{"id":"legislation-fees-act-2019","name":"Legislation (Fees) Act 2019","slug":"legislation-fees-act-2019","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":105744,"registerId":"sa-legislation-fees-act-2019-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Legislation (Fees) Act 2019","content":"South Australia\nLegislation (Fees) Act 2019\nAn Act to provide for the prescription and variation of fees for the purposes of various Acts, and for other purposes.\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tRelevant authority may prescribe fees by fee notice\n5\tFee notices\n6\tSaving provisions\n7\tRegulations\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Legislation (Fees) Act 2019.\n3—Interpretation\n\t(1)\tIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\nfee means an amount payable to the Crown or another person or body, but does not include—\n\t(a)\tan expiation fee or expiation reminder notice fee; or\n\t(b)\tan amount that a court or tribunal has ordered to be paid to the Crown, or to an agency or instrumentality of the Crown; or\n\t(c)\tany other fee, or fee of a kind, declared by the regulations to be excluded from the ambit of this definition;\nfee notice means a fee notice made in accordance with section 4;\nrelevant Act, in relation to a fee, means the Act under which the fee is payable;\nrelevant authority, under an Act, means—\n\t(a)\tif the Act authorises a specified person or body other than a Minister to prescribe a fee (other than by regulation)—that person or body; or\n\t(b)\tif the Act authorises both a Minister and a specified person or body to prescribe a fee (other than by regulation)—the Minister to whom the administration of the Act is committed and that person or body; or\n\t(c)\tin any other case—the Minister to whom the administration of the Act is committed.\n\t(2)\tFor the purposes of this Act, a reference in any other Act or regulations to fixing, determining or setting a fee, or any other similar term or phrase, will be taken to be a reference to prescribing the fee.\n\t(3)\tFor the purposes of the Legislation Interpretation Act 2021, a fee notice (whether made by a Minister or another person or body) will be taken to be a legislative instrument within the meaning of that Act.\n\t(4)\tFor the purposes of section 38 of the Legislation Interpretation Act 2021, a reference in that section to a function conferred by a provision will be taken to include a reference to the prescription, substitution or variation of a fee by a provision of a fee notice.\n4—Relevant authority may prescribe fees by fee notice\n\t(1)\tWhere an Act—\n\t(a)\tauthorises the making of regulations to prescribe fees; or\n\t(b)\tauthorises a Minister or other specified person or body to prescribe fees by notice under this Act; or\n\t(c)\tprescribes a fee but makes no express provision for varying the fee; or\n\t(d)\tmakes no provision for the prescription of fees in respect of a service or act done by the Crown, or an agency or instrumentality of the Crown, under that Act,\nthe relevant authority under the Act may, from time to time, prescribe fees by fee notice for the purposes of that Act.\n\t(2)\tIf an Act referred to in subsection (1)(a) sets a maximum amount for a fee that may be prescribed by regulations under that Act, that maximum amount will be taken not to apply to the prescription of fees by fee notice.\n\t(3)\tThe relevant authority under an Act may from time to time, vary a fee prescribed by fee notice by publishing a new fee notice in substitution for the current fee notice (and in such a case the earlier fee notice will be taken to be revoked by the later fee notice).\n\t(4)\tThe relevant authority under an Act may, by subsequent fee notice, revoke a fee notice.\n\t(5)\tAny requirement or limitation under an Act relating to fees under that Act will be taken to apply in respect of the prescription, variation or revocation of fees under this section (including, to avoid doubt, a requirement that the approval or recommendation of a specified person or body be obtained before such action may be taken).\n\t(6)\tFor the purposes of subsection (1)(c), an Act will not be taken to make provision for the variation of a fee merely because the fee is determined by reference to the value of particular land or some other variable factor.\n5—Fee notices\n\t(1)\tA fee notice—\n\t(a)\tmust be made by notice in the Gazette; and\n\t(b)\tmust comply with any other requirements set out in the regulations.\n\t(2)\tSubject to this Act, a fee notice has effect according to its terms and may (except where the relevant Act provides otherwise)—\n\t(a)\tprescribe a specific fee, or a maximum or minimum fee; or\n\t(b)\tprescribe different fees according to the matters or circumstances to which they are expressed to apply; or\n\t(c)\tbe conditional or unconditional; or\n\t(d)\tbe of general or limited application; or\n\t(e)\tmake provisions of a saving or transitional nature.\n\t(3)\tA fee notice has effect—\n\t(a)\tif the fee notice specifies a day on which it is to have effect (not being a day earlier than the day on which the fee notice is published in the Gazette)—from that day; or\n\t(b)\tif the relevant Act authorises a fee notice to have effect from a specified day earlier than the day on which the fee notice is published in the Gazette and the fee notice specifies such a day on which it is to have effect—from that day; or\n\t(c)\tin any other case—from the day on which it is published in the Gazette.\n\t(4)\tSections 10 (other than subsection (1)) and 10A of the Legislative Instruments Act 1978 apply in relation to a fee notice (and a reference in those provisions to a regulation will be taken to be a reference to a fee notice).\n\t(5)\tA fee notice will, for all purposes, be taken to be made under the relevant Act to which the fees prescribed by the fee notice relate.\n6—Saving provisions\n\t(1)\tNothing in this Act limits or affects the operation of a provision under any other Act that authorises the making of regulations to prescribe or otherwise provide for fees.\n\t(2)\tIn the case where a particular fee is prescribed both by regulation and fee notice, the fee is to be determined by reference to the later in time of the instruments.\n7—Regulations\n\t(1)\tThe Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act.\n\t(2)\tThe regulations may—\n\t(a)\tbe of general or limited application; and\n\t(b)\tmake different provision according to the matters or circumstances to which they are expressed to apply; and\n\t(c)\tmake provisions of a saving or transitional nature; and\n\t(d)\tprovide that a matter or thing in respect of which regulations may be made is to be determined according to the discretion of the Minister, the Chief Executive or any other specified person or body.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tPlease note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.\n\t•\tEarlier versions of this Act (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nLegislation repealed by principal Act\nThe Legislation (Fees) Act 2019 repealed the following:\nFees Regulation Act 1927\nPrincipal Act and amendments\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n2019\n30\nLegislation (Fees) Act 2019 \n7.11.2019\n19.3.2020 except Sch 1—1.7.2020 (Gazette 19.3.2020 p546)\n2021\n5\nStatutes Amendment and Repeal (Budget Measures) Act 2021\n25.2.2021\nPt 7 (s 16)—19.3.2020: s 2(3)\n2021\n36\nLegislation Interpretation Act 2021\n30.9.2021\nSch 1 (cll 6 & 7)—1.1.2022 (Gazette 23.12.2021 p4619)\nProvisions amended\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\ns 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n1.1.2022\ns 3\n\n\ns 3(1)\n\n\nrelevant authority\namended by 5/2021 s 16\n19.3.2020\ns 3(3)\namended by 36/2021 Sch 1 cl 6(1)\n1.1.2022\ns 3(4)\namended by 36/2021 Sch 1 cl 6(2)\n1.1.2022\ns 5\n\n\ns 5(4)\namended by 36/2021 Sch 1 cl 7\n1.1.2022\nSch 1\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n1.1.2022\nHistorical versions\n19.3.2020 (electronic only)\n\n1.7.2020\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears consistent with its original intent as stated in the long title: 'to provide for the prescription and variation of fees for the purposes of various Acts, and for other purposes.' The 2021 amendments were technical updates to align with the new Legislation Interpretation Act 2021, not substantive expansions of scope. The Act replaces the 1927 Fees Regulation Act with a modernised but functionally similar mechanism."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple defined terms in section 3 (fee, fee notice, relevant Act, relevant authority) with nested exclusions in the 'fee' definition","Cross-references to the Legislation Interpretation Act 2021 (sections 38 and the definition of 'legislative instrument')","Cross-references to the Legislative Instruments Act 1978 (sections 10 and 10A)","Conditional logic in section 4(1) with four alternative scenarios (a through d) for when fee notices can be used","Interaction rules between fee notices and regulations (section 4(2) overrides maximum amounts, section 6(2) deals with conflicts)","Complex commencement rules for fee notices in section 5(3) with three alternative scenarios including potential backdating","Deeming provisions (section 3(2), 3(3), 3(4), 4(5), 5(5)) that treat certain actions or references as equivalent to others"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act creates a streamlined way for South Australian government bodies to set and change fees for public services without needing to go through the slower process of making regulations (formal rules that usually require Governor approval).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Government agencies and Ministers** – they can now set fees more quickly using \"fee notices\" published in the Government Gazette\n- **Businesses and individuals** – anyone who pays government fees (licences, permits, applications, etc.) is affected because fees can now be changed faster\n- **The Crown and government bodies** – they gain flexibility in charging for services\n\n**How it works:**\n\n- **Fee notices** are a new type of legal instrument (like a mini-regulation) that can be published in the Gazette to set fees\n- **Relevant authorities** (usually the Minister responsible for an Act, or sometimes other specified bodies) can use fee notices when:\n  - An Act allows fees to be set by regulation\n  - An Act specifically allows fee notices\n  - An Act sets a fee but doesn't say how to change it\n  - An Act doesn't provide for fees at all, but services are being provided\n\n**Key features:**\n\n- Fee notices can set specific amounts, minimums, maximums, or different fees for different circumstances\n- They can be backdated in some cases (if the original Act allows)\n- They override maximum fee limits that might apply to regulations\n- If there's a conflict between a regulation and a fee notice, whichever came later wins\n- Fee notices are treated as \"legislative instruments\" under the Legislation Interpretation Act 2021, meaning they have proper legal status and are subject to scrutiny rules\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law makes government more agile. Instead of waiting months for regulatory processes, fees can be adjusted quickly to reflect costs, inflation, or policy changes. However, it also means fee changes can happen with less parliamentary scrutiny than full regulations, though they remain public through Gazette publication.\n\nThe Act replaced the old **Fees Regulation Act 1927**, modernising a nearly century-old system."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope change cannot be determined as the legislative text was inaccessible. No content was available to compare against any original intent or explanatory materials."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was available for analysis — the source URL returned a 404 Page Not Found error","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without the actual content of the Act","Score of 1 is a placeholder only, not a genuine assessment of the legislation's complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"## ⚠️ Content Unavailable\n\nThe actual text of the **Legislation (Fees) Act 2019** (South Australia) could not be retrieved. The link provided returned a **'Page Not Found'** error from the South Australian legislation website, likely due to a broken or outdated URL following a website update in March 2026.\n\n### What we can infer from the title:\n- This Act likely deals with **fees charged in connection with legislation-related services** in South Australia — for example, fees for accessing, registering, or processing legislative documents.\n- It would affect **government agencies, businesses, and individuals** who interact with South Australia's legislative or regulatory system and pay associated administrative fees.\n\n### What to do:\n- Visit [www.legislation.sa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au) and search directly for **'Legislation (Fees) Act 2019'**\n- Or email the Office of Parliamentary Counsel at **OPCWeb@sa.gov.au** for assistance\n\n*A full analysis cannot be completed without access to the actual legislative text.*"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This Act changes the instrument and path by which many statutory fees are set: it permits relevant authorities to prescribe, vary and revoke fees by fee notice rather than (or in addition to) regulations (s 4(1)). In particular, where an underlying Act previously limited fees set by regulation to a maximum amount, that limit does not apply to fee notices made under this Act (s 4(2)). Those two features broaden executive‑level discretion over fee levels and the mechanism for making fee changes compared with a regime where fees could only be made or varied by regulation. The Act preserves some existing controls (any approval requirements in the underlying Act still apply (s 4(5)), and regulation‑making powers remain (s 6(1))), but overall the practical scope of fee‑setting has been expanded by enabling fee notices as an alternative and by removing some prior caps (see s 3–6)."},"complexity_factors":["Relatively short Act but multiple cross‑references to other Acts (Legislation Interpretation Act 2021 and Legislative Instruments Act 1978).","Several defined terms in s 3 with operational consequences (fee; fee notice; relevant Act; relevant authority).","Conditional logic about who may act as relevant authority depending on the underlying Act (s 3).","Exceptions and exclusions to the definition of fee (s 3(1)), plus an open power for regulations to exclude other fees. ","Rule that regulatory maximums do not bind fee notices (s 4(2)) creates a substantive override.","Interaction rules where both a regulation and a fee notice exist—later instrument prevails (s 6(2)).","Procedural treatment of fee notices as legislative instruments with selected provisions applied (s 3(3), s 5(4))—requires readers to consult other legislation to see full effects. ","Discretionary and temporal rules for when a fee notice takes effect, including limited backdating if authorised (s 5(3)).","Regulations power that may delegate determinations to Ministers/CEs/other persons (s 7(2)(d))."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanics)**\n\n- The Act creates a standard way for authorised people or bodies to set, change or revoke statutory fees by publishing a “fee notice” in the Government Gazette (see s 4 and s 5).\n- A “fee” is money payable to the Crown or another person/body, with specific exclusions such as expiation (penalty) fees and court‑ordered payments; the regulations can exclude other types of fees (s 3(1)).\n- The identity of who may make a fee notice (the “relevant authority”) depends on the underlying Act: it may be a Minister, a specified person or body, or both (s 3(1) and s 3—definition of relevant authority).\n- Fee notices are treated as legislative instruments for certain purposes (s 3(3)) and must be published in the Gazette and comply with any regulatory requirements (s 5(1)). Some procedural provisions from the Legislative Instruments Act are explicitly applied to fee notices (s 5(4)).\n- Where an Act already allows fees to be set by regulation, this Act permits the relevant authority to instead prescribe fees by fee notice (s 4(1)(a)). If an Act sets a maximum fee that may be made by regulation, that maximum does not limit fee notices made under this Act (s 4(2)).\n- Fee notices may prescribe fixed, minimum or maximum fees; differentiate fees by circumstance; be conditional or limited in application; include saving or transitional provisions; and may take effect on a date specified by the notice (with a limited ability to have effect retrospectively if the underlying Act allows) (s 5(2)–(3)).\n- A fee set by regulation and the same fee set by a fee notice are resolved in favour of the later instrument in time (s 6(2)).\n- The Governor may make regulations to support the Act, including giving the Minister or other officials discretion to determine matters under the regulations (s 7).\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Government bodies and Ministerial offices that are the “relevant authority” for Acts that impose statutory fees (these bodies gain a mechanism to make fee notices) (s 3 and s 4).\n- Individuals, businesses and other entities required to pay statutory fees to the Crown or to other specified persons/bodies under South Australian Acts — they are the parties who pay the fees prescribed by fee notices (s 3(1)).\n- Bodies that previously relied solely on regulations to set fees: the instrument used to set the fee may now be a fee notice rather than a regulation (s 4(1) and s 6(2)).\n\n**Why it matters (practical effects & trade‑offs)**\n\n- Changes to decision‑making pathway: the Act shifts the formal mechanism for setting many statutory fees from regulations to fee notices (s 4(1)–(3)). That changes which office or body directly makes the pricing decision and which procedural rules apply (s 3(3) and s 5(4)).\n\n- Speed and flexibility vs. existing constraints: fee notices can be published, varied or revoked more readily than creating or amending regulations, giving relevant authorities greater agility to change fees (s 4(3)–(4) and s 5(1)). However, the Act preserves any specific procedural constraints or approval requirements that the underlying Act itself imposes on fee‑setting (s 4(5)).\n\n- Financial incidence: the people and organisations required to pay statutory fees bear direct costs when fees are increased or varied. The practical administrative benefit (easier fee changes) accrues to the relevant authority that sets the fee (s 3 and s 4). These are concrete transfers of cost and decision‑power rather than abstract policy shifts: who pays and who decides is set out in the Act.\n\n- Potential for divergence from previous caps: when an underlying Act set a maximum for fees created by regulation, that cap does not apply to fee notices under this Act (s 4(2)). That changes the monetary ceiling that previously constrained fee levels in some cases.\n\n- Interaction with regulations: the Act does not abolish regulation‑making powers; regulations can still prescribe fees and remain effective. If the same fee is in both a regulation and a fee notice, the later instrument controls (s 6(1)–(2)).\n\n**Implementation, compliance and oversight considerations**\n\n- Publication requirement: fee notices only take effect once published in the Gazette unless the underlying Act expressly authorises an earlier date (s 5(1) and s 5(3)). That creates a clear administrative step that must be performed for a fee to be legally effective.\n- Procedural treatment: fee notices are treated as legislative instruments for particular purposes under other legislation (s 3(3) and s 5(4)), so they will attract some statutory instrument processes (registration/tabling/disallowance‑type procedures that those provisions establish). The precise extent of those procedural obligations depends on the referenced provisions of the Legislative Instruments Act and the Legislation Interpretation Act (s 3(3)–(4) and s 5(4)).\n- Compliance burden and uncertainty: businesses and individuals who rely on predictable fee schedules face operational and budgeting uncertainty if fees can be varied more frequently by notice than by regulation. Conversely, the Crown and agencies gain administrative flexibility.\n\n**Concrete legal limits and protections**\n\n- Specific exclusions from the definition of “fee” (so certain payments remain outside this scheme): expiation fees, court‑ordered payments, and any other exclusions made by regulation (s 3(1)).\n- Any approval or consultation requirements written into the underlying Act still must be followed when using fee notices (s 4(5)).\n\nOverall, the Act is a procedural statute that centralises and standardises an alternative mechanism (fee notices) for prescribing statutory fees, while preserving some existing constraints and importing procedural requirements from the legislative instruments framework (see s 3–7)."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/legislation-fees-act-2019","history":"/api/acts/legislation-fees-act-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/legislation-fees-act-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/legislation-fees-act-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/legislation-fees-act-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/legislation-fees-act-2019/documents"}}