pamphletcopies of all NSW Acts as assented to.Electronic copies are available on-line fromwww.legislation.nsw.gov.au.

Reprinted Acts

These are Principal Acts reprinted on anindividual basis to incorporate amendmentsand to provide historical information, tablesetc.

The Office aims to reprint all major titles assoon as they have been significantly amended.In some cases, this involves annual reprinting.

A list of titles that the Office proposesto reprint is available on-line fromwww.pco.nsw.gov.au. Further informationabout the Reprints Program is contained in theOffice’s Paper Reprints Policy also availableon the Internet.

Table of Acts in Force

The quarterly Legislation in Force (availableon-line from www.pco.nsw.gov.au) includes analphabetical table of all public Acts in forcethat also shows:• Current reprint date.• Any amendments made since last print.• Ministers administering Acts (where an

allocation has been made).


64

• Acts available in electronic form.• Acts and provisions of Acts which are

unproclaimed or uncommenced.

Legislation in Force also provides thefollowing tables:• Private Acts.• Applied laws and other governmental

instruments.• Acts repealed since 1986.• Acts and provisions of Acts that have not

been proclaimed to commence.

Monthly Acts Tables

These provide, on a monthly cumulative basis,details of all Bills introduced, Acts passed,amended or repealed, assent dates for Acts,proclamations of commencements of Acts anddetails of Acts reprinted. The tables areavailable on-line from www.pco.nsw.gov.au.

Bound Annual Volumes of Acts

These contain all Acts passed by Parliamentduring a calendar year, complete withtables and other information. Electroniccopies are available on-line fromwww.legislation.nsw.gov.au.

Bound Annual Volumes of Explanatory

Notes for Bills

These contain Explanatory Notes for all Bills(as introduced into Parliament) passed during acalendar year, complete with tables andinformation on amendments in committee.Electronic copies are available on-line fromwww.legislation.nsw.gov.au.

Statutory instruments

Statutory instruments include regulations,rules, by-laws and orders, and certainproclamations and ordinances.

New statutory instruments

Regulations and other instruments are extractedfrom the Gazette on a weekly basis asindividual pamphlets. Electronic copies areavailable on the Office’s legislation website atwww.legislation.nsw.gov.au.

Reprinted statutory instruments

Principal regulations and other instruments arereprinted on an individual basis to incorporateamendments and to provide historicalinformation, tables etc. These instruments arenow subject to repeal under the Subordinate

Legislation Act 1989 and this has reduced thenumber of statutory instruments that arerequired to be reprinted.

Table of principal statutory instruments in

force

This is an alphabetical table of principalstatutory instruments in force and includes theoriginal date of gazettal, any proposed repealdate, any reprint details and dates ofamendments made since the last print. It ispublished in the quarterly NSW Legislation inForce guide and indicates which statutoryinstruments are available on-line fromwww.legislation.nsw.gov.au.

Table of principal environmental planning

instruments in force

This is an alphabetical table of principalenvironmental planning instruments in forceincluding:• State environmental planning policies.• Regional environmental plans.• Local environmental plans.The table includes the original date of gazettaland any reprint details and indicates whichinstruments are available on-line fromwww.legislation.nsw.gov.au. It is published inthe quarterly NSW Legislation in Force guide.

Monthly Statutory Instruments Tables

These provide, on a monthly cumulative basis,details of all statutory instruments made,amended or repealed, details of reprints ofstatutory instruments, and also details of allenvironmental planning instruments made.Electronic copies are available on-line fromwww.pco.nsw.gov.au.

Status of Statutory Rules

These tables indicate the status of statutoryrules under the Staged Repeal of SubordinateLegislation Program and are published threetimes a year (1 January, 1 May and1 September). Electronic copies are availableon-line from www.pco.nsw.gov.au.

Bound Annual Volumes of statutory

instruments

These contain all statutory instruments gazettedduring a calendar year, complete with tables.Electronic copies are available on-line fromwww.legislation.nsw.gov.au.

Appendix 5

65

Specialised tables availableon request

In connection with the task of monitoring theprecise status of all legislation in NSW, theOffice also maintains a range of other tablesand records (listed below) and provides adviceand information in this regard both toGovernment Departments etc and to the public.

The tables compiled by the Office (in additionto the publications already described above)include the following tables, which areavailable on request.

Weekly Acts tables

• Alphabetical Tables of Acts from 1986(short titles).

• Chronological Tables of Acts from 1986(short titles, assent dates and commencementdetails from the Gazette).

• Alphabetical Table of Acts passed before1986 where commencement published after1 January 1987 (short titles andcommencement details from the Gazette).

These tables are available on-line fromwww.pco.nsw.gov.au.

Chronological tables

• Public Acts in Force.• Principal Statutory Instruments in Force

(these are chronological versions of the maintables in the NSW Legislation in Forceguide).

Miscellaneous tables

• Unproclaimed Legislation (a chronologicaltable of uncommenced Acts/provisions ofActs that appears in the NSW Legislation inForce guide).

• Alphabetical Table of Acts repealed since1986 (this appears in the NSW Legislationin Force guide).

• Alphabetical Table of Repealed PrivateActs.

Other publications

• Manual for the Drafting of Non-GovernmentLegislation. 6th edition. April 2003.ISSN 1320–7245.

• Manual for the Preparation of Legislation. 8th edition. August 2000. ISSN 1323–8752.

• Review and redesign of NSW legislation—Adiscussion paper. March 1994.ISBN 0 7310 2941 0.

• Guarantee of Service and Contact Directory.June 2004. ISSN 1320–3126.


66

Appendix 6 Freedom of Information Statement

Statement of affairsThe structure and functions of theParliamentary Counsel’s Office are describedat pp 7–9 of this Annual Report.

Effect of functions on members ofthe publicApart from the overall impact that legislationhas on the State, the community and the public,the day-to-day functions of the ParliamentaryCounsel’s Office do not have a direct effect onmembers of the public.

Arrangements for publicparticipationThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office is anagency which primarily provides a legislationdrafting service for the Government. As such itdoes not have the face-to-face contact betweenits staff and the public that certain otherdepartments and authorities do andconsequently there are no formal mechanismsfor public participation.

Categories of documentsThe following categories of documents are heldby the Office:

• Documents describing the functions etc ofthe Office. These include:< Amendments in Committee Drafting

Manual< Annual Report< Code of Conduct< Corporate Plan< Disability Action Plan< EEO Management Plan< Employer Communication Devices Policy

and Guidelines< Ethnic Affairs Priorities Statement< Government Energy Management Policy< Grievance and Dispute Resolution

Procedures< Guarantee of Service< Manual for the Drafting of

Non-Government Legislation< Manual for the Preparation of Legislation< NSW Legislation Reprinting Policy< Occupational Health and Safety Policy

and Plan< Office Accommodation Plan

< Policies relating to Plain Language andgender-neutral expression

< Policy for Preventing and Dealing withHarassment and Bullying

< Privacy Management Plan< Protected Disclosures—Internal

Reporting Policy< Records Management Policy and Program< Total Asset Management Strategy< Waste Reduction and Purchasing Plan.

• Documents associated with the preparationof draft legislation.

• Electronic documents and records associatedwith the Office’s legislative drafting andpublishing activities and its compilation ofthe NSW Legislation Database.

• Documents relating to the internaladministration of the Office includingrecruitment, personnel files, organisationalmatters and internal management audits areheld by the Central Corporate Services Unit,Department of Commerce (CCSU).

Members of the public may contact the FOICo-ordinator to ascertain which of thesedocuments may be available under Freedom ofInformation legislation. In these casesapplication and processing fees may apply.

Printed legislation and the associated tablesand information publications produced by theParliamentary Counsel’s Office are allavailable for sale from the NSW GovernmentBookshop as described on p 67.

Freedom of Information proceduresFormal requests made under the Freedom ofInformation Act 1989 for access to documentsheld by the Parliamentary Counsel’s Officeshould be accompanied by a $30 applicationfee and directed to:

The FOI Co-ordinatorParliamentary Counsel’s OfficeGPO Box 4191SYDNEY NSW 2001

Appendix 6

67

A 50% reduction in fees and charges isavailable in the following circumstances:• where the applicant holds a (Pensioner)

Health Benefit Card or has an equivalentincome or lower or is a child (ie below 18years of age),

• where the applicant, as a non-profitorganisation, demonstrates “financialhardship”,

• where the applicant can demonstrate publicinterest.

The telephone number for all Freedom ofInformation inquiries is (02) 9228 7235.

Arrangements can be made to obtain or toinspect copies of documents at the GoodsellBuilding between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm bycontacting the FOI Co-ordinator.

Publications and generalinformationThe legislative publications produced by the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office include:• Bills (as introduced into Parliament and as

amended by Parliament),• new Acts,• new Statutory Instruments,• bound volumes of new Acts and Statutory

Instruments,• bound volumes of Explanatory Notes for

Bills,• reprinted Acts and Statutory Instruments,• monthly Acts Tables and Statutory

Instruments Tables,• quarterly NSW Legislation in Force guide,• Status of Statutory Rules guide,• Weekly Bulletin.

Legislative publications (which are fullydescribed in Appendix 5 at pp 63–65 of thisAnnual Report) are available for sale in printedform through several government outlets:

Over the counter

NSW Government BookshopGround FloorGoodsell BuildingCnr Elizabeth & Hunter StreetsSYDNEY

Telephone sales

NSW Government BookshopTelephone 1300 656 986

Mail Order

NSW Government BookshopGPO Box 5160SYDNEY NSW 2001

Email Inquiries

[email protected]

Legislative publications are also available forperusal at the State Library of NSW and mostuniversity and other major libraries.

Other publications produced by the Office,including the Freedom of InformationStatement (published within the AnnualReport), Corporate Plan, and Guarantee ofService and Contact Directory, are availablefrom the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office at theaddress appearing on p 70. Copies are alsodeposited in the following libraries:• State Library of NSW,• Library of the NSW Premier’s Department,• Library of the Parliament of NSW,• National Library of Australia,• Fisher Library, University of Sydney.

Most of these publications are also availablefree of charge on the Internet:• www.pco.nsw.gov.au• www.legislation.nsw.gov.au• www.parliament.nsw.gov.au

Further information about the status oflegislation and the ancillary publications andrecords compiled by the ParliamentaryCounsel’s Office can be obtained by contactingits Legislation Information Hotline Service bytelephone on (02) 9228 7139 or by e-mail [email protected].


68

Contact arrangements for generalinformation and LegislationInformation Hotline Service

Mail Parliamentary Counsel’s OfficeGPO Box 4191SYDNEY NSW 2001

DX DX 1272 Sydney

Telephone (02) 9228 7139

Fax (02) 9232 4796

E-mail• [email protected]

(general information)• [email protected]

(Legislation Information Hotline Service)

URL• www.pco.nsw.gov.au

(corporate information)• www.legislation.nsw.gov.au

(legislation)

Freedom of Information requests in2004–2005

The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office receivedno applications under the Freedom ofInformation Act 1989 in this reporting period.One application was received in the previousreporting period (the application was declinedas the documents requested were not held bythis Office). There were no FOI applicationsreceived in the three reporting periods prior to2003–2004.

Supplementary information for theyear

• FOI procedures caused no significant impacton the agency’s administration.

• No major issues or problems arose.• No internal reviews, enquiries by the

Ombudsman or appeals to the District Courtor Administrative Decisions Tribunal arose.

Guarantee of Service

69

Guarantee of Service and Contact Directory

Our MissionTo provide the Government with a comprehensive and integrated range of high quality

services for the drafting and development of legislation, the publication of legislation,

and the giving of advice and information about legislation.

Our ServicesThe Office provides a range of inter-related services that contribute towards the

implementation of government policy through legislation and the provision of public

access to and information about legislation.

Legislative drafting services include:

# drafting new laws (including Acts, Regulations, Rules of Court and Environmental

Planning Instruments)

# drafting amendments to Bills during the Parliamentary process

# drafting explanatory notes to new laws

# providing advice and assistance concerning new legislation and legislative policy

# providing a legislative drafting service for non-Government Members of Parliament

(under arrangements approved by the Government).

Legislative publishing services include:

# providing a complete legislation publishing service to Parliament (including the

printing of Bills for introduction into and passage through Parliament and for

presentation to the Governor)

# providing Internet sites for public access to legislation

<www.legislation.nsw.gov.au> and information publications about legislation

<www.pco.nsw.gov.au>

# producing camera-ready copy and data to enable the printing and distribution of:

� new legislation

� updated reprints of legislation

� information publications about legislation

# compiling and maintaining a comprehensive Legislation Database and providing

source data for legislation.

Advisory and information services include:

# providing legal advice and administrative assistance on legislative drafting and

procedure

# providing a Legislation Information Service to the Government and the public.

Suggestions and ComplaintsThe PCO welcomes suggestions for improving services and the opportunity to address

any complaints. Please contact Mr Don Colaguiri SC, Parliamentary Counsel

(02) 9228 7300.


70

Our Commitment to Service# All draft priority legislation required by the Government will be provided strictly in

accordance with the legislative program.

# All requests for drafting services, advice or information will be met directly, either

through the resources of the PCO or by referring the customer to a more

appropriate organisation.

# All correspondence will be responded to or acknowledged in a timely manner.

# A PCO contact name will be provided in all correspondence and telephone

inquiries.

# Services and information will be accurate, well researched and up-to-date.

# All drafting assignments are subject to stringent review and will conform to PCO

policies of quality drafting and plain language.

# The PCO Code of Conduct stresses the importance of confidentiality and

professionalism, and all sensitive material is managed with proper consideration of

the impact on individuals and other agencies.

Contacting UsTelephone (02) 9228 7139

Facsimile (02) 9232 4796

E-mail [email protected]

Street addressLevel 12, Goodsell Building, 8-12 Chifley Square,

Sydney 2000

Mailing address GPO Box 4191, Sydney NSW 2001

DX DX 1272 Sydney

NSW Legislation websitewww.legislation.nsw.gov.au

PCO Corporate website www.pco.nsw.gov.au

Legislation Information Service Hotline (02) 9228 7139

E-mail [email protected]

Business hours8.30 am - 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday.

PCO staff are often available outside these hours

and, when the Parliamentary program requires, at

night and on weekends.

Contact DirectoryLegislative drafting and advice

Parliamentary Counsel: Don Colagiuri SC

Deputy Parliamentary Counsel:

� Leigh Glover � Marion Pascoe

Assistant Parliamentary Counsel:

� Colin Easterbrook � David Mills

� Nigel Hill � Robyn Hodge

Senior Legislative Drafting Officers:

� Margaret Hoare � John Ledda

� Janet Ockenden � Danielle Thurstan

Publishing and related services

Administration: Michael Rubacki

New legislation: Colleen Godfrey

Database: Kate Hannah

Reprints: Edna Palomo

Computer systems: Garry Wilson

Websites: Pamela Williams

June 2005. ISSN 1320–3126

Index

71

Index

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cadetship Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Action Plan for Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Acts

Annual Reports (Departments) Act 1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Community Relations Commission and Principles of Multiculturalism Act 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Constitution Act 1902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Freedom of Information Act 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 66, 68Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Interpretation Act 1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Public Finance and Audit Act 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Public Sector Management Act 1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Reprints Act 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25State Records Act 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11, 12, 25, 54, 64

Administrative Support Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8after-hours service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 10Amendments in Committee Drafting Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66annual volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 27, 56, 64appendices

1 Bills introduced or formally exposed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472 Principal statutory rules gazetted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 Performance measurement and targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534 Personnel and EEO statistical information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595 Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636 Freedom of Information Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Assistant Parliamentary Counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 15, 70Attorney General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Attorney General’s Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24Auditor-General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11, 17, 23Bill Review Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 15, 22Cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 23, 25Cabinet Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Cabinet Standing Committee on Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 23Central Corporate Services Unit (CCSU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 23, 26, 66Challenges and problem areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Code of Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 20, 66, 70Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11, 17, 19-23computer systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 70consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23consumer response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23contractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Corporate Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 16, 20, 21, 54, 55, 66, 67corporate services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 23, 66database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 9, 13-15, 21, 25, 57, 58, 63, 66, 69, 70Database Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8Deputy Parliamentary Counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 15, 70Director-General, The Cabinet Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5

letter from Parliamentary Counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5letter to Minister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4statement re financial statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Disability Action Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21, 66economic factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Editorial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8EEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-22, 59, 62, 66EEO Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20electronic publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Employee Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 61Employer Communication Devices Policy and Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66environmental planning instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 12-14, 18, 55, 63, 64, 69Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-21, 59-62, 66Ethnic Affairs Priorities Statement (EAPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 66exposure Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 49, 53, 55, 63Family and Community Service Leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20


72

financial statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29first aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 61Freedom of Information Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66-68functions of Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9gender-neutral language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 66gender-specific language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Government Advertising and Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 13, 58Government Energy Management Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23, 24, 66Government Bookshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63, 66, 67Government Printing Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Governor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 14, 69grants to community organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Grievance and Dispute Resolution Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 66Guarantee of Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13, 23, 25, 65-67, 69Hotline Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 13, 57, 67, 68, 70industrial relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 19Information Hotline Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 13, 57, 67, 68, 70Information Technology Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17internal audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 9, 12, 13, 21, 26, 27, 58, 61, 63, 67, 69IT Support Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8land disposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Law Reform Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9legal changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Legal Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8legislation

administered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25advice and information services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13, 57, 69amendments in committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 10, 53, 64annual volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 27, 56, 64Cabinet Standing Committee on Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 23editorial checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10, 15electronic publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57environmental planning instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 12-14, 18, 55, 63, 64, 69explanatory notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13, 64, 67, 69exposure Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 49, 53, 55, 63Information Hotline Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 13, 57, 67, 68, 70legal opinions and advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 12, 13, 54, 55, 57, 69Legislation Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 13, 15, 21, 58, 63, 66, 69private Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64, 65proclamations and orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 14, 18, 54, 63, 64reprinting policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 66reprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 10, 13, 56, 63, 64, 69Staged Repeal of Subordinate Legislation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 11, 18, 54, 64statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 53-58Statute Law Revision Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 11subordinate legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 11, 12, 54

Legislation in Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 58, 63-65, 67Legislation Information Hotline Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 13, 57, 67, 68Legislative Drafting and Database System (LDDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 25long service leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18major assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25major works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Manual for the Drafting of Non-Government Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 65, 66Manual for the Preparation of Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65, 66Mission statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11occupational health and safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-20, 22, 48, 50, 66Office Accommodation Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 66organisation of Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8overseas travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25overseas visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Parliamentary Counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7, 8, 10, 15, 23, 69

Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11, 17, 23Bill Review Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 15, 22Cabinet Standing Committee on Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 23letter to Director-General, The Cabinet Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 10, 16

Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11, 17, 23part-time work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-21payment of accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 26

Index

73

performance measurement and review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16personnel information

Disability Action Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21, 66Employee Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19equal employment opportunity (EEO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-21, 59-62, 66Ethnic Affairs Priorities Statement (EAPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 66Ethnic Affairs Priority Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Family and Community Service Leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20flexible work practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 19, 22industrial relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 19long service leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18occupational health and safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-20organisation chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8part-time work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21performance management systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15recreation leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 60, 66salary increases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Spokeswomen’s Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 16, 61

plain language policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 16, 21, 26, 66, 70Policy for Preventing and Dealing with Harassment and Bullying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 66Premier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 7Premier’s Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24, 67Privacy Management Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 66private Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64, 65Protected Disclosures—Internal Reporting Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 12-16, 21, 27, 28, 47, 49, 54, 57, 58, 63, 65-67, 69

Acts Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 58, 64, 65, 67Explanatory Notes for Bills (Annual Volumes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 64, 67Guarantee of Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13, 25, 65, 67Legislation in Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 58, 63-65, 67Manual for the Drafting of Non-Government Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 65Manual for the Preparation of Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Review and redesign of NSW legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Status of Statutory Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 54, 58, 64, 67Statutory Instruments Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 58, 64, 67

Publishing and Administration Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8publishing services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 12, 16, 55, 57, 69Quality Assurance Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 10, 15quality control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 12, 15, 16Records Management Policy and Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 66recreation leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 14, 18, 20, 21, 60, 66recycling and waste management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27reprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 25, 56, 63, 64, 69, 70Reprints Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8Reprints Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 63research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13, 26, 61risk management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Senior Executive Service (SES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 18, 59Senior Legislative Drafting Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8sick leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Spokeswomen’s Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Spokeswomen’s Management Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Women’s Liaison Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Staged Repeal of Subordinate Legislation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11, 18, 54, 64stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 23, 25Standing Committee on Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 23State records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 11-13, 19, 20, 57Statute Law Revision Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 11, 16Statutory and Other Offices Remuneration Tribunal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18subsidiary organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27superannuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49The Cabinet Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5, 11Total Asset Management Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Waste Reduction and Purchasing Policy (WRAPP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 66websites

corporate website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 25, 63, 68, 70


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legislation website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 15, 16, 18, 21, 57, 58, 63, 64, 68, 70Weekly Bulletin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 16, 57, 63, 67

WomenSpokeswomen’s Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 22

workers compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 18, 19, 26, 49, 52workplace reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 22

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