Delegated legislation: Flexibility at the cost of scrutiny?

Read the paper Delegated Legislation: Flexibility at the cost of scrutiny?

There are concerns the increasing usage of delegated legislation and larger volumes of delegated legislation make it difficult for parliaments to perform effective oversight of the executive. A key criticism of delegated legislation is that it gives the executive 'carte blanche' authority to formulate social and political policy and puts at risk fundamental democratic values and the legitimacy of law.

This e-brief outlines the purpose of delegated legislation and how it is used in NSW. Outlines criticisms of delegated legislation and provides key statistics for the NSW and Commonwealth Parliaments. Also discusses scrutiny measures and the limitations of existing measures, safeguards, and review mechanisms in the NSW Parliament.

Chris Angus
Parliamentary Research Service
e-brief 5, 2019

Published: 18 July 2019