Where an Act is part of a legislative scheme the whole scheme, that is, other
statutes and their relationship with each other, is looked at to construe its
provisions.
429
A court can refer to the whole legislative history to interpret an
Act -
prior Acts, earlier versions of the Act, the amendments to the Act, and
its subsequent legislative history.
430
There is a presumption that the legislature
knows the judicial history and interpretation of a statute and therefore knows
how courts have interpreted the statute.
431
Consequently the legislature is taken
to sanction and indorse judicial interpretation of that provision by re-enacting
or by not amending the Act.
432
Courts also look at statutes from other
jurisdictions for guidance. These may be similar to the statute in question,
433
or
complementary to it as part of a scheme between governments in a
federation.
434
Courts can use regulations to illuminate the scheme of the Act by
giving a practical demonstration of what the Act can do.
435
One specific use of other legislation is that differences between the versions of
a statute over time may be used to infer the policy behind the statute and its
various amendments. Obviously when a section of a statute has been
amended, the amendment must have been made for a reason. By comparing
the provisions of the section before and after amendment, the policy or the
reason behind the amendment may be ascertainable. Understanding this may
then be some indicator of the policy behind the statute.
Situational Presumptions
A number of maxims of interpretation are presumptions which apply to
specific situations. Some major ones have been explained and illustrated in
prior discussion where their operation has been stated by reference to the
ambiguity with which they deal. These are -
noscitur a sociis,
436
eiusdem
generis,
437
expressio unius exclusio alterius est,
438
generalia specialibus non
429
Commonwealth v Velosky 276 Mass 398 (1931)
430
Re Warumungu Land Claim; Ex parte Attorney General
(1987) 77 ALR 27,
Harradine v Department of Social Security
(1989) 87 ALR 305, Taylor v Public Service
Board
(1976) 10 ALR 211, Sun World Inc v Registrar, Plant Variety Rights (1997) 148
ALR 447, Catlow v Accident Compensation Commission (1989) 87 ALR 663
431
Brammer v Deery Hotels (1974) 3 ALR 621
432
Flaherty v Girgis
(1987) 71 ALR 1. In South Australia, however, this
presumption is specifically rebutted by s18 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1915.
433
Nonferral v Taufia (1998) 153 ALR 439
434
Dampier Salt v Collector of Customs (1995) 133 ALR 502
435
Ward v Commissioner of Police (1998) 151 ALR 604
436
Chapter 10 Classifying Meanings
437
Chapter 10 Classifying Meanings
438
Chapter 10 Classifying Meanings
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