{"id":"government-agreements-act-1979","name":"Government Agreements Act 1979","slug":"government-agreements-act-1979","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30593,"registerId":"wa-government-agreements-act-1979-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Government Agreements Act 1979","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nGovernment Agreements Act 1979\n\nWestern Australia\n\nGovernment Agreements Act 1979\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Interpretation 1\n\n3. Operation and effect of Government agreements 2\n\n4. Offences 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 4\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nGovernment Agreements Act 1979\n\nAn Act in respect of Government agreements and for related purposes.\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Government Agreements Act 1979* 1.\n\n##### 2. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act —\n\n  Government agreement means —\n\n(a) an agreement scheduled to, incorporated in, or appearing in, an Act the administration of which is for the time being committed by the Governor to, or approved by the Governor to be placed under the control of, the Minister, and any other agreement scheduled to, incorporated in, or appearing in, an Act and declared by proclamation to be a Government agreement for the purposes of this Act,\n\nand includes —\n\n(b) any variation of that agreement —\n\n(i) which is or has been entered into pursuant to that agreement; or\n\n(ii) the signing or implementation, or both, of which has been ratified, approved, or authorised by Parliament;\n\nand\n\n(c) any document or instrument, including any grant, lease, licence, permit, approval, authorisation, right, concession, or exemption, or any other thing made, executed, issued, or obtained for the purposes of that agreement or its implementation;\n\n  subject land means —\n\n(a) land that is set aside, or is being used, for the purposes of or incidental to implementing a Government agreement; or\n\n(b) land where activity is being, or is about to be, carried on pursuant to, or for the purposes of or incidental to implementing, a Government agreement.\n\n[Section 2 amended: No. 30 of 1990 s. 4.]\n\n##### 3. Operation and effect of Government agreements\n\nFor the removal of doubt, it is hereby expressly declared that —\n\n(a) each provision of a Government agreement shall operate and take effect, and shall be deemed to have operated and taken effect from its inception, according to its terms notwithstanding any other Act or law; and\n\n(b) any purported modification of any other Act or law contained, or provided for, in such a provision shall operate and take effect so as to modify that other Act or law for the purposes of the Government agreement, and shall be deemed to have so operated and taken effect from its inception, according to its terms notwithstanding any other Act or law.\n\n##### 4. Offences\n\n(1) A person shall not without lawful authority remain on any subject land after being warned to leave it by —\n\n(a) the owner or occupier, or a person authorised by or on behalf of the owner or occupier, of that subject land; or\n\n(b) a member of the Police Force.\n\nPenalty: $5 000 or 12 months’ imprisonment.\n\n(2) A person shall not without lawful authority prevent, obstruct, or hinder any activity which is being, or is about to be, carried on pursuant to, or for the purposes of or incidental to implementing, a Government agreement, or attempt to do so.\n\nPenalty: $5 000 or 12 months’ imprisonment.\n\n(3) For the purposes of any proceedings for an offence under this Act an averment in the prosecution notice —\n\n(a) that an agreement is scheduled to, incorporated in, or appearing in, an Act the administration of which is for the time being committed by the Governor to, or approved by the Governor to be placed under the control of, the Minister; or\n\n(b) that an agreement is scheduled to, incorporated in, or appearing in, an Act and declared by proclamation to be a Government agreement for the purposes of this Act,\n\nshall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to be proved.\n\n[Section 4 amended: No. 30 of 1990 s. 5; No. 84 of 2004 s. 80.]\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Government Agreements Act 1979* and includes the amendments made by the other written law referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | | **Number and year** | | **Assent** | **Commencement** | |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Government Agreements Act 1979* | | 112 of 1979 | | 21 Dec 1979 | 21 Dec 1979 | |\n| *Government Agreements Amendment Act 1990* | | 30 of 1990 | | 9 Oct 1990 | 5 Jul 1991 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 5 Jul 1991 p. 3317) | |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Government Agreements Act 1979* as at 22 Aug 2003** (includes amendments listed above) | | | | | | |\n| *Criminal Procedure and Appeals (Consequential and Other Provisions) Act 2004* s. 80 | 84 of 2004 | | 16 Dec 2004 | | | 2 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7129 (correction in *Gazette* 7 Jan 2005 p. 53)) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nGovernment agreement 2\n\nsubject land 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to assess scope — no legislative content was provided. The submission contains only a website error message and an Acknowledgement of Country, neither of which constitute legislative text."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the URL returned a system error/redirect page rather than actual legislation","Impossible to assess legal complexity without content","Score of 1 reflects absence of data, not simplicity of the underlying Act"],"plain_english_summary":"**No legislation content could be retrieved.**\n\nThe link provided for the *Government Agreements Act 1979* (Western Australia) returned an error page — the content is no longer available at that URL due to system upgrades on the Western Australian legislation website.\n\n**What this means for you:** No meaningful legal analysis can be performed on the basis of this submission. To access the actual text of this Act, try:\n- Visiting the [Parliamentary Counsel's Office website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) and searching for the Act by name\n- Contacting the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk directly\n- Searching via the State Law Publisher of Western Australia"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"source":"grok-batch-everything"},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation has not grown significantly beyond its original 1979 purpose of providing certainty to Government agreements (particularly resources and development contracts) by confirming their overriding effect and protecting related land and activities from interference. Amendments in 1990 and 2004 refined the definition, updated offence procedures and aligned with new criminal procedure rules without altering the core scope."},"complexity_factors":["Broad and multi-layered definition of 'Government agreement' that incorporates agreements scheduled to or appearing in other Acts, proclamations, variations ratified by Parliament, and any ancillary grants, leases, licences or approvals","Retroactive deeming provisions in s. 3 that apply 'from its inception' and override 'any other Act or law'","Evidentiary aids in s. 4(3) that shift the burden via averments in prosecution notices, requiring proof to the contrary","Cross-referencing to administration of other Acts by the Governor and Minister, plus historical amendments expanding the definition and updating penalties"],"plain_english_summary":"**The Government Agreements Act 1979** (Western Australia) gives legal certainty to special deals the State Government makes, usually for major projects like mining, infrastructure or resources development.\n\nIt defines a **Government agreement** as any deal listed in, attached to, or mentioned in a law that is managed by a particular Minister, plus any changes to that deal approved by Parliament, and all related paperwork such as leases, permits or approvals needed to carry it out. The Act declares that every part of these agreements is valid and works exactly as written, even if it conflicts with other Western Australian laws. It also states that if the agreement says it changes another law, that change actually takes effect for the purposes of the agreement.\n\nThe law creates two criminal offences to protect project land and activities: (1) staying on 'subject land' (land being used for the project) after being told to leave by the owner, occupier, their representative or police; and (2) blocking, obstructing or hindering work connected to the agreement. Both carry a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine or 12 months’ imprisonment.\n\nIn court, certain statements by prosecutors about whether an agreement qualifies are automatically accepted as true unless the defendant proves otherwise. The Act matters because it shields major government-backed projects from legal challenges based on conflicting rules, giving companies and the State confidence to invest and proceed."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The compiled text shows amendments to the Act after its original 1979 enactment. Section 2 (definitions) was amended by No. 30 of 1990 (s.4) and section 4 (offences/evidence) was amended by No. 30 of 1990 (s.5) and No. 84 of 2004 (s.80), as recorded in the compilation notes. Those amendments altered the Act’s definitional and offence/evidentiary provisions in the published version, so the current scope differs from the original 1979 text in those respects (see compilation table and notes)."},"complexity_factors":["Broad and inclusive definition of \"Government agreement\" that covers agreements appearing in Acts, proclamations, variations and associated documents/instruments (s2).","A statutory primacy rule that makes agreement provisions operate \"notwithstanding any other Act or law\" and deems certain modifications to have effect from inception (s3), creating potential conflicts with other legislative regimes.","Criminal offences tied to land‑use and activity‑interference with fixed penalties and imprisonment (s4(1)–(2)).","An evidentiary presumption in prosecutions that an agreement is a Government agreement unless proved otherwise (s4(3)), which affects prosecutorial burden and defence strategy.","Multiple decision points and actors (Governor, Minister, Parliament, owner/occupier, police, proclamations) that determine scope and enforcement (s2; s4(1)).","Potential cross‑statutory interaction and interpretive issues where agreements purport to modify other Acts (s3)."],"plain_english_summary":"What this law does (mechanically)\n\n- It defines what counts as a \"Government agreement\" and what land is \"subject land\" for the Act's purposes (s2).\n- It says that each Government agreement takes effect according to its terms even if other Acts or laws would say otherwise, and that any part of an agreement that purports to modify another Act will operate for the purposes of that agreement and be treated as having operated from the start (s3).\n- It creates criminal offences about conduct on subject land and about obstructing activities that implement a Government agreement. Specifically, a person must not remain on subject land after being warned to leave by the owner/occupier or a police officer (s4(1)), and must not prevent, obstruct or hinder activities implementing a Government agreement (s4(2)). The penalty for either offence is a fine of $5,000 or up to 12 months’ imprisonment (s4(1)–(2)).\n- For prosecutions, an allegation that an agreement is a Government agreement (as defined in s2) is taken to be proved unless the defendant proves otherwise (s4(3)).\n\nWho this affects and who decides\n\n- Parties to a scheduled or proclaimed agreement: the Act gives the agreement legal effect according to its own terms (s2; s3). That means the parties to such an agreement obtain the direct legal operation the agreement specifies (s3).\n- People on subject land and those who might seek to interfere with activities implementing agreements: they face immediate removal and criminal penalties if they remain after warning or obstruct activities (s4(1)–(2)).\n- Decision-makers identified in the text: the Governor (who can have administration committed to a Minister or declare an agreement by proclamation), the Minister (if administration is committed), and Parliament (which can ratify or authorise variations) — these actors determine which agreements fall under the Act and how variations are authorised (s2(b); s2(a)). Owners/occupiers and police have the on‑the‑ground authority to warn people to leave subject land (s4(1)).\n\nStated purpose-claims and practical tests against costs and incentives\n\n- The Act’s operative text makes the claim that Government agreements should operate \"notwithstanding any other Act or law\" and that modifications provided for in an agreement should be effective for the agreement’s purposes from inception (s3). That is a mechanical claim in the statute, not an explanatory memorandum; it produces legal primacy for scheduled or proclaimed agreements (s3).\n\n- Who pays: Individuals who remain on subject land after warning, or who obstruct implementing activities, face criminal liability and the monetary/freedom cost set out in s4(1)–(2). There is also a compliance cost for anyone whose usual legal remedies or protections under other Acts are displaced for the purposes of a Government agreement (s3).\n\n- Incentives and concentrated benefits: The legal primacy in s3 creates predictable legal effect for the parties to an agreement — they obtain the operational force of the agreement even where other statutes might otherwise limit or contradict it. That benefit is concentrated to those parties because the statutory text gives the agreement terms direct effect (s2; s3).\n\n- Diffuse costs and trade-offs: Because the statute allows an agreement to operate \"notwithstanding any other Act or law\" and to effect modifications for the agreement’s purposes (s3), persons or entities that would rely on other laws may find those laws displaced in contexts covered by the agreement. That creates a trade-off between contractual/administrative certainty for the agreement parties and the availability of other statutory protections or legal limits for third parties.\n\n- Compliance burden: Individuals must comply with warnings to leave subject land (s4(1)) and must not obstruct activities implementing agreements (s4(2)). Owners/occupiers and police are positioned as enforcement actors with authority to warn and, implicitly, to remove (s4(1)).\n\n- Bureaucratic discretion and evidentiary effects: The Governor, Minister and Parliament play roles in designating and ratifying agreements (s2). The evidentiary presumption in s4(3) reduces prosecution proof requirements about whether an instrument is a Government agreement, shifting practical burdens in prosecutions.\n\n- Implementation risk and legal complexity: The statutory rule that agreement provisions operate notwithstanding other laws and are treated as effective from inception (s3) can create interpretive and enforcement complexity when agreements interact with other statutory regimes or rights. The evidentiary deeming in s4(3) also affects how easily prosecutions can proceed when an instrument is presented as a Government agreement.\n\nNet behavioural effects (mechanical, not normative)\n\n- Parties drafting, signing or relying on scheduled/proclaimed Government agreements will be able to rely on those agreements operating according to their terms (s2; s3).\n- Individuals and groups face immediate legal limits on entering, remaining on, or interfering with activities on subject land connected to such agreements; non‑compliance carries criminal sanctions (s4).\n\nKey statutory references: definitions and the legal‑effect clause (s2; s3); offences, penalties and evidentiary presumption (s4)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/government-agreements-act-1979","history":"/api/acts/government-agreements-act-1979/history","analysis":"/api/acts/government-agreements-act-1979/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/government-agreements-act-1979/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/government-agreements-act-1979/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/government-agreements-act-1979/documents"}}