{"id":"C1955A00005","name":"Consular Fees Act 1955","slug":"consular-fees-act-1955","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"5 of 1955","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":1249,"registerId":"C2016C00572","compilationNumber":"7","startDate":"2016-05-01","status":"InForce","reasons":[{"affect":"Amend","markdown":"sch 2 (item 12) of the [Trade Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2016](/C2016A00031)","dateChanged":null,"amendedByTitle":null,"affectedByTitle":{"name":"Trade Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2016","year":2016,"number":31,"titleId":"C2016A00031","provisions":"sch 2 (item 12)","seriesType":"Act","optionalSeriesNumber":null}}],"registeredAt":"2016-06-06T15:35:13.567Z"},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Consular Fees Act 1955.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 2 Interpretation\n\n  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> Australian Consular Officer means a person appointed to hold or act in any of the following offices of the Commonwealth in a country or place outside Australia:\n\n    (a) Consul‑General;\n    (b) Consul;\n    (c) Vice‑Consul;\n    (d) Trade Representative; and\n    (e) Consular Agent.\n\n> Australian Diplomatic Officer means a person appointed to hold or act in any of the following offices of the Commonwealth in a country or place outside Australia:\n\n    (a) Ambassador;\n    (b) High Commissioner;\n    (c) Minister;\n    (d) Head of a Mission;\n    (e) Commissioner;\n    (f) Chargé d’Affaires; and\n    (g) Counsellor, Secretary or Attaché at an Embassy, High Commissioner’s office, Legation or other post.\n\n> consular act means an act specified in the regulations as being a consular act for the purposes of this Act.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Fees may be prescribed for consular acts","content":"#### 3 Fees may be prescribed for consular acts\n\n  The regulations may provide for the imposition of fees, to be collected on behalf of the Commonwealth, for the performance, whether in Australia or elsewhere, of consular acts by:\n    (a) an Australian Diplomatic Officer or an Australian Consular Officer; or\n    (b) the person holding or acting in the office of Secretary of the Department or an officer of the Department acting with the authority of the Secretary; or\n    (c) an employee of the Commonwealth authorised, in writing, by the Secretary of the Department; or\n    (d) an employee of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission authorised, in writing, by the Secretary of the Department.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"List of fees to be displayed","content":"#### 4 List of fees to be displayed\n\n  An Australian Diplomatic Officer or an Australian Consular Officer who performs consular acts shall cause to be displayed in his or her office, in a position where it may readily be inspected by persons seeking the performance of consular acts, a list of the consular acts for which fees are chargeable under this Act, and of other acts that may be performed by him or her for which fees are chargeable under any other Act, showing the respective fees chargeable.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Saving of fees under other Acts","content":"#### 5 Saving of fees under other Acts\n\n  A fee under this Act is not chargeable in respect of an act for which a fee is chargeable under another Act (whether passed before or after the commencement of this Act).","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 6 Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act, and, in particular, providing that the prescribed fees are not payable in such cases as are prescribed.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"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"},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original Act focused on consular officers performing services overseas, but the scope was broadened to include services performed within Australia and to extend authorised persons beyond traditional diplomatic and consular officers — now including departmental officers, Commonwealth employees, and Australian Trade and Investment Commission employees authorised by the Secretary. This reflects the modernisation of how consular-type services are delivered."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act with only six operative sections","Core fee amounts are delegated to regulations rather than specified in the Act itself, requiring reference to external instruments","Multiple categories of authorised officers (diplomatic vs consular vs departmental staff) require some attention to distinguish","Minor interaction with other Acts through the 'no double-charging' provision in section 5"],"plain_english_summary":"The Consular Fees Act 1955 authorises Australian diplomatic and consular officers (and certain officials at home) to charge for official services like certifying documents, witnessing signatures, or assisting businesses overseas. It establishes the legal framework for charging fees while leaving actual amounts to be set by regulation.\n\nIt affects Australians abroad, businesses using trade representatives, and anyone in Australia needing specified consular services — and ensures fees are published and not duplicated by other laws."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing a statutory basis for charging fees for consular services. The 1955 Act has not expanded beyond this narrow remit. While the regulations made under it have undoubtedly grown to cover modern consular services (e-passports, emergency loans, etc.), the parent Act itself remains a simple enabling statute with unchanged scope."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 6 sections covering 2 pages","Minimal defined terms: only 3 definitions ('Australian Consular Officer', 'Australian Diplomatic Officer', 'consular act')","No cross-references to other Acts within the operative provisions","Simple conditional logic: only one explicit exception (section 5 saving clause)","Broad delegation to regulations for substantive detail (fees, exemptions, list of consular acts) — the Act itself is essentially a framework","No temporal provisions, transitional arrangements, or sunset clauses"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets up a system for charging fees when Australian government officials perform **consular acts** — official services like issuing passports, notarising documents, or helping Australians in trouble overseas.\n\n**Who can charge fees?**\n- Australian diplomats (Ambassadors, High Commissioners, etc.) and consular officers (Consuls, Vice-Consuls, etc.) working overseas\n- Senior officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Australia\n- Authorised DFAT or Austrade employees\n\n**What it does:**\n- Allows the government to make **regulations** (subordinate laws) setting out which consular services attract fees and how much they cost\n- Requires diplomatic and consular offices overseas to **display a price list** so people know what they'll be charged\n- Prevents **double-charging** — if another law already charges a fee for a service, this law doesn't apply\n- Lets the government create **fee exemptions** for certain cases through regulations\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is the legal foundation for charging Australians (and others) when they use consular services abroad. Without it, the government couldn't legally charge for passport renewals, emergency travel documents, notarial services, or other help provided at embassies and consulates. It ensures transparency (through the display requirement) and prevents people being charged twice for the same service."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The provided text contains no indication the Act’s scope has been altered from its original purpose. It consistently authorises prescription of fees for consular acts, disclosure/display requirements, exemptions where another Act charges a fee, and delegation of detail to regulations."},"complexity_factors":["Short, four‑page structure with limited sections","Key powers and details left to delegated legislation (Governor‑General regulations)","Defined categories of officers and ‘consular act’ depend on regulations for specifics","Overlap rule with other Acts requires cross‑statutory checks for applicability","Administrative requirements (display of fees, written authorisations) create operational compliance steps"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets regulations set and collect fees for specified “consular acts” carried out by Australian diplomatic or consular officers (or authorised Commonwealth employees), whether in Australia or overseas. Officers must display a list of chargeable consular acts and fees. Fees are collected for the Commonwealth and do not apply where another Act already charges for the same act. The Governor‑General makes the regulations and the Department Secretary can authorise employees to perform feeable acts. Individuals seeking consular services pay; the scheme depends on delegated regulations and administrative authorisations."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/consular-fees-act-1955","history":"/api/acts/consular-fees-act-1955/history","analysis":"/api/acts/consular-fees-act-1955/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/consular-fees-act-1955/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/consular-fees-act-1955/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/consular-fees-act-1955/documents"}}