{"id":"F2018L01255","name":"Foreign States Immunities (Emergency Prevention and Management) Regulations 2018","slug":"foreign-states-immunities-emergency-prevention-and-management-regulations-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439763,"registerId":"F2018L01255-fast-fetch-1775955660861","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Foreign States Immunities (Emergency Prevention and Management) Regulations 2018","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![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nForeign States Immunities (Emergency Prevention and Management) Regulations 2018\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.\n\nDated 30 August 2018\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nChristian Porter\n\nAttorney‑General\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Extension of immunities\n\n5 Bushfires\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Foreign States Immunities (Emergency Prevention and Management) Regulations 2018.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument At the same time as Schedule 1 to the Foreign States Immunities (Taxation) Regulations 2018 commences.However, the provisions do not commence at all if that Schedule does not commence. 4 September 2018\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) Australia;\n\n(b) separate entity.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985.\n\nPart 2—Extension of immunities\n\n \n\n5  Bushfires\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 42A(2) of the Act, section 13 of the Act does not apply with respect to the United States of America (or a separate entity of the United States of America) in relation to acts or omissions that are done or omitted to be done by the United States of America (or a separate entity of the United States of America):\n\n (a) in the course of providing facilities or assistance to the Australian Government, or the government of a State or Territory, for the purpose of preparing for, preventing or managing bushfires in Australia; and\n\n (b) for the purpose of preparing for, preventing or managing bushfires in Australia.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Regulation 5 extends the scope of foreign‑state immunity by providing that section 13 of the Act does not apply with respect to the United States (and its separate entities) for acts or omissions done while providing facilities or assistance to Australian governments to prepare for, prevent or manage bushfires in Australia. This creates a new, specified immunity carve‑out for those circumstances (reg 5)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to the Foreign States Immunities Act require interpreting subsection 42A(2) and section 13 alongside these regulations (reg 5).","Narrow factual trigger: determining whether conduct was \"in the course of providing facilities or assistance\" and \"for the purpose of preparing for, preventing or managing bushfires\" may generate disputed facts in litigation (reg 5).","Targeted beneficiary: applies only to the United States and its \"separate entities\", invoking defined terms from the Act and raising questions about corporate/formal links (reg 5; definitions in Act).","Conditional commencement links operation to another instrument (Schedule 1 to the Foreign States Immunities (Taxation) Regulations 2018), adding administrative complexity to timing (reg 2(1)).","Operational effect on parties: private litigants face an immunity barrier, shifting litigation risk and potential costs to plaintiffs rather than to decision‑makers or regulators (reg 5).","Limited statutory discretion in the text but substantial judicial role in applying the exclusion to contested facts, producing legal uncertainty until tested by courts (reg 5)."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation gives the United States of America (and its separate entities) immunity from certain Australian legal actions for acts or omissions while providing facilities or assistance to the Commonwealth or a State/Territory to prepare for, prevent or manage bushfires in Australia (reg 5).\n\nThe change means Australians seeking to sue the US or its entities over such conduct face a legal bar; courts will apply the Foreign States Immunities Act with this exclusion in mind. Commencement is conditional on another instrument (regs 2(1), 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":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose. It was clearly designed from the outset to provide specific legal immunity for US bushfire assistance, and it does exactly that without expansion into other emergency types or countries."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 5 sections across 2 Parts","Only 1 defined term ('Act') in the instrument itself","Single operative provision (section 5) with straightforward purpose","No nested exceptions or conditional logic beyond the basic 'if-then' structure","Minimal cross-referencing: only references to the parent Act (Foreign States Immunities Act 1985) and one specific subsection (42A(2))","Clear, narrow scope limited to one country (USA) and one activity (bushfire assistance)"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation bars Australian courts from using an exception to foreign-state immunity against the United States when US personnel, aircraft, or equipment assist with Australian bushfire response. It therefore preserves full immunity for the US government and its agencies, while affecting state/territory responses and people in affected areas.\n\nIt matters because it removes legal risk that might otherwise deter vital US firefighting assistance during emergencies."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/foreign-states-immunities-emergency-prevention-and-management-regulations-2018","history":"/api/acts/foreign-states-immunities-emergency-prevention-and-management-regulations-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/foreign-states-immunities-emergency-prevention-and-management-regulations-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/foreign-states-immunities-emergency-prevention-and-management-regulations-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/foreign-states-immunities-emergency-prevention-and-management-regulations-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/foreign-states-immunities-emergency-prevention-and-management-regulations-2018/documents"}}