{"id":"F2023L00296","name":"2023 Section 11 exemption for voyages between the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Australian states and territories","slug":"2023-section-11-exemption-for-voyages-between-the-cocos-keeling-islands-and-australian-states-and-te","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":103950,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2023L00296-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"2023 Section 11 exemption for voyages between the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Australian states and territories","content":"![Commonwealth Coat of Arms Australian Government logo](image.001.jpeg)\n\nCoastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012\n\n2023 Section 11 exemption for voyages between the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Australian states and territories\n\nI, CATHERINE FIONA KING, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, for the purposes of section 11 of the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012, having taken into account all relevant considerations, hereby direct that the provisions of the Coastal Trading Act (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 do not apply to the class of vessels described in the Schedule below.\n\nThis exemption has effect for the period commencing 8 April 2023 and ceasing on 7 April 2028.\n\nCATHERINE KING\n\nMinister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government\n\nDate: 6 March 2023\n\nSchedule\n\nAll vessels undertaking any voyage for the carriage of cargo or passengers between the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and any port in the Commonwealth or in the Territories, but not including any voyage in the course of which a vessel takes on cargo or passengers from any port in the Commonwealth or in the Territories other than a port in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands for unloading or disembarking at another such port.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The direction narrows the application of the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 by removing the Act’s application to the class of voyages between the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and any Commonwealth or Territory port for the period 8 April 2023–7 April 2028 (Schedule). The Schedule also excludes voyages that pick up cargo or passengers at other Commonwealth ports for discharge elsewhere, so the Act continues to apply to those excluded coastal trading voyages."},"complexity_factors":["Ministerial delegation under a single statutory power (section 11) — concentrated decision-making authority.","Temporal limitation: fixed five-year expiry (8 April 2023 to 7 April 2028) creates sunset and renewal considerations.","Definition by Schedule: class-based exemption (voyages between Cocos (Keeling) Islands and any Commonwealth/Territories port) is simple but requires factual determination of voyage endpoints.","Negative exclusion in the Schedule (excludes voyages that take on cargo/passengers from other Commonwealth ports for discharge elsewhere) introduces a behavioural boundary that may complicate compliance/enforcement.","Interaction risk with the broader Coastal Trading Act obligations — the direction removes the Act’s application but does not itself list which regulatory requirements are affected, creating interpretive and operational uncertainty for operators and regulators.","Operational enforcement: verifying whether a voyage falls inside the exemption depends on voyage records and points of embarkation/disembarkation.","Potential cross-jurisdictional issues between territories and States for ports and service providers."],"plain_english_summary":"This direction, made under section 11, temporarily exempts vessels carrying cargo or passengers on voyages between the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and any Australian state or territory port from the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 (effect 8 April 2023–7 April 2028; Schedule). The Minister (Catherine King) makes the decision; affected vessel operators no longer have the Act apply to those voyages while the exemption is in force, which alters regulatory compliance obligations and commercial incentives for those services."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standard ministerial exemption issued under existing powers in section 11 of the parent Act. It does not expand the scope of the legislation; rather, it exercises a specific exemption power for a narrow geographic and operational purpose consistent with the Act's framework for managing coastal trading exceptions."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision with straightforward conditional language","Only one defined term implied ('the Commonwealth' and 'Territories' are standard constitutional references)","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act citation","Simple temporal limitation (5-year fixed term)","Single exclusion clause in the Schedule with clear geographic and operational boundaries"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial exemption lets vessels — including foreign‑flagged ships — carry goods and passengers directly between the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and mainland Australia without needing a coastal trading licence. It eases regulatory burden for operators and helps maintain supply and passenger services to the remote islands.\n\nThe exemption is limited to direct voyages (no loading or unloading at other Australian ports) and therefore matters for island residents, businesses, and shipping companies servicing the route."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/2023-section-11-exemption-for-voyages-between-the-cocos-keeling-islands-and-australian-states-and-te","history":"/api/acts/2023-section-11-exemption-for-voyages-between-the-cocos-keeling-islands-and-australian-states-and-te/history","analysis":"/api/acts/2023-section-11-exemption-for-voyages-between-the-cocos-keeling-islands-and-australian-states-and-te/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/2023-section-11-exemption-for-voyages-between-the-cocos-keeling-islands-and-australian-states-and-te/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/2023-section-11-exemption-for-voyages-between-the-cocos-keeling-islands-and-australian-states-and-te/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/2023-section-11-exemption-for-voyages-between-the-cocos-keeling-islands-and-australian-states-and-te/documents"}}