{"id":"albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993","name":"Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993","slug":"albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":29950,"registerId":"wa-albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nAlbany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993\n\nWestern Australia\n\nAlbany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Interpretation 1\n\n4. Agreement ratified and implementation authorised 1\n\nSchedule 1 — Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 7\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nAlbany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993\n\nAn Act to ratify, and authorise the implementation of, an agreement between the State and Albany Plantation Forest Company of Australia Pty. Limited in relation to the establishment of commercial hardwood plantations in the Albany region of the State.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993*1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent1.\n\n##### 3. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\n  the Agreement means the Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement, a copy of which is set out in Schedule 1, and includes that Agreement as varied from time to time in accordance with its provisions.\n\n##### 4. Agreement ratified and implementation authorised\n\n(1) The Agreement is ratified.\n\n(2) The implementation of the Agreement is authorised.\n\n(3) Without limiting or otherwise affecting the application of the *Government Agreements Act 1979*, the Agreement operates and takes effect despite any other Act or law.\n\nSchedule 1 — Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement\n\n[s. 3]\n\n[Heading amended: No. 19 of 2010 s. 4.]\n\n**THIS AGREEMENT** is made this 25th day of November 1993\n\nBETWEEN:\n\n**THE HONOURABLE RICHARD FAIRFAX COURT** B. Com., M.L.A., Premier of the State of Western Australia, acting for and on behalf of the said State and its instrumentalities from time to time (hereinafter called “the State”) of the one part\n\nAND\n\n**ALBANY PLANTATION FOREST COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA PTY. LIMITED** ACN 060 980 261 a company incorporated in the State of Western Australia and having its registered office at 22nd Floor 221 St George’s Terrace, Perth in the said State (hereinafter called “the Company”) of the other part\n\nWHEREAS:\n\n(a) The Company is desirous of establishing in the Albany region of Western Australia large scale commercial hardwood plantations for the purpose of producing wood chips for export;\n\n(b) To this end timber sharefarming agreements as described in section 34B of the *Conservation and Land Management Act 1984* may be acquired by or will be entered into by the Executive Director of the Department of Conservation and Land Management (“the Executive Director”) as agent of the Company (“the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements”) pursuant to a deed of agency and indemnity entered into by the Executive Director and the Company (“the Deed of Agency and Indemnity”);\n\n(c) The State for the purposes of promoting development in the Albany region and of promoting Western Australian exports agrees to assist the Company upon and subject to the terms of this Agreement.\n\nNOW THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSES:\n\nIntroduction of Bill\n\n1. The State shall introduce and sponsor a Bill in the Parliament of Western Australia to ratify this Agreement and endeavour to secure its passage as an Act prior to 31st December 1993 or such later date as the parties hereto may agree.\n\nCommencement and operation of agreement\n\n2. The provisions of this Agreement other than this clause 2 shall not commence to operate until the Bill referred to in clause 1 has been passed by the Parliament of Western Australia and comes into operation as an Act.\n\nCompany operations\n\n3. The Company in its operations in Western Australia shall comply with and observe the laws for the time being in force in Western Australia.\n\nUndertakings by the State\n\n4. During the term of this Agreement —\n\n(a) The State shall not expropriate or confiscate from the Company timber standing or felled produced by or on behalf of the Company under the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements or wood chips made from that timber;\n\n(b) The State shall not impose, nor shall it permit or authorise any of its agencies or instrumentalities or any local or other authority of the State to impose discriminatory taxes rates or charges of any nature whatsoever on or in respect of the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements the timber standing or felled produced thereunder or wood chips made from that timber;\n\n(c) The State shall not discriminate against the Company in processing the Company’s applications made in respect of its activities relating to the production of timber by or on behalf of the Company under the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements or made in respect of the processing thereof into wood chips;\n\n(d) The State shall not impose restrictions which prevent the export by the Company of wood chips made from timber which has been produced under the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements;\n\n(e) Subject to relevant safety considerations the State shall not materially obstruct, nor shall it permit or authorise any of its agencies or instrumentalities or any local or other authority of the State materially to obstruct, the Company’s operations in respect of the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements or the transportation of the timber produced therefrom or processing for export or transportation of wood chips made from that timber; and\n\n(f) On request by the Company the State shall make representations to the Commonwealth or to the Commonwealth constituted agency authority or instrumentality concerned for the grant to the Company of any licence or consent under the laws of the Commonwealth necessary to enable or to permit the Company to export wood chips made from timber which has been produced under the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements.\n\n(g) The State shall not cause the Executive Director to breach either the Deed of Agency and Indemnity or the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements.\n\nVariation\n\n5. (1) The parties hereto may from time to time by agreement in writing add to substitute for cancel or vary all or any of the provisions of this Agreement for the purposes of more efficiently or satisfactorily implementing or facilitating any of the objects of this Agreement.\n\n(2) The Minister shall cause any agreement made pursuant to subclause (1) to be laid on the Table of each House of Parliament within twelve sitting days next following its execution.\n\n(3) Either House may, within twelve sitting days after the agreement has been laid before it, pass a resolution disallowing the agreement, but if after the last day on which the agreement might have been disallowed neither House has passed such a resolution, then the agreement shall have effect from and after that last day.\n\nTerm of Agreement\n\n6. This Agreement shall expire at such time as the Company ceases to have any rights or obligations under any of the Company’s timber sharefarming agreements, or on 30 June 2030, whichever is earlier.\n\nApplicable law\n\n7. This Agreement shall be interpreted according to the law for the time being in force in the State of Western Australia and the parties hereto irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Western Australia and to courts hearing appeals from those courts.\n\nEXECUTED by the parties.\n\nSIGNED for and on behalf of the )  \nState of Western Australia by )  \n**THE HONOURABLE RICHARD FAIRFAX** ) R. F. COURT  \n**COURT** M.L.A., Premier in the )  \npresence of: )\n\nCOLIN BARNETT\n\n………………………………………………….\n\nWitness\n\n22 SAMSON ST. MOSMAN PARK W.A.\n\n………………………………………………….\n\nAddress\n\nMEMBER OF PARLIAMENT\n\n……………………………………………………\n\nOccupation\n\nTHE COMMON SEAL of **ALBANY** )  \n**PLANTATION FOREST COMPANY OF** )  \n**AUSTRALIA PTY. LIMITED** )  \nACN 060 980 261 was hereunto )  \naffixed by authority of the )  \nDirectors in the presence of: )\n\nK. KANDA  \n………………………………………………….  \nDirector\n\nY. M. KOWATA  \n……………………………………………..  \nDirector/~~Secretary~~\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993* 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| *Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993* | 43 of 1993 | 20 Dec 1993 | | 20 Dec 1993 (see s. 2) |\n| **Reprint of the *Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993* as at 16 Sep 2002** | | | | |\n| *Standardisation of Formatting Act 2010* s. 4 | 19 of 2010 | 28 Jun 2010 | 11 Sep 2010 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 10 Sep 2010 p. 4341)f | |\n\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\nthe Agreement 3\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope change cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not accessible. No amendments or broadening of original intent could be identified from the available information."},"complexity_factors":["Legislative content is entirely unavailable — no text could be analysed","Cannot assess cross-references, schedules, definitions, or operative provisions","Score reflects inability to analyse rather than confirmed simplicity of the Act itself","Agreement Acts in WA can be highly complex in practice, but this cannot be confirmed here"],"plain_english_summary":"## Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act 1993\n\n**The content of this law is not available.**\n\nThe page for this Western Australian legislation has been taken offline due to system and security upgrades on the Parliamentary Counsel's website. This means a full analysis cannot be provided.\n\n**What we can infer from the title:**\n- This is a Western Australian law passed in **1993**\n- It likely ratifies or gives legal force to a specific **agreement** (a contract between the government and a private party) relating to **hardwood plantation forestry** in the **Albany region** of WA\n- These types of \"Agreement Acts\" are commonly used in WA to lock in long-term deals — often involving timber, mining, or resources — giving the agreement the force of law so neither party can easily walk away\n\n**Who might be affected:** Forestry companies, landowners, timber workers, and communities in and around Albany, WA.\n\n> ⚠️ **Note:** Because the full legislative text was unavailable, this analysis is based only on the Act's title and general knowledge of similar WA legislation. For accurate information, contact the Parliamentary Counsel's Office or search the WA legislation website directly."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act elevates a private contract into a statutory instrument and expressly makes the Agreement effective despite inconsistent laws (s.4(3)). That alters the legal scope compared with a standard commercial agreement by granting the Agreement statutory force and binding State undertakings, thereby expanding its legal primacy and creating obligations on State agencies for the Agreement’s term."},"complexity_factors":["Override clause: the Agreement is made to operate \"despite any other Act or law\" (s.4(3)), creating potential statutory primacy and legal tension with existing legislation.","Cross-instrument dependencies: the Agreement depends on timber sharefarming arrangements under the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 and a separate Deed of Agency and Indemnity (Schedule), so its operation relies on external documents and agency practice.","Long-term State commitments: the Schedule records specific State undertakings (non-expropriation, no discriminatory taxes or export restrictions, assistance with Commonwealth consents, and non-obstruction) that bind the State for the Agreement’s term (Schedule clauses 4(a)–(f)).","Variation and parliamentary oversight: variations are by written agreement but must be tabled and can be disallowed by either House within a set period (s.5), adding procedural steps and uncertainty during the disallowance window.","Temporal and conditional termination: the Agreement expires when the Company no longer has rights under its timber sharefarming agreements or on 30 June 2030 (Schedule cl.6), linking duration to external contractual facts.","Jurisdictional submission: parties submit to exclusive Western Australian courts (Schedule cl.7), limiting forum-shopping but affecting enforcement strategy.","Administrative ambiguity: terms like \"materially obstruct\" (Schedule cl.4(e)) create operational compliance judgments for agencies, producing potential discretion and litigation risk."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act formally ratifies and authorises implementation of an agreement between the State of Western Australia and Albany Plantation Forest Company to establish commercial hardwood plantations and export wood chips. It gives the Agreement legal effect even if it conflicts with other laws and records State undertakings (for example, against expropriation, discriminatory charges and export restrictions) and a fixed term tied to the Company’s timber sharefarming rights or 30 June 2030 (see s.4 and Schedule).\n\nMechanically, the State promises administrative and legal assurances while the Company proceeds with plantation operations; variations require written agreement and a parliamentary disallowance window (s.5)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: ratifying the specific 1993 agreement with Albany Plantation Forest Company. The only amendment recorded (Standardisation of Formatting Act 2010) was purely cosmetic (updating the Schedule 1 heading format). The scope has not expanded beyond the original commercial forestry deal."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 operative sections in the Act proper (short title, commencement, interpretation, ratification)","Single defined term ('the Agreement') in section 3","No cross-references to other Acts except incidental mention of Government Agreements Act 1979 and Conservation and Land Management Act 1984","Schedule 1 contains the full agreement text but uses standard commercial contract structure (clauses 1-7) with straightforward operative provisions","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic — obligations are expressed as simple negative covenants ('shall not')","Variation mechanism (clause 5) includes parliamentary disallowance but this is a standard legislative oversight provision","Total length is approximately 4 pages including signatures and compilation table"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a Western Australian law that rubber-stamps a commercial deal between the State Government and a private company called Albany Plantation Forest Company of Australia Pty. Limited.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Ratifies (officially approves)** a contract signed on 25 November 1993 between the Premier of Western Australia and the company.\n- **Authorises** the State to carry out its side of the deal.\n- **Gives the contract special legal status** — it overrides other laws if there's a conflict.\n\n**What the deal is about:**\nThe company wants to establish large-scale commercial hardwood plantations in the Albany region to grow trees for wood chip exports. The State agrees to help by:\n- Not seizing the timber or wood chips\n- Not charging discriminatory taxes or fees\n- Not blocking export licences\n- Not obstructing operations or transport\n- Making representations to the Commonwealth (federal government) for export permits if needed\n- Ensuring the Department of Conservation and Land Management doesn't break its agency agreements with the company\n\n**Key protections for the company:**\n- The State promises not to discriminate against the company in processing applications\n- The State can't impose restrictions that prevent wood chip exports\n- The agreement lasts until 30 June 2030 or until the company no longer has rights under its timber sharefarming agreements (whichever comes first)\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The company (Albany Plantation Forest Company)\n- The Western Australian Government and its agencies\n- Potentially local councils and authorities who can't obstruct the company's operations\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a **state guarantee** to a private investor. It locks in favourable treatment for the company for decades, limiting future governments' ability to change taxes, regulations, or export rules that might affect this specific commercial forestry operation. It shows how governments use legislation to give legal certainty to major investment projects."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993","history":"/api/acts/albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993/history","analysis":"/api/acts/albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/albany-hardwood-plantation-agreement-act-1993/documents"}}