First Principles of Business Law

1.1. Legislation as a source of law

The term 'legislation' refers to the law that is enacted by an institution of government with a direct law-making power, namely, a legislature, parliament or council. A particular legislative enactment is referred to as an 'Act' or 'statute'.

In Australia, legislation is one of the most important ways of creating new law or changing the existing law. It is obviously essential that you understand the processes by which new legislation is created, and how to read and use law that exists in this form.

This eStudy module will help you to understand:

• How legislation is enacted in Australia.
• The meaning of special terms and phrases encountered in relation to legislation.
• Why the meaning of particular provisions in legislation might be unclear and how such interpretation issues are resolved.