The
commonwealth does not have full authority over national business and economic
regulation because of the power of the six states.
Commonwealth crimes legislation
There is no
direct authority in the constitution for the making of Commonwealth law on crime,
but there are many Commonwealth criminal statutes based on varying sections.
Commonwealth competition and consumer legislation
The
commonwealth has no direct power to regulate unfair and anti-competitive
conduct although the Competition and
Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and the Australian
Consumer Law have been passed by agreement of the Commonwealth, state and
territory governments under the National Partnership Agreement to Deliver a
Seamless National Economy (2008), brokered by the Council of Australian
Governments (COAG).
Commonwealth insurance legislation
The 1984
reforms of insurance law would be based on at least s51(xiv).
Commonwealth corporations’ power
The Commonwealth
Parliament can pass commonwealth companies and financial services law because
the states referred their powers to the Commonwealth under s51(xxxvii) in 2001.
In addition,
the Commonwealth can regulate any aspect of corporations under the corporations
power (s51(xx)).
