How do I find extrinsic materials to interpret an Act of Parliament?
Extrinsic materials include: explanatory memorandum (EM), ministerial second reading speeches, government reports, law reform commission reports, parliamentary reports, parliamentary debates, treaties etc as per the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 15AB. Fortunately with the advent of the web, there is now myriad sources to help you interpret legislation. Prior to the web, Butterworths published Taxation Laws of Australia 1936-1990, which contained the tax bills and official explanations. Both ATP and CCH for their tax subscribers reproduce with their tax bills, the explanatory memorandum and second reading speeches. The Explanatory Memorandum and second reading speeches may be found at the Australian Parliament House website by clicking on Bills then Current Bills or Old Bills. The Australian Taxation Office website also has the EMs and ministerial second reading speeches back to the 1930s. Over the years, there have been numerous government reports related to taxation such as Ker
