The Norfolk Island Act 1979 was an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

. It acknowledged the sovereign British Possession of

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

s' powers of

self-government __NOTOC__ Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...

in conjunction to standing Australian policy. The Act formally recognised the

Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly was the prime legislative body of Norfolk Island from 1979 to 2015. Formed after the Norfolk Island Act 1979 was passed in the Australian parliament, its first members were elected on 10 August 1979. The ...

and the Assembly's powers to pass, amend, and repeal

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

, and – subject to the assent of the

Administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of The Crown and of the Government of Australia, as well as carrying out other duties according to the ''Norfolk Island Amendment Act 2015''.executive powers The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

. The Act was made under the powers granted to Parliament in

section 122 of the Constitution of Australia Section 122 of the Constitution of Australia deals with matters relating to the governance of Australian territories. It gives the Commonwealth Parliament complete legislative power over the territories. This power is called the ''territories power ...

. The ''Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Act 2015'' passed the

Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

on 14 May 2015 (Assented on 26 May 2015) abolishing self-government on Norfolk Island and transferring Norfolk Island into a

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

as part of New South Wales law. 1 From July, 2016 Norfolk Island legislation was transferred to New South Wales and subject to NSW legislation. In February 2016, the

passed the ''Territories Legislation Amendment Act 2016'' (Assented on 23 March 2016) to enhance further political reforms on

. In December 2020, another round of territories reform legislation (as the “Territories Legislation Amendment Act 2020”) was passed and assented to.

References

External links

Norfolk Island Act 1979
at

Austlii The Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) is an institution operated jointly by the Faculties of Law of the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales. Its public policy purpose is to improve access to just ...

Acts of the Parliament of Australia Government of Norfolk Island 20th century in Norfolk Island 1979 in Australian law 2015 in Australian law {{Australia-law-stub