The format for citing Bills is as follows:

Eg Judicial Matters Bill 2008 (216-1), cl 3.

Where a Government Bill has not yet been introduced to the House, cite it in accordance with rule 5.4. In the case of a Member’s Bill not yet introduced, cite it according to the rule applicable to the medium through which it was accessed.

(a) Short title

Cite the short title as it appears on the Bill.

If the Bill has been given a number, include this after the short title.

Eg Arms Amendment Bill (No 3) 2005 (248-1).

(b) Year of introduction

The year of introduction is not part of the Bill’s title. However, give the year of introduction so that future readers can identify the particular Bill being referred to. For example, there is a Statutes Amendment Bill introduced most years. Without referring to the year of introduction, it would be difficult to identify the particular Statutes Amendment Bill being referred to.

Parliament does not include the year a Bill was introduced in the Bill’s title but instead uses “(No 2)” or “(No 3)” to distinguish between Bills that have identical titles introduced within the same parliamentary term. Accordingly, the Education Amendment Bill (No 3) 2008 (295-1) is not the third Education Amendment Bill introduced in 2008 but the third Education Amendment Bill introduced during the 48th parliamentary term.

(c) Bill number

The Bill number can be found in the footer of the Bill. Place this in round brackets, together with the bar number, and insert after the year of introduction.

Eg Securities Legislation Bill 2004 (234-2).

(d) Bar number

The bar number, preceded by a hyphen, indicates which version of a Bill is being referred to, indicating how many times the Bill has been amended. The bar number is included together with the Bill number in the footer of the Bill.

Usually, Bills are amended (if at all) at select committee or in the committee of the whole House, but:

• it is not uncommon for there to be no amendments made by a select committee; and
• it is uncommon but possible for the House:
  • to send a Bill back to a select committee (the same committee or a different one) for a second time; or
  • if an error is detected after the Bill has been set down for third reading, to send the Bill back to the committee of the whole House for a second time.

Therefore:

• 56-1 indicates that the Bill has not been amended, that is it refers to the Bill in the form in which it was introduced;
• 56-2 indicates that this is the second version of the Bill, meaning it has been amended only once (usually by a select committee but possibly in the committee of the whole House if no amendments were made by the select committee); and
• 56-3 indicates that this is the third version of the Bill.

There is no space between the Bill number and bar number.

Eg Business Law Reform Bill 2003 (56-2).

Where a Bill is being referred to in a general way and the particular version is not material, the bar number may be omitted.

Eg Judicial Retirement Age Bill 2006 (90).

(e) Divided Bills

A slightly different numbering convention applies if a Bill is divided into several Bills. When Bills are divided, the divided Bills will carry the same Bill number as the “parent” Bill but will be distinguished by being referred to as bar-3A, 3B, or 3C.

For example, the Tertiary Education Reform Bill 2001 (180-2) was divided at the committee stage into two Bills, neither of which bore the same title as the parent Bill: the Education (Tertiary Reform) Amendment Bill 2001 (180-3A) and the Industry Training Amendment Bill 2001 (180-3B).

If one of the divided Bills bears the same name as the parent Bill, it will be referred to without a letter reference. For example, the Animal Products Amendment Bill 2001 was divided into the Animal Products Amendment Bill 2001 (194-3) and the Animal Products (Ancillary and Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill 2001 (194-3A).

(f) Pinpoint reference

Pinpoint references for Bills are similar to pinpoint references for statutes. Give them in accordance with rule 4.1.1(d).

Use the following abbreviations in pinpoint references to a Bill, except where the word appears at the start of a sentence: