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Data.NSW

The NSW Government Legislation Twin (Legislation Twin (nsw.gov.au)) is now live.

The NSW Government Legislation Twin provides insights into the NSW legal system. In particular, it provides an intuitive interface for visualising:
•    the interconnections between NSW Acts, Statutory Instruments, Environment Planning Instruments and Gazettes
•    the consistency or variation in the definitions of terms within these elements of NSW law
•    the allocation of Acts to NSW Ministers

The Legislation Twin was developed by the NSW Data Analytics Centre (DAC) and additional functionality will be added over time.


Why a Legislation Twin?
NSW public servants maintain, and deliver policy within, a large, and sometimes inevitably complex, network of legislation and other legal instruments. 

It is often important to understand the interconnections between these instruments so that, for example, the potential for changes to one Act to impact another Act can be assessed, or to ensure that all relevant legislation is considered in preparing policy for implementation. 

Similarly, the same term may be defined in a number of Acts. These definitions may vary in different Acts or be identical, either because they use the same text or as a result of an explicit link set out in the legislation (that is, the term is defined with reference to the definition in another Act). Again, being able to easily cross reference these definitions helps clarify the context in which legislative change or policy initiatives are being undertaken.

 
Who can use the Legislation Twin?
The Legislation Twin is intended to be a resource for government departments and agencies, and other stakeholders with an interest in better understanding NSW law, including scholars, legal practitioners, businesses and non-government agencies.


Where is the data from?
The information within the Legislation Twin is derived from Public Acts in force, statutory instruments in force, environment planning instruments in force and gazettes from the NSW Legislation site (Home - NSW legislation). 


When is the data refreshed?
The Public Acts in force, statutory instruments in force, environment planning instruments in force are updated on a daily basis. Gazettes are updated on a periodic basis.