{"id":"C2004A00800","name":"Coal Industry Repeal Act 2001","slug":"coal-industry-repeal-act-2001","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"32 of 2001","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6166,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00800-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Coal Industry Repeal Act 2001","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nCoal Industry Repeal Act 2001\n\n \n\nNo. 32, 2001\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nCoal Industry Repeal Act 2001\n\n \n\nNo. 32, 2001\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to repeal the Coal Industry Act 1946, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title...................................\n\n2 Commencement...............................\n\n3 Schedule(s)..................................\n\n4 Dissolution of Joint Coal Board etc....................\n\n5 Commonwealth records...........................\n\n6 Workers’ compensation schemes.....................\n\n7 Compensation for acquisition of property................\n\nSchedule 1—Coal Industry Act 1946\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nCoal Industry Repeal Act 2001\n\nNo. 32, 2001\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to repeal the Coal Industry Act 1946, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 28 April 2001]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Coal Industry Repeal Act 2001.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on a day or days to be fixed by Proclamation.\n\n3  Schedule(s)\n\n  Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.\n\n4  Dissolution of Joint Coal Board etc.\n\n (1) The Joint Coal Board is dissolved in so far as it is constituted under the Coal Industry Act 1946.\n\n (2) It is the intention of the Parliament that a law of New South Wales may:\n\n (a) make provision for the transfer of the assets, rights and liabilities of the Joint Coal Board; and\n\n (b) make provision for the transfer of the members of staff of the Joint Coal Board immediately before the dissolution of the Board; and\n\n (c) make provision for any other matter that is incidental to the dissolution of the Joint Coal Board.\n\nNote: Section 5 places a restriction on the transfer of Commonwealth records under such a law of New South Wales.\n\n (3) In this section:\n\nassets means any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent) in real or personal property of any description (including money), and includes securities, choses in action and documents.\n\nJoint Coal Board means the body corporate constituted under:\n\n (a) the Coal Industry Act 1946; and\n\n (b) the Coal Industry Act 1946 of New South Wales.\n\nliabilities means all liabilities, debts and obligations (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent).\n\nrights means all rights, powers, privileges and immunities (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent).\n\n5  Commonwealth records\n\n (1) This Act does not authorise a Commonwealth record (within the meaning of the Archives Act 1983) to be transferred or otherwise dealt with except in accordance with the provisions of the Archives Act 1983.\n\n (2) A Commonwealth record (within the meaning of the Archives Act 1983) must not be transferred to a person under a law of New South Wales that makes provision for matters of a kind mentioned in subsection 4(2) of this Act unless the National Archives of Australia has given permission under paragraph 24(2)(b) of the Archives Act 1983.\n\n6  Workers’ compensation schemes\n\n (1) Any workers’ compensation scheme established by the Joint Coal Board (within the meaning of section 4 of this Act) and in operation under section 26 of the Coal Industry Act 1946 immediately before the repeal of that Act is taken to have been established by the company nominated under clause 3 of Schedule 8 to the Coal Industry Act 2001 of New South Wales.\n\n (2) This section does not limit section 4.\n\n7  Compensation for acquisition of property\n\n (1) If:\n\n (a) apart from this section, the operation of this Act would result in the acquisition of property from a person otherwise than on just terms; and\n\n (b) the acquisition would be invalid because of paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution;\n\nthe Commonwealth is liable to pay the person a reasonable amount of compensation in respect of the acquisition.\n\n (2) If the Commonwealth and the person do not agree on the amount of the compensation, the person may institute proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia for the recovery from the Commonwealth of such reasonable amount of compensation as the court determines.\n\n (3) In this section:\n\nacquisition of property has the same meaning as in paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution.\n\njust terms has the same meaning as in paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution.\n\n\n\n\nSchedule 1—Coal Industry Act 1946\n\n \n\n1  The whole of the Act\n\nRepeal the Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 28 June 2000\n\nSenate on 5 April 2001]\n\n \n\n(131/00)\n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: repealing the Coal Industry Act 1946 and managing the orderly transition of the Joint Coal Board's functions to New South Wales. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific industry restructuring task."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (7 sections plus a one-item schedule)","Minimal defined terms (only 4 definitions across sections 4 and 7)","Simple structure: repeal, dissolution, transitional arrangements, compensation safety net","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic","Single cross-reference (to Archives Act 1983 for records handling)","Straightforward constitutional safeguard (section 7) following standard 'just terms' formula"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThis Act abolishes the **Coal Industry Act 1946**, a law that had governed Australia's coal industry for over 50 years. It also dissolves the **Joint Coal Board** — a body that had managed coal industry matters, including workers' compensation schemes for coal miners.\n\n**Key changes:**\n\n*   **Repeals the old Act entirely** — Schedule 1 strikes out the whole Coal Industry Act 1946\n*   **Winds up the Joint Coal Board** — the body corporate ceases to exist in its Commonwealth form\n*   **Allows NSW to take over** — New South Wales can pass laws to transfer the Board's assets, staff, and liabilities to state control (but Commonwealth records are protected)\n*   **Protects workers' compensation** — existing compensation schemes for injured coal workers continue, but now run by a company nominated under NSW law rather than the Board\n*   **Safeguards property rights** — if the repeal takes anyone's property without \"just terms\" (fair compensation), the Commonwealth must pay reasonable compensation\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   Coal industry workers (especially those in compensation schemes)\n*   The New South Wales Government (which takes over Board functions)\n*   Anyone with legal interests tied to the old Board's assets or operations\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis represents the final step in deregulating and devolving coal industry management from federal to state control. It ensures workers don't lose their compensation entitlements during the transition while clearing away wartime-era industry regulation."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original Coal Industry Act 1946 established a regulatory framework for the coal industry, including the Joint Coal Board with powers over production, distribution, and labour. The Coal Industry Repeal Act 2001 completely reverses that purpose by repealing the original Act, dissolving the Board, and winding up its operations. The scope shifts from ongoing regulation to termination and transfer of residual functions to the state."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act with only 7 sections and one Schedule","Minimal defined terms (only 'assets', 'Joint Coal Board', 'liabilities', 'rights', 'acquisition of property', 'just terms')","No cross-references to other Commonwealth Acts except the Archives Act 1983 and the Constitution","No nested exceptions or conditional logic beyond simple if-then in section 7"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act repeals the Coal Industry Act 1946, which originally set up the Joint Coal Board to oversee the coal industry. It dissolves the Joint Coal Board and allows New South Wales to handle the transfer of its assets, staff, and liabilities. Workers' compensation schemes that the Board ran are transferred to a company nominated by NSW. The Act also protects Commonwealth records and ensures that if the repeal unjustly acquires property, the Commonwealth must pay compensation. This matters because it ends a long-standing joint Commonwealth–NSW regulatory body and shifts responsibilities to the state.\n\nKey points:\n- **Repeal**: The old Coal Industry Act 1946 is fully repealed.\n- **Dissolution**: The Joint Coal Board is dissolved under Commonwealth law.\n- **State role**: NSW can pass laws to manage the Board's assets, staff, and other wind-up matters.\n- **Records**: Commonwealth records cannot be transferred without permission from the National Archives.\n- **Workers' comp**: Existing schemes continue under a NSW-nominated company.\n- **Property rights**: If the repeal causes an unconstitutional acquisition of property, the Commonwealth must pay compensation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/coal-industry-repeal-act-2001","history":"/api/acts/coal-industry-repeal-act-2001/history","analysis":"/api/acts/coal-industry-repeal-act-2001/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/coal-industry-repeal-act-2001/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/coal-industry-repeal-act-2001/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/coal-industry-repeal-act-2001/documents"}}