{"id":"barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985","name":"Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985","slug":"barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30068,"registerId":"wa-barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nBarrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985\n\nWestern Australia\n\nBarrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Interpretation 1\n\n4. Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account 2\n\n5. Payments to the Account 2\n\n6. Payments from the Account 3\n\n7. Adjustment of payments 3\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 5\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nBarrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985\n\nAn Act relating to the royalty payable under the Barrow Island petroleum lease and incidental and other matters.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985* 1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on the day on which it is assented to by the Governor 1.\n\n##### 3. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\n  Barrow Island lease—\n\n(a) means the petroleum lease dated 27 February 1967 granted under the *Petroleum Act 1936* 2 and registered as Number 1H and named “Barrow Island” pursuant to that Act as varied and affected by the variation agreement; and\n\n(b) includes that lease as renewed, substituted or varied;\n\n  Commonwealth share—\n\n(a) in relation to a royalty payment, means so much of that payment, not exceeding 75%, as is payable by the State to the Commonwealth under the revenue sharing agreement;\n\n(b) in relation to a refundable amount, means so much of that amount, not exceeding 75%, as is payable by the Commonwealth to the State under the revenue sharing agreement;\n\n  lessee has the same meaning as that expression has in the Barrow Island lease;\n\n  refundable amount means an amount of royalty that is refundable to the lessee under clause 2A(5) of the Barrow Island lease;\n\n  royalty payment means an amount payable by the lessee under clause 2 or 2A of the Barrow Island lease as royalty, provisional royalty or additional royalty;\n\n  revenue sharing agreement means the agreement between the State and the Commonwealth referred to in clause 4(c)(i) of the variation agreement and includes that agreement as substituted or varied;\n\n  State share, in relation to a royalty payment or a refundable amount, means so much of that payment or amount as is not comprised in the Commonwealth share of that payment or amount;\n\n  the Account means the Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account established under section 4;\n\n  variation agreement means the agreement a copy of which is set forth in the Schedule to the *Barrow Island Royalty Variation Agreement Act 1985*.\n\n##### 4. Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account\n\nAn agency special purpose account called the Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account is established under section 16 of the *Financial Management Act 2006*.\n\n[Section 4 inserted: No. 77 of 2006 s. 17.]\n\n##### 5. Payments to the Account\n\nNotwithstanding section 64 of the *Constitution Act 1889*, section 8 of the *Financial Management Act 2006* or any other enactment —\n\n(a) every royalty payment received by the State shall be credited to the Account; and\n\n(b) an amount —\n\n(i) paid to the State by the Commonwealth to meet the Commonwealth share of a refundable amount; or\n\n(ii) charged to the Consolidated Account to meet the State share of a refundable amount,\n\nmay be credited to the Account.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 6 of 1993 s. 11; No. 49 of 1996 s. 64; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4 and 17.]\n\n##### 6. Payments from the Account\n\n(1) Subject to section 7(1), (2) and (3), a royalty payment credited to the Account under section 5(a) shall be distributed in the following manner —\n\n(a) the Commonwealth share of the payment shall be paid to the Commonwealth within 21 days after the payment is credited to the Account; and\n\n(b) the State share of the payment shall be credited to the Consolidated Account within 21 days after the payment is credited to the Account.\n\n(2) Subject to section 7(3) and (4), an amount credited to the Account under section 5(b) shall be paid to the lessee as soon as is practicable after it is so credited.\n\n[Section 6 amended: No. 6 of 1993 s. 11; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4.]\n\n##### 7. Adjustment of payments\n\n(1) Notwithstanding section 6(1)(a), the Commonwealth share of a refundable amount may be paid to the lessee from any amount standing to the credit of the Account under section 5(a) that is payable to the Commonwealth under section 6(1)(a).\n\n(2) Notwithstanding section 6(1)(b), the State share of a refundable amount may be paid to the lessee from any amount standing to the credit of the Account under section 5(a) that is payable to the credit of the Consolidated Account under section 6(1)(b).\n\n(3) Notwithstanding section 6(1) or (2), where the State has paid the Commonwealth share of a refundable amount otherwise than from the Account the State may obtain reimbursement in one of the following manners —\n\n(a) an amount equal to the Commonwealth share may be deducted from any amount standing to the credit of the Account under section 5(a) that is payable to the Commonwealth under section 6(1)(a) and the amount so deducted may be credited to the Consolidated Account; or\n\n(b) if an amount is credited to the Account under section 5(b) in respect of the Commonwealth share, that amount may be credited to the Consolidated Account.\n\n(4) Notwithstanding section 6(2) where —\n\n(a) the Commonwealth share of a refundable amount has been paid to the lessee under subsection (1); or\n\n(b) the State has obtained reimbursement under subsection (3)(a) for the payment of the Commonwealth share of a refundable amount,\n\nand an amount is credited to the Account under section 5(b) in respect of that Commonwealth share, that amount shall be repaid to the Commonwealth.\n\n[Section 7 amended: No. 6 of 1993 s. 11; No. 49 of 1996 s. 64; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4.]\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985* 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| *Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985* | 114 of 1985 | 13 Dec 1985 | 13 Dec 1985 (see s. 2) |\n| *Financial Administration Legislation Amendment Act 1993* s. 11 | 6 of 1993 | 27 Aug 1993 | 1 Jul 1993 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| *Financial Legislation Amendment Act 1996* s. 64 | 49 of 1996 | 25 Oct 1996 | 25 Oct 1996 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985* as at 7 Nov 2003** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Financial Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2006* s. 4 and 17 | 77 of 2006 | 21 Dec 2006 | 1 Feb 2007 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 19 Jan 2007 p. 137) |\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\nBarrow Island lease 3\n\nCommonwealth share 3\n\nlessee 3\n\nrefundable amount 3\n\nrevenue sharing agreement 3\n\nroyalty payment 3\n\nState share 3\n\nthe Account 3\n\nvariation agreement 3\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"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"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Amendments updated the Act's administrative framework and payment mechanics: section 4 ties the Account to the Financial Management Act (agency special purpose account); sections 5–7 clarify what must be credited, timing of distributions and how refundable amounts are adjusted or reimbursed. The fundamental allocation rule—Commonwealth receives up to 75% and the State the remainder (definition of Commonwealth share/State share in s.3)—remains in place, so changes are procedural rather than substantive reallocation of shares."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to external instruments (Barrow Island lease, Financial Management Act 2006, Constitution Act 1889 and the revenue sharing agreement)","Defined technical terms (Commonwealth share, State share, refundable amount, royalty payment) that drive allocation rules","Time-bound distribution rules (21-day payment deadlines) and account-crediting requirements","Multiple adjustment and reimbursement paths for refundable amounts (allowing payments to lessee from amounts otherwise payable to Commonwealth or State, and deductions/re-credits)","Amendment history that changes legal basis (insertion of agency special purpose account) without altering core percentage allocation"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates the Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account and requires royalties from the Barrow Island petroleum lease to be paid into that account. The Account then directs money: the Commonwealth receives up to 75% of each royalty payment and the State receives the remainder, with both shares forwarded within 21 days; refundable royalty amounts can be paid back to the lessee and are adjusted between Commonwealth and State shares under specified rules. It governs who gets paid, when, and how refunds are handled."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be meaningfully assessed as the legislative text was unavailable. No comparison between original intent and current form is possible from the retrieved content."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient content available to assess true complexity — page was inaccessible","Based on title alone, trust account legislation of this era tends to be relatively narrow and mechanical in scope","May involve interplay between resource royalty law and public finance law, adding some complexity","Historical 1985 legislation may have been amended multiple times, potentially adding layers"],"plain_english_summary":"## Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account Act 1985 (WA)\n\n**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe full text of this Western Australian Act could not be retrieved — the source page is no longer accessible on the WA legislation website.\n\n**What we can infer from the title:**\n- This is a **Western Australian state law** passed in **1985**\n- It relates to **Barrow Island**, a Class A nature reserve off the WA coast that is also the site of significant oil and gas operations (including the Gorgon LNG project)\n- It appears to establish or govern a **trust account** (a dedicated fund held for a specific purpose) for **royalties** (payments made to the government in exchange for extracting natural resources like oil or gas)\n- Such legislation typically sets out rules for how royalty money is collected, held, managed, and spent\n\n**Who might be affected:** The WA government, resource companies operating on Barrow Island, and potentially the public through how royalty revenues are managed.\n\n*To access the current version of this Act, visit the Western Australian legislation website (legislation.wa.gov.au) and search directly for the Act title.*"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of establishing and operating the Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account. While it has been amended three times (1993, 1996, 2006), these amendments were purely technical updates to reflect changes in the underlying financial management legislation (updating references to the Financial Management Act 2006 and Constitution Act 1889). The core mechanics—receiving royalties, splitting them between State and Commonwealth, and handling refunds—remain unchanged from the 1985 original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Only 8 defined terms in the interpretation section, all clearly cross-referenced","Straightforward account establishment under the Financial Management Act 2006 (single cross-reference)","Simple payment flow mechanics: money in (s.5), money out (s.6), adjustments for refunds (s.7)","Limited conditional logic—primarily 'notwithstanding' clauses that override other statutes rather than nested exceptions","Short length (7 substantive sections plus notes)","Single purpose legislation with no regulatory powers or delegated authority"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law sets up a special bank account (called the **Barrow Island Royalty Trust Account**) to manage money flowing from oil and gas production on Barrow Island.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Collects royalties**: When the oil company (the lessee) pays royalties to Western Australia for extracting petroleum from Barrow Island, that money goes into this special account first.\n- **Splits the money**: Under a revenue-sharing deal with the Commonwealth (federal government), up to 75% of these royalties belong to the Commonwealth, and the rest stays with Western Australia. The Act ensures the Commonwealth gets its share within 21 days, and Western Australia's share goes into the state's general funds (the Consolidated Account).\n- **Handles refunds**: Sometimes the oil company overpays royalties and needs money back. The Act manages how refunds are paid—whether from the special account, or with the Commonwealth reimbursing Western Australia if the state paid the refund upfront.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The oil company operating on Barrow Island (currently Chevron, historically WAPET)\n- The Western Australian government (Treasury/Department of Finance)\n- The Australian federal government (Commonwealth)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nBarrow Island is a major petroleum production site. This law ensures there's a transparent, legally mandated process for handling hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty payments, making sure both state and federal governments get their agreed shares and that the oil company gets any refunds it's owed. It overrides normal government accounting rules to create this special handling system."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985","history":"/api/acts/barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985/history","analysis":"/api/acts/barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/barrow-island-royalty-trust-account-act-1985/documents"}}