{"id":"C2004A04946","name":"Commonwealth Authorities (Australian Capital Territory Pay-roll Tax) Act 1995","slug":"commonwealth-authorities-australian-capital-territory-pay-roll-tax-act-1995","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"96 of 1995","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":38851,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A04946-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"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 Commonwealth Authorities (Australian Capital Territory Pay‑roll Tax) Act 1995.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement [see Note 1]","content":"#### 2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 3 Interpretation\n\n  (1) In this Act:\n\n> Commonwealth authority means an authority or body that:\n\n    (a) was established by an Act; and\n    (b) immediately before the commencement of the Payroll Tax Act 1987 of the Australian Capital Territory, was registered as an employer, or had an application for registration pending, under:\n    (i) the former Pay‑roll Tax (Territories) Assessment Act 1971; or\n    (ii) the pay‑roll tax law of a State or Territory;\n\n> Note: The Payroll Tax Act 1987 of the Australian Capital Territory commenced on 1 August 1987.\n\n> pay‑roll tax law means a law that relates to the imposition, assessment and collection of a tax on wages.\n\n  (2) For the purposes of this Act, a Commonwealth authority constituted or continued in existence by an Act is taken to be established by that Act.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Liability of certain Commonwealth authorities to pay Australian Capital Territory Pay‑roll Tax","content":"## Part 2—Liability of certain Commonwealth authorities to pay Australian Capital Territory Pay‑roll Tax","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exempting provision not involving regulations","content":"#### 4 Exempting provision not involving regulations\n\n  (1) This section applies to a Commonwealth authority if its establishing Act contains a provision:\n    (a) to the effect that the authority is not subject to taxation under a law of a State or Territory to which the Commonwealth is not subject; or\n    (b) to the effect that, except for taxation of a specified kind, the authority is not subject to taxation under a law of a State or Territory to which the Commonwealth is not subject.\n  (2) The provision does not have effect in relation to tax that is payable under the Payroll Tax Act 1987 of the Australian Capital Territory.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exempting provision involving regulations","content":"#### 5 Exempting provision involving regulations\n\n  (1) This section applies to a Commonwealth authority if:\n    (a) its establishing Act contains a provision:\n    (i) to the effect that, except under a law specified in regulations made under the Act, the authority is not subject to taxation under a law of a State or Territory; or\n    (ii) to the effect that, except under a law specified in regulations made under the Act, the authority is not subject to taxation under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or\n    (iii) to the effect that, except under a law specified in regulations made under the Act, and except for taxation of a specified kind, the authority is not subject to taxation under a law of a State or Territory; or\n    (iv) to the effect that, except under a law specified in regulations made under the Act, and except for taxation of a specified kind, the authority is not subject to taxation under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; and\n    (b) immediately before the commencement of this Act, regulations were in operation specifying a pay‑roll tax law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory.\n  (2) The provision has effect as if the Payroll Tax Act 1987 of the Australian Capital Territory were also specified in regulations made under the Act.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payments made before commencement of this Act","content":"#### 6 Payments made before commencement of this Act\n\n  If a Commonwealth authority made any payments before the commencement of this Act on the basis that the payments were payable under the pay‑roll tax law of the Australian Capital Territory, the Commonwealth authority cannot recover those payments.","sortOrder":7}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose. It was enacted specifically to ensure Commonwealth authorities pay ACT payroll tax despite exemption clauses in their establishing Acts, and it continues to serve exactly that function without expansion into broader tax areas or additional jurisdictions."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section ('Commonwealth authority' and 'pay-roll tax law')","Straightforward conditional structure with clear triggers in sections 4 and 5","Limited cross-referencing — only references to the ACT Payroll Tax Act 1987 and generic 'establishing Acts'","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions beyond the 1987 commencement date reference","Short statute — 6 sections total with minimal subsections","Single purpose legislation with narrow, well-defined scope"],"plain_english_summary":"This law makes sure certain Commonwealth government bodies (like government agencies and authorities) have to pay payroll tax to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), even if their own founding laws say they don't have to pay state or territory taxes.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Closes a tax loophole.** Some Commonwealth authorities were set up with special rules saying they didn't have to pay certain state or territory taxes. This law overrides those rules specifically for ACT payroll tax.\n- **Targets specific bodies.** It only applies to Commonwealth authorities that were already registered (or applying to be registered) as employers under old payroll tax laws before 1 August 1987.\n- **Two ways it works:**\n  - If an authority's founding law directly says it's exempt from state/territory taxes, this law cancels that exemption for ACT payroll tax.\n  - If an authority's founding law says it's exempt unless regulations say otherwise, this law treats the ACT payroll tax law as if it's already listed in those regulations.\n- **Protects past payments.** If an authority already paid ACT payroll tax before this law started, they can't ask for that money back.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Commonwealth authorities (government bodies created by federal laws) that were operating before 1987 and had payroll tax arrangements.\n- The ACT Government, which gets to collect payroll tax from these bodies.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, some Commonwealth bodies could avoid paying payroll tax in the ACT by relying on old exemptions in their founding legislation. This ensures they pay their fair share like other employers, while protecting payments they've already made."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to have achieved its stated and narrow purpose: ensuring specific Commonwealth authorities cannot use tax exemption clauses in their founding legislation to avoid ACT payroll tax. There is no evidence of scope creep — it does not extend to other Territory taxes, other Commonwealth bodies beyond the defined class, or other jurisdictions."},"complexity_factors":["Requires cross-referencing multiple other Acts (the establishing Acts of various Commonwealth authorities, and the ACT Payroll Tax Act 1987)","The definition of 'Commonwealth authority' depends on historical facts (registration status before a specific 1987 date), making it hard to assess applicability without checking historical records","Two separate mechanisms for overriding tax exemptions (direct vs regulation-based) add structural complexity","Interactions between Commonwealth constitutional immunity principles and Territory taxation law underpin the Act but are not explained in the text","Retrospective element (Section 6 on pre-commencement payments) adds a temporal dimension to compliance analysis","Short and focused Act, but its effect cannot be understood without reading it alongside multiple other pieces of legislation"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act requires certain Commonwealth government bodies—those acting as employers under ACT or State/Territory payroll tax laws before 1 August 1987—to remit ACT payroll tax. It overrides any federal-law exemptions or regulatory arrangements that previously shielded these authorities from State/Territory taxation, treating ACT payroll tax as applicable.\n\nIt also bars affected bodies from claiming refunds for payroll tax already paid before the Act took effect. The result: Commonwealth agencies in the ACT must pay payroll tax like other employers."},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This Act narrows or removes tax‑exemption protections in the establishing Acts of affected Commonwealth authorities for ACT payroll tax (ss 4–5) and prevents recovery of payments made before commencement (s 6). Mechanically, it expands the ACT taxable base relative to those earlier exemption provisions by treating the ACT Payroll Tax Act as included where regulations had previously specified covered laws (s 5)."},"complexity_factors":["Interaction between an establishing Act's exemption language and this Act's disapplication rule (s 4)","Deeming effect where an establishing Act allowed exceptions by regulation — this Act treats the ACT Payroll Tax Act as specified in those regulations (s 5)","Definition of 'Commonwealth authority' requires prior employer registration or pending application before the ACT Payroll Tax Act commenced (s 3)","Cross‑reference dependence on the Payroll Tax Act 1987 of the Australian Capital Territory (interpretive reliance on external statute and commencement date)","Retrospective effect on recoverability of payments made before commencement (s 6)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act makes certain Commonwealth authorities liable to pay the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) payroll tax by removing or limiting tax‑exemption clauses in their establishing Acts (see ss 4–5). It applies to authorities established by statute that were registered, or had registration pending, as employers before the ACT Payroll Tax Act 1987 (s 3). Affected authorities must pay ACT payroll tax going forward and cannot recover payments they made before this Act commenced (s 6)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/commonwealth-authorities-australian-capital-territory-pay-roll-tax-act-1995","history":"/api/acts/commonwealth-authorities-australian-capital-territory-pay-roll-tax-act-1995/history","analysis":"/api/acts/commonwealth-authorities-australian-capital-territory-pay-roll-tax-act-1995/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/commonwealth-authorities-australian-capital-territory-pay-roll-tax-act-1995/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/commonwealth-authorities-australian-capital-territory-pay-roll-tax-act-1995/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/commonwealth-authorities-australian-capital-territory-pay-roll-tax-act-1995/documents"}}