shops, factories and barns, it is easier to speak of “buildings” and to define
“building” to mean “house, shop, factory or barn”.
Deemed
The use of “deemed” has the same effect as “means” although “deemed” is
commonly used to create a fiction. For example, s2 of the New Zealand
Poultry Act 1968
says: “For the purposes of this Act ‘day old poultry’ shall
be deemed to be any poultry of an age of 72 hours or less”. (For the purposes
of the Act, we might note, s2 makes time stand still in New Zealand.)
Shall Be Held
Where “shall be held” is used in the phrase “shall be held to be established if
and only if,” it is equivalent to “means”. An illustration of “shall be held if and
only if” as equivalent to “means” is in s48(1) and (2) of the Family Law Act
1975 (Cth):
48 Dissolution of marriage
(1)
An application under this Act by a party to a marriage for a decree of dissolution of the
marriage shall be based on the ground that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
(2)
Subject to sub-section (3), in a proceeding instituted by such an application, the ground
shall be held to have been established and a decree of dissolution of the marriage shall
be
made, if and only if, the court is satisfied that the parties separated and thereafter lived
separately and apart for a continuous period of not less than 12 months immediately preceding
the date of the filing of the application for dissolution of marriage. [Italics are added by the
author for emphasis.]
Evidentiary Provisions
An evidentiary provision can function as a “means” definition. If a statute says
that X can be proved, and can only be proved, by proving Y, this is the
equivalent of “X means Y”.
Incorporated Into
While “includes” is the most common formula for asserting incorporation by
one term of another some other expressions are used as well. These include
“shall be held,” evidentiary provisions and a formula providing for oblique
inclusion.
Includes
Where an Act says “X includes Y” the Act is saying that X incorporates Y and
that each time there is Y in the Act there is also X. “Includes,” therefore, is
expansive or extensive. It does not blot out the word or words defined as
does “means”.
761
It simply asserts that the word extends to certain matters,
which are then included in the term so defined, regardless of whether or not its
761
Robinson v Local Board of Barton-Eccles (1883) 8 App Cas 798, 801
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