Overview of Functions 

The Legislation Division is Singapore’s central law drafting office and guardian of the Singapore statute book. The Division provides law drafting, legislative consultancy to the Government and all public sector agencies, and law publication and database management for the public. The Division supports the Rule of Law by providing comprehensive free online public access to Singapore legislation through the Singapore Statutes Online website (https://sso.agc.gov.sg).

Our mission is to contribute to constitutional government, sustainable development and an accessible statute book for all through the provision of high quality, impartial and efficient services in law drafting and revision of legislation.

Our vision is to create an effective statute book for Singapore. This means producing legislation that —

• is Constitutional, consistent with the Rule of Law
• is Compatible with the general body of law
• is Clear and concise, minimising scope for challenge
• gives effect to policies with no unintended consequences
• limits the scope for avoidance
• is Enduring
• is Easily understandable
• is Accessible; readily available; and
• reduces compliance costs.

The work of the Legislation Division consists of the following:

• providing the Government and public sector agencies a range of advisory services with respect to the development of proposals for legislation, and navigating the legislative process for the enactment of legislation and its initial implementation;
• preparing drafts of Government Bills and accompanying explanatory statements for introduction to Parliament;
• preparing drafts of Subsidiary Legislation for the Government and other public sector agencies so that the Acts they administer can be fully implemented;
• participating in inter-ministry and public-private sector committees driving emerging policies and law reform;
• ensuring ready online access by the public to accurate and updated legislation on the Singapore Statutes Online (this comprises both Acts passed by Parliament and Subsidiary Legislation delegated to Ministers and other authorised bodies to enact);
• producing revised editions of legislation under the direction of the Law Revision Commissioners;
• enhancing the link between good policy and good laws by conducting courses on effective law making and legislative drafting in partnership with the Civil Service College;
• driving a nation-wide project (PLUS – Plain Laws Understandable by Singaporeans) to modernise and make our written laws more accessible to businesses, members of the public and public officials.

Who we are and what we do

The Legislation Division has 3 functional groups: the Law Drafting Group, the Editorial and Revision Group and the Law Publishing and Information Management Group.

Law Drafting Group

The Law Drafting Group comprises lawyers who draft Bills and Subsidiary Legislation, and advise the Government and other public sector agencies on the development and translation of public policies into legislation and on the enactment and initial implementation of legislation. This Group handles matters from all agencies in the public sector, and is organised according to the following subject matters:

• Community and Infrastructure
• Manpower and Population
• Education and Healthcare
• Commerce
• Tax and Financial Markets
• Security and Defence
• Crime and Justice

Editorial and Revision Group

The Editorial and Revision Group is responsible for reviewing, editing and proof-reading draft legislation prepared by law drafters and editors to ensure that they are accurate, inherently consistent and error-free, and for the timely production of hard-copies of legislation for introduction to Parliament and for publication in the Gazette. The Law Revision unit within the Group also staffs the Law Revision Commission in producing revised editions of the laws.

Law Publishing and Information Management Group

The Law Publishing and Information Management Group is responsible for maintaining the Legislation Editing and Authentic Publishing System Versioned Legislation Database (LEAP-VLDB) (internal) and the Singapore Statutes Online website to ensure comprehensive free online public access to Singapore’s written laws. The Division has taken over most of the type-setting of legislation from the Government Printer, producing Presentation Copies for Bills and type-setting subsidiary legislation for publication. The Group also produces informal consolidations of all legislation. The Legislation Information Management unit supports and ensures the effective functioning of the Division.

If you require access to Singapore legislation, please visit the Singapore Statutes Online at https://sso.agc.gov.sg.