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17-598: OPC was established in 1970 and is currently led by Meredith Leigh, First Parliamentary Counsel. Arrangements for the drafting of Commonwealth legislation were put in place at the very beginning of Australia's federation as a nation in 1901. Originally, the Secretary to the Attorney-General's Department was the Parliamentary Draftsman , with a separate position not created until 1946. By 1954,

34-500: A Parliamentary Drafting Division had been formed within the Attorney-General's Department to draft both Bills and regulations. After a series of parliamentary reports identified a shortage of drafters and a backlog of drafting work, the statutory agency known as the Office of Parliamentary Counsel was created in 1970. OPC was initially responsible for drafting both primary and delegated legislation, and for printing laws. However, in 1973

51-433: A parliamentary drafter is to draft the detailed form of proposed laws , in a way that will accurately reflect the intentions of the politicians who are promulgating them, without leaving loopholes or producing perverse results. This is a difficult task, and the pursuit of exact and watertight legislation has often resulted in obscure and convoluted language. Such language has been criticised both by government bodies such as

68-557: Is at times the broadly and even loosely expressed ideas of practicing politicians into legislation that will stand the scrutiny of the courts. OPC has around 40 publishing staff who develop and operate the Legislation Register website including managing the registration of new legislation, preparing compilations of Commonwealth legislation and providing editorial services for OPC drafted legislation. OPC continues to work on projects to make historical legislation accessible on

85-546: The Legislation Act 2003 incorporating the functions and responsibilities of the now-defunct ComLaw and Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The Register provides copies of all in force and superseded federal legislation, as well as legislative instruments, Regulations, Determinations, Notifiable Instruments and Administrative Arrangement Orders from 1901 onwards. Most historical legislation may be made available by request. Unedited versions of legislation taken from

102-478: The Public Service Act 1999 . There are approximately 50 drafters, all of whom are lawyers and who are referred to as parliamentary counsel . In introducing the legislation establishing OPC, the Attorney-General said The work of a parliamentary draftsman offers a real challenge to a lawyer: He is involved in the essential processes of government: he has to perform the exacting task of translating what

119-865: The Scottish Parliament , the (Northern Irish) Office of the Legislative Counsel drafts legislation for the Northern Ireland Assembly and the (Welsh) Office of the Legislative Counsel performs the same role in relation to the Senedd . In the Republic of Ireland , there is an Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to Government . In Australia, the federal government has an Office of Parliamentary Counsel , and so does each State and Territory. The job of

136-800: The United Kingdom parliament in Westminster, and other parliaments and assemblies based on the Westminster system . The official title, and organisation, of the parliamentary counsel varies between legislatures. For example, those who draft government legislation for the UK parliament form the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (established in 1869) while the Scottish Government's Parliamentary Counsel Office drafts legislation for

153-528: The Commonwealth statute book, greater attention was paid to the recruitment, training and retention of those dedicated to a career in this 'peculiar art'. Some experts avowed that drafters were born, not made, others focused on nurturing drafting skills over time through trial, error and patient training. In addition to the three statutory office-holders of First Parliamentary Counsel and two Second Parliamentary Counsel, OPC has around 100 staff employed under

170-1225: The Federal Register of Legislation are able to be held as "authorised versions" of such legislation, and are admissible to court. 2021 to present: Meredith Leigh 2004 to 2021: Peter Alan Quiggin PSM , QC 1993 to 2004: Hilary Penfold PSM, QC, Centenary Medal 1986 to 1993: Ian Maclean Lindsay Turnbull QC 1981 to 1986: Geoff Kolterman Kolts OBE , QC 1977 to 1981: Bronte Clucas Quayle CB , OBE, QC, Star of Pakistan 1972 to 1977: Charles Kennedy Comans CBE , OBE, QC 1949 to 1972: John Qualtrough Ewens CMG , CBE, OBE, QC 1946 to 1949: Martin Charles Boniwell CBE 1932 to 1946: Sir George Shaw Knowles CBE, OBE, MA, LLM 1901 to 1932: Sir Robert Randolph Garran GCMG , KCMG , CMG, KC Parliamentary counsel Parliamentary counsel are lawyers who prepare drafts of legislation to be passed into law. The terms Parliamentary drafter , Parliamentary draftsman , legislative drafting officer and legislative counsel are also widely used. These terms are used in relation to

187-625: The Legislation Register. OPC also has 20 corporate services staff covering areas such as finance, administration, and IT services. Under section 3 of the Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970 (Cth) the functions of OPC include: The Federal Register of Legislation is the Australian Government's official register of federal legislation, run by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. It was created by

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204-585: The Order of Pakistan ') is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan . It is awarded to "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan is awarded to government officials and civilians, including citizens of Pakistan and foreign nationals. In the Pakistan honours system , Nishan-e-Pakistan is equivalent to Nishan-e-Haider ,

221-419: The committee under Sir David Renton that reported in 1975 (and recommended drafting which was more based on principles than specific details to address every possible situation). However, the role itself can be fulfilling, especially for anyone intrigued by law itself. As noted by Neil Shah , who describes the job as "without doubt, the most demanding and challenging legal job I’ve ever had. But it has also been

238-591: The function of drafting delegated legislation was transferred to the Attorney-General's Department, with OPC retaining responsibility for drafting Bills and amendments of Bills before the Parliament. The functions of drafting delegated legislation and publishing legislation were transferred back to OPC in 2012. In OPC's history, Fitting the Bill , Carmel Meiklejohn observes that the role of drafting legislation demanded specialist skills, not just technical ability but

255-508: The highest military gallantry award. Established on 19 March 1975 under the Decorations Act, 1975 , the award is not correlated to the rank or status of a person. This award, including other civilian awards, is announced on Independence Day (14 August) each year and its investiture takes place on the following Pakistan Resolution Day (23 March) by the president of Pakistan . This award can also be awarded posthumously, and all

272-758: The most intellectually stimulating". In parliamentary discussion, the drafter is rarely, if ever, referred to by name, but only as an office. However, the post has been held by a number of distinguished lawyers , for example Bernard O'Dowd in Australia, John Ferguson McLennan specialising in Scots law (which though enacted entirely in the UK parliament from 1707 until 1999, is distinct from English law ), and William Philip Schreiner in South Africa . Sitara-e-Pakistan Nishan-e-Pakistan ( Urdu : نشانِ پاکستان , lit.   ' Grand Cross of

289-417: The requisite professional ethos. While the basic criteria - high-level academic qualifications, excellent language skills, imaginative yet systematic thinking, meticulous attention to detail and a degree of diplomacy - were not exclusive to drafting, such onerous and exacting legal work did not appeal to everyone …As the need for professional and experienced drafters grew with the expanding size and complexity of

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