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Categories of the ‘Art of the Impossible’: Achieving Sustainable Uniformity in Harmonised Legislation in the Australian Federation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Guzyal Hill Open the ORCID record for Guzyal Hill [Opens in a new window]
Guzyal Hill*
Affiliation:
Asia Pacific College of Business and Law, Charles Darwin University
*
The author may be contacted at guzyal.hill@cdu.edu.au.
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Abstract

National uniform legislation links the federal distribution of powers achieved more than 119 years ago with the challenges and opportunities faced by Australia in an interconnected world. Over this span of time, developing national uniform legislation has been described as the ‘art of the impossible’. The main objective of this article is to critically examine the database of national uniform legislation with a view to applying public policy and federalist theory to explain how sustainable uniformity has been achieved. Rather than focusing on why an individual set of uniform Acts has not achieved a high level of uniformity or has diverged through unilateral amendment, this article examines national uniform legislation by analysing the factors at play. This approach allows the common patterns impacting sustainable uniformity to be identified. From among 84 sets of uniform Acts, four discernible links with theory have been found: (1) the ‘incrementalism and policy cycle’ model—to explain harmonisation that may take decades (31 sets); (2) the ‘multiple streams’ framework, explaining legislation that emerges as sustainably uniform from the outset due to an ‘open policy window’ (16 sets); (3) ‘pragmatic federalism’ solutions, such as skeletal legislation and the conferral of powers, which are developed in the course of inter-jurisdictional negotiations when uniformity is required but is particularly difficult to achieve (14 sets); and (4) the ‘advocacy coalition’ framework, which in contrast, explains situations where jurisdictions hold firm views about retaining diversity (23 sets). Developing and drafting national uniform legislation can become the ‘art of the possible’ with this improved understanding.

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Articles
Information
Federal Law Review , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , September 2020 , pp. 350 - 381
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 The Author(s)

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Footnotes

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the supervisors without whom this work would not be possible: Professor Les McCrimmon, Professor David Price, Professor Ned Aughterson and Dr John Garrick. In addition, I would like to thank the examiners and the reviewers.

References

1. This article is based on the key findings from Guzyal Hill, Achieving Sustainable Uniformity of National Uniform Legislation (PhD Thesis, Charles Darwin University, 2019).

2. Cheryl Saunders, ‘The Constitutional, Legal and Institutional Foundations of Australian Federalism’ in Robert Carling (ed), Where to for Australian Federalism (The Centre for Independent Studies, 2008) 15, 25.

3. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Parliament of Australia, Harmonisation of Legal Systems within Australia and between Australia and New Zealand (Report, November 2006) vii.

4. That is not to say that in unitary states, government reforms can avoid overlap and duplication. As Carter warns, in New Zealand, if law reform is non-systematic and uncoordinated, it can also lead to overlap and duplication between the reform agencies: Ross I Carter, Burrows and Carter Statute Law in New Zealand (LexisNexis, 2015) 47.

5. Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (Final Report, February 2003) vol 8, 255.

6. Ibid.

7. This is a summary of the main arguments for reform of contract law in Attorney-General’s Department (Cth), Improving Australia’s Law and Justice Framework: A Discussion Paper Exploring the Scope for Reforming Australian Contract Law (2012) 3–19.

8. Australian Government, Productivity Commission, Chemicals and Plastics Regulation Supplement to Research Report, Lessons for National Approaches to Regulation (Research Report, January 2009) 5.

9. See House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (n 3).

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18. AJ Brown, ‘From Intuition to Reality: Measuring Federal Political Culture in Australia’ (2013) 43(2) Publius: The Journal of Federalism 1, 1.

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22. Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee, Protocol on Drafting National Uniform Legislation (4th ed, February 2018) (‘PCC Protocol’).

23. See, eg, House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (n 3); TimeBase, What is National Uniform Legislation and What are Some Examples? (2015) <https://www.timebase.com.au/support/legalresources/What_is_National_Uniform_Legislation_and_what_are_some_examp.html>; The Commonwealth Government, Reform of the Federation White Paper—A Federation for our Future (Issues Paper No 1, September 2014) app C.

24. Mads Andenas and Camilla Baasch Andersen, Theory and Practice of Harmonisation (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012) 31.

25. International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth); Commercial Arbitration Act 2010 (NSW); Commercial Arbitration (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT); Commercial Arbitration Act 2013 (Qld); Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (SA); Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Tas); Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic); Commercial Arbitration Act 2012 (WA).

26. Drugs in Sport Act 1999 (ACT); Sports Drug Testing Act 1995 (NSW); Sports Anti-Doping Act 2003 (Qld); Sports Drug Testing Act 2000 (SA); Sports Drug Testing Act 1995 (Vic); Sports Drug Testing Act 2001 (WA).

27. Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1997 (ACT); Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 (NSW); Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 (NT); Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003 (Qld); Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 (SA); Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1999 (Tas); Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 (Vic); Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 (WA).

28. Parentage Act 2004 (ACT); Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW); Surrogacy Act 2010 (Qld); Family Relationships Act 1975 (SA) pt 2B; Surrogacy Act 2012 (Tas); Status of Children Act 1974 (Vic) pt IV; Surrogacy Act 2008 (WA).

29. This article builds on the synthesis of the findings from the empirical study. The empirical findings are presented in detail in other publications.

30. In particular, Kirschen enumerates 64 types of public policy instruments for economic policy alone. See Kirschen, Economic Policy in our Time (North-Holland, 1964). Howlett focuses on both substantive and procedural instruments (to include specialised investigatory commissions, information release tools and government reorganisation campaigns). See Michael Howlett, Designing Public Policies: Principles and Instruments (Routledge, 2010).

31. See, eg, Kevin B Smith and Christopher Larimer, The Public Policy Theory Primer (Westview Press, 2009) 15–17; Kevin B Smith, The Public Policy Theory Primer (Routledge, 2018); Paul Cairney and Tanya Heikkila, ‘A Comparison of Theories of the Policy Process’ in Christopher M Weible and Paul A Sabatier (eds), Theories of the Policy Process (Westview Press, 2014) vol 3, 363, 363.

32. Harold D Lasswell, The Decision Process: Seven Categories of Functional Analysis (Bureau of Governmental Research, 1956).

33. Catherine Althaus, Peter Bridgman and Glyn Davis, The Australian Policy Handbook (Allen and Unwin, 2012) 32–42.

34. Ibid 32.

35. Peter Bridgman and Glyn Davis, ‘What Use is a Policy Cycle? Plenty, if the Aim is Clear’ (2003) 62(3) Australian Journal of Public Administration 98.

36. HK Colebatch, ‘Policy Analysis, Policy Practice and Political Science’ (2005) 64(3) Australian Journal of Public Administration 14.

37. Mark A Pollack, Policy-Making in the European Union (Oxford University Press, 2015) 81.

38. Paul Cairney, Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Issues (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) 40; Brian W Hogwood, Lewis A Gunn and Sean Archibald, Policy Analysis for the Real World (Oxford University Press, 1984) 4.

39. Stuart S Nagel, Contemporary Policy Evaluation (Nova Science, 2002) 29.

40. Christian Jensen, ‘Expectations, Learning, and Discretionary Policymaking’ (2006) 2(4) International Journal of Central Banking 49.

41. Peter John, Analyzing Public Policy (Routledge, 2013) 154.

42. Paul A Sabatier, ‘Toward Better Theories of the Policy Process’ (1991) 24(2) PS: Political Science and Politics 147.

43. Wayne Parsons, Public Policy (Cheltenham, 1995) 79–81.

44. Cairney (n 38) 6.

45. Garry D Brewer and Peter DeLeon, The Foundations of Policy Analysis (Dorsey Pr, 1983).

46. Charles E Lindblom, ‘The Science of Muddling Through’ (1959) 19(2) Public Administration Review 41, 79; Charles E Lindblom, ‘Still Muddling, Not Yet Through’ (1979) 39(6) Public Administration Review 517; Charles E Lindblom and Edward J Woodhouse, The Policy-Making Process (Prentice Hall, 3rd ed, 1993) 27.

47. Cairney (n 38) 7.

48. Ibid 88.

49. Ibid 99.

50. Amitai Etzioni, ‘Mixed-Scanning: A “Third” Approach to Decision-Making’ (1967) 27(5) Public Administration Review 385.

51. Lindblom, ‘The Science of Muddling Through’ (n 46) 86.

52. Lindblom, ‘Still Muddling, Not Yet Through’ (n 46) 521.

53. Ibid 517.

54. Ibid 520.

55. Business Names Act 1963 (ACT); Business Names Act 2002 (NSW); Business Names Act 2007 (NT); Business Names Act 1962 (Qld); Business Names Act 1996 (SA); Business Names Act 1962 (Tas); Business Names Act 1962 (Vic); Business Names Act 1962 (WA).

56. Explanatory Memorandum, Business Names Registration Bill 2011 (Cth) 3.

57. Business Names Registration (Transition to Commonwealth) Act 2012 (ACT); Business Names (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2011 (NSW); Business Names (National Uniform Legislation) Request Act 2011 (NT); Business Names (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2011 (Qld); Business Names (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2012 (SA); Business Names (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2011 (Tas); Business Names (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2011 (Vic); Business Names (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2012 (WA).

58. Companies Act 1874 (NSW); Companies Act 1863 (Qld); Companies Act 1864 (SA); Companies Act 1869 (Tas); Companies Act 1864 (Vic).

59. Companies Act 1962 (ACT); Companies Act 1963 (NT); Companies Act 1961 (NSW); Companies Act 1961 (Qld); Companies Act 1962 (SA); Companies Act 1962 (Tas); Companies Act 1961 (Vic); Companies Act 1961 (WA).

60. (1999) 198 CLR 511.

61. (2000) 202 CLR 535.

62. Corporations (Commonwealth Power) Act 2001 (NSW); Corporations (Northern Territory Request) Act 2001 (NT); Corporations (Commonwealth Power) Act 2001 (Qld); Corporations (Commonwealth Power) Act 2001 (SA); Corporations (Commonwealth Power) Act 2001 (Vic); Corporations (Commonwealth Power) Act 2001 (WA).

63. Michael Gillooly, ‘The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation’ (2006) 14(3) Torts Law Journal 311, 311.

64. See Arjen Boin, Paul ‘t Hart and Allan McConnell, ‘Crisis Exploitation: Political and Policy Impacts of Framing Contests’ (2009) 16(1) Journal of European Public Policy 81.

65. John W Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (Little, Brown and Company, 1984).

66. Ibid 17.

67. Michael Howlett, Allan McConnell and Anthony Perl, ‘Moving Policy Theory Forward: Connecting Multiple Stream and Advocacy Coalition Frameworks to Policy Cycle Models of Analysis’ (2017) 76(1) Australian Journal of Public Administration 65, 68.

68. Michael Howlett, Allan McConnell and Anthony Perl, ‘Streams and Stages: Reconciling Kingdon and Policy Process Theory’ (2015) 54(3) European Journal of Political Research 419, 421.

69. Michael Howlett, ‘Sustainable Development: Environmental Policy’ in Andrew Johnson and Andrew Stritch (eds), Canadian Public Policy: Globalization and Political Parties (Copp Clark, 1997) 99.

70. Thomas A Birkland, After Disaster: Agenda Setting, Public Policy, and Focusing Events (Georgetown University Press, 1997).

71. Cairney (n 38) 233.

72. Ibid.

73. Giandomenico Majone, Evidence, Argument and Persuasion in the Policy Process (Yale University Press, 1989) 24.

74. Kingdon (n 65) 134, 81.

75. Ibid 18.

76. Ibid 131–46.

77. Ibid 18.

78. Ibid 21.

79. Birkland (n 70) 53–74.

80. Friedbert W Rüb, ‘Agenda-Setting and Policy-Making in Time: What the Multiple-Streams Approach Can Tell Us—And What it Cannot’ in Reimut Zohlnhöfer and Friedbert W Rüb (eds), Decision-Making under Ambiguity and Time Constraints: Assessing the Multiple-Streams Framework (ECPR Press, 2016) 51, 63.

81. John W Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (Pearson Education Limited, 2nd ed, 2014) 96.

82. Ibid 103.

83. Ibid 141.

84. Ibid 165.

85. Ibid 166.

86. Ibid.

87. Cairney (n 38) 239.

88. Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ambiguity and Choice in Public Policy: Political Decision Making in Modern Democracies (Georgetown University Press, 2003) 1.

89. Robert C Lieberman, ‘Ideas, Institutions, and Political Order: Explaining Political Change’ (2002) 96(4) American Political Science Review 697, 709.

90. John TS Keeler, ‘Opening the Window for Reform: Mandates, Crises, and Extraordinary Policy-Making’ (1993) 25(4) Comparative Political Studies 433, 436.

91. See generally Robert Cornall, ‘The Effectiveness of Criminal Laws on Terrorism’ in Andrew Lynch, Edwina McDonald and George Williams (eds), Law and Liberty in the War on Terror (Federation Press, 2007) 50–8.

92. Agreement on Federal Counter-Terrorism Laws (Intergovernmental Agreement, 25 June 2004) Recital 1.

93. Andrew Lynch, ‘From Blair’s Britain with Love: Control Orders in Australia’ (Seminar Paper, Social-Legal Research Centre Griffith University, 10 March 2008); Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Parliament of Australia, Consideration of Legislation Referred to the Committee (Report, May 2002) 34, 39.

94. Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 31 March 2004, 27657 (Philip Ruddock).

95. Convention Relating to the Regulation of Aerial Navigation, signed 13 October 1919, 11 LNTS 173 (entered into force 29 March 1922).

96. Chris Clark, ‘Legge, James Gordon (1863–1947)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography (1986) <http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/leggejames-gordon-7160/text12367>.

97. AJ Emmerson, Submission No 250 to Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, Aviation Safety Regulation Review, ‘Why we Regulate the Way we Regulate and Who Pays’ (8 February 2014) <https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/asrr/submissions/files/250_a_emmerson_8_feb_2014.pdf>.

98. Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005 (Cth).

99. Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth); Industrial Relations (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2009 (NSW); Fair Work (Commonwealth Powers) and Other Provisions Act 2009 (Qld); Fair Work (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2009 (SA); Industrial Relations (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2009 (Tas); Fair Work (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2009 (Vic).

100. NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service, Industrial Relations Update: The Referral of Powers and the Fair Work Act 2009 (E-brief 2/10, January 2010) <https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Documents/industrial-relations-update-the-referral-of-powe/industrial%20relations%20updateE-brief.pdf>.

101. See Andrew Stewart, ‘Work Choices in Overview: Big Bang or Slow Burn?’ (2006) 16(2) The Economic and Labour Relations Review 25, 25.

102. Kingdon (n 65) 31.

103. Explanatory Memorandum, Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005 (Cth) 4.

104. Darrell Barnett, ‘The Corporations Power and Federalism: Key Aspects of the Constitutional Validity of the WorkChoices Act’ (2006) 29(1) University of New South Wales Law Journal 91, 92.

105. Ibid 126.

106. Kingdon (n 65) 173.

107. Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 26 May 2005, 41 (John Howard).

108. Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 25 November 2008, 11196 (Julia Gillard).

109. Woodward correlates this finding with the News Polls results at the time: Dennis Woodward, ‘WorkChoices and Howard’s Defeat’ (2010) 69(3) Australian Journal of Public Administration 274. Cf Richard Hall, ‘The Politics of Industrial Relations in Australia in 2007’ (2008) 50(3) Journal of Industrial Relations 371.

110. (1996) 186 CLR 630.

111. (1995) 129 ALR 678.

112. Queensland, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 25 May 1999, 1823 (David Hamill).

113. Hank C Jenkins-Smith et al, ‘The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Foundations, Evolution, and Ongoing Research’ in Paul A Sabatier and Christopher M Weible (eds), Theories of the Police Process (Westview Press, 3rd ed, 2014) 183.

114. Paul A Sabatier, ‘An Advocacy Coalition Framework of Policy Change and the Role of Policy-Oriented Learning Therein’ (1988) 21(2–3) Policy Sciences 129, 139.

115. Paul A Sabatier and Christopher M Weible, ‘The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Innovations and Clarifications’ in Paul A Sabatier (ed), Theories of the Policy Process (Westview Press, 2007) 189, 192.

116. Cairney (n 38) 205.

117. Paul A Sabatier, ‘Policy Change over a Decade or More’ in Paul Sabatier and Hank C Jenkins-Smith (eds), Policy Change and Learning: An Advocacy Coalition Approach (Westview Press, 1993) 13, 26.

118. Christopher M Weible, Paul A Sabatier and Kelly McQueen, ‘Themes and Variations: Taking Stock of the Advocacy Coalition Framework’ (2009) 37(1) Policy Studies Journal 121, 124.

119. Paul A Sabatier, ‘The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Revisions and Relevance for Europe’ (1998) 5(1) Journal of European Public Policy 98, 109.

120. Sabatier (n 117) 31, 36.

121. Ibid 31.

122. Ibid 34.

123. Ibid 42.

124. Sabatier (n 119) 104.

125. Cairney (n 38) 208.

126. Ibid 271.

127. Weible, Sabatier and McQueen (n 118) 124.

128. Ibid 128.

129. Cairney (n 38) 208.

130. Ibid 488.

131. Sabatier and Weible (n115) 197.

132. Sabatier (n 114) 152.

133. Ibid 154.

134. Australian Law Reform Commission, Unfair Publication: Defamation and Privacy (Report No 11, June 1979) ix.

135. Defamation Act 2005 (NSW); Defamation Act 2006 (NT); Defamation Act 2005 (Qld); Defamation Act 2005 (SA); Defamation Act 2005 (Tas); Defamation Act 2005 (Vic); Defamation Act 2005 (WA).

136. David Rolph, ‘A Critique of the National, Uniform Defamation Laws’ (2008) 16(3) Torts Law Journal 207, 208.

137. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Sex Offenders Registration (Information Paper, November 2011) 21.

138. Saunders (n 2) 16.

139. See Martin Painter, Collaborative Federalism: Economic Reform in Australia in the 1990s (Cambridge University Press, 2009); Cheryl Saunders, ‘Cooperative Arrangements in Comparative Perspective’ in Gabrielle Appleby, Nicholas Aroney and Thomas John (eds), The Future of Australian Federalism: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 2012) 414–31; John Wanna et al, ‘Common Cause: Strengthening Australia’s Cooperative Federalism’ (Final Report to the Council for the Australian Federation, May 2009); Brian R Opeskin, ‘Mechanisms for Intergovernmental Relations in Federations’ (2001) 53(167) International Social Science Journal 129; Hagen Henrÿ, ‘Basics and New Features of Cooperative Law—The Case of Public International Cooperative Law and the Harmonisation of Cooperative Laws’ (2012) 17(1–2) Uniform Law Review 197.

140. ‘Policy diversity among the states means that people are presented with meaningful choices if they decide to relocate and indicates that federalism is generating governments that respond to the particular needs of local communities’: Scott Stephenson, ‘Federalism and Rights Deliberation’ (2014) 38(2) Melbourne University Law Review 709, 714. See also Wolfgang Kasper, ‘High on the Reform Agenda: Competitive Federalism’ (1994) 10(3) Policy: A Journal of Public Policy and Ideas 10; David Leyonhjelm, ‘The Case for Competitive Federalism’ (Conference Paper, Twenty-Sixth Conference of The Samuel Griffith Society, August 2014).

141. Martin Painter, ‘Public Sector Reform, Intergovernmental Relations and the Future of Australian Federalism’ (1998) 57(3) Australian Journal of Public Administration 52, 53.

142. Martin Painter, ‘The Council of Australian Governments and Intergovernmental Relations: A Case of Cooperative Federalism’ (1996) 26(2) Publius: The Journal of Federalism 101; Saunders (n 139); Wanna et al (n 139).

143. Geoffrey Sawer, Modern Federalism (Pitman, 1976) 104.

144. Ibid.

145. Tim Conlan, ‘From Cooperative to Opportunistic Federalism: Reflections on the Half-Century Anniversary of the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations’ (2006) 66(5) Public Administration Review 663; Anne Twomey, ‘Aspirational Nationalism or Opportunistic Federalism?’ (2007) 51(10) Quadrant 38.

146. Robyn Hollander and Haig Patapan, ‘Pragmatic Federalism: Australian Federalism from Hawke to Howard’ (2007) 66(3) Australian Journal of Public Administration 280.

147. See Tom Wise, ‘Coercive Federalism, COAG and Uniform Legislation: a Lethal Mix for the States?’ (Paper submitted for Parliamentary Law, Practice and Procedures Course, School of Law, University of Tasmania, 2011); Ross Cranston, ‘From Co-operative to Coercive Federalism and Back?’ (1979) 10(2) Federal Law Review 121; Gareth Griffith, Managerial Federalism: COAG and the States (NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service, 2009).

148. John Phillimore and Alan Fenna, ‘Intergovernmental Councils and Centralization in Australian Federalism’ (2017) 27(5) Regional and Federal Studies 597, 600.

149. Griffith (n 147).

150. See Hollander and Patapan (n 146); Colebatch (n 36) 14; Amanda Smullen, ‘Conceptualising Australia’s Tradition of Pragmatic Federalism’ (2014) 49(4) Australian Journal of Political Science 677.

151. Jacob Deem, Robyn Hollander and AJ Brown, ‘Subsidiarity in the Australian Public Sector: Finding Pragmatism in the Principle’ (2015) 74(4) Australian Journal of Public Administration 419.

152. Painter (n 139); Saunders (n 139); Wanna et al (n 139); Anne Twomey, ‘Federalism and the Use of Cooperative Mechanisms to Improve Infrastructure Provision in Australia’ (2007) 2(3) Public Policy 211; Opeskin (n 139); Henrÿ (n 139).

153. Stephenson (n 140) 718, citing Painter (n 139); Paul Kildea and Andrew Lynch, ‘Entrenching “Cooperative Federalism”: Is It Time to Formalise COAG’s Place in the Australian Federation?’ (2011) 39 Federal Law Review 103, 108. Cf Tony Abbott, ‘White Paper on Reform of the Federation’ (Media Release, 28 June 2014) <https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-23603>.

154. R v Duncan; Ex parte Australian Iron & Steel Pty Limited (1983) 158 CLR 535, 589.

155. Ibid 557–8.

156. Althaus, Bridgman and Davis (n 33) 41.

157. See Meredith Edwards, ‘The Policy Making Process’ in John Warhurst (ed), Government, Politics, Power and Policy in Australia (Pearson Longman, 2002) 424–5.

158. Phillimore and Fenna (n 148).

159. John Phillimore and Tracey Arklay, ‘Policy and Policy Analysis in Australian States’ in Brian Head and Kate Crowley (eds), Policy Analysis in Australia (Policy Press, 2015) 87.

160. Deem, Hollander and Brown (n 151) 419.

161. Jan Kooiman, Modern Governance: New Government-Society Interactions (Sage, 1993) 4.

162. Cross-Border Justice Act 2009 (NT); Cross-Border Justice Act 2009 (SA); Cross-Border Justice Act 2008 (WA).

163. Council of Australian Governments, Communiqué (5 April 2002) 2; Council of Australian Governments, Communiqué (25 June 2004).

164. Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and Statutes Review, Parliament of Western Australia, Financial Transaction Reports Amendment Bill 2018 (Report No 113, 2018) 4 <http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/commit.nsf/ ( Report+Lookup+by+Com+ID ) /C382FA86A004FAD4482582AC000855F3/ $ file/us.ftr.180614.rpf.113.xx.pdf>.

165. Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council, 10 May 2018, 2508 (Sue Ellery).

166. Legislation and Policy Division of the NSW Attorney-General’s Department, Review of the Sea-Carriage Documents Act 1997 (Report, 2005) 11 <www.justice.nsw.gov.au/justicepolicy/Documents/sea_carriage_docs_act_review.doc>.

167. Ibid.

168. Ibid.

169. Adele Farina, ‘Bones Without Flesh—The Issues with Skeletal Legislation’ (Conference Paper, Australia–New Zealand Scrutiny of Legislation Conference, 26–28 July 2011); Joe Francis, ‘Some Accountability Issues in Scrutinising Subsidiary Legislation Made under Skeletal Acts’ (Conference Paper, Australia–New Zealand Scrutiny of Legislation Conference, 8 July 2009); Stephen Argument, ‘Leaving It to the Regs—The Pros and Cons of Dealing with Issues in Subordinate Legislation’ (Conference Paper, Australia–New Zealand Scrutiny of Legislation Conference, 26–28 July 2011) 8–9.

170. Australia Act 1986 (Cth); Australia Acts (Request) Act 1985 (NSW); Australia Acts (Request) Act 1985 (Qld); Australia Acts (Request) Act 1985 (SA); Australia Acts (Request) Act 1985 (Tas); Australia Acts (Request) Act 1985 (Vic); Australia Acts (Request) Act 1985 (WA).

171. See, eg, Sue v Hill (1999) 199 CLR 462; Attorney-General (WA) v Marquet (2003) 217 CLR 545.

172. Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (NSW); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (Qld); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (SA); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (Tas); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (Vic); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (WA).

173. Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (Cth); Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1993 (ACT); Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (NSW); Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (NT); Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (Qld); Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (SA); Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (Tas); Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (Vic); Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (WA).

174. Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (NSW); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (Qld); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (SA); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (Tas); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (Vic); Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Act 1999 (WA).

175. Federal Courts (State Jurisdiction) Bill 1999 (WA).

176. Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth); Mutual Recognition (New South Wales) Act 1992 (NSW); Mutual Recognition (Queensland) Act 1992 (Qld); Mutual Recognition (South Australia) Act 1993 (SA); Mutual Recognition (Tasmania) Act 1993 (Tas); Mutual Recognition (Victoria) Act 1999 (Vic); Mutual Recognition (Western Australia) Act 2010 (WA).

177. Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997 (Cth); Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (New South Wales) Act 1996 (NSW); Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (Queensland) Act 2003 (Qld); Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (South Australia) Act 1999 (SA); Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (Tasmania) Act 2003 (Tas); Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (Victoria) Act 1997 (Vic); Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (Western Australia) Act 2007 (WA).

178. Productivity Commission, Review of Mutual Recognition Schemes (Research Report, 2009).

179. The Council of Australian Governments, Arrangement between the Australian Government and Jurisdictions and New Zealand Relating to Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition, Recital F <https://www.coag.gov.au/sites/default/files/agreements/ttmra.pdf>.

180. Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 4 December 1996, 7624 (Mr Peter Mcgauran).

181. Ibid.

182. Howlett, McConnell and Perl (n 67).

183. Andenas and Andersen (n 24) 93.

184. PCC Protocol (n 22) 2.

185. See, eg, Eric Larry Windholz, Harmonisation of Social Regulation in the Australian Federation: A Case Study of Occupational Health and Safety (PhD Thesis, Monash University, 2013); Elizabeth Bluff and Neil Gunningham, ‘Harmonising Work Health and Safety Regulatory Regimes’ (2012) 25(2) Australian Journal of Labour Law 85.

186. As occurred with WorkChoices and Fair Work legislation.