An authorised version of an Act or a statutory rule is a version that the Chief Parliamentary Counsel has authorised.
On being authorised, that version has the same evidentiary value as a hard copy Act or statutory rule printed by the Government Printer. See section 64 of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984.
An authorised electronic version has the following features:
- the words "Authorised Version" appearing at the beginning of the version
- the words "Authorised by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel" appearing at the foot of each page of the version.
- a digital signature stating that the version is authorised by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel