1.3 How legislation operates on a matter

Legislation may have its effect for a matter by:

• directly deciding the matter
• authorising someone else, that is, delegating the power to someone else, to make a law about the matter or decide the matter.

Legislation may incorporate another document by reference, whether or not the other document is itself legislation. Legislation may empower someone to make an instrument that is given effect to under the law. The instrument may be legislative in character or it may be administrative in character. The significance of its legislative or administrative character depends on the particular context.

The scheme of a particular piece of legislation consists of the directly applicable rules of conduct set out in the legislation and the way the legislation operates through other laws, legislation, documents, instruments and decisions. The way a scheme is constructed can depend on convenience of presentation, on practicality or on principles about the appropriateness of levels of power being used or delegated.