Instrument resources | Office of Parliamentary Counsel

Instrument Resources

Executive Council Handbook (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet)

Cabinet Handbook (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet)

Managing Sunsetting of Legislative Instruments (Attorney General's Department)

Instruments with multiple signatories

Some legislation requires instruments to be made by multiple signatories. Examples of recent instruments of this kind are:

Fisheries Management Legislation Amendment (Minor Updates to Management Plans) Instrument 2024 - Federal Register of Legislation)

Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Family Support) Amendment (Child Care Services) Instrument 2022 - Federal Register of Legislation)

Biosecurity (Conditionally Non-prohibited Goods) Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Determination 2022 - Federal Register of Legislation)

Instrument Compilation Resources
	Compilations Handbook September 2026 The Compilations Handbook brings together guidance on preparing high-quality compilations for registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.	pdf file, Compilations Handbook September 2026_1.pdf, file size 757.27 KB docx file, Compilations Handbook September 2026_0.docx, file size 567.11 KB
	Compilation checklist	pdf file, Compilation checklist (1).pdf, file size 314.55 KB docx file, Compilation checklist (1).docx, file size 54.83 KB
	Compilation template	pdf file, Compilation template_0.pdf, file size 212.09 KB docx file, Compilation template_0.docx, file size 58.44 KB
	Guide to reading the Compilation template	pdf file, Guide to reading the Compilation template (1).pdf, file size 354.63 KB docx file, Guide to reading the Compilation template (1).docx, file size 33.53 KB
	Lodgement - Table of Contents guide	pdf file, Lodgement – Table of Contents guide (1).pdf, file size 276.01 KB docx file, Lodgement — Table of Contents (1).docx, file size 2.79 MB

General Instrument Resources
	Instruments Handbook September 2026 The Instruments Handbook provides information to help Commonwealth rule-makers and agencies make and manage legislative and notifiable instruments.	pdf file, Instruments Handbook September 2026_1.pdf, file size 1.71 MB docx file, Instruments Handbook September 2026_1.docx, file size 664.28 KB
	Drafting instructions template (Instruments) Template to be used by instructing agencies for providing drafting instructions to OPC on instruments.	pdf file, Drafting instructions template (Instruments) - 15 September 2026.pdf, file size 338.21 KB docx file, Drafting instructions template (Instruments) - 15 September 2026.docx, file size 2.77 MB

Exco Instruments Bids and Variations
	ExCo instruments bids template This is the template for bids for ExCo legislative instruments that are to be drafted in the upcoming Parliamentary sittings period.	docx file, ExCo instruments bids template.docx, file size 32.92 KB pdf file, ExCo instruments bids template.pdf, file size 262.45 KB
	ExCo instruments variation template This is the template for requesting a change of priority for an ExCo legislative instrument, the addition of an instrument to a Department’s bid, or the addition of measures to an instrument on the program.	docx file, ExCo instruments variation template.docx, file size 303.88 KB pdf file, ExCo instruments variation template.pdf, file size 262.2 KB

Instrument Guidance Notes
	Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.1 - Deciding if a non-tied instrument should be drafted by OPC A document to assist agencies to decide whether to engage OPC to draft a non-tied instrument.	pdf file, Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.1.pdf, file size 181.75 KB DOCX file, Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.1.DOCX, file size 285.39 KB
	Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.2 - Sunsetting checklist A checklist of issues to consider in reviewing legislative instruments that are to sunset under the Legislation Act 2003.	pdf file, Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.2 - Sunsetting checklist.pdf, file size 173.2 KB docx file, Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.2 - Sunsetting checklist.docx, file size 277.42 KB
	Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.3 - Judging size and complexity for instrument projects A document to assist agencies in judging the anticipated size and complexity of instrument drafting projects.	pdf file, Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.3.pdf, file size 243.92 KB docx file, Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.3.docx, file size 289.29 KB
	Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.4 - Timeframes for the development of instruments A document to assist agencies to plan for the development of instruments.	pdf file, Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.4.pdf, file size 231.55 KB docx file, Instrument Drafting Guidance Note No. 1.4.docx, file size 524.98 KB

Instrument Factsheets
	The Instrument Fact Sheet Series: What is a legislative Instrument? A quick and useful introduction to what are the key features and requirements of a legislative instrument.	pdf file, Fact Sheet - Legislative Instruments.pdf, file size 197.63 KB
	The Instrument Fact Sheet Series: Essentials of a Legislative Instrument A brief summary of the essential features of a legislative instrument, including an example to show the features in practice.	pdf file, Essentials of a legislative instrument.pdf, file size 271.92 KB
	The Instrument Fact Sheet Series: Templates for drafting instruments A guide to the templates available for drafting non-tied legislative instruments and tips about how to use them.	pdf file, Fact sheet - Templates for instruments.pdf, file size 210.28 KB
	The Instrument Fact Sheet Series: Drafting amending instruments A quick guide to how to draft effective amendments to an instrument, including an example of how these amendments may look in practice.	pdf file, Fact Sheet - Amending Instruments_0.pdf, file size 307.23 KB
	The Instrument Fact Sheet Series: Is a legislative instrument within power? A brief summary of what it means for legislative instruments to be ‘within power’ and how to check this.	pdf file, Fact Sheet - Is a legislative instrument within power.pdf, file size 248.6 KB
	The Instrument Fact Sheet Series: Modification Provisions A brief and practical summary of what a modification provision is and things to consider when drafting them.	pdf file, Fact sheet - Modification Provisions.pdf, file size 484.49 KB

Instrument Drafting Templates
	Instrument Templates - User Guide Instructions on how to use the OPC drafting templates.	pdf file, s16kq173.v03.pdf, file size 493.39 KB docx file, s16kq173.v03.docx, file size 516.85 KB
	Template - principal instrument For new principal instruments (which might be legislative instruments, notifiable instruments or neither a legislative nor a notifiable instrument).	docx file, Template - principal instruments.docx, file size 83.25 KB
	Template - amending instrument For instruments that amend other instruments.	pdf file, Template - amending instrument.pdf, file size 320.65 KB dotx file, Template - amending instrument.dotx, file size 83.16 KB
	Template - appointment by the Governor-General Instruments of appointment that are to be made by the Governor General, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, other than instruments of appointment to be made by commission.	dotx file, template_-_gg_appointment.dotx, file size 68.76 KB
	Template - appointments (other than by Governor-General) For instruments of appointment that are to be made by persons other than the Governor General.	dotx file, template_-_non-gg_appointment.dotx, file size 75.57 KB
	Template - authorisation Used if an Act or instrument expressly provides a power for a person to authorise another person to hold a particular office (such as an “authorised officer”) or to perform particular functions or duties or exercise particular power	dotx file, template_-_authorisation.dotx, file size 75.51 KB
	Template - delegation Used if an Act or instrument provides a power to delegate a power, function or duty.	dotx file, template_-_delegation.dotx, file size 76.97 KB