{"id":"C2004A04226","name":"Fisheries Agreements (Payments) Act 1991","slug":"fisheries-agreements-payments-act-1991","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"151 of 1991","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7472,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A04226-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Fisheries Agreements (Payments) Act 1991","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\nFisheries Agreements (Payments) Act 1991\n\n \n\nNo. 151, 1991\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act relating to payments under certain fisheries agreements\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Interpretation\n\n4 Effect of section 5 or 6\n\n5 Payments under fisheries agreements entered into with the government of another country\n\n6 Payments under fisheries agreements entered into otherwise than with the government of another country\n\n \n\n![](image.002.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nFisheries Agreements (Payments) Act 1991\n\n \n\nNo. 151, 1991\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act relating to payments under certain fisheries agreements\n\n \n\n \n\n[Assented to 21 Oct 1991]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Fisheries Agreements (Payments) Act 1991.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Sections 1 and 2 commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.\n\n (2) Subject to subsection (3), the remaining provisions of this Act commence on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.\n\n (3) If a provision mentioned in subsection (2) does not commence under that subsection within the period of 6 months commencing on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, it commences on the first day after the end of that period.\n\n3  Interpretation\n\n  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\nAFMA means the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.\n\nlicence means a foreign fishing licence granted under Part 3 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991.\n\n4  Effect of section 5 or 6\n\n  Section 5 or 6 has effect only so far as that section is a law imposing taxation or dealing with the imposition of taxation within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.\n\n5  Payments under fisheries agreements entered into with the government of another country\n\n (1) If:\n\n (a) there is in force an agreement between the Commonwealth and the government of another country; and\n\n (b) the agreement contains a provision under which licences are agreed to be granted if an amount specified in the provision is paid to the Commonwealth (whether or not that amount or any part of that amount is to be paid before the grant of any of the licences);\n\nAFMA must, in determining whether or not to grant any of the licences to which the provision relates, have regard only to the terms of the agreement.\n\n (2) Where:\n\n (a) an agreement that contains a provision of a kind mentioned in subsection (1) is in force; and\n\n (b) a licence to which the provision relates has been granted; and\n\n (c) the whole or part of an amount specified in the provision is not paid to the Commonwealth in accordance with the terms of the provision;\n\nAFMA may suspend the licence by written notice given to the holder of the licence.\n\n (3) Where AFMA has suspended a licence under subsection (2) and the amount concerned is fully paid, AFMA must revoke the suspension by written notice given to the holder of the licence.\n\n6  Payments under fisheries agreements entered into otherwise than with the government of another country\n\n (1) Where:\n\n (a) AFMA has entered into an agreement with a person other than the government of another country or with persons none of whom is the government of another country; and\n\n (b) the agreement contains a provision under which licences are agreed to be granted if an amount specified in the provision is paid to the Commonwealth;\n\nAFMA must, in determining whether or not to grant licences to which the provision relates, have regard only to the terms of the agreement.\n\n (2) AFMA must not grant any of the licences to which the provision relates unless the amount specified in the provision has been paid to the Commonwealth in accordance with the terms of the provision.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's scope is limited to making payment terms in fisheries agreements determinative for licence grants and to providing a suspension/remedy when agreed payments are unpaid (ss 5–6). Section 4 confines the measure to taxation-related matters under section 55 of the Constitution. It does not expand AFMA's broader regulatory powers beyond restricting its discretion to the agreement terms and imposing payment conditions; commencement provisions (s2) only affect timing of operation."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused statute with few provisions (limited scope).","Two parallel regimes distinguishing agreements with foreign governments (s5) and with non-government parties (s6).","Defines key actors and instruments (AFMA, foreign fishing licence) but relies on cross-reference to the Fisheries Management Act 1991 for the licence definition.","Contains a constitutional caveat about taxation (s4 refers to s55 of the Constitution) which raises interpretive and legal boundary issues.","Simple enforcement mechanism (suspension and revocation in s5(2)–(3) and strict precondition in s6(2)), but operational detail is left to AFMA.","Commencement timing (ss 2(2)–(3)) creates potential transitional issues for implementation."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act makes payment conditions in fisheries agreements binding on licence grants: where an agreement (with another country or with private parties) specifies an amount payable to the Commonwealth for licences, AFMA must base grant decisions only on the agreement and may suspend licences if payment is not made; suspension ends when payment is completed (ss 5–6). The payer is the agreement party; AFMA is the decision-maker and its discretion is limited to the agreement's terms."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of establishing payment mechanisms for fisheries agreements. The scope has not expanded beyond handling payments and licence conditions for foreign fishing access agreements."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 sections total, with minimal text","Just 2 defined terms in the interpretation section ('AFMA' and 'licence')","Simple conditional structure using basic 'if-then' logic without nesting","No cross-references to other legislation except a single mention of the Constitution (section 55) and the Fisheries Management Act 1991","Clear separation between two scenarios (government vs non-government agreements) without overlapping conditions","No exceptions to exceptions or complex temporal provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets up a system for handling payments from foreign fishing agreements. It covers two scenarios: deals made with other countries' governments, and deals made with private companies or individuals.\n\n**What it does:**\n- When Australia makes a fishing deal with another country's government, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) must grant fishing licences based purely on the agreement terms, not on other criteria.\n- If the foreign government doesn't pay what they promised, AFMA can suspend their fishing licences until payment is made.\n- For deals with private companies (not governments), AFMA similarly must follow the agreement terms when deciding on licences, but with a stricter rule: licences can't be granted at all until the money is actually paid.\n\n**Why section 4 matters:**\nThis is a constitutional safeguard. Australia's Constitution requires that laws about taxation must start in the House of Representatives. Section 4 ensures this law only operates to the extent it involves collecting money (which is treated as taxation), keeping it constitutionally valid.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Foreign fishing operators wanting access to Australian waters\n- The Australian Fisheries Management Authority\n- The Commonwealth government when negotiating international fishing deals"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/fisheries-agreements-payments-act-1991","history":"/api/acts/fisheries-agreements-payments-act-1991/history","analysis":"/api/acts/fisheries-agreements-payments-act-1991/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/fisheries-agreements-payments-act-1991/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/fisheries-agreements-payments-act-1991/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/fisheries-agreements-payments-act-1991/documents"}}