OPC's Drafting Services
| Name of guide and description | PDF link | Word link |
OPC’s drafting services: a guide for clients Seventh edition. The purpose of this Guide is to assist the staff of agencies who are instructing OPC on the drafting of a Bill or instrument to understand their role and the role of OPC’s drafters, how OPC’s drafters do their job in the context of the overall legislative process, and how this can affect a particular legislative project. | Word |
OPC client advisers
Client agencies can obtain quick, informal advice about matters in which OPC has expertise.
Lodgement, tabling and registration matters
To obtain advice from OPC client advisers on the following matters in our Publications group, please contact (02) 6120 1350.
- Registration of instruments on the Federal Register of Legislation
- Tabling legislative instruments
- Gazette notices
- Preparing compilations
Drafting subordinate instruments
To obtain advice from an OPC drafter in relation to drafting legislative or other subordinate instruments, please contact (02) 6120 1390.
Drafting Bills
To obtain advice from OPC client advisers in relation to drafting Bills, please contact the relevant Bill client adviser listed below for your agency.
| Agency | Bill adviser | Instrument adviser |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney-General’s Department | Andrew Miles (02) 6120 1427 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Australian Public Service Commission | John King (02) 6120 1412 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Civil Aviation Safety Authority | Nils Baumgartner (02) 6120 1464 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Comcare | Paul Millington (02) 6120 1471 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry | Bevan Murray (02) 6120 1480 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water | Paul Paczkowski (02) 6120 1382 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Defence | Lauren Brennan (02) 6120 1462 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Education | Elizabeth Edwards (02) 6120 1331 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Employment and Workplace Relations | Nina Ding (02) 6120 1440 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Finance | Daniel Baird (02) 6120 1453 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | Gretel Burmester (02) 6120 1327 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Health, Disability and Ageing | Madeleine Macdonald (02) 6120 1468 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Home Affairs | Linley Henzell (02) 6120 1473 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Industry, Science and Resources | Lauren Brennan (02) 6120 1462 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts | Paul Paczkowski (02) 6120 1382 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Parliamentary Services and Parliament | Andrew Miles (02) 6120 1427 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | Samara Zeitsch (02) 6120 1439 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Social Services | Carl Godfrey (02) 6120 1386 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of the Treasury | Karyn MacMullin (02) 6120 1436 | (02) 6120 1390 |
| Department of Veterans’ Affairs | Gretel Burmester (02) 6120 1327 | (02) 6120 1390 |
Legislation quick reference guide
The legislation quick reference guide is intended to help staff from Commonwealth agencies quickly locate Australian Public Service information on legislative topics and issues. The Guide is available here.
Instructor Guidance Notes
| Name of guide | PDF link | Word link | Basic features of legislation | Word |
Understanding your legislation | Word | |
Bills prioritisation & policy authority | Word | |
Matters affecting timeframes for the development of Bills | Word | |
Instrument program & policy authority | Word | |
Drafting instructions template (Bills) checklist topics | Word | |
Commencement provisions | Word | |
Delegations | Word | |
Administrative decisions | Word | |
Automated decision-making | Word | |
Instruments issues for Bills | Word | |
Key considerations in drafting instruments | Word | Key considerations in making legislative instruments | Word |
Consequential amendments | Word | |
Application, saving and transitional provisions | Word | |
Exposure drafts | Word | |
Explanatory memorandums, explanatory statements and other supporting documents | Word | |
Amending a Bill while it is in Parliament | Word | |
My Bill has passed, what happens next? | Word | |
The roles of instructors and drafters | Word | Sunsetting | Word |
| Rewriting Existing Legislation | Word | |
Working with OPC drafters | Word | Effect of elections and caretaker period | Word |
Glossary | Word |