{"id":"bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006","name":"BHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006","slug":"bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30087,"registerId":"wa-bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"BHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nBHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006\n\nWestern Australia\n\nBHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n3. Definition 2\n\n4. Ratification and operation of Agreement 2\n\nSchedule 1 — The Agreement\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 8\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nBHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006\n\nAn Act to ratify an agreement between the State and BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Minerals Pty. Ltd. that provides for the termination of —\n\n• an agreement made on 7 October 1952 and subsequently varied; and\n\n• an agreement made on 18 November 1960 and subsequently varied,\n\nbetween the State and BHP Billiton Limited (under its former name, The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited).\n\nThe Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis is the *BHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n##### 3. Definition\n\nIn this Act —\n\n  Agreement means the agreement of which a copy is set out in Schedule 1.\n\n##### 4. Ratification and operation of Agreement\n\n(1) The Agreement is ratified.\n\n(2) Without limiting or otherwise affecting the application of the *Government Agreements Act 1979*, the Agreement operates and takes effect despite any enactment or other law.\n\nSchedule 1 — The Agreement\n\n[s. 3]\n\n**2004**\n\n**THE HONOURABLE GEOFFREY IAN GALLOP**\n\n**BEc, MA, Mphil, Dphil, MLA**\n\n**AND**\n\n**BHP BILLITON LIMITED**\n\n**ABN 49 004 028 077**\n\n**BHP BILLITON MINERALS PTY. LTD.**\n\n**ABN 93 008 694 782**\n\n**_______________________________________________________________**\n\n**AGREEMENT**\n\n**_______________________________________________________________**\n\nCrown Solicitor’s Office\n\nCommercial and Conveyancing\n\n141 St Georges Terrace\n\nPERTH WA 6000\n\nTelephone: (08) 9264 1888\n\n**THIS AGREEMENT is made the day of 2004**\n\n**BETWEEN:**\n\n**THE HONOURABLE GEOFFREY IAN GALLOP BEc, MA, MPhil, DPhil, MLA,** 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\n**AND**\n\n**BHP BILLITON LIMITED** (formerly called THE BROKEN HILL PROPRIETARY COMPANY LIMITED) ABN 49 004 028 077 a company having its registered office at 600 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria (“**BHPB**”) and **BHP BILLITON MINERALS PTY. LTD.** (formerly called DAMPIER MINING COMPANY LIMITED) ABN 93 008 694 782 a company having its registered office at 600 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria (“**BHPM**”) (BHPB and BHPM being hereinafter together called “**the Companies**”) of the other part.\n\n**WHEREAS:**\n\n(a) on the 7th day of October 1952 the State of the one part entered into an agreement with BHPB of the other part which agreement was approved by the *Broken Hill Proprietary Steel Industry Agreement Act 1952* and has been varied by the following agreements:\n\n(i) the agreement dated the 18th day of November 1960 referred to in recital (b) hereof;\n\n(ii) the agreement dated the 24th day of November 1964 approved by the *Iron Ore (The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited) Agreement Act 1964*; and\n\n(iii) an agreement between the State and the Companies dated the 14th day of October 2002;\n\nand which, as so varied from time to time, is hereinafter called “**the 1952 Agreement**”;\n\n(b) on the 18th day of November 1960 the State of the one part entered into an agreement with BHPB of the other part which agreement was approved by the *Broken Hill Proprietary Company’s Integrated Steel Works Agreement Act 1960* and has been varied by —\n\n(i) the agreement dated the 24th day of November 1964 approved by the *Iron Ore* *(The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited) Agreement Act 1964*;\n\n(ii) the agreement dated the 23rd day of May 1973 approved by the *Broken Hill Proprietary Company’s Integrated Steel Works Agreement Act Amendment Act 1973*; and\n\n(iii) the agreement dated the 23rd day of April 1980 approved by the *Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited Agreements (Variation) Act 1980*;\n\nand which, as so varied from time to time, is hereinafter referred to as “**the 1960 Agreement**”;\n\n(c) by an agreement dated the 18th day of March 1966 BHPB assigned certain of its rights and obligations under the 1952 Agreement and the 1960 Agreement to BHP Steel (AIS) Pty. Ltd. (formerly called Australian Iron and Steel Proprietary Limited) ABN 19 000 019 625 (“**AIS**”) and assigned certain of its rights and obligations under those Agreements to BHPM;\n\n(d) by a Deed of Covenant dated the 31st day of January 2002 AIS assigned (inter alia) all its rights and obligations under the 1952 Agreement and the 1960 Agreement to BHPM; and\n\n(e) the State and the Companies desire to terminate the 1952 Agreement and the 1960 Agreement in manner herein appearing.\n\n**NOW THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSES —**\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 30 June 2005 or such later date as the parties hereto may agree.\n\n2. (1) The provisions of this Agreement other than this Clause and Clause 1 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\n(2) If before 30 June 2005 or such later date as may be agreed pursuant to Clause 1 the said Bill has not come into operation as an Act then unless the parties hereto otherwise agree this Agreement shall cease and determine and no party hereto shall have any claim against any other party hereto with respect to any matter or thing arising out of done performed or omitted to be done or performed under this Agreement.\n\n(3) On the said Bill coming into operation as an Act (“**the Operative Date**”) all the provisions of this Agreement shall operate and take effect notwithstanding the provisions of any Act or law.\n\n3. (1) The 1952 Agreement and the 1960 Agreement are hereby terminated with effect on and from the Operative Date.\n\n(2) Notwithstanding subclause (1) of this Clause, the mineral leases set out in the Schedule to the 1952 Agreement shall continue in force subject to and in accordance with clause 4(mb) of the 1952 Agreement.\n\n4. With effect on and from the Operative Date the State hereby —\n\n(a) grants a full unconditional release to each of BHPB and BHPM from their respective obligations (unfulfilled or otherwise and including, in the case of BHPM, the obligations of AIS assumed by BHPM under clause 3.1 of the Deed of Covenant dated the 31st day of January 2002 and made between the State, BHPB, AIS and BHPM (“the Deed of Covenant”)):\n\n(i) under or pursuant to the 1952 Agreement and the 1960 Agreement; and\n\n(ii) under Western Australian legislation and regulations or any laws or other requirements imposed by any government, governmental, semi‑governmental or other relevant authority of the State in effect prior to or at the Operative Date, to the extent:\n\n(A) the release is lawful; and\n\n(B) the obligations were excluded from applying to the activities of BHPB or BHPM as the case may be under the terms of the 1952 Agreement or the 1960 Agreement; and\n\n(b) agrees that each of BHPB and BHPM will have no further liability for any action done or omission made which was permitted to be done or omitted to be done by the terms of the 1952 Agreement and the 1960 Agreement.\n\n5. The State hereby confirms the release given by it to AIS in clause 3.2 of the Deed of Covenant.\n\n**IN WITNESS WHEREOF this Agreement has been executed by the parties as a Deed.**\n\nSIGNED by **THE HONOURABLE )** [Signature]\n\n**GEOFFREY IAN GALLOP** in the )\n\npresence of: )\n\nMinister for State Development [Signature]\n\nSIGNED, SEALED and DELIVERED )\n\nfor **BHP BILLITON LIMITED** )\n\nunder Power of Attorney ) [Signature]\n\nin the presence of: ) ____________________________\n\nSignature of Attorney\n\n[Signature] KAREN J WOOD\n\n____________________________ ____________________________\n\nSignature of witness Name\n\nKENDYL J BLACKBURN 5 SEPTEMBER 2001\n\n____________________________ ____________________________\n\nName of witness Date of Power of Attorney\n\nTHE COMMON SEAL of **) [**C.S.]\n\n**BHP BILLITON MINERALS** )\n\n**PTY. LTD.** was hereunto affixed **)**\n\nin the presence of: **)**\n\nDirector: [Signature]\n\n~~Director~~/Secretary: [Signature]\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *BHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006*. The following table contains information about that Act.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *BHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006* | 63 of 2006 | 30 Nov 2006 | 30 Nov 2006 (see s. 2) |\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\nAgreement 3\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: terminating two specific historical agreements and releasing BHP from associated obligations. There is no scope creep — the Act does exactly what its title and preamble describe, with no additional regulatory or policy matters attached."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 operative sections in the main Act, with minimal defined terms (just 1: 'Agreement')","Simple, linear structure: short title, commencement, definition, ratification","The Schedule contains the full agreement text, which adds length but not procedural complexity — the operative clauses are straightforward (termination, release, confirmation)","No nested exceptions or conditional logic in the Act itself; the Agreement in Schedule 1 has standard commercial clauses (commencement conditions, termination triggers) but these are clearly drafted","Cross-references are limited to the Government Agreements Act 1979 and the defined Agreement in Schedule 1"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act formally ends two very old agreements between the Western Australian Government and BHP Billiton (formerly known as The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited) — one from 1952 and another from 1960. These agreements originally gave BHP special rights and obligations for mining and steel operations in WA.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **BHP Billiton Limited** and **BHP Billiton Minerals Pty. Ltd.** — these companies are released from all remaining obligations under the old 1952 and 1960 agreements.\n*   **The Western Australian Government** — it gives up its rights to enforce those old obligations and grants the companies a \"clean slate\" regarding past actions that were permitted under the old deals.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\n*   **Cleaning up history:** These agreements date back over 50 years and have been modified many times. This law tidies up the legal landscape by formally terminating them.\n*   **Legal protection for BHP:** The companies get a full, unconditional release from any unfulfilled obligations under the old agreements, plus protection from liability for past actions that were allowed under those agreements.\n*   **Continuity of mining leases:** Importantly, the actual mining leases granted under the 1952 Agreement **stay in force** — they don't disappear just because the old agreement is terminated. They continue under the terms of the original agreement.\n*   **Parliamentary rubber stamp:** The Act ratifies (formally approves) a deal already negotiated between the Premier (Geoff Gallop) and BHP in 2004, giving it the force of law."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act implements the Agreement’s stated purpose: terminating the 1952 and 1960 agreements and confirming releases to BHP entities and AIS (Schedule 1, cl 3–5). It does not extend obligations beyond those terminations; it does, however, make the Agreement effective despite other laws (s.4(2)), which is an instrument-level override but not a substantive expansion of the Agreement’s stated scope."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple legacy agreements and statutes in the recitals, requiring historical tracing to determine scope (Schedule 1 recitals).","Condition precedent: the Agreement only operates on passage of the implementing Bill and an Operative Date (Schedule 1, cls 1–2).","Express statutory override: the Agreement is declared to operate despite any enactment or other law (s.4(2); Schedule 1, cl 2(3)), which raises questions about interaction with other legal regimes.","Broad release language: unconditional releases and extinguishment of liabilities for actions permitted under the old agreements, but limited to what is lawful and previously excluded (Schedule 1, cl 4(a)–(b)).","Continuation carve-out: certain mineral leases remain in force subject to a specific clause of the 1952 Agreement, creating a partial rather than total disentanglement (Schedule 1, cl 3(2)).","Complex party history: assignments and deed of covenant (AIS, BHPM) mean multiple corporate successors and prior instruments affect who is released (Schedule 1 recitals (c)–(d)).","Low textual length and few operative clauses reduce drafting complexity, but legal effect depends on external documents and historical instruments."],"plain_english_summary":"**What it does:** This Act ratifies an Agreement that ends two historic State–BHP agreements (1952 and 1960). Once the Act commences the terminations take effect, certain mineral leases continue, and BHP entities receive releases from prior contractual and some statutory obligations. \n\n**Who it affects and why it matters:** The State gives up (forgoes) legacy claims and obligations; BHP and its affiliates shed specified past liabilities. Parliament’s ratification makes the Agreement operative despite other laws (see s.4 and Schedule 1)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the title alone, the Act appears narrowly and purposefully scoped to terminate specific prior agreements with BHP Billiton. There is no available evidence from the text that its scope expanded beyond this core function. However, without access to the actual legislative text, this assessment cannot be confirmed with certainty."},"complexity_factors":["Actual legislative text is unavailable, preventing detailed analysis","State Agreement Acts in WA typically involve complex interlocking obligations between government and corporations","Termination mechanics may have involved transitional provisions, residual obligations, or compensation arrangements that cannot be assessed","Potential interaction with other WA resource legislation (e.g., Mining Act 1978, Iron Ore (BHP) Agreement Act) adds background complexity","Score is kept low because the Act's apparent purpose — terminating agreements — is conceptually straightforward, even if the underlying agreements were complex"],"plain_english_summary":"## BHP Billiton (Termination of Agreements) Agreement Act 2006\n\n**What we know:** This is a Western Australian Act from 2006 that appears to deal with the termination of agreements involving BHP Billiton (one of the world's largest mining companies).\n\n**⚠️ Important limitation:** The actual text of this legislation is no longer publicly available at its original web address — the page has been taken down due to system upgrades. This means a full analysis of its content, rights, and obligations **cannot be reliably provided**.\n\n**What can be reasonably inferred:**\n- Western Australia has a long history of passing special 'Agreement Acts' — laws that give legal force to specific deals struck between the State Government and major resource companies like BHP Billiton\n- This Act likely formally ended (terminated) one or more of those earlier agreements, releasing both parties from their obligations under them\n- Such terminations can affect things like **royalty arrangements** (payments companies make to the government for extracting resources), **land use rights**, **infrastructure obligations**, and **environmental responsibilities**\n- Ordinary Western Australians may be affected indirectly through changes to state revenue, employment, or regional development commitments\n\n**Who it affects:** Primarily BHP Billiton, the Western Australian Government, and potentially workers, communities, and landowners connected to the relevant mining or resource operations."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006","history":"/api/acts/bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006/history","analysis":"/api/acts/bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/bhp-billiton-termination-of-agreements-agreement-act-2006/documents"}}