{"id":"C2004A04353","name":"Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Act 1992","slug":"coal-mining-industry-long-service-leave-payroll-levy-act-1992","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"62 of 1992","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7735,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A04353-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title [see Note 1]","content":"#### 1 Short title \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Act 1992.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement [see Note 1]","content":"#### 2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.\n  (2) If this Act does not commence under subsection (1) within the period of 12 months beginning on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent, it commences on the first day after the end of that period.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Incorporation","content":"#### 3 Incorporation\n\n  The Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Collection Act 1992 is incorporated, and is to be read as one, with this Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Imposition of levy","content":"#### 4 Imposition of levy\n\n  Levy is imposed on eligible wages paid to eligible employees after the commencement of this Act.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Rate of levy","content":"#### 5 Rate of levy\n\n  The rate of the levy is the prescribed percentage of the eligible wages paid.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Person liable","content":"#### 6 Person liable\n\n  Levy on eligible wages paid to eligible employees is payable by the person who paid those wages.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 8 Regulations\n\n  (1) The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing a percentage for the purposes of section 5.\n  (2) Before making a regulation under subsection (1), the Governor‑General is to take into consideration any advice given to the Minister by the Corporation under the Administration Act.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"source":"grok-batch-everything"},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation has not grown beyond its original intent. It remains narrowly focused on imposing a levy on eligible wages for the funding of long service leave in the coal mining industry, with no textual evidence of expansion into unrelated areas or new classes of payers or payments."},"complexity_factors":["Incorporates the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Collection Act 1992 and requires it to be read as one","Core terms 'eligible wages' and 'eligible employees' are undefined in the Act itself","Levy rate is not fixed in the statute but left to 'the prescribed percentage' set by regulation","Regulation-making power in s 8(2) imposes a mandatory procedural step of considering advice from the Corporation under the Administration Act"],"plain_english_summary":"**This Act imposes a payroll levy on wages paid to eligible employees in the coal mining industry after the law began.** \n\nThe levy is calculated as a percentage of those wages (the exact percentage is set by government regulations). The employer who actually paid the wages is responsible for paying the levy. \n\nIt works hand-in-hand with the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Collection Act 1992, which is incorporated and must be read as a single law with this one. Key terms such as 'eligible wages' and 'eligible employees' are not defined here and must be found in the companion legislation. \n\nThe purpose is to create a dedicated funding stream for long service leave entitlements for workers in the coal mining sector. It matters because it places a compulsory cost on employers tied directly to their wage bills, helping ensure long service leave can be paid without relying on general government revenue."},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to remain narrowly focused on its original purpose: imposing a payroll levy on coal mining industry employers to fund long service leave entitlements. There is no evidence of scope creep or significant broadening from its original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Short and narrowly focused legislation with few operative provisions","Key definitions (e.g. 'eligible wages', 'eligible employees') are not contained in this Act but exist in the companion Collection Act, requiring cross-referencing","The actual levy rate is not specified in the Act itself — it is delegated to regulations, introducing a layer of indirection","The Act is part of a two-Act legislative scheme requiring both instruments to be read together","Technical interaction with a separate 'Administration Act' referenced in the regulation-making power adds a minor layer of complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"## Coal Mining Industry Long Service Leave Payroll Levy Act 1992\n\nThis law requires **coal mining employers** to pay a special levy (tax) based on the wages they pay to their eligible workers.\n\n### What does it do?\n- It imposes a **payroll levy** — essentially a percentage-based tax on wages — on employers in the coal mining industry.\n- The money raised funds **long service leave** entitlements for coal mining workers (long service leave is paid time off earned after many years of continuous employment).\n\n### Who does it affect?\n- **Coal mining employers** who pay wages to eligible employees — they are responsible for paying the levy.\n- **Coal mining workers** benefit indirectly, as the levy funds their long service leave entitlements.\n\n### How does it work?\n- The levy is calculated as a **percentage of eligible wages** paid to eligible employees.\n- The exact percentage is set by government regulation (a rule made by the Governor-General, Australia's head of state acting on government advice).\n- Before setting the rate, the Governor-General must consider advice from the relevant industry Corporation.\n- This Act works hand-in-hand with a companion law — the *Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Collection Act 1992* — which handles the practical collection of the money.\n\n### Why does it matter?\nCoal mining workers frequently move between different employers throughout their careers, making it difficult to accumulate long service leave with any single employer. This levy creates a pooled industry-wide fund to ensure workers still receive their entitlements regardless of which company employs them."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"5","severity":"high","reasoning":"Section 4 imposes a levy from the moment of commencement. Section 5 sets the rate as 'the prescribed percentage' under section 8 regulations. If the Governor-General has not yet made any regulation prescribing a percentage, the levy is legally imposed but has a mathematically undefined rate — effectively zero or indeterminate. Employers would be legally obligated to pay a levy of an unknown or nonexistent amount, making compliance impossible and enforcement a nullity. There is no default rate or savings provision.","confidence":0.85,"description":"Rate of levy is defined as 'the prescribed percentage' but no default or fallback rate exists if no regulation is made under section 8."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"8(2)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 8(2) creates a procedural prerequisite — the Governor-General must 'take into consideration any advice given to the Minister by the Corporation.' This is passive and contingent: if the Corporation never gives advice, the precondition is vacuously satisfied (there is no advice to consider), which may be the intended reading. However, if read strictly, it creates an indefinite delay mechanism where the rate-setting power is held hostage to a third party's discretion to provide or withhold advice, with no time limit imposed.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The Governor-General is required to consider advice from 'the Corporation under the Administration Act' before making regulations, but no mechanism exists to compel the Corporation to give such advice, nor is there a fallback if no advice is forthcoming."},{"type":"other","section":"3","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 3 declares the Collection Act is 'incorporated, and is to be read as one' with this Act. If the two Acts contain inconsistent provisions — possible given they were enacted separately and can be amended independently — there is no rule of precedence specified. Standard statutory interpretation principles would apply, but the fiction of them being 'one Act' creates logical difficulty: can one part of this composite 'Act' amend or repeal the other through ordinary legislative processes without disturbing the unified reading?","confidence":0.6,"description":"Incorporation of a separate Act by reference without specifying how conflicts between the two Acts are to be resolved creates interpretive ambiguity."},{"type":"other","section":"4","severity":"low","reasoning":"While this is a common legislative drafting technique, the combination of an uncertain commencement date (Proclamation or automatic trigger under s2(2)) with an immediate levy obligation means the taxing point is indeterminate on the face of the Act itself. An employer cannot determine from the Act alone when their levy obligation began without resort to external gazette records.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The levy is imposed on wages paid 'after the commencement of this Act' but the Act's commencement is itself uncertain under section 2, creating a floating obligation that cannot be precisely determined without external proclamation information."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"4","section_b":"5","confidence":0.85,"description":"Section 4 imposes levy unconditionally from commencement, while section 5 makes the rate entirely dependent on a regulation that may not exist at commencement."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"8(1)","section_b":"8(2)","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 8(1) grants the Governor-General power to make regulations, implying an active discretion exercisable at any time, while section 8(2) imposes a consultation precondition that is controlled by a third party (the Corporation) whose advice-giving is neither mandatory nor time-bound, potentially frustrating the exercise of the power in subsection (1)."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/coal-mining-industry-long-service-leave-payroll-levy-act-1992","history":"/api/acts/coal-mining-industry-long-service-leave-payroll-levy-act-1992/history","analysis":"/api/acts/coal-mining-industry-long-service-leave-payroll-levy-act-1992/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/coal-mining-industry-long-service-leave-payroll-levy-act-1992/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/coal-mining-industry-long-service-leave-payroll-levy-act-1992/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/coal-mining-industry-long-service-leave-payroll-levy-act-1992/documents"}}