{"id":"integrity-lobbyists-act-2016","name":"Integrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016","slug":"integrity-lobbyists-act-2016","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30745,"registerId":"wa-integrity-lobbyists-act-2016-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Integrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nIntegrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016\n\nWestern Australia\n\nIntegrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n3. Terms used 2\n\n4. Term used: lobbying activity 7\n\n5. Purpose 8\n\n6. Act binds Crown 9\n\n7. Application 9\n\nPart 2 — Registration\n\nDivision 1 — Requirement to be registered\n\n8. Lobbying activity by unregistered persons prohibited 10\n\n9. Certain persons not required to register 10\n\nDivision 2 — Register\n\n10. Register 11\n\n11. Publication of information on register 12\n\nDivision 3 — Registration and listing\n\n12. Who may be registered 12\n\n13. Who may be listed as lobbyist 13\n\n14. Certain persons disqualified from registration or listing 13\n\n15. Commissioner makes decisions on registration and listing and related procedures 14\n\nPart 3 — Code of conduct\n\n16. Code of conduct 15\n\n17. Registrants and lobbyists to comply with code of conduct 15\n\n18. Publication of code of conduct 15\n\n19. Application of *Interpretation Act 1984* to code of conduct 15\n\nPart 4 — Success fees\n\n20. Term used: success fee 17\n\n21. Agreements to receive success fees prohibited 17\n\n22. Recovery of success fee 18\n\nPart 5 — Miscellaneous\n\nDivision 1 — Provision of information to Commissioner\n\n23. Duty of confidentiality overridden 19\n\n24. Offence to supply false or misleading information 19\n\nDivision 2 — General\n\n25. Regulations 20\n\nPart 6 — Transitional\n\n26. Terms used 21\n\n27. Persons on existing Register of Lobbyists 21\n\n28. Existing contracts for success fee 22\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 23\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\n![]()Western Australia\n\nIntegrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016\n\nNo. 15 of 2016\n\nAn Act to promote and enhance public confidence in the transparency, integrity and honesty of dealings between lobbyists and government representatives by —\n\n- providing for the registration of lobbyists; and\n- providing for the issuing of a code of conduct for registered lobbyists in their dealings with government; and\n- prohibiting registered lobbyists from agreeing to receive payments or other rewards that are dependent on the outcome of lobbying activities,\n\n\nand for related purposes.\n\nThe Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis is the *Integrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation as follows —\n\n(a) Part 1 — on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent;\n\n(b) the rest of the Act — on a day fixed by proclamation, and different days may be fixed for different provisions.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\n(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\ncode of conduct means a code of conduct in force under section 16;\n\nCommissioner means the Public Sector Commissioner;\n\ncommunicate means communicate with another person by any means, including —\n\n(a) by meeting in person; and\n\n(b) by post, facsimile, telephone, email or any other form of electronic communication;\n\ncorporation has the meaning given in the *Corporations Act 2001* (Commonwealth) section 57A;\n\ngovernment representative —\n\n(a) means any of the following —\n\n(i) a Minister;\n\n(ii) a Parliamentary Secretary;\n\n(iii) a public sector employee;\n\n(iv) a person (other than a public sector employee) who is engaged by a public sector body under a contract for services;\n\n(v) a person employed by an entity listed in the PSM Act Schedule 1 column 2, if the entity is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph;\n\n(vi) a person employed by any body that is referred to in subsection (3) and is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph;\n\n(vii) the holder of any office, post or position that is referred to in subsection (3) and is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph;\n\nbut\n\n(b) does not include —\n\n(i) any person to whom paragraph (a)(iii) to (vii) applies and who is performing functions in any office, branch or post located outside Australia; or\n\n(ii) a non‑Executive ministerial officer;\n\nlobbying activity has the meaning given in section 4;\n\nlobbyist means a person who is listed in the register in respect of a registrant;\n\nMinister means a Minister of the Crown in right of the State;\n\nministerial contractor —\n\n(a) means a person (other than a ministerial officer) who is employed or engaged to perform functions in the office of a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary; and\n\n(b) if the person who is engaged to perform the functions is not a natural person, includes the natural person who actually performs the functions;\n\nministerial officer has the meaning given in the PSM Act section 3(1);\n\nnon‑Executive ministerial officer means a person appointed as a ministerial officer to assist a political office holder (as defined in the PSM Act section 3(1)) if the political office holder is not a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary;\n\nnon‑profit organisation means an organisation that is not carried on for the purposes of profit or gain to its individual members and is, by the terms of the organisation’s constitution, prohibited from making any distribution, whether in money, property or otherwise, to its members;\n\norganisation means any incorporated body or unincorporated group (however structured);\n\nParliamentary Secretary means —\n\n(a) a Parliamentary Secretary appointed under the *Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899* section 44A(1); or\n\n(b) the Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet;\n\nPSM Act means the *Public Sector Management Act 1994*;\n\nPublic Sector has the meaning given in the PSM Act section 3(1);\n\npublic sector body has the meaning given in the PSM Act section 3(1);\n\npublic sector employee —\n\n(a) means an employee as defined in the PSM Act section 3(1); and\n\n(b) includes a ministerial contractor;\n\nregister means the register kept under section 10;\n\nregistrant means a person who is registered in the register;\n\nrelated body corporate has the meaning given in the *Corporations Act 2001* (Commonwealth) section 9;\n\nsenior public sector executive —\n\n(a) means a person who —\n\n(i) holds an office in the Public Sector, if the annual salary attached to that office is equal to or greater than the amount prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph; or\n\n(ii) holds an office prescribed for the purposes of the *Salaries and Allowances Act 1975* section 6(1)(e); or\n\n(iii) holds an office in the Public Sector, or an office in a class of offices in the Public Sector, if the office or class of offices is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph; or\n\n(iv) is a ministerial contractor, if the person is a natural person and the criteria prescribed in relation to ministerial contractors by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph are met;\n\nand\n\n(b) includes a person who is acting in an office to which paragraph (a)(i) to (iii) applies; but\n\n(c) does not include —\n\n(i) a non‑Executive ministerial officer; or\n\n(ii) a person, office or position exempted by the Commissioner in accordance with the regulations;\n\nState government decision‑making means decision‑making by or on behalf of the Executive Government of the State (whether the decision is made by the Governor, a Minister, a Parliamentary Secretary, a public sector employee, a statutory officer or statutory body or any other person), including (without limitation) the making of decisions relating to any of the following —\n\n(a) the development, amendment or repeal of legislation;\n\n(b) the introduction of any Bill into either House of Parliament, or the passage, amendment, or defeat of any Bill that is before a House of Parliament;\n\n(c) the development, amendment or abandonment of any policy or programme;\n\n(d) the making of an appointment to any body, office, post or position;\n\n(e) the awarding of a contract, grant or donation;\n\n(f) the allocation of funding;\n\n(g) the exercise of a discretionary power;\n\nsuccess fee has the meaning given in section 20.\n\n(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person undertakes a lobbying activity on behalf of another person if the lobbying activity is undertaken for the purpose of representing the interests of that other person.\n\n(3) Regulations made for the purposes of paragraph (a)(vi) or (vii) of the definition of ***government representative*** in subsection (1) can prescribe a body or the holder of an office, post or position only if —\n\n(a) the body, office, post or position is —\n\n(i) established or continued for a public purpose under a written law; or\n\n(ii) established by the Governor or a Minister;\n\nor\n\n(b) it is a corporation or association over which control can be exercised by —\n\n(i) the State; or\n\n(ii) a public sector body; or\n\n(iii) a body, office, post or position referred to in paragraph (a); or\n\n(iv) a body or the holder of an office, post or position that is itself prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of paragraph (a)(vi) or (vii) of that definition.\n\n##### 4. Term used: lobbying activity\n\n(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\nlobbying activity means communicating with a government representative for the purpose of influencing, whether directly or indirectly, State government decision‑making.\n\n(2) For an activity to be a lobbying activity, it is not essential that the activity be undertaken for any commission, payment or other reward (whether pecuniary or otherwise).\n\n(3) The following are not lobbying activities —\n\n(a) petitioning the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly, or both Houses;\n\n(b) petitioning the Governor;\n\n(c) communicating with a committee of the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly, or a joint committee of both Houses;\n\n(d) communicating with a person who is a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary, in that person’s capacity as a member of either House of Parliament and not as a member of the Executive Government of the State, in relation to a matter that is not within that person’s responsibilities as a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary;\n\n(e) subject to subsection (4), communicating as part of an activity of a grassroots campaign nature in an attempt to influence State government decision‑making, for example, encouraging letter‑writing, phone‑calling or emailing campaigns;\n\n(f) responding to —\n\n(i) a call for submissions; or\n\n(ii) a request for tender, request for expression of interest, request for a proposal or a request of a similar nature;\n\n(g) providing information in response to a request from a government representative;\n\n(h) communicating only for the purpose of making an application under a written law, if the application is considered and decided under that written law by a government representative or the Governor;\n\n(i) making a public statement;\n\n(j) communicating about a personal matter on behalf of —\n\n(i) the person making the communication; or\n\n(ii) a friend or relative of that person;\n\n(k) any activity or class of activity prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.\n\n(4) Subsection (3)(e) does not apply in relation to any communication by a person for any commission, payment or other reward (whether pecuniary or otherwise).\n\n(5) For the purposes of subsection (3)(j), a personal matter is a matter that relates only to a person’s personal, family or household affairs and is not related to any business or commercial activity.\n\n##### 5. Purpose\n\n(1) The purpose of this Act is to promote and enhance public confidence in the transparency, integrity and honesty of dealings between government representatives and people who undertake lobbying activities on behalf of others.\n\n(2) In order to achieve this purpose, this Act —\n\n(a) provides for the registration of people who undertake lobbying activities; and\n\n(b) provides for the issuing of a code of conduct for registered persons in their dealings with government; and\n\n(c) prohibits registered persons from agreeing to receive payments or other rewards that are dependent on the outcome of lobbying activities.\n\n##### 6. Act binds Crown\n\nThis Act binds the State and, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.\n\n##### 7. Application\n\nNothing in this Act —\n\n(a) requires a government representative to have dealings with —\n\n(i) a particular lobbyist; or\n\n(ii) lobbyists in general;\n\nor\n\n(b) limits communication by a person (whether personally or through a lobbyist) with a government representative if the law requires a government representative to take account of the views advanced by the person.\n\n## Part 2 — Registration\n\n### Division 1 — Requirement to be registered\n\n##### 8. Lobbying activity by unregistered persons prohibited\n\n(1) A person (person A) who is in the business of lobbying must not undertake lobbying activities on behalf of another person unless person A is accredited as a lobbyist.\n\nPenalty: a fine of $10 000.\n\n(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the following persons are in the business of lobbying —\n\n(a) a person whose business consists of or includes undertaking lobbying activities on behalf of another person;\n\n(b) a person who employs or engages one or more persons to undertake lobbying activities on behalf of another person;\n\n(c) a person who is employed or engaged by a person to undertake lobbying activities on behalf of another person.\n\n(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) and (c), the lobbying activities need not be the only work undertaken by an employee or contractor.\n\n(4) This section does not apply to any person to whom or to which section 9 applies.\n\n##### 9. Certain persons not required to register\n\nNone of the following is required to be accredited as a lobbyist under this Act —\n\n(a) a non‑profit organisation;\n\n(b) an organisation constituted to represent the interests of its members (for example, a trade union, an employer organisation or a professional body such as a law society);\n\n(c) a person who is employed or engaged by an organisation to which paragraph (b) applies, to the extent that the employee or contractor undertakes lobbying activities for the purpose of representing the interests of the organisation’s members;\n\n(d) a business the principal purpose of which is the carrying on of a technical or professional occupation (such as engineering, accountancy, town planning, medicine or law) in which the undertaking of lobbying activities is occasional only and incidental to the provision of the technical or professional services;\n\n(e) a person who provides technical or professional services as part of a business to which paragraph (d) applies, to the extent that the undertaking of lobbying activities by that person is occasional only and incidental to the provision of the technical or professional services;\n\n(f) a person who is employed by another person (the employer) to undertake lobbying activities only for the purpose of representing the interests of —\n\n(i) the employer; or\n\n(ii) if the employer is a corporation, a related body corporate of the employer;\n\n(g) a member of a trade delegation visiting the State;\n\n(h) a person or body, or a member of a class of persons or bodies, prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.\n\n### Division 2 — Register\n\n##### 10. Register\n\n(1) The Commissioner must establish and maintain a register for the purposes of this Act.\n\n(2) The register records —\n\n(a) information relating to —\n\n(i) registrants; and\n\n(ii) lobbyists;\n\nand\n\n(b) any other information the Commissioner considers necessary or desirable for the purposes of this Act.\n\n(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the register must record information relating to persons for whom lobbyists are undertaking lobbying activities.\n\n(4) The Commissioner may —\n\n(a) keep the register in any form the Commissioner considers appropriate; and\n\n(b) make any changes to the register that the Commissioner considers necessary or desirable to ensure that the register is accurate and up‑to‑date.\n\n##### 11. Publication of information on register\n\n(1) The Commissioner must make the information on the register publicly available free of charge.\n\n(2) The Commissioner may comply with subsection (1) in any way the Commissioner considers appropriate.\n\n### Division 3 — Registration and listing\n\n##### 12. Who may be registered\n\n(1) Any person may be registered under this Act.\n\n(2) Subsection (1) is subject to sections 14 and 15.\n\n##### 13. Who may be listed as lobbyist\n\n(1) Any of the following persons may be listed as a lobbyist —\n\n(a) a registrant;\n\n(b) a person who is a partner in a firm that is a registrant;\n\n(c) a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer (by whatever name called) of a registrant;\n\n(d) a person who is employed, contracted or otherwise engaged by a registrant to provide lobbying activity services.\n\n(2) A person is listed as a lobbyist by being listed in the register in respect of a registrant.\n\n(3) While a person is listed as a lobbyist, the person is to be taken to be accredited as a lobbyist.\n\n(4) Subsection (1) is subject to sections 14 and 15.\n\n##### 14. Certain persons disqualified from registration or listing\n\n(1) In this section —\n\nrelevant office means any of the following offices or positions —\n\n(a) a member of either House of Parliament;\n\n(b) a senator for Western Australia in the Commonwealth Senate;\n\n(c) a member of the Commonwealth House of Representatives for an Electoral Division in Western Australia;\n\n(d) a senior public sector executive;\n\n(e) an office or position prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.\n\n(2) A person cannot be registered under this Act or listed as a lobbyist if —\n\n(a) the person holds a relevant office; or\n\n(b) the person has ceased to hold a relevant office, and a period of less than one year has elapsed since the date on which the person ceased to hold that office.\n\n(3) However, even though subsection (2)(b) applies to a person, the Commissioner can decide to register the person or, as the case requires, list the person as a lobbyist.\n\n##### 15. Commissioner makes decisions on registration and listing and related procedures\n\n(1) The Commissioner decides all matters relating to or connected with registration and listing under this Act, including (without limitation) —\n\n(a) whether, and the conditions (if any) on or subject to which, a person is registered or listed; and\n\n(b) when, and on what grounds or in what circumstances, a person’s registration is to be suspended or cancelled, or a person’s listing as a lobbyist is to be removed from the register.\n\n(2) The Commissioner also determines all procedures relating to or connected with registration and listing.\n\n## Part 3 — Code of conduct\n\n##### 16. Code of conduct\n\n(1) The Commissioner may issue a code of conduct for registrants and lobbyists.\n\n(2) Before issuing, amending or repealing a code of conduct, the Commissioner must consult those persons whom the Commissioner considers it desirable and practicable to consult.\n\n##### 17. Registrants and lobbyists to comply with code of conduct\n\n(1) Registrants and lobbyists must comply with a code of conduct.\n\n(2) No civil or criminal liability attaches to a person only because the person has committed a breach of a code of conduct, but the Commissioner may consider whether a breach has occurred, and may take into account any breach that the Commissioner is satisfied has occurred, in performing any function under this Act.\n\n(3) Subsection (2) is subject to section 24.\n\n##### 18. Publication of code of conduct\n\n(1) The Commissioner must —\n\n(a) publish a code of conduct in the *Gazette*; and\n\n(b) make a code of conduct publicly available free of charge.\n\n(2) The Commissioner may comply with subsection (1)(b) in any way the Commissioner considers appropriate.\n\n##### 19. Application of *Interpretation Act 1984* to code of conduct\n\n(1) A code of conduct is subsidiary legislation for the purposes of the *Interpretation Act 1984*.\n\n(2) The *Interpretation Act 1984* section 42 applies to a code of conduct as if a code of conduct were regulations.\n\n## Part 4 — Success fees\n\n##### 20. Term used: success fee\n\nIn this Part —\n\nsuccess fee, in relation to a lobbying activity, means any commission, payment or other reward (whether pecuniary or otherwise) if the giving or receiving of all or part of the commission, payment or reward depends, whether directly or indirectly, on —\n\n(a) the outcome of the lobbying activity; or\n\n(b) the outcome of a matter about which the lobbying activity is undertaken.\n\n##### 21. Agreements to receive success fees prohibited\n\n(1) A registrant must not agree that the registrant, or a lobbyist listed under that registrant, receive a success fee for a lobbying activity undertaken, on behalf of another person, by a lobbyist who is listed under that registrant.\n\n(2) A lobbyist must not agree that the lobbyist, or the registrant under which that person is listed, receive a success fee for a lobbying activity undertaken, on behalf of another person, by the lobbyist.\n\n(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to any agreement to receive any commission, payment or reward, if the commission, payment or reward is agreed to be given (whether as remuneration or as a bonus or otherwise) by an employer to that person’s employee for work done by that employee in the course of that employment.\n\n(4) No civil or criminal liability attaches to a person only because the person has committed a breach of the prohibition in subsection (1) or (2).\n\n(5) A provision of a contract that breaches that prohibition is void and unenforceable, but does not prejudice or affect the operation of other provisions of the contract.\n\n##### 22. Recovery of success fee\n\n(1) If a person receives a success fee under a provision of a contract that breaches the prohibition in section 21(1) or (2), an amount equal to the monetary value of the success fee received by the person may be recovered from that person in a court of competent jurisdiction at the suit of the Treasurer of the State as a civil debt owing to the State.\n\n(2) However, the court may decline to order the recovery of the amount if it considers that it would be unfair or unjust to make the order.\n\n(3) For the purposes of any proceedings under this section, if the success fee, or part of the success fee, that is the subject of the proceedings was not a specific sum of money (whether in cash or otherwise) —\n\n(a) the Commissioner is to estimate the amount of the monetary value of that success fee or, as the case requires, that part of the success fee; and\n\n(b) that estimated amount is to be taken to be the monetary value of that success fee or, as the case requires, that part of the success fee, unless the person who received the success fee shows that the success fee or, as the case requires, that part of the success fee had a different monetary value.\n\n## Part 5 — Miscellaneous\n\n### Division 1 — Provision of information to Commissioner\n\n##### 23. Duty of confidentiality overridden\n\nIf a registrant discloses information to the Commissioner in connection with the carrying out of the Commissioner’s functions under this Act —\n\n(a) neither the registrant nor any lobbyist listed under that registrant incurs any civil or criminal liability in respect of the disclosure; and\n\n(b) the disclosure is not to be regarded as a breach, by the registrant or any lobbyist listed under that registrant, of —\n\n(i) any duty of confidentiality or secrecy imposed by law; or\n\n(ii) professional ethics or standards;\n\nand\n\n(c) the disclosure is not to be regarded as unprofessional conduct.\n\n##### 24. Offence to supply false or misleading information\n\n(1) A person must not do any of the things set out in subsection (2) —\n\n(a) in any application made to the Commissioner in connection with —\n\n(i) registration under this Act; or\n\n(ii) listing as a lobbyist;\n\nor\n\n(b) in a response to a requirement, made under any procedure determined by the Commissioner under section 15, to provide information or a document to the Commissioner; or\n\n(c) in written representations made to the Commissioner under any procedure determined by the Commissioner under section 15; or\n\n(d) in any notification or information given, or document produced, or representation made, to the Commissioner under a code of conduct or the regulations.\n\nPenalty: a fine of $10 000.\n\n(2) The things to which subsection (1) applies are —\n\n(a) giving information that the person knows to be false or misleading in a material particular;\n\n(b) failing to give information that the person knows is materially relevant;\n\n(c) omitting information without which any notification or information given, or any document produced, or any representation made, is, to the person’s knowledge, false or misleading in a material particular.\n\n### Division 2 — General\n\n##### 25. Regulations\n\n(1) The Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the purposes of this Act.\n\n(2) If there is an inconsistency between a code of conduct and any regulations made under this Act, the regulations prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.\n\n## Part 6 — Transitional\n\n##### 26. Terms used\n\nIn this Part —\n\ncommencement day means the day on which this Part comes into operation;\n\nlobbyist profile means an entry in the WA Register of Lobbyists described as a “Lobbyist Profile”;\n\nWA Register of Lobbyists means the document called the “Register of Lobbyists” and maintained by the Commissioner immediately before the commencement day.\n\n##### 27. Persons on existing Register of Lobbyists\n\n(1) On the commencement day —\n\n(a) each person whose name is recorded in a lobbyist profile under the heading “Company Details” immediately before the commencement day is to be treated as a registrant, and this Act applies accordingly; and\n\n(b) each person whose name is recorded in a lobbyist profile under the heading “Lobbyist Details” immediately before the commencement day is to be treated as a lobbyist listed under the person whose name is recorded under the heading “Company Details” in the same lobbyist profile, and this Act applies accordingly.\n\n(2) If subsection (1) applies to a person —\n\n(a) the Commissioner is to ensure that the information recorded in the WA Register of Lobbyists in relation to that person immediately before the commencement day is recorded on the register as soon as practicable; and\n\n(b) the recording of that information is to be taken to be sufficient compliance with section 10(2).\n\n(3) The fact that subsection (1) applies to a person does not limit section 15.\n\n(4) This section overrides section 14(2)(b).\n\n##### 28. Existing contracts for success fee\n\n(1) In this section —\n\nrelevant date means the day on which section 21 comes into operation.\n\n(2) Section 21 applies in respect of any agreement, or any success fee receivable under an agreement, in force before the relevant date.\n\n(3) However, section 21 does not apply in respect of —\n\n(a) any success fee received before the relevant date; or\n\n(b) any success fee that is receivable (whether before or after the relevant date) for work carried out before the relevant date; or\n\n(c) the entering into, before the relevant date, of an agreement to receive a success fee.\n\n(4) Section 21 applies to an agreement to receive a success fee that was entered into before the relevant date to the extent that the agreement provides for a success fee to be received for work carried out on or after the relevant date.\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Integrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016*. The following table contains information about that Act.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Integrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016* | 15 of 2016 | 11 Jul 2016 | Pt. 1: 11 Jul 2016 (see s. 2(a));<br>Act other than Pt. 1: 12 Dec 2016 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 9 Dec 2016 p. 5558) |\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\ncode of conduct 3(1)\n\ncommencement day 26\n\nCommissioner 3(1)\n\ncommunicate 3(1)\n\ncorporation 3(1)\n\nemployer 9\n\ngovernment representative 3(1)\n\nlobbying activity 3(1), 4(1)\n\nlobbyist 3(1)\n\nlobbyist profile 26\n\nMinister 3(1)\n\nministerial contractor 3(1)\n\nministerial officer 3(1)\n\nnon‑Executive ministerial officer 3(1)\n\nnon‑profit organisation 3(1)\n\norganisation 3(1)\n\nParliamentary Secretary 3(1)\n\nperson A 8(1)\n\npersonal matter 4(5)\n\nPSM Act 3(1)\n\nPublic Sector 3(1)\n\npublic sector body 3(1)\n\npublic sector employee 3(1)\n\nregister 3(1)\n\nregistrant 3(1)\n\nrelated body corporate 3(1)\n\nrelevant date 28(1)\n\nrelevant office 14(1)\n\nsenior public sector executive 3(1)\n\nState government decision‑making 3(1)\n\nsuccess fee 3(1), 20\n\nWA Register of Lobbyists 26\n","sortOrder":0}],"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":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not retrievable. The page has been removed from the Western Australian legislation website due to system upgrades."},"complexity_factors":["Legislation text was entirely unavailable — only a broken page error was retrieved","No provisions, sections, definitions, or schedules could be assessed","Complexity score reflects the absence of content, not the inherent complexity of the Act itself (which would likely score 5-7 based on similar lobbyist legislation)"],"plain_english_summary":"## ⚠️ Content Unavailable\n\nThe actual text of the **Integrity (Lobbyists) Act 2016** (Western Australia) could not be retrieved — the source page is no longer available due to a website upgrade.\n\n**What we know from the title alone:**\nThis is a Western Australian law dealing with **lobbyists** — people paid to influence government decisions on behalf of clients (businesses, industry groups, etc.). Laws like this typically:\n- Require lobbyists to register on a public register\n- Set rules about who lobbyists can contact and how\n- Ban certain people (like recently retired politicians or public servants) from lobbying for a period after leaving government\n- Impose transparency and disclosure obligations\n\n**Who it likely affects:** Professional lobbyists, their clients, Members of Parliament, and senior public servants in Western Australia.\n\n*Note: No reliable analysis can be provided without access to the actual legislation text.*"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose of regulating lobbying activity through registration, transparency, and conduct standards. The scope has not expanded beyond the three stated objectives in section 5: registration, codes of conduct, and prohibition of success fees."},"complexity_factors":["21 defined terms in section 3(1), with additional definitions scattered through sections 4, 14, 20, 26, and 28","Multi-layered exemptions in section 9 (8 categories of exempt persons/organisations)","Nested definitions: 'lobbying activity' defined in section 4 with 11 specific exclusions, plus a carve-out to one of those exclusions in subsection 4(4)","Complex definition of 'government representative' with 7 inclusions and 2 exclusions, plus regulatory prescription powers with preconditions in section 3(3)","Conditional application of success fee prohibitions with transitional arrangements in section 28 creating a 'work done' test for existing contracts","Cross-references to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), Public Sector Management Act 1994, and Interpretation Act 1984","Discretionary powers given to the Commissioner (e.g., section 14(3) allows override of the 1-year cooling-off period; section 15 gives broad procedural powers)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a registration system for lobbyists in Western Australia to make their dealings with government more transparent and trustworthy.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Requires registration**: People who are \"in the business of lobbying\" must register with the Public Sector Commissioner before they can lobby government representatives (like Ministers, public servants, and senior officials). Unregistered lobbyists face a $10,000 fine.\n- **Creates a public register**: The Commissioner maintains a public list showing who the lobbyists are, who they work for, and who they're representing. This information must be freely available to the public.\n- **Bans \"success fees\"**: Lobbyists cannot be paid based on whether they actually achieve the outcome they're lobbying for (like winning a government contract or getting a policy changed). This prevents lobbyists from having a financial incentive to use improper influence. Any contract containing such an agreement is void, and the government can recover the money.\n- **Sets up a code of conduct**: The Commissioner can issue rules about how lobbyists must behave when dealing with government. While breaking the code doesn't create criminal liability on its own, the Commissioner can consider breaches when making decisions about registration.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Professional lobbyists** and lobbying firms must register.\n- **Government representatives** (Ministers, MPs, public servants, senior executives) must only deal with registered lobbyists.\n- **Exemptions**: Non-profit organisations, trade unions, professional bodies (like law societies), in-house corporate lobbyists (employees only lobbying for their own employer), and technical professionals who only occasionally lobby as part of their main job don't need to register.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThe law aims to prevent \"cash for access\" scandals and hidden influence by making lobbying visible to the public. The ban on success fees is particularly important because it removes the temptation for lobbyists to use unethical tactics to guarantee results. There's also a \"cooling-off\" rule: senior public servants and politicians can't become registered lobbyists until one year after leaving office (though the Commissioner can make exceptions)."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act’s operative provisions implement the purpose stated in section 5 (registration, code of conduct, prohibition of success fees). The scope set by the definitions, exemptions, and transitional arrangements aligns with that purpose: it targets persons \"in the business of lobbying\" (s8), while excluding specified categories (s9) and preserving certain pre‑existing arrangements (ss26–28). No provision in the text expands or narrows the Act beyond the purpose as articulated in s5."},"complexity_factors":["Numerous detailed definitions that cross‑reference other statutes (e.g. PSM Act, Corporations Act) and set scope for \"government representative\" and \"lobbying activity\" (see: s3, s4).","Multiple exemptions and narrowly described categories (non‑profits, member organisations, incidental professional services, employer‑employee lobbying) that require factual assessment to apply (see: s9).","Centralised discretionary authority vested in the Commissioner for registration, conditions, suspension, cancellation and procedural rules (see: s15), increasing administrative discretion and case‑by‑case decision complexity.","Hybrid enforcement regime: criminal fines for false/misleading information and unregistered lobbying, civil recovery for prohibited success fees, and non‑punitive treatment of code breaches (see: ss8, 21–24).","Success‑fee prohibition with contractual voiding and a special civil recovery mechanism that requires valuation (including estimation for non‑monetary fees) (see: ss20–22), which creates evidentiary and valuation complexity.","Publication and record‑keeping obligations combined with the Commissioner’s flexible powers to change register form and content (see: ss10–11, 10(4)), creating operational design choices.","Transitional rules preserving prior register entries and dealing with pre‑existing success‑fee contracts (ss26–28), which introduce phased application issues."],"plain_english_summary":"What this law does (mechanics)\n\n- Requires people who are \"in the business of lobbying\" to be accredited as lobbyists before they communicate with government representatives to influence State government decision‑making (registration requirement and prohibition) (see: s8, s4).\n- Establishes a public register of registrants and listed lobbyists, kept and published by the Public Sector Commissioner (\"the Commissioner\") and available free of charge (see: s10, s11, s3 definition of Commissioner).\n- Defines who can be a registrant and who can be listed as a lobbyist, and disqualifies (with a one‑year cooling off) certain office‑holders from registration or listing unless the Commissioner decides otherwise (see: ss12–15, 14).\n- Gives the Commissioner the power to decide registration matters, set conditions, suspend or cancel registration, and determine procedures (see: s15).\n- Allows the Commissioner to issue a code of conduct for registrants and lobbyists; compliance is required but breaches are not automatically criminal or civil offences (the Commissioner may take breaches into account when performing functions) (see: ss16–19, 17(2)).\n- Prohibits registrants and listed lobbyists from agreeing to receive \"success fees\" (payments or rewards contingent on the outcome of lobbying or the outcome of the matter being lobbied) and voids contract provisions that breach that prohibition (see: ss20–21, 21(5)).\n- Permits the Treasurer to recover monetary value of success fees paid under prohibited contract provisions as a civil debt, subject to the court’s discretion if recovery would be unfair (see: s22).\n- Overrides duties of confidentiality so that registrants may disclose information to the Commissioner without incurring civil/criminal liability or breaching professional confidentiality (see: s23).\n- Creates an offence ($10,000 fine) for supplying false or misleading information to the Commissioner in registration, listing, procedures, or under the code of conduct (see: s24).\n- Includes transitional provisions to transfer entries from the existing WA Register of Lobbyists and to deal with existing success‑fee contracts (see: ss26–28).\n\nWho it affects (actors and decision‑makers)\n\n- People and entities \"in the business of lobbying\": required to register before undertaking lobbying activity on behalf of others; subject to fines for unregistered lobbying (see: s8).\n- Lobbyists listed under a registrant: listed persons are taken to be accredited while listed (see: s13(3)).\n- The Public Sector Commissioner: establishes and maintains the register, publishes it, issues the code of conduct, and decides registration and listing matters (see: ss10–11, 15–16, 18–19).\n- The Treasurer and the courts: the Treasurer brings recovery proceedings for prohibited success fees; courts determine recovery and may decline if recovery would be unjust (see: s22).\n- Exempted groups: non‑profit organisations, representative organisations (e.g. trade unions, employer bodies), employees lobbying only for their employer, incidental professional advisers, trade delegations, and any class prescribed by regulation are not required to be accredited (see: s9).\n\nWhy it matters (purpose claims and an implementation‑focused test)\n\n- The Act states its purpose is to \"promote and enhance public confidence in the transparency, integrity and honesty\" of dealings between lobbyists and government representatives (see: s5(1)–(2)). It implements that purpose mechanically through registration, a public register, a code of conduct, and a ban on success‑fee arrangements (see: ss5, 10, 16, 21).\n\nCost, incentives and trade‑offs (source‑grounded observations)\n\n- Direct compliance costs and sanctions:\n  - Registrants must apply and supply information to the Commissioner and keep the register accurate; failure or false/misleading information attracts a $10,000 fine (see: ss10(2)–(4), 24).\n  - Undertaking lobbying while unregistered carries a $10,000 penalty (see: s8(1)).\n- Contract freedom and business model effects:\n  - The prohibition on success‑fee agreements (s21) removes a contingency‑based pricing option for registered lobbyists and listed lobbyists; such contractual clauses are void (s21(5)). The Treasurer can pursue recovery of monetary value paid under voided clauses as a civil debt (s22), although courts may refuse recovery where unfair (s22(2)).\n  - The Act preserves employer–employee remuneration arrangements for work in the course of employment (s21(3)).\n- Transparency versus commercial sensitivity:\n  - The register must record information about persons for whom lobbyists undertake activities and be publicly available free of charge (see: ss10(2)–(3), 11(1)). That creates a transparency mechanism but also requires registrants to supply information that becomes publicly accessible.\n- Centralised administrative discretion and operational risk:\n  - The Commissioner has broad powers to decide registration, impose conditions, suspend or cancel registrations, and set procedures (see: s15). The Commissioner may also decide to register or list persons who left \"relevant offices\" less than one year earlier (s14(3)), creating a formal pathway to override the one‑year cooling‑off rule.\n  - The Commissioner issues the code of conduct as subsidiary legislation (s19) and determines consultation practices before issuing or amending the code (s16(2)).\n- Enforcement design and efficiency:\n  - The Act mixes administrative controls (registration, codes) with criminal penalties limited to false or misleading information and unregistered lobbying (fines) rather than criminalising breaches of the code or the success‑fee prohibition (see: ss17(2), 21(4)).\n  - Recovery of improperly paid success fees is civil and brought by the Treasurer (s22(1)), which concentrates enforcement responsibility in the Treasurer rather than private contract parties.\n\nImplementation and compliance points of attention (concrete mechanisms and risks)\n\n- The register format and updating are left to the Commissioner (s10(4)), so accuracy and accessibility rest on the Commissioner’s systems and resourcing.\n- The Commissioner estimates monetary value for non‑cash or non‑specific success fees in recovery proceedings, subject to the recipient showing a different value (s22(3)). That creates a factual estimation step for courts.\n- The law overrides confidentiality duties for disclosures to the Commissioner (s23), which reduces legal risk for registrants who provide information but may affect how they handle client confidentiality in other contexts.\n- The exemptions (s9) carve out representative bodies, internal employees, certain professionals when lobbying is incidental, and prescribed classes — these carve‑outs narrow the law’s coverage in defined ways and create lines that registrants must interpret in practice.\n\nEffects on private choice and market behaviour (literal, source‑based)\n\n- Lobbyists who previously used contingency/ success fee arrangements cannot rely on those contracts where they are registrants or listed lobbyists; they will need to shift to fixed fees, retainers, employment models, or operate within an exemption (see: ss20–21).\n- Businesses that employ in‑house staff to lobby on their behalf are exempt when the employee lobbies only for the employer (s9(f)), preserving an internal lobbying route without registration for that activity.\n- The Commissioner’s discretion to register and to set conditions (s15) means market participants can be granted or denied accreditation and face varying conditions; that discretion shapes who can operate as registered lobbyists.\n\nConcentrated benefits and diffuse costs (mechanisms, not value judgments)\n\n- Beneficiaries: persons able to secure registration and visibility on the public register may gain reputational clarity or access that registrants expect; the Treasurer and courts have a concentrated enforcement role for recovery of success fees (s22).\n- Costs: regulatory compliance (registration, information supply, potential fines), loss of contingency‑pricing models for registrants, and administrative burden of transparency obligations (ss8, 10, 21, 24).\n\nSummary statement linking mechanics to purpose\n\nThe Act implements its stated aim (s5) by (a) obliging commercial lobbyists to register and publish identifying information (ss8, 10–11), (b) creating a Commissioner‑administered accreditation system with discretionary powers and a published code of conduct (ss15–19), and (c) removing contingency success‑fee contracts for registrants and listed lobbyists while providing a civil‑recovery mechanism for prohibited payments (ss20–22). The statutory design trades off contractual flexibility and some commercial confidentiality for administrative transparency and centralised oversight (see: ss21, 23, 10, 15)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/integrity-lobbyists-act-2016","history":"/api/acts/integrity-lobbyists-act-2016/history","analysis":"/api/acts/integrity-lobbyists-act-2016/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/integrity-lobbyists-act-2016/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/integrity-lobbyists-act-2016/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/integrity-lobbyists-act-2016/documents"}}