{"id":"C2015A00017","name":"Excess Exploration Credit Tax Act 2015","slug":"excess-exploration-credit-tax-act-2015","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"17 of 2015","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8526,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2015A00017-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Excess Exploration Credit Tax Act 2015","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\n \n\n \n\nExcess Exploration Credit Tax Act 2015\n\n \n\nNo. 17, 2015\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose excess exploration credit tax, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Definitions\n\n4 Imposition of tax\n\n5 Amount of tax\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nExcess Exploration Credit Tax Act 2015\n\nNo. 17, 2015\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose excess exploration credit tax, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 19 March 2015]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Excess Exploration Credit Tax Act 2015.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\nentity has the meaning given by section 960‑100 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.\n\nincome year has the meaning given by subsection 995‑1(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.\n\n4  Imposition of tax\n\n  Excess exploration credit tax is imposed.\n\n5  Amount of tax\n\n  The amount of an entity’s excess exploration credit tax for an income year is equal to the amount of the excess referred to in section 418‑150 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 in relation to that income year.\n\nNote: Subdivision 418‑F of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 deals with liability to pay excess exploration credit tax.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 4 December 2014\n\nSenate on 2 March 2015]\n\n \n\n(264/14)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act performs exactly its stated function: it imposes an excess exploration credit tax and sets the amount equal to the excess identified in ITAA 1997 s418‑150. It does not broaden or narrow that scope within its text; substantive scope is determined by the referenced ITAA provisions."},"complexity_factors":["Heavy cross-referencing to external legislation (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997: s960‑100, s995‑1(1), s418‑150 and subdivision 418‑F) — core substance depends on interpreting those provisions.","Minimal standalone text: this Act only imposes the tax and fixes its amount by reference, so legal effect is simple but relies on the ITAA's detailed rules.","Compliance burden is shifted to taxpayers to compute the 'excess' under subdivision 418‑F of the ITAA 1997 (calculation complexity sits outside this Act).","Limited administrative or enforcement detail in this Act increases reliance on existing tax administration frameworks in the ITAA.","Immediate commencement on assent creates no transitional provisions, which may require prompt implementation by taxpayers and administrators."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a tax payable by an \"entity\" for an income year equal to any \"excess exploration credit\" calculated under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. It uses the Income Tax Act's definitions of \"entity\" and \"income year\" and fixes the tax amount as the excess described in ITAA 1997 s418‑150. Practically, affected taxpayers must calculate the excess under subdivision 418‑F of the ITAA 1997 and remit that amount, so calculation and compliance obligations fall on those taxpayers (s3–5)."},"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":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose. It is a pure 'imposition Act' — a constitutional requirement that formally creates a tax, while leaving all substantive rules (liability, calculation, administration) to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. There is no scope creep; the Act does exactly what its title and preamble suggest, no more and no less."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 5 operative sections spanning roughly 1 page","Minimal defined terms: only 2 definitions ('entity' and 'income year'), both imported by reference from other legislation","No conditional logic or exceptions within the Act itself","No cross-references to other sections within this Act","Substantive operation entirely delegated to external legislation (section 418-150 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997)","Single straightforward calculation: tax amount equals the 'excess' amount determined elsewhere"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act creates a new tax called \"excess exploration credit tax.\" It's a penalty-style tax that applies when mining or exploration companies give out more tax credits to their investors than they're actually allowed to.\n\n**How it works:**\n\n- Under Australia's tax system, certain exploration companies can give their shareholders \"exploration credits\" — these let investors reduce their own tax bills, effectively passing on the company's tax benefits\n- But there's a limit on how many credits a company can issue\n- If a company accidentally (or deliberately) issues **too many** credits — more than their allowed cap — this tax kicks in\n- The tax is designed to cancel out the benefit: the company pays tax equal to the amount of excess credits they wrongly handed out\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Exploration companies** — mostly junior mining companies that haven't started making profits yet but are spending money looking for minerals\n- These companies need to carefully track how many exploration credits they issue to shareholders\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis is a **safeguard mechanism**. The government wants to encourage investment in mineral exploration (that's why the credits exist), but they don't want companies abusing the system by handing out unlimited tax benefits. This tax ensures the rules have teeth — if you over-allocate credits, you pay a penalty that wipes out the benefit.\n\n**Key point:** The actual rules about *when* someone owes this tax and *how* it's calculated live in a different law — the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. This Act just officially creates the tax and says \"the amount equals whatever that other law says is the excess.\""}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/excess-exploration-credit-tax-act-2015","history":"/api/acts/excess-exploration-credit-tax-act-2015/history","analysis":"/api/acts/excess-exploration-credit-tax-act-2015/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/excess-exploration-credit-tax-act-2015/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/excess-exploration-credit-tax-act-2015/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/excess-exploration-credit-tax-act-2015/documents"}}