Section 51(xxxviii) of the
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a written constitution, constitutional document that is Constitution, supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a Federation of Australia, federation under a constitutio ...
was intended to give the states of Australia independence from the
UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...
, as it authorised the
Commonwealth Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
to, with the consent of the relevant state parliament(s), do anything the UK Parliament could do on their behalf, including repeal British laws that applied to them.
Despite this, the Commonwealth itself remained subject to Imperial laws of paramount force,
[:165 until it finally evolved full legislative independence from the UK with the passage of the ]Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942
The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 is an act of the Australian Parliament that formally adopted sections 2–6 of the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enabling the total legislative independ ...
.[:167
]
Reference list
{{Constitution of Australia
Australian constitutional law