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plus GST which would be couriered to him at an address he would have to provide
or he could get an electronic copy at a 10% discount for $61.82 plus GST. All this
assumes Dr Coppélius has both a computer and a credit card. He could try the
Manufacturers Federation. If he were desperate, he could go to a lawyer.
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This may be a somewhat extreme example. It is not, however, untypical of a
phenomenon that has been around for many years but has now firmly taken root in
the legislative environment. It is known as i ncorporation by reference . It is one of
the things the Australian Scrutiny of Bills Committee looks at closely. It is common
for statutes expressly to authorise regulations or other legislative instruments to
incorporate other documents by reference. Some also authorise the regulations to
incorporate these other documents with modifications.
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The Fair Trading Act permits this kind of modification. In the unlikely event that Dr
Coppélius also sold childrens nightware in his toy shop, this is exactly what he
would find were he to read the Product Safety Standards (Childrens Nightwear and
Limited Daywear Having Reduced Fire Hazard) Regulations 1999. He would have
to read not just the Act, the regulations, and the Australian/New Zealand Standard
1249:1999Childrens Nightwear and Limited Daywear Having Reduced Fire
Hazard, but also the variations to that standard in Part 1 of the Schedule of the
regulations. If he also sold cigarette lighters, his problems will be even worse
because he will have to find International Safety Standard for LightersSafety
Specification (ISO 9994:1995E) and apply specific clauses of that standard with the
modifications set out in the schedule of the Product Safety Standards (Cigarette
Lighters) Regulations 1998 and also the American standard Consumer Product
Safety Standard for Cigarette Lighters (16 CFR 1210) that applies to labelling.
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In the face of the growing trend to incorporate by reference, the LAC has published
a set of guidelines that are designed to confine the practice to a limited class of case