How are laws changed in Australia?
There are several ways. Often if a law needs to be amended, it is because of public pressure and lobbying. Once the interest is noted, law reform commissions sometimes undertake research into the laws, make reccommendations for reforms and present them to parliament – this process involves expert consultation, public submissions and the like. Sometimes the Senate may also hold an inquiry into certain laws. Once parliament has received submissions to change a law, then it goes through the normal law making process (ie; first, second, third reading, debate, votes etc) in both the lower and upper houses. If it is passed then it needs to receive Royal Assent. Sometimes it’s only part of an Act that needs to be changed, maybe only one or two sections. For instance if I have an act called the ABC Act 2007 and Section 17 needs to be changed, rather than changing the act all together, it is likely that Parliament will pass an ABC Amendment Act 2007 with the new Section 17 and repeal the old Se
