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Government
Quick questions on The Legislative Process: How a Bill Becomes an Act - TCE Legal Studies (Tasmania)
3short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is passage through the first house?Show answer
A bill usually begins in the lower house (in Tasmania, the House of Assembly; federally, the House of Representatives), though some bills can start in the upper house. The main stages are:
What is passage through the second house?Show answer
The second house (the Legislative Council in Tasmania, or the Senate federally) repeats essentially the same stages. As a house of review, it may pass the bill, amend it, or reject it. If it makes amendments, the bill returns to the first house, which must agree to the changes. The two houses may pass a bill back and forth until they reach agreement.
What is royal assent?Show answer
Once both houses agree, the bill is sent to the Crown's representative for royal assent. In Tasmania this is the Governor; for Commonwealth bills it is the Governor-General. Royal assent is the formal signing that turns the bill into an Act of Parliament. By convention assent is granted on ministerial advice and is effectively a formality.
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