What does this section mean, and how have the courts read it?
I interpret Australian federal and state legislation — citing the section, the relevant interpretive authorities, and the extrinsic materials — so you know what the provision means and how it has been read.
I interpret Australian statutes using the principles of construction courts actually apply — text, context, purpose — and cite the leading interpretive authorities. I pull extrinsic materials (second reading speeches, explanatory memoranda, ALRC reports) where they are relevant under Section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) or the state equivalents. Every answer links to the section, the amending Act history, and the case authorities construing it. Built for AU statute, not generic legal AI.
What changes
You need to know how the courts have construed a specific subsection of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). 30-45 minutes on AustLII checking the current text, 20 minutes reading the explanatory memorandum, and another hour working through the case law construing it.
I give you the current text, the amending history, a summary of the leading interpretive authorities with citations, and the relevant extrinsic materials — in 90 seconds. You verify the authorities that matter; the hunting is done.
From upload to output
Ask the interpretive question
Give me the section, the question, and the factual context. For example: "Does 'financial product' in Section 763A of the Corporations Act capture a tokenised carbon credit?"
I pull the current text and history
I pull the current in-force version of the section, the amending Act history, and the transitional provisions that might apply.
Extrinsic materials and authorities
Under Section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) or the state equivalent, I pull the relevant second reading speech, explanatory memorandum, and any ALRC report. I then surface the leading cases construing the provision.
Apply to your facts
I apply the provision to your factual context, flag the interpretive arguments available each way, and cite the authorities you will want to verify.
What you can do with Quillio statutory interpretation
- Interpret Commonwealth and state legislation with section-level citations
- Pull explanatory memoranda and second reading speeches under Section 15AB
- Find the leading interpretive authorities for any provision
- Track section amendments through the Acts database
- Check transitional provisions and commencement dates
- Compare how equivalent provisions have been read across jurisdictions
- Apply the text-context-purpose method to the facts of your matter
- Identify ambiguity and the interpretive arguments available
A real example
You are advising a fintech client on whether a new product is a "financial product" within Section 763A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The product has features that look like a derivative but also like a managed investment scheme.
Ask me: "Is this product a financial product under Section 763A? It has these features..." and give me the feature list.
In 90 seconds: the current text of Section 763A with the amending history, the relevant paragraphs of the EM to the Financial Services Reform Act 2001 explaining the legislative intent, the leading authorities (including the Federal Court's construction of the "facility" concept), the interpretive arguments each way on your specific product, and a recommendation on whether to proceed on the basis it is a financial product or to seek ASIC guidance. Citations on every element.
Documents, jurisdictions, and practice areas
Document types
- Legislation (Commonwealth and state)
- Regulations
- Statutory instruments
- Explanatory memoranda
- Second reading speeches
- ALRC and state LRC reports
- Interpretive case authorities
- Revised Explanatory Memoranda
Jurisdictions
- NSW
- VIC
- QLD
- WA
- SA
- TAS
- ACT
- NT
- Federal
- NZ
Practice areas
- Commercial
- Litigation
- Regulatory
- Tax
- Family
- Property
- Criminal
- Administrative
Statutory Interpretation FAQs
How is this different from general AI legal research?
General legal research finds the authorities on a legal issue. Statutory interpretation is a narrower, more structured task — current text, amending history, extrinsic materials, interpretive authorities, applied to facts. I am optimised for this specific workflow and for AU statutory construction principles.
Does it apply the right interpretive method?
Yes. I apply the text-context-purpose method the High Court has endorsed (SZTAL v Minister for Immigration (2017), Certain Lloyd's Underwriters v Cross (2012)), with Section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) for extrinsic materials. For state legislation, I apply the equivalent state provision.
Can it pull explanatory memoranda?
Yes. For Commonwealth legislation, I pull the EM to the original Act and EMs to amending Acts. For state legislation, I pull the equivalent second reading speech and explanatory notes. These inform the purposive construction.
Does it track amendments?
Yes. I show the current in-force text and the amending Act history, so you know which version of the section applied at which time. This matters for transitional matters and for retrospective application arguments.
Does it handle regulations and delegated legislation?
Yes. I interpret regulations made under an Act, apply the interpretive principles to the delegated legislation (including the rule against uncertainty and the ultra vires argument), and cross-reference the enabling provision.
How accurate is it on recent amendments?
I update the AU legislative corpus weekly. For very recent amendments (last 7 days), I recommend verifying against the Federal Register of Legislation or the state equivalent before relying on the interpretation.
Try it on a current document.
The fastest way to test this is to ask it the next statutory interpretation question you have in front of you — and compare the output to the research you would have done. Free trial, no credit card, no sales call.
Start your free trial