Western Australia

Metric Conversion Act 1972

Reprint 1: The Act as at 11 September 2009

Guide for using this reprint

What the reprint includes

Endnotes, Compilation table, and Table of provisions that have not come into operation

1.Details about the original Act and legislation that has amended its text are shown in the Compilation table in endnote 1, at the back of the reprint. The table also shows any previous reprint.

2.Validation, transitional, savings, or other provisions identified in the Compilation table may be important. The table may refer to another endnote setting out the text of these provisions in full.

3.A table of provisions that have not come into operation, to be found in endnote 1a if it is needed, lists any provisions of the Act being reprinted that have not come into operation and any amendments that have not come into operation. The full text is set out in another endnote that is referred to in the table.

Notes amongst text (italicised and within square brackets)

1.If the reprint includes a section that was inserted, or has been amended, since the Act being reprinted was passed, editorial notes at the foot of the section give some history of how the section came to be as it is. If the section replaced an earlier section, no history of the earlier section is given (the full history of the Act is in the Compilation table).

Notes of this kind may also be at the foot of Schedules or headings.

2.The other kind of editorial note shows something has been —

•removed (because it was repealed or deleted from the law); or

•omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4) (because, although still technically part of the text, it no longer has any effect).

The text of anything removed or omitted can be found in an earlier reprint (if there is one) or one of the written laws identified in the Compilation table.

Reprint numbering and date

1.The reprint number (in the footer of each page of the document) shows how many times the Act has been reprinted. For example, numbering a reprint as “Reprint 3” would mean that the reprint was the 3rd reprint since the Act was passed. Reprint numbering was implemented as from 1 January 2003.

2. The information in the reprint is current on the date shown as the date as at which the regulations are reprinted. That date is not the date when the reprint was published by the State Law Publisher and it is probably not the date when the most recent amendment had effect.

Reprinted under the Reprints Act 1984 as

at 4 September 2009

Western Australia

CONTENTS

1.Short title1

2.Commencement1

3.Terms used1

5.Amendments to Acts may be made by proclamations2

6.Amendments of statutory instruments3

7.Power to amend subsidiary legislation4

Notes

Compilation table5

Defined Terms

	Reprinted under the Reprints Act 1984 as
	at 4 September 2009

Western Australia

Metric Conversion Act 1972

An Act to facilitate the use of the metric system of measurement by amending certain references to physical quantities in certain Acts 2; to authorise the amendment, by proclamation or notice of other such references in Acts and other statutory instruments; and for incidental and other purposes.

1.Short title

This Act may be cited as the Metric Conversion Act 1972 1.

2.Commencement

Subject to section 4(2), this Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent 1.

3. Terms used

In this Act unless the contrary intention appears — 

metric system of measurement means measurement in terms of — 

(a)the units comprised in the International System of Units for the time being approved by the General Conference on Weights and Measures;

(b)units decimally related to those units and for the time being so approved;

(c)such other units as are declared from time to time pursuant to the Metric Conversion Act 1970 of the Commonwealth 3, as amended from time to time, or pursuant to any Act of the Commonwealth in substitution for that Act, to be within the metric system;

statutory instrument means — 

(a)any proclamation or Order in Council;

(b)any regulation, rule, local law, by‑law, notice, order or other instrument promulgated, made, given or published under or for the purposes of any Act.

[Section 3 amended by No. 14 of 1996 s. 4.]

[4. Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).]

5.Amendments to Acts may be made by proclamations

(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act or law, but subject to subsection (2), the Governor may by proclamation, in any case where he is of opinion that it is necessary or expedient so to do for giving proper effect to the purposes for which an Act was enacted, amend any reference in the Act to a physical quantity that is not expressed in terms of a unit or units in the metric system of measurement by substituting for that reference a reference to a physical quantity expressed in terms of a unit or units in the metric system of measurement.

(2)A proclamation may be so made under subsection (1) as to — 

(a)take effect on such day or days as are specified therein, not being a day or days earlier than the day on which the proclamation is published in the Government Gazette; and

(b)alter the physical quantity in the reference amended by the proclamation, but so that the physical quantity substituted by the proclamation — 

(i)is not less by more than 10% than; and

(ii)does not exceed by more than 10%,

the physical quantity amended by the proclamation.

(3)The Minister administering an Act affected by a proclamation made under this section shall cause a copy of the proclamation to be laid on the Table of each House of Parliament within the first 6 sitting days of the House after the publication of the proclamation in the Government Gazette.

(4)If either House of Parliament passes a resolution of which notice has been given within the first 14 sitting days of that House after the copy of a proclamation made under this section has been laid on the table of that House, that the proclamation be disallowed, the proclamation thereupon ceases to have effect, but the disallowance of the proclamation does not affect or invalidate anything done, or omitted to be done, in good faith before the passing of the resolution.

6.Amendments of statutory instruments

(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act or law, the Minister administering an Act under which a statutory instrument has been promulgated, made, given or published may, with the approval of the Governor, by notice published in the Government Gazette amend any reference in the statutory instrument to a physical quantity that is not expressed in terms of a unit or units in the metric system of measurement by substituting for that reference a reference to a physical quantity expressed in terms of a unit or units in the metric system of measurement.

(2)The provisions of section 5(2), (3) and (4) apply to a notice published under this section as though it were a proclamation made under section 5.

7.Power to amend subsidiary legislation

(1)The Governor, on the recommendation of the Minister, may make regulations amending any subsidiary legislation made under any Act.

(2)The Minister may make a recommendation under subsection (1) only if the Minister considers that each amendment proposed to be made by the regulations is solely for the purpose of amending a reference in the subsidiary legislation to a physical quantity that is not expressed in terms of a unit or units in the metric system of measurement by substituting for that reference a reference to a physical quantity expressed in terms of a unit or units in the metric system of measurement.

(3)The quantity to be substituted need not be the exact metric equivalent of the quantity being replaced but must not be more than 10% greater or less than the quantity being replaced.

[Section 7 inserted by No. 8 of 2009 s. 91.]

[First to Fourth Schedules omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e) 4.]

Notes

1This reprint is a compilation as at 11 September 2009 of the Metric Conversion Act 1972 and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.

Compilation table

Short title	Number and year	Assent	Commencement
Metric Conversion Act 1972	94 of 1972	4 Dec 1972	4 Dec 1972 (see s. 2)
Metric Conversion Act Amendment Act 1973	19 of 1973	6 Jun 1973	s. 1-4: 6 Jun 1973 Amendment effected by Second Schedule to Metric Conversion Act 1972 by Act No. 19 of 1973 took effect 11 Jan 1974 (see Gazette 4 Jan 1974 p. 52)
Metric Conversion Act Amendment Act (No. 2) 1973	83 of 1973	21 Dec 1973	21 Dec 1973
Metric Conversion Act Amendment Act 1975	42 of 1975	11 Sep 1975	11 Sep 1975
Local Government (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996 s. 4	14 of 1996	28 Jun 1996	1 Jul 1996 (see s. 2)
Statutes (Repeals and Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2009 s. 91	8 of 2009	21 May 2009	22 May 2009 (see s. 2(b))
Reprint 1: The Metric Conversion Act 1972 as at 11 Sep 2009 (includes amendments listed above)

2The provisions in this Act amending these Acts have been omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).

3Metric Conversion Act 1970 (Cwlth) repealed by Weights and Measures (National Standards) Amendment Act 1984 (No. 77 of 1984).

4The First to Fourth Schedules set out the amendments to be effected by section 4. As those amendments have been made, the Schedules are spent and are omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).

Defined Terms

[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]

Defined TermProvision(s)

metric system of measurement3

statutory instrument3

By Authority: JOHN A. STRIJK, Government Printer