Browse regulations

Regulation governing the employment of civilian personnel by the Department of Defence, including eligibility criteria, appointment procedures, and terms of service under the Defence Act.

Deletion would compromise national security by eliminating necessary vetting and standards for civilian defense personnel. The regulatory framework ensures that individuals with access to sensitive defense information meet stringent security and competency requirements, which would be difficult to replicate through alternative, less formal mechanisms without increasing risk.

Regulation enabling the Australian government to restrict or seize shares owned by enemy aliens or entities during wartime. Originating from World War I, it was amended in 2014 but remains a wartime measure interfering with private property rights.

It violates private property rights by allowing confiscation based on status, creating investment uncertainty and signaling that Australia may seize assets arbitrarily. This deters foreign investment and contradicts the principle that wealth is created by liberty. Its compliance costs and potential for abuse far outweigh any marginal security benefit; the regulation is a relic of wartime overreach with no place in a free society.

Amendment to Commonwealth Public Service Regulations 1913, registered provisonally on 21 August 2014, relating to federal public service employment conditions, appointments, promotions, and related HR matters.

Public service employment regulations from 1913 reflect century-old bureaucratic rigidities that impede workforce flexibility, protect incumbent workers at taxpayer expense, and create barriers to efficient public sector management. The provisional designation suggests a temporary measure likely to become permanent - a classic pattern of regulatory creep that Friedman, Hayek, and Mises warned about where temporary controls become entrenched. Without access to the specific content, the burden of proof lies with those who would restrict liberty, and decades of evidence shows public sector labor regulations consistently distort incentive structures, increase compliance costs, reduce efficiency, and protect vested interests rather than serving the public interest. The 1913 base regulations predate modern management practices and reflect an era of highly rigid,工会-dominated public sector employment models that Australians would be better off without.

WWI-era price control regulation (1916) allowing government to fix prices during wartime emergencies. Remains on the books as a 'provisional' measure over a century later despite no current justification.

Zombie wartime relic imposing price controls that create compliance costs and legal uncertainty while serving no legitimate purpose. The unseen cost: it rationalizes government intervention in markets and represents regulatory inertia - resources wasted maintaining an obsolete framework that contradicts free market principles.

Amendment to the War Precautions Regulations 1915, expanding or updating the government's emergency powers to control resources, property, and trade.

These amendments entrench outdated, sweeping state intervention that violates property rights, distorts markets, and invites abuse. Even temporary emergency powers impose hidden costs and set dangerous precedents. Australia should adopt narrow, time-limited measures with strict oversight, not these overbroad regulations that undermine liberty and prosperity.

World War I-era regulations from 1916 establishing measures to restrict and regulate share ownership by 'enemy' nationals (citizens of Central Powers countries) during wartime, including reporting requirements, share forfeiting provisions, and restrictions on dividend payments to enemy shareholders.

These 1916 regulations are wholly obsolete. World War I ended in 1918, and the 'enemy' nationals they targeted (German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman subjects) are no longer enemies. Any legitimate successor measures would be found in modern legislation. This century-old instrument serves no current purpose and represents the kind of wartime economic controls that Mises identified as distorting market incentives and property rights. Its continued presence on the statute books adds unnecessary regulatory clutter with zero contemporary relevance.

Archival wartime regulation from World War I, provisionally amended in 2014 despite being overridden by modern legislation.

A 1915 war precautions regulation, even provisionally maintained 99 years later, represents regulatory relic that contributes to legal uncertainty and bloat. Such emergency wartime measures should have been repealed; its continued presence on the books, even in provisional form, undermines legislative clarity and signals government's failure to clean up obsolete laws that constrain liberty and prosperity.

Amendment to Customs Regulations 1913, registered as provisional in 2014. The instrument modifies customs procedures and requirements under the 1913 regulatory framework.

The 'Provisional' designation indicates this was intended as a temporary measure, yet it remains active over a decade later (2014-2026). Such provisional amendments typically accumulate without being integrated into the base regulations, creating fragmented compliance requirements. The 1913 base regulations have undergone numerous updates, making standalone provisional amendments increasingly incoherent and burdensome. Customs procedures benefit from clarity and consistency; retaining superseded provisional modifications serves no purpose beyond adding compliance complexity without corresponding benefit.

1916 wartime regulation controlling land transfers during WWI, requiring government approval for property transactions to prevent enemy ownership and manage economic resources.

Century-old wartime measure with no conceivable modern application; keeping it creates regulatory clutter, potential for legal confusion, and represents the type of emergency power that must expire when the crisis ends. Its continued existence undermines rule of law by having non-functional instruments on the books.

Amendment to Workmen's Compensation Regulations 1913, registered provisionally in 2014. These regulations govern mandated employer contributions and worker injury compensation schemes, originating from early 20th century labor protection framework.

Workers' compensation mandates distort labor markets by artificially elevating the cost of employing workers, reduce incentives for genuine workplace safety innovation, and create bureaucratic compliance overhead that disproportionately burdens small businesses and remote employers. The 1913 origins indicate a century of regulatory accumulation. While worker injury protection has merit, the mandated scheme structure prevents competitive alternatives that could offer better outcomes at lower cost, and the provisional 2014 amendment suggests continued expansion rather than rationalization of this compliance burden.

The Post and Telegraph Regulations 1913 (Amendment) amends the original 1913 Regulations to update provisions related to postal and telegraph services, attempting to align century-old rules with modern telecommunications and postal practices.

Retaining this amendment perpetuates an archaic regulatory framework that imposes unnecessary compliance costs, legal uncertainty, and stifles innovation. The underlying 1913 Regulations are fundamentally incompatible with a free, competitive communications market. Deleting it clears the way for comprehensive, modern deregulation that would boost prosperity and liberty.

Amendment to Commonwealth Public Service Regulations 1913; specific provisions unknown.

Opacity itself is a cost: regulations must be transparent to evaluate unseen burdens. Unavailable content prevents assessment and invites hidden government overreach.

This instrument is a provisional amendment to the Post and Telegraph Regulations 1913, governing postal and telegraph services. It represents a patch to an archaic regulatory framework over a century old.

Maintaining a 1913 regulatory framework is economically destructive: it perpetuates obsolete telegraph provisions, imposes unnecessary compliance costs on Australia Post, and exemplifies the red tape that strangles efficiency. The unseen cost is regulatory inertia—resources spent preserving ancient law instead of enabling modern communications markets. Repeal entirely and replace with a streamlined, technology-neutral statute if any oversight remains necessary.

Amendment to the War Precautions Regulations 1915, which originally granted broad wartime powers including trade controls, property requisition, censorship, and movement restrictions. The 2014 provisional amendment suggests these extraordinary powers persist.

They concentrate excessive state power, violate liberty and property rights, impose compliance costs, and risk abuse. Emergency powers should be narrow, transparent, and time-limited. Keeping these archaic regulations undermines Australia's prosperity and competitiveness.

WWI-era wartime regulatory framework originally made in 1915 to control various aspects of commerce, communications, and civilian conduct during the First World War. These provisional regulations granted authorities sweeping powers over trade, shipping, communications, and individual conduct. Registered as a legislative instrument in 2014 as part of the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, suggesting periodic republication.

These WWI-era regulations are entirely obsolete - the Great War ended in 1918, over a century ago. The circumstances that justified sweeping wartime controls on commerce, shipping, and communications no longer exist. Keeping 1915 war regulations on the statute books serves no legitimate modern purpose while creating legal anachronism and potential for confusion. Australia has modern emergency response frameworks under the Biosecurity Act 2015 and other contemporary legislation. Maintaining century-old wartime regulations implies a permanent wartime footing that distorts legal interpretation and adds unnecessary complexity to the regulatory landscape.