Investigation Training Resources
Session 3 - LEGAL PROCESS
Learning Packages

SECTION 3: Legislation and the Law

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The interpretation of legislation

It is the role of judges and magistrates to interpret legislation. Judges have developed a set of rules to help them interpret Acts. The basic rule for the interpretation of Queensland legislation is that the words of the statute must be given their ordinary literal meaning. If words are ambiguous and capable of more than one meaning, secondary rules require that words be interpreted to avoid absurdity and best achieve what appears to have been the purpose of the Act. These rules are contained in the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 (Qld). For Commonwealth legislation, the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) provides that an Act should be interpreted in a way that promotes the purpose of the Act.

What is an example of statutory interpretation?

Statutory interpretation is the process of resolving those ambiguities and deciding how a particular bill or law will apply in a particular case. Assume, for example, that a statute mandates that all motor vehicles travelling on a public roadway must be registered with the Dept of Transport.

What is the golden rule of statutory interpretation in Australia?

The 'golden rule' is an extension of the literal rule. It provides that words in a statute are to be given their ordinary meaning unless that interpretation should lead to some absurd result.

What are the three rules for interpreting legislation?

The three schools of statutory interpretation: Literalism, legislative intention and purposive

• literalism (what do the words literally mean?);

• legislative intention (what did Parliament intend by the words used?) and.

• purposive (what was the purpose of the legislation?).

How do I interpret legislation?

Trawling for rules and canons of interpretation is not the correct starting point. The starting point should always be to look at the words, their context, and the purpose of the legislation, then applying that to produce a result that is both fair and workable in the fact situation you have before you.

Local Government Legislation

Local Government Act 2009 - Queensland Legislation - Queensland Government

Other relevant ‘council’ legislation: -

• Planning Act 2016 (Qld)

• Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld)

• Building Act 1975 (Qld)

• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld)

• Public Health Act 2005 (Qld)