{"id":"C2004A03909","name":"Marine Navigation Levy Act 1989","slug":"marine-navigation-levy-act-1989","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"161 of 1989","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":36919,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A03909-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Marine Navigation Levy Act 1989.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.\n  (2) If this Act does not commence within the period of 6 months beginning on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, it commences:\n    (a) if the first day after the end of that period is the first day of a quarter—on that day; or\n    (b) in any other case—on the first day of the quarter next following the end of that period.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 3 Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\n> Collection Act means the Marine Navigation Levy Collection Act 1989.\n\n> ton means a whole ton.\n\n> tonnage, in relation to a ship, means:\n\n    (a) where the net tonnage of the ship has been determined by a method consistent with the provisions of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969—the net tonnage so determined; or\n    (b) in any other case—the net registered tonnage of the ship.\n\n> Note: The text of the Convention is set out in Australian Treaty Series 1982 No. 15 (\\[1982\\] ATS 15). In 2012, the text of a Convention in the Australian Treaty Series was accessible through the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (www.austlii.edu.au).","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 4 Interpretation\n\n  In this Act, expressions have the same meaning as in the Collection Act.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application to Crown","content":"#### 5 Application to Crown\n\n  This Act binds the Crown in right of each of the States, of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Imposition of levy","content":"#### 6 Imposition of levy\n\n  Levy payable in respect of a sea‑going ship in accordance with the Collection Act is imposed.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amount of levy","content":"#### 7 Amount of levy\n\n  (1) Where levy is payable in respect of a ship, the amount of levy is the amount, or the total of the amounts, worked out using whichever of the levy rates apply to the ship.\n  (2) For the purposes of this Act, each of the following rates is a levy rate in relation to a ship:\n    (a) 63 cents, or such other amount (if any) as is from time to time prescribed, for each of the first 5,000 tons of the ship’s tonnage;\n    (b) 53 cents, or such other amount (if any) as is from time to time prescribed, for each ton by which the ship’s tonnage is more than 5,000 tons but not more than 20,000 tons;\n    (c) 43 cents, or such other amount (if any) as is from time to time prescribed, for each ton by which the ship’s tonnage is more than 20,000 tons but not more than 50,000 tons;\n    (d) 33 cents, or such other amount (if any) as is from time to time prescribed, for each ton by which the ship’s tonnage is more than 50,000 tons.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 8 Regulations\n\n  (1) The Governor‑General may make regulations for the purposes of subsection 7(2).\n  (2) The regulations must not prescribe an amount for the purposes of paragraph 7(2)(a), (b), (c) or (d) that increases the amount applicable under that paragraph by more than 15% in any period of 12 consecutive months.","sortOrder":7}],"analysis":{"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"},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to remain within its original intended scope — imposing a levy on sea-going ships using Australian waters to fund marine navigation services. The regulatory power to adjust rates is expressly constrained (15% cap per 12-month period), suggesting the drafters anticipated rate adjustments but not fundamental changes to the levy's structure or purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Tiered rate structure requiring mathematical calculation across multiple tonnage bands","Cross-referencing required with a companion Act (Marine Navigation Levy Collection Act 1989) for key definitions and collection mechanics","Technical definition of 'tonnage' referencing an international treaty (1969 Convention on Tonnage Measurement)","Delegated rate-setting power via regulations introduces potential variability in the operative amounts","Commencement provision with conditional timing based on quarters adds minor procedural complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"The Marine Navigation Levy Act 1989 imposes a usage fee on sea‑going ships using Australian waters to fund navigation services (lighthouses, beacons, aids). It applies to ship owners/operators — including state/territory vessels — and sets a sliding, tonnage‑based rate (larger ships pay more per ton but at lower rates).\n\nRates can be changed by regulation but not increased more than 15% in any 12‑month period; tonnage follows the 1969 international measurement standard."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: imposing a levy on ships to fund marine navigation services. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific revenue-raising function."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (8 sections, approximately 1 page)","Minimal defined terms (only 4 definitions in section 3, plus incorporation by reference to the Collection Act)","Simple tiered calculation formula in section 7 with no exceptions or exemptions","Single cross-reference to the Collection Act for substantive operational details","No conditional logic beyond the commencement provisions and the tiered rate structure","Straightforward regulation-making power with a single quantitative constraint (15% cap)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a tax (called a 'levy') on large ships that use Australian waters. The money collected helps pay for navigation services like lighthouses, buoys, and channel markers that keep maritime traffic safe.\n\n**Who pays:** Owners or operators of sea-going ships (cargo ships, tankers, etc.) based on the ship's size (tonnage).\n\n**How much:** The levy is calculated in tiers—the bigger the ship, the higher the rate per ton, though the rate per ton actually decreases as ships get larger (a regressive structure). Rates range from 63 cents per ton for the first 5,000 tons down to 33 cents per ton for tonnage over 50,000 tons. These amounts can be adjusted by regulation, but increases are capped at 15% per year.\n\n**How it works:** This Act imposes the tax, but the actual collection, payment deadlines, and enforcement rules are in a companion law (the Marine Navigation Levy Collection Act 1989). This is a common legislative technique where one Act creates the tax and another handles the administrative machinery.\n\n**Key features:**\n- **Applies to government too:** Even government-owned ships must pay (it 'binds the Crown').\n- **International standards:** Ship size is measured using international tonnage rules from a 1969 Convention.\n- **Regulation limits:** While the Governor-General can change the rates via regulation, they can't jack them up more than 15% in any 12-month period."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The supplied text sets out a straightforward tonnage‑based levy regime and empowering regulation rules. There is no indication in this text that the Act’s scope departs from that stated objective or has been altered."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-reference to the separate Marine Navigation Levy Collection Act for collection mechanics and liable party details (s4, s6)","Tonnage definition relies on international Convention measurements or net registered tonnage, creating technical measurement dependency (s3)","Tiered, per‑ton rate schedule with four bands requires arithmetic aggregation for mixed‑band ships (s7)","Regulatory discretion to prescribe alternative amounts introduces update mechanics subject to an annual 15% increase cap (s8)","Commencement timing provisions create potential delays and quarter‑based start dates (s2)","Act expressly binds the Crown, affecting intergovernmental payers and exemptions (s5)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a per‑ton levy on sea‑going ships, binding the Crown and collected under the Marine Navigation Levy Collection Act (ss 5–6). Rates are set in four tonnage bands with specified cent amounts or prescribed alternatives (s7). The Governor‑General may make regulations to change prescribed amounts but any increase is capped at 15% in any 12‑month period (s8). Ship owners/operators therefore bear a recurring, tonnage‑based charge that raises operating costs and is administered through the Collection Act (s4–8)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"circular_definition","section":"3 (definition of 'ton')","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A definition that states 'ton means a whole ton' adds no semantic content. It only clarifies that fractional tons are excluded, but fails to specify which measurement system or standard a 'ton' refers to. Given that tonnage measurement is a technically complex field with multiple competing standards (long ton, metric ton, gross ton, net ton), the absence of a substantive definition for the base unit is a significant drafting flaw.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The definition of 'ton' as 'a whole ton' is circularly uninformative. It defines the unit by reference to itself without specifying what a ton actually measures in this context (displacement, gross register, net register, etc.), leaving the fundamental unit of calculation undefined."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"4","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 3 says 'In this Act' certain expressions have specified meanings, while Section 4 says expressions have the same meaning as in the Collection Act. This creates ambiguity about which regime prevails when the same expression appears in both Acts with different or overlapping meanings. The blanket importation in s4 potentially overrides or undermines the specific definitions in s3 without a clear precedence rule.","confidence":0.65,"description":"Section 4 creates a potential circular dependency or bootstrapping problem by importing definitions from the Collection Act, while Section 3 also independently defines key terms. If the Collection Act itself imports meaning back from this Act, or if defined terms in Section 3 conflict with those in the Collection Act, the interpretive hierarchy is unresolvable."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"6","severity":"low","reasoning":"As a taxing statute under constitutional requirements (s55 of the Constitution requires laws imposing taxation to deal only with that imposition), the levy must be imposed by this Act. However, s6 only imposes levy where it is 'payable in accordance with the Collection Act', meaning the actual operative trigger for the levy resides entirely in a different Act. The imposition provision is hollow without the Collection Act, raising questions about whether a valid imposition has actually occurred in this Act at all.","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 6 imposes a levy by declaring 'Levy payable... is imposed' — a tautological and self-referential formulation. It imposes levy on the condition that levy is payable, without itself establishing when or why levy becomes payable, delegating that entirely to the Collection Act. The imposition provision therefore has no independent operative content."},{"type":"other","section":"8(2)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The provision is intended to prevent sharp levy increases, but its one-directional nature means the Governor-General could reduce the rate dramatically in one regulation and then increase by 15% of that new lower base, achieving a net position far below the original rate and rendering the 15% cap meaningless as a protection against volatility or as a revenue floor. The drafting assumes rates only ever trend upward.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The 15% cap on rate increases per 12-month period applies only to increases, not to decreases. Regulations could therefore reduce levy rates to zero and then increase by 15% of near-zero, effectively circumventing the cap by strategically reducing rates first. The cap provides no floor protection and can be gamed."},{"type":"other","section":"7(2)","severity":"low","reasoning":"While tiered rate structures are common and legally sound, combining them with a whole-ton-only definition means vessels near tier boundaries receive dramatically different treatment based on rounding. This is an inherent tension between the continuous nature of physical tonnage measurement and the artificial discretisation imposed by the 'whole ton' definition.","confidence":0.6,"description":"The levy rate structure uses a tiered system but the tiers apply to ranges of tons with decreasing rates, yet the definition of 'ton' as only 'a whole ton' means tonnage figures that are not whole numbers must be truncated. This creates a cliff-edge anomaly where a ship of 4,999.9 tons pays a materially different levy than one of 5,000 tons, but the truncation rule means the calculation basis is artificially discrete in a continuous physical measurement context."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"3 (definition of 'tonnage')","section_b":"3 (definition of 'ton')","confidence":0.78,"description":"'Tonnage' is defined by reference to net tonnage determined under the 1969 International Convention or net registered tonnage, both of which may produce non-integer values. However, 'ton' is defined as a whole ton only. The levy calculation in s7 uses both concepts, creating an irreconcilable tension: the tonnage figure (potentially fractional) must be applied using a rate per ton (whole units only) with no express rounding or truncation rule stated in the Act itself."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"5","section_b":"6","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 5 binds the Crown in right of the States, ACT and NT, but notably does not bind the Commonwealth Crown. Section 6 imposes levy on 'a sea-going ship' with no express exemption for Commonwealth vessels. This creates an ambiguity: Commonwealth-owned vessels are neither expressly bound nor expressly exempt, yet the Act's silence on the Commonwealth Crown combined with the presumption that the Crown is not bound unless expressly stated suggests Commonwealth ships may be unintentionally exempt from levy."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"3 (definition of 'tonnage', paragraph (a))","section_b":"3 (note to 'tonnage' definition)","confidence":0.55,"description":"The definition of tonnage in paragraph (a) refers to the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, as a live operative legal standard. The note states the text was accessible via AustLII 'in 2012', using past tense. This creates a contradiction between the ongoing operative legal reference to the Convention and the note's implication that accessibility was only confirmed at a historical point in time, potentially undermining the ability of regulated parties to access the applicable standard."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"7(2)","section_b":"8(2)","confidence":0.68,"description":"Section 7(2) prescribes specific cent amounts as defaults for each levy tier and allows regulations to prescribe 'such other amount (if any)'. Section 8(2) caps regulatory increases at 15% per 12-month period. However, s8(2) does not specify whether the 15% cap is calculated on the statutory default amounts in s7(2) or on the most recently prescribed regulatory amount. If calculated on the statutory amount, the cap functions differently than if calculated on a compounding regulatory base, creating two plausible and contradictory interpretations of the ceiling."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/marine-navigation-levy-act-1989","history":"/api/acts/marine-navigation-levy-act-1989/history","analysis":"/api/acts/marine-navigation-levy-act-1989/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/marine-navigation-levy-act-1989/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/marine-navigation-levy-act-1989/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/marine-navigation-levy-act-1989/documents"}}