7.8 Scrutiny of Legislation Committee (SLC) and the Alert Digest

After introduction, a Bill remains on the Table of the House without further debate for at least 13 calendar days. During this time, the SLC examines the Bill specifically for its compliance with fundamental legislative principles. (These FLPs are defined in section 4 of the Legislative Standards Act 1992 (Qld)). The committee also examines the Explanatory Notes accompanying the Bill.

Each sitting week, the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee tables an Alert Digest in which it reports to the Legislative Assembly upon its examination of Bills. The committee generally structures the Alert Digest by specifically identifying each fundamental legislative principle arising from the Bill and then making comment.

The committee usually agrees to the Alert Digest on the Monday of a week in which the House is sitting and tables it in the House on the following day. If the committee reports on a Bill, the relevant report is likely to appear in the Alert Digest of the next sitting week after the sitting week in which the Bill is introduced into the House.

The responsible Member or Minister is usually given an advance copy of the committee's comments on the Bill, after the committee has adopted the relevant chapter of the Alert Digest and before it is tabled. Generally, the committee requests the Minister or Member to respond to the committee's comments within a time frame which will allow the response to be incorporated into the next Alert Digest. If practicable, the committee will include the response and any additional comments it may have in the Alert Digest following the receipt of the response.

Last reviewed: 17 July, 2009

Last updated: 22 July, 2009

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