Department of Premier and Cabinet 
Tasmanian Legislation Database Training 
Case Study

The Tasmanian Government was under pressure to provide a consolidated database of up to date legislation. The only copies of legislation available at the time consisted of an original copy of the legislation or an out of date consolidation, together with copies of any amending legislation. This cumbersome approach was increasing the likelihood of legislative errors, adding extra expense to unofficial consolidations and increasing the amount of time taken to search Acts and interpret the law. The result was an increasing cost on the community and a decrease in the effectiveness of the laws.

A major Government initiative to address the issue was undertaken. Known as the Legislation System Project (LSP), its aims were to provide a single consolidated database of Tasmanian legislation and to give the legal community and the general public access to legislation, in a timely and cost effective manner. RMIT in Melbourne were contracted to provide the development of the system.

Once the system was ready for implementation, The Quill Consultancy was engaged to provide a user manual and training in the LSP system. The Quill Consultancy was also able to provide supplementary training in the Windows environment, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel. The training was provided to legislative drafters and support staff over a three-month period.

For more information, check www.thelaw.tas.gov.au