This database contains a collection of subsidiary legislation as originally published in the Government Gazette. It does not contain consolidation of amendments into principal subsidiary legislation. The collection extends from current dates back to January 1, 1990.
To access subsidiary legislation as made prior to 1990 please browse or search Government Gazettes.
A new numbering regime for various instruments (principally subsidiary legislation and some related instruments) published in the Gazette was introduced on 1 January 2020. This affects how these instruments are referenced in legislation.
Prior to 2020, subsidiary legislation and related instruments published in the Gazette were not allocated a unique identifier. This contrasts with Acts, which are allocated an Act number. For example, the Interpretation Act 1984 is Act No 12 of 1984. Where an item of subsidiary legislation was previously referenced in WA legislation other than by its title, it was referenced by the date of the Gazette in which it was published, and the relevant pages of that Gazette. For example, an item published in the Gazette of 31 May 2019 at pages 1757 to 1758 was referenced as “Gazette 31 May 2019 p. 1757-8”.
From the start of 2020, subsidiary legislation and some related instruments published in the Gazette are allocated a unique identifier, in the format “SL 2020/1”. The identifier will appear in the Gazette as set out in the example below. Where an instrument needs to be referenced in WA legislation other than by its title, it will be referenced using this unique identifier.
This change was introduced to simplify the way in which these instruments are referenced, and to ensure that each instrument is uniquely identifiable.
The principal effect of this change is to the way in which Compilation Tables and endnotes in consolidated versions of WA legislation refer to subsidiary legislation and related instruments. Here is the compilation table for the Jetties Regulations 1940. If the Jetties Amendment Regulations 2020 are published in the Gazette on 1 January 2020, they will be given the reference “SL 2020/1” and included as highlighted in the compilation table as follows:
Endnotes relate to particular provisions of an enactment, and set out the history of a provision, including amendments made by other enactments.
The Gazette reference appearing in this endnote refers to regulations that amend these regulations. The new numbering regime will apply to amending regulations, and they will be referred to in the new format in future. The following example shows an endnote with an amendment referred to in the new format:
