Online compilations of acts incorporate all amendments up to the present time. New compilations are produced every time an amendment is made to the act. The latest is the current compilation, older versions are historical compilations and represent the legislative history of the act.

Online compilations of Western Australian acts are provided to enable access to the law for research and information. However online compilations of Western Australian acts are not regarded as authoritative sources of Western Australian legislation and cannot be referred to as authorities in court.

Conversely, almost all online compilations of Commonwealth legislation are now authoritative and can be used in legal proceedings, as outlined in the Evidence Amendment Act (Cth) Schedule 3. An authoritative online compilation from Federal Register of Legislation, will always be in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format and will be stamped with one of the following words: 'Authorised version', or 'Authoritative'. There is also a recognisable coloured dot to indicate whether it is in force (green dot) or no longer in force (red dot). 

If you would like to examine the law that has enabled online authoritative compilations see the Evidence Amendment Act 2008 (Cth) Schedule 3 - which implemented amendments to provide for certain printed and electronic versions of Acts (including compilations of Acts) to be taken to be an accurate record of those Acts, unless the contrary is proven.