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Government Legislation & Publications: New South Wales
- State Library of NSW
- Research Guides
- Business & Government
- Government Legislation & Publications: New South Wales
- Acts and Regulations (Historical and Current)
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ACCESS THE COLLECTION
Temporary closure of the Macquarie Street building
The Macquarie Street building, including the Bashir Reading Room, is temporarily closed for a major refurbishment until late 2025.
During the building work, all reading room services (except study rooms and the Children’s Library), along with a temporary bookshop and cafe, are available in the Mitchell building.
To access collection material, please visit the temporary Bashir Reading Room in the Mitchell building or visit the Special Collections area in the Mitchell Library Reading Room to request original material.
For more information and FAQs, visit Transforming the Macquarie Street building.
Acts and Regulations (Historical and Current)
NSW Acts and regulations
An Act (of Parliament) is "a Bill which has passed all three readings in each House of Parliament, received Royal Assent and become law" (from NSW Parliament glossary of terms.) Acts are also known as Statutes.
Regulations are made under the authority of an Act. They set out the administrative detail that will operate under an act of Parliament. The regulations may be referred to as statutory rules or statutory instruments. They are in force under a particular Act, e.g. the National Parks and Wildlife Regulation is in force under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
Other forms of subordinate legislation are rules, by-laws, orders and local government laws or ordinances.
Online
- Acts, regulations and EPIs (in force) via legislation.nsw.gov.au [external website]
- Browse alphabetical listings of current Acts, regulations and Environmental Planning Instruments (EPIs) via legislation.nsw.gov.au.
- Scroll the timeline to find 'point-in-time' legislation, or Enter the exact version date, then click Go. [Point-in-time legislation is legislation stated at some point in the past.]
- Click on the Legislative history button to find: Table of versions, List of legislation and History notes. - Acts, regulations and EPIs (repealed) via legislation.nsw.gov.au [external website]Browse alphabetical listing of repealed Acts, regulations and EPIs via legislation.nsw.gov.au.
- Acts (as made) 1824+ via legislation.nsw.gov.au [external website]Browse alphabetical listings of Acts, regulations and EPIs as made via legislation.nsw.gov.au.
- Regulations and EPIs (as made) 1990+ via legislation.nsw.gov.au [external website]Browse alphabetical listing of Statutory Instruments (regulations) and EPIs as made from 1990 onwards via legislation.nsw.gov.au.
- Regulations and EPIs (as made) 1832 - 2001 via Trove Government Gazettes [external website]Search the NSW Government Gazette via Trove.
Enter name of an Act (in quotation marks" and the keyword 'regulation' in the search box, e.g. "Metropolitan Milk Act" regulation, then click Search.
In Print
- Acts 1824-1862 [catalogue record]
Call number: NQ348.944022/1. Onsite storage. Fill in stack request slip to access. - Acts 1862-1938 [catalogue record]Call number: NQ348.944022/1. Onsite storage. Fill in stack request slip to access.
- Acts 1913+ [catalogue record]Call number: N348.944022/2. Onsite storage. Fill in stack request slip to access.
- Incorporated acts : being a selection of acts reprinted under Amendments Incorporation Act, 1906, with detailed indexes. [catalogue record]Reprinted acts published from 1925 to 1942 (Volume 1 to Volume 14).
Use the Index to NSW Incorporated Acts up to 31 December 1941.
Call number: N346.1/2. Onsite storage. Fill in stack request slip to access.
- Index to NSW Incorporated Acts up to 31 December 1941Use this index to find the year or volume of an act up to 31 December 1941.
- Reprinted & consolidated Acts 1943-2010 [catalogue record]Consolidation dates: 1925-1978 supplement; 1943-1978; 1979; 1980-2004; 2005-2010.
Use the Index to reprinted NSW Acts 1950-2010.
Call number: N348.944022/2. Onsite storage. Fill in stack request slip to access.
- Index to reprinted NSW Acts 1950-2010
Use this index to find the date of a reprinted Acts. This is an index to only those reprinted Acts held by the Library and does not include all official reprints published between 1950-2010.
- Rules, regulations and by-laws - June 1899-vol. 7, 1918 [catalogue record]Call number: N348.944022/3. Onsite storage. Fill in stack request slip to access.
- Rules, regulations, by-laws, ordinances - 1919-2009 [catalogue record]Call number: N348.944022/3. Onsite storage. Fill in stack request slip to access.
- Reprinted regulations 1981-2010 [catalogue record]Call number: 346.912/5. Onsite storage. Fill in stack request slip to access.
- Index to reprinted NSW Rules & Regulations 1981-2010Use this index to find the date of reprinted rules & regulations. This is an index to only those reprinted Rules & Regulations held by the Library and does not include all official reprints published between 1981-2010.
Tips in finding historical Acts and Bills in the SL collection
The Library holds selected copies of historical acts. They could be in form of a published book or bound together as pamphlets, e.g.
- Miscellaneous collection of Acts and Regulations. Thomas Richards, 1874. Call number: T0150432
- [Pamphlets: Laws of New South Wales]. Government Printer, 1868. Call number: DSM/346/PA3
Find Acts or Bills by searching our catalogue with the name of an Act or Bill followed by the year, e.g. Navigation Act 1872. You will find three items in the Library collection.
Use the 'ERESOURCES: Exclude' filter if there are too many results.
Indexes to reprinted NSW Acts and regulations held by the State Library
- Online index of reprinted acts (1950-2010)
- - View online index of reprinted acts (1950-2010) to find an Act at a specific point in time, held at the State Library.
- Request the volume of the year(s) required.
- Acts are arranged alphabetically by title within each volume - Index of reprinted NSW regulations (1981-2010)
- - Use to find a Regulation at a specific point in time, held at the State Library
- Request the volume of the year(s) required
- Acts are arranged alphabetically by title of the enabling Act within each volume
Understanding an Act
- NSW Legislation - Aids to interpreting ActsTips to follow when interpreting NSW Acts.
How laws are made - Parliament
The law governs our lives from the day we are born to the day we die. So where do our laws come from?
This 10 minute video explains how parliaments make law, explaining the process of a Bill to an Act, how legislation changes over time, why the Commonwealth makes some laws and the states others, and delegated legislation such as regulations.
Developed by the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC), State Library of NSW. Also available in captioned format.