British Parliament Acts

What is an Act?

A Bill which has received Royal Assent becomes an Act. General information about Acts can be found on the UK Parliament website.

Acts of Parliament

Acts of Parliament are known as primary legislation. Collectively, they make up Statute Law which along with conventions, court decisions and treaties is seen as the basis of the UK constitution. If a Bill is passed by both Houses of Parliament and receives the Royal Assent it becomes an Act of Parliament and part of UK law.

From the UK Parliament website Glossary

Accessing British Parliamentary Acts

There are a number of online sources for Acts of the United Kingdom, depending on the date required.

 

The Library holds Statutes in hard copy. The Guide to overseas statutes : in the National Library of Australia (1993) compiled by Biruta Udris lists the titles and holdings information for a significant part of the non-Australian legislation in the Library’s collection.

In 2013 the guide was updated and published on the web. An archived copy of the guide is available via the Australian Web Archive. Statutes for the United Kingdom are found under G – Great Britain.

The Guide to overseas statutes : in the National Library of Australia (1993) compiled by Biruta Udris lists the titles, holdings information and location numbers for a significant part of the non-Australian legislation in the Library’s collection.

PublicationTime periodAccess links
Halsbury’s statutes of England. Includes Table of Statutes and general index1948-1970

S 345.42 GRE

Reprinted Acts, consolidated with amendments.

Halsbury’s statutes of England and Wales1985 -S 345.42 GRE-4
Chronological table of and index to the statutes to the end of the session of...1880-1945S 345.42 GRE

Index to the statutes in force covering the legislation to...

 

Index to the statutes covering the legislation in force on...

Dec. 31, 1948-Dec. 31, 1967

Dec. 31, 1968-Dec. 31, 1989

S 345.42 GRE

S 345.42 GRE

Table of government orders : covering the general instruments to 31 December

Index to statutory instruments

1965 - 1990S 345.42 GRE

Material kept offsite

Please note that many of the print items listed here are kept in our offsite storage. We deliver at set intervals throughout the working day.

The Catalogue indicates from which reading room you can collect your requests.

If you want to use material from offsite collections on the weekend, submit your request by 2 pm on Fridays.

Including: orders in council, proclamations, instructions to Governors, letters patent etc. No single title will contain all legislation.

United Kingdom sources

PublicationTime periodAccess links
London Gazette1666+Online
Statutory rules and orders other than those of a local, personal, or temporary character1890-1947S 345.42 GRE
British and foreign state papers1812-1977S 345.42 GRE
Tudor and Stuart proclamations. 2 volumes1485-1714YYq 354.42 S814

Australian sources

PublicationTime periodAccess links
Historical records of NSW1762-1811Special Collections Reading Room reference collection
Historical records of Australia1788-1848Main Reading Room reference collection
Statutory rules made under Commonwealth acts from 1901 to 1956 : Vol 5, Selected proclamations, orders, etc1901-1956N 345.94 AUS
Various government gazettes1803+See separate research guide
Various parliamentary papers1824+See GovPubs

In this guide

A picture of Queen Victoria at the House of Lords to open the first Parliament of her reign

C. E Wagstaff & George Baxter, (1841), The arrival of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria at the House of Lords to open the first Parliament of her reign, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136108572

British Parliament research guide

British Parliamentary publications are valuable primary sources for research into British and dominion history, including Australia.

Research guide
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British Parliament business

How to find votes and proceedings of the House of Commons, minutes of proceedings and order papers of the House of Lords, and the journals for each house.

Research guide
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British Parliament debates

British Parliamentary debates are of interest to those studying public issues in Great Britain, particularly social and political history and law.

Research guide
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British Parliament bills

A bill is a proposal for a new law which is debated by Parliament. There are separate sets of bills for both the Houses of Commons and Lords.

Research guide
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British Parliament papers

Whenever the Houses of Commons or Lords requires the submission of a report and orders it to be printed, the resulting document is issued in a numbered series of House of Commons papers or House of Lords papers.

Research guide
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British Parliament reference works

The Library holds a number of British parliamentary publications in the Reference Collection in the Main Reading Room.

Research guide
Page published: 07 Dec 2023

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