{"id":"aboriginal-communities-act-1979","name":"Aboriginal Communities Act 1979","slug":"aboriginal-communities-act-1979","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":29911,"registerId":"wa-aboriginal-communities-act-1979-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Aboriginal Communities Act 1979","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nAboriginal Communities Act 1979\n\n- **Reprinted under the *Reprints Act 1984* as**\n- **at 14 September 2012**\n\n\nWestern Australia\n\nAboriginal Communities Act 1979\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Communities to which Act applies 1\n\n5. Governor may declare Act no longer applies to community 2\n\n6. Community lands of community, declaring 3\n\n7. By‑laws, council of community may make 3\n\n8. By-laws, procedure for making 6\n\n9. Where by‑laws apply; evidentiary provision 6\n\n10. Limitation period for prosecutions 7\n\n12. Fines to be paid to community 7\n\n13. Effect of by‑laws in relation to other laws 7\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 8\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\n- Crest **Reprinted under the *Reprints Act 1984* as**\n- **at 14 September 2012**\n\n\nWestern Australia\n\nAboriginal Communities Act 1979\n\nAn Act to assist certain Aboriginal communities to manage and control their community lands and for related purposes.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Aboriginal Communities Act 1979* 1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by proclamation 1.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\nIn this Act —\n\n  Aboriginal community means a community or association wholly or principally composed of persons who are of Aboriginal descent within the meaning of the *Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972*;\n\n  council in relation to a community means the council of management or other governing body of that community;\n\nsection means section of this Act.\n\n##### 4. Communities to which Act applies\n\n(1) Subject to section 5, this Act applies to —\n\n(a) the Aboriginal communities incorporated as the Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Incorporated and the Bardi Aborigines Association Inc.; and\n\n(b) any incorporated Aboriginal community that the Governor, on the advice of the Minister, declares by proclamation to be a community to which this Act applies.\n\n(2) The Minister may advise the Governor to make a declaration under subsection (1)(b) in relation to an Aboriginal community if the Minister is of the opinion —\n\n(a) that there are provisions in the constitution or rules of the community under which the council of the community will have to consult with the members of the community and take proper account of their views before making, amending or revoking by‑laws pursuant to this Act; and\n\n(b) that the provisions mentioned in paragraph (a) will be complied with by the council of the community; and\n\n(c) that in all other respects the community is one to which the application of this Act would be appropriate.\n\n##### 5. Governor may declare Act no longer applies to community\n\n(1) Notwithstanding section 4, this Act shall cease to apply to a community if the Governor, on the advice of the Minister, declares by proclamation that the community is no longer a community to which this Act applies.\n\n(2) The Minister may advise the Governor to make a declaration under subsection (1) in relation to a community if the Minister is of the opinion —\n\n(a) that neither the constitution nor the rules of the community contain provisions under which the council of the community has to consult with the members of the community and take proper account of their views before making, amending or revoking by‑laws pursuant to this Act; or\n\n(b) that provisions of the kind mentioned in paragraph (a) contained in the constitution or rules of the community are not being satisfactorily complied with by the council of the community; or\n\n(c) that, for any other reason, the application of this Act to the community is no longer appropriate.\n\n(3) Upon the making of a declaration under subsection (1) in relation to a community any by‑laws made by the community under this Act shall, by force of that declaration, be revoked.\n\n##### 6. Community lands of community, declaring\n\n(1) For the purposes of this Act the community lands of a community to which this Act applies shall be the lands declared by the Governor by proclamation to be the community lands of that community.\n\n(2) The Governor may by subsequent proclamation amend a proclamation made under subsection (1) by altering a description of community lands contained in that proclamation for either or both of the following purposes, that is to say —\n\n(a) adding any lands to or excising any lands from those community lands; or\n\n(b) redescribing those community lands in a more precise or more informative manner.\n\n##### 7. By‑laws, council of community may make\n\n(1) The council of a community to which this Act applies may make by‑laws relating to the community lands of the community for or with respect to —\n\n(a) the prohibition or regulation of the admission of persons, vehicles, and animals to the community lands or a part of the community lands;\n\n(b) the prohibition or regulation of the use of vehicles on the community lands, including provisions as to speed, manner of driving, class of vehicles, routes, entrances and exits, one‑way traffic, noise, parking or standing, the removal of vehicles by a person authorised under the by‑laws, and for the control of traffic generally;\n\n(c) the prevention of damage to or interference with the grounds of the community lands and the trees, shrubs, bushes, flowers, gardens and lawns on or in those lands;\n\n(d) the use, safety and preservation of buildings, structures, erections, fixtures, fittings and chattels on the community lands;\n\n(e) the regulation of the conduct of meetings and the interruption of meetings by noise, unseemly behaviour or other means;\n\n(f) the prohibition of nuisances, or any offensive, indecent or improper act, or disorderly conduct, language or behaviour;\n\n(g) the prohibition, restriction or regulation of the possession, use or supply of alcoholic liquor or deleterious substances;\n\n(h) the prohibition or regulation of the possession or use of firearms or other offensive weapons or of dangerous materials;\n\n(i) the depositing of rubbish and the leaving of litter on community lands;\n\n(j) the prohibition of the obstruction of any person acting in the execution of his duty under the by‑laws or in the exercise and enjoyment by him of any lawful activity on the community lands;\n\n(k) the prescribing of any other matter that it is necessary or convenient to prescribe for the purpose of securing decency, order and good conduct on the community lands.\n\n(2) By‑laws made by the council of a community under subsection (1) —\n\n(a) may empower a member of the police force —\n\n(i) to apprehend any persons guilty of a breach of any by‑law and to remove such a person from the community lands; and\n\n(ii) to remove any vehicle, animal or other thing from the community lands; and\n\n(iii) to request the name and address of any other person who, in the reasonable belief of the member of the police force, is on the community lands in breach of any by‑law or has committed a breach of a by‑law; and\n\n(iv) to take proceedings for any breach of a by‑law; and\n\n(v) generally to enforce the provisions of the by‑laws;\n\n(b) may be limited in their application to time, place or circumstance;\n\n(c) may provide that any act or thing shall be done subject to the approval or to the satisfaction of the council or a specified person or class of persons and may confer a discretionary authority on the council or a specified person or class of persons;\n\n(d) may impose as the penalty for a breach of a by‑law a fine not exceeding $5 000;\n\n(e) may empower a court to order a person to pay compensation not exceeding $250 to the community or another person where the court has convicted him under the by‑laws of an offence and, in the course of committing that offence, he has caused damage to property of the community or that other person.\n\n(3) Nothing in this Act affects the power of a community or its council to make other by‑laws, rules or regulations under and in accordance with the constitution of the community.\n\n[Section 7 amended: No. 78 of 1995 s. 147.]\n\n##### 8. By-laws, procedure for making\n\n(1) The provisions of the *Interpretation Act 1918* 2 apply in respect of by‑laws made, and the making of by‑laws, under this Act.\n\n(2) By‑laws shall be made by resolution passed by an absolute majority of all the persons for the time being holding office as members of the council of a community and, when so made, shall be —\n\n(a) sealed with the common seal of the community;\n\n(b) delivered to the Minister.\n\n(3) If the Minister is satisfied that the by‑laws are necessary and desirable he shall submit them to the Governor for his approval.\n\n(4) If the Governor approves of the by‑laws the Minister shall cause them to be published in the *Government Gazette* and to be laid before both Houses of Parliament as required by section 36 of the *Interpretation Act 1918* 2.\n\n(5) The production of a copy of a by‑law under the official seal of a community, or of a copy of the *Government Gazette* purporting to contain a reprint or copy of a by‑law, shall in all proceedings be sufficient evidence of the by‑law.\n\n##### 9. Where by‑laws apply; evidentiary provision\n\n(1) By‑laws made by the council of a community apply only within the boundaries of the community lands of the community but apply to all persons within those boundaries whether members of the community or not.\n\n(2) In proceedings for any contravention of a by‑law made by the council of a community the allegation in the charge that any place was within the boundaries of the community lands of the community shall be sufficient evidence of the fact alleged in the absence of proof to the contrary.\n\n[Section 9 amended: No. 84 of 2004 s. 80.]\n\n##### 10. Limitation period for prosecutions\n\n\t  A prosecution for an offence against a by‑law must be commenced within 6 months after the date on which the offence was allegedly committed.\n\n[Section 10 inserted: No. 84 of 2004 s. 80.]\n\n[**11.** Deleted: No. 59 of 2004 s. 141.]\n\n##### 12. Fines to be paid to community\n\nAll pecuniary penalties recovered in respect of any breach of a by‑law made by the council of a community shall, be appropriated and paid to the council for the use of the community.\n\n[Section 12 amended: No. 78 of 1995 s. 3.]\n\n##### 13. Effect of by‑laws in relation to other laws\n\n(1) No by‑law takes away or restricts any liability, civil or criminal, arising under any other statutory provision or at common law.\n\n(2) No by‑law shall render unlawful any act done by a person lawfully acting in pursuance of a power, duty or function conferred or imposed by or under any other statutory provision or in the exercise of any right conferred by or under any other statutory provision.\n\n(3) In this section statutory provision means a provision of any other Act or of a regulation, by‑law or rule in force under any other Act.\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This reprint is a compilation as at 14 September 2012 of the *Aboriginal Communities Act 1979* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Aboriginal Communities Act 1979* | 8 of 1979 | 17 May 1979 | 15 Feb 1980 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 15 Feb 1980 p. 456) |\n| *Sentencing (Consequential Provisions) Act 1995* Pt. 2 and s. 147 | 78 of 1995 | 16 Jan 1996 | 4 Nov 1996 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 25 Oct 1996 p. 5632) |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 1997* s. 15 | 57 of 1997 | 15 Dec 1997 | 15 Dec 1997 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Aboriginal Communities Act 1979* as at 7 Mar 2003** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004* s. 141 | 59 of 2004 | 23 Nov 2004 | 1 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7128) |\n| *Criminal Procedure and Appeals (Consequential and Other Provisions) Act 2004* s. 80 | 84 of 2004 | 16 Dec 2004 | 2 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7129 (correction in *Gazette* 7 Jan 2005 p. 53)) |\n| **Reprint 2: The *Aboriginal Communities Act 1979* as at 14 Sep 2012** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n\n\n2 Repealed by the *Interpretation Act 1984*.\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nAboriginal community 3\n\ncouncil 3\n\nsection 3\n\nstatutory provision 13(3)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative content was not available. Only a broken webpage notice was provided, containing no substantive legal text to analyse."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — only a website error page was provided","Cannot assess complexity without access to the actual provisions, schedules, or amendments","Historical legislation from 1979 may have accumulated amendments over decades, which could significantly increase complexity, but this cannot be evaluated here"],"plain_english_summary":"## Aboriginal Communities Act 1979 (WA)\n\n**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe full text of this Western Australian law could not be retrieved. The page hosting the legislation has moved or been taken down due to a website upgrade.\n\n**What we know:**\n- This is a **Western Australian state law** dating from **1979**\n- It relates to **Aboriginal communities** in Western Australia\n- Based on its title and era, laws of this type typically dealt with the governance, land use, and regulation of Aboriginal community areas — but the specific provisions **cannot be confirmed** from the text provided\n\n**What you should do:**\n- Visit the [Western Australian legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) and search directly for \"Aboriginal Communities Act 1979\"\n- Contact Parliamentary Counsel's Office if you cannot locate it\n- If this affects you personally, consult a lawyer or a community legal centre familiar with Aboriginal affairs law\n\n*This summary cannot be completed accurately without access to the actual legislative text.*"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose of enabling specific Aboriginal communities to make by-laws for their community lands. The amendments shown in the compilation table are minor and consequential (relating to sentencing procedures, court procedures, and statute maintenance) rather than substantive expansions of scope. The core mechanism established in 1979 remains unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 defined terms in the interpretation section (section 3)","Straightforward procedural structure with clear sequential sections","Limited cross-referencing (only references to Interpretation Act 1918 and Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972)","Simple conditional logic - mainly 'if the Minister is of the opinion' tests for adding/removing communities","No nested exceptions or complex definitional chains","Short length (13 sections, one deleted)","Clear delineation of powers in section 7 with alphabetical subsections"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law gives certain Aboriginal communities the power to make their own rules (called 'by-laws') to manage their land and keep order. \n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Specifically applies to the Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community and Bardi Aborigines Association, plus any other incorporated Aboriginal community the Government adds later\n- Affects anyone who enters these community lands, whether they're community members or visitors\n\n**What it does:**\n- Lets community councils create by-laws covering things like:\n  - Who can enter the community lands\n  - Traffic rules and vehicle use\n  - Protecting gardens, buildings, and property\n  - Behaviour standards (no offensive conduct, no littering)\n  - Alcohol, drugs, and weapons restrictions\n  - Meeting conduct and public order\n- Police can enforce these by-laws, remove troublemakers, and issue fines up to $5,000\n- Money from fines goes back to the community, not the government\n- By-laws must be approved by the Governor and published before they take effect\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law recognises that Aboriginal communities should have control over their own lands and daily governance. It provides a legal framework for self-management while requiring community consultation and government oversight to ensure the process is fair and accountable."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act, as drafted, sets out a deliberately limited and flexible scope: it names two communities and permits the Governor, on the Minister's advice, to add or remove communities and to declare the community lands by proclamation (sections 4–6). There is no text in the supplied instrument indicating that the intended scope has been altered from that design; instead, the Act expressly builds in mechanisms to alter applicability and boundaries over time (sections 4–6)."},"complexity_factors":["Small, focused statute with a limited number of substantive provisions (relatively low overall volume).","Governor/Misterial proclamation mechanism to add or remove communities and to define community lands (sections 4–6) introduces executive discretion.","Multi‑step by‑law making process involving council resolution, sealing, Minister satisfaction and Governor approval (section 8).","Detailed subject matter list for by‑laws with broad discretion for councils to prescribe matters \"necessary or convenient\" (section 7(1)(k)).","Enforcement powers that a by‑law may confer on police, requiring coordination with general policing and prosecution systems (section 7(2)(a)).","Penalties and recovery rules (fine caps, limited compensation, payment of pecuniary penalties to council) with evidentiary and limitation rules for prosecutions (sections 7(2)(d)–(e), 12, 9(2), 10).","Interaction clause preserving other statutory and common‑law liabilities (section 13) which requires reading the Act alongside other laws."],"plain_english_summary":"What this law does (mechanics)\n\n- Establishes a small, targeted legal regime that applies only to certain Aboriginal communities named in the Act or later added or removed by proclamation of the Governor on the Minister's advice (sections 4 and 5).\n- Requires the Governor to declare the community lands for each community by proclamation; those boundaries may be added to, excised or redescribed by later proclamation (section 6).\n- Gives the governing body (the council) of an applicable community the power to make by‑laws dealing with uses of the community lands and behaviour on them (for example entry and vehicle use, damage to grounds, use of buildings, meetings, nuisances, alcohol, weapons, litter and a catch‑all for decency and order) (section 7(1)).\n- Sets a multi‑step approval and publication procedure for those by‑laws: a council resolution passed by absolute majority, sealing and delivery to the Minister, the Minister's assessment and submission to the Governor, and Gazette publication and laying before Parliament if approved (section 8(2)–(4)).\n- Allows by‑laws to empower police to apprehend and remove people, remove vehicles or things, request name and address, take proceedings and otherwise enforce the by‑laws (section 7(2)(a)).\n- Permits penalties: by‑law breaches may attract fines up to $5,000 and courts may order compensation up to $250 for property damage where a conviction is entered (section 7(2)(d)–(e)). Fines recovered under by‑laws are to be appropriated and paid to the council for the community's use (section 12).\n- Limits the geographic reach of by‑laws to the declared community lands but applies them to everyone in those lands (section 9). A prosecution for a by‑law offence must start within 6 months of the alleged offence (section 10). By‑laws do not remove or reduce liabilities under other laws nor make unlawful anything lawfully done under other statutory powers (section 13).\n\nWho it affects\n\n- Councils (the governing bodies) of communities to which the Act applies: they make by‑laws and decide whether to exercise discretionary powers set out in the by‑laws (sections 3, 7 and 8).\n- Community members and any visitors, contractors or businesses who enter or operate on declared community lands: they are subject to those by‑laws while within the boundaries (section 9(1)).\n- The Minister and the Governor: the Minister advises the Governor on which communities the Act should apply to or cease applying to; the Governor proclaims communities and community lands and approves by‑laws (sections 4, 5 and 6; section 8(3)–(4)).\n- Police and courts: police may be empowered to enforce by‑laws as specified; courts may impose fines and limited compensation (section 7(2)(a), (d)–(e); section 10).\n\nWhy it matters (stated purpose and a factual test of effects)\n\n- The Act’s stated purpose (the long title) is to assist certain Aboriginal communities to manage and control their community lands. Mechanically, it does that by delegating rule‑making power over the declared community lands to the community council, subject to Minister and Governor approval and to other statutory limits (sections noted above).\n\nTesting that stated purpose against costs, incentives and trade‑offs (source‑grounded):\n\n- Decision rights and incentives: councils gain local regulatory power over access, conduct and use of land and structures (section 7(1)). That concentrates regulatory benefit on the council and community (section 12 directs pecuniary penalties to the council). The Minister and Governor retain gatekeeping power to add or remove communities and approve by‑laws, which introduces central oversight and discretion into local rule‑making (sections 4, 5 and 8(3)–(4)).\n- Compliance and procedural burden: councils must make by‑laws by absolute majority, seal them and submit them to the Minister; the Minister must be satisfied the by‑laws are \"necessary and desirable\" before submitting them to the Governor (section 8). Those steps create administrative costs and potential delay for a council seeking to make or change by‑laws.\n- Enforcement and private cost exposure: by‑laws may limit who can enter or what activities may occur on community lands (section 7(1)(a)), and they may be enforced by police powers given in the by‑laws (section 7(2)(a)). Individuals, visitors or businesses operating on the lands face the risk of fines (up to $5,000) and possible removal, and must bring defence or challenge within a 6‑month prosecution window (sections 7(2)(d) and 10). This changes the legal and commercial environment for anyone supplying goods or services on those lands.\n- Interaction with other laws and rights: by‑laws do not displace statutory or common‑law liabilities nor make unlawful acts that are lawful under other statutory powers (section 13). This preserves other legal obligations and statutory authorities while adding a layer of local regulation.\n- Redistribution of monetary sanctions: pecuniary penalties recovered under the by‑laws are paid to the council for community use (section 12). That channels enforcement revenue to the community rather than to the State.\n- Flexibility and legal certainty: the Governor’s proclamation defines the spatial scope (section 6) and by‑laws apply only within those declared boundaries (section 9(1)). The Act therefore creates a small number of discrete regulatory enclaves whose boundaries and membership can be changed by proclamation (sections 4–6).\n\nPotential implementation risks and concrete trade‑offs (source‑grounded)\n\n- Minister/Governor discretion creates a central check on which communities may use the regime and on the content of by‑laws (sections 4, 5 and 8(3)–(4)). That central oversight can prevent locally made rules from taking effect unless approved, which may slow or block councils' regulatory response.\n- The Act empowers councils to confer enforcement authority on police and to impose financial penalties (section 7(2)). That requires coordination with ordinary criminal and policing processes and may raise practical enforcement costs for police and courts.\n- The regime is territorially limited and procedurally specific: any person or business planning activity on declared community lands must identify whether the Act applies (section 9(2) allows an allegation that a place is within community lands to be treated as evidence unless disproved). This evidentiary rule shifts part of the proof burden in by‑law prosecutions (section 9(2)).\n\nConcrete who‑pays statement\n\n- Councils pay the administrative cost of making by‑laws (internal governance and the sealing/submission steps) (section 8).\n- The Minister/Governor (that is, the State executive) incur the exercise of discretion and administrative action to proclaim communities and lands and to approve and publish by‑laws (sections 4–6 and 8(3)–(4)).\n- Individuals, visitors and businesses on the community lands pay compliance costs, risks of removal and potential fines or compensation where by‑laws apply (sections 7, 9, 10 and 12). Fines recovered are paid to the council (section 12).\n\nKey statutory citations: sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/aboriginal-communities-act-1979","history":"/api/acts/aboriginal-communities-act-1979/history","analysis":"/api/acts/aboriginal-communities-act-1979/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/aboriginal-communities-act-1979/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/aboriginal-communities-act-1979/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/aboriginal-communities-act-1979/documents"}}