{"id":"marine-navigational-aids-act-1973","name":"Marine Navigational Aids Act 1973","slug":"marine-navigational-aids-act-1973","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":74626,"registerId":"wa-marine-navigational-aids-act-1973-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Marine Navigational Aids Act 1973","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nMarine Navigational Aids Act 1973\n\nWestern Australia\n\nMarine Navigational Aids Act 1973\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Interpretation 1\n\n3. Marine navigational aids 1\n\n3A. Fees payable in respect of fishing boats 2\n\n4. Protection from actions 3\n\n5. Offence 4\n\n6. Delegation 4\n\n7. Regulations 5\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 6\n\nUncommenced provisions table 7\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nMarine Navigational Aids Act 1973\n\nAn Act relating to the establishment, maintenance and use of marine navigational aids.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Marine Navigational Aids Act 1973*.\n\n##### 2. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act —\n\nchief executive officer means the chief executive officer of the department;\n\n  department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting the Minister in the administration of this Act;\n\n  marine navigational aid means a lighthouse, light ship, port light, buoy, beacon, signal, or other structure, mark, device or apparatus that is or is intended to be an aid to marine navigation, and includes a radio beacon or an electronic aid;\n\nport authority means a port authority established under the *Port Authorities Act 1999*.\n\n[Section 2 amended: No. 47 of 1993 s. 25; No. 2 of 2019 s. 37.]\n\n##### 3. Marine navigational aids\n\n(1) The chief executive officer, and a port authority in relation to the approaches to a port under its control and management —\n\n(a) may, subject to subsection (1A), establish any marine navigational aid; and\n\n(aa) may enter into an agreement with any person who has established or who proposes to establish a marine navigational aid providing for the transfer from that person of the control of that aid; and\n\n(b) may add to, alter or remove any such aid; and\n\n(c) may alter the character of any such aid; and\n\n(d) shall maintain every such aid under its control.\n\n(1A) The chief executive officer cannot establish a navigational aid within the boundaries of a port under the control and management of a port authority without the agreement of that port authority.\n\n(2) Any marine navigational aid established by the chief executive officer or a port authority before the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been established under this Act.\n\n(3) Where the chief executive officer or a port authority enters into an agreement pursuant to paragraph (aa) of subsection (1) —\n\n(a) any marine navigational aid to which the agreement applies shall be deemed to have been or to be established under this Act; and\n\n(b) provision shall be made in the agreement for the payment from time to time of the expense incurred in the exercise of the powers conferred by paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of that subsection.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 66 of 1977 s. 2; No. 31 of 1980 s. 3; No. 2 of 2019 s. 38.]\n\n##### 3A. Fees payable in respect of fishing boats\n\n(1) Subject to subsection (2), there are payable to the department in respect of every fishing boat fees at such rates as are prescribed in respect of the provision of marine navigational aids outside any port under the control and management of a port authority and the approaches to that port.\n\n(2) Regulations prescribing fees payable under subsection (1) may provide that fishing boats of a specified class, or of specified classes, are exempt from the payment of those fees.\n\n(3) In this section —\n\n  fishing boat means a vessel licensed, or required to be licensed, by or under the *Fish Resources Management Act 1994* or the *Pearling Act 1990*.\n\n[Section 3A inserted: No. 83 of 1978 s. 3; amended: No. 53 of 1994 s. 264; No. 2 of 2019 s. 39.]\n\n##### 4. Protection from actions\n\nNo civil action, claim or demand lies, or shall be commenced or allowed, by or in favour of any person against —\n\n(a) the State;\n\n(b) the Minister or the department;\n\n(c) a port authority;\n\n(d) any officer of the department or a port authority or other person acting in good faith for the purposes of this Act; or\n\n(e) where the control of the marine navigational aid is transferred to the department or a port authority under an agreement entered into pursuant to section 3(1)(aa), a person who is or was the owner, lessee or bailee of the marine navigational aid,\n\nby reason of any act, matter or thing done or omitted to be done in good faith, but whether negligently or otherwise, in relation to, or by reason of any defect in, a marine navigational aid established or deemed to have been established under this Act or maintained under this Act.\n\n[Section 4 amended: No. 30 of 1980 s. 2.]\n\n##### 5. Offence\n\n(1) A person who wilfully or negligently does anything which causes damage to or interferes with the operation of, or the use by a person of, a marine navigational aid established or deemed to have been established under this Act so as to hinder the effective operation, or use, of the aid commits an offence.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $12 000.\n\n(2) In addition to the penalty, a person convicted of an offence against subsection (1) may be ordered to pay the amount of the damage to the marine navigational aid caused by the commission of the offence, or the cost of repairing, replacing or reinstating the aid.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 30 of 1980 s. 3; No. 2 of 2019 s. 40.]\n\n##### 6. Delegation\n\n(1) The chief executive officer may delegate to an officer of the department any power or duty the chief executive officer has under another provision of this Act.\n\n(2) The delegation must be in writing signed by the chief executive officer.\n\n(3) A person to whom a power or duty is delegated under this section cannot delegate that power or duty.\n\n(4) A person exercising or performing a power or duty that has been delegated to the person under this section, is to be taken to do so in accordance with the terms of the delegation unless the contrary is shown.\n\n(5) Nothing in this section limits the ability of the chief executive officer to perform a function through an officer of the department or an agent.\n\n[Section 6 inserted: No. 2 of 2019 s. 41.]\n\n##### 7. 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) Without limiting subsection (1), the regulations may provide for the following —\n\n(a) require a person to report the details of an incident that results in damage to a marine navigational aid;\n\n(b) prohibit a person from attaching or fastening a vessel or any other thing to a marine navigational aid;\n\n(c) require a person, when directed to do so by an inspector or an authorised person, to detach or unfasten a vessel or any other thing attached or fastened to a marine navigational aid;\n\n(d) prohibit a person from using a vessel or any other thing in a way that might damage a marine navigational aid;\n\n(e) provide that contravention of a regulation is an offence and, for an offence against the regulations, provide for a penalty not exceeding a fine of $12 000;\n\n(f) provide that a person convicted of an offence against the regulations may be ordered to pay the amount of the damage to a marine navigational aid caused by the commission of the offence, or the cost of repairing, replacing or reinstating the aid.\n\n[Section 7 inserted: No. 2 of 2019 s. 41.]\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Marine Navigational Aids Act 1973* and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for information about any reprints, see the compilation table. For provisions that have not yet come into operation see the uncommenced provisions table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Marine Navigational Aids Act 1973* | 27 of 1973 | 6 Jun 1973 | 6 Jun 1973 |\n| *Marine Navigational Aids Act Amendment Act 1977* | 66 of 1977 | 28 Nov 1977 | 28 Nov 1977 |\n| *Marine Navigational Aids Act Amendment Act 1978* | 83 of 1978 | 27 Oct 1978 | 1 Jul 1985 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 28 Jun 1985 p. 2292) |\n| *Marine Navigational Aids Amendment Act 1980* | 31 of 1980 | 28 Oct 1980 | 28 Oct 1980 |\n| *Acts Amendment (Department of Transport) Act 1993* Pt. 10 | 47 of 1993 | 20 Dec 1993 | 1 Jan 1994 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 1993 p. 6861) |\n| *Fish Resources Management Act 1994* s. 264 | 53 of 1994 | 2 Nov 1994 | 1 Oct 1995 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 29 Sep 1995 p. 4649) |\n| **Reprint of the *Marine Navigational Aids Act 1973* as at 31 May 2002**   (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Ports Legislation Amendment Act 2019* Pt. 5 | 2 of 2019 | 26 Feb 2019 | 27 Feb 2019 (see s. 2(b)) |\n\n\nUncommenced provisions table\n\nTo view the text of the uncommenced provisions see *Acts as passed* on the WA Legislation website.\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Aquatic Resources Management Act 2016* s. 368 | 53 of 2016 | 29 Nov 2016 | To be proclaimed (see s. 2(b)) |\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\nchief executive officer 2\n\ndepartment 2\n\nfishing boat 3A(3)\n\nmarine navigational aid 2\n\nport authority 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to assess whether the scope changed from original intent — the legislative text was not available for analysis. The page has been removed from the Western Australian legislation website due to a system upgrade."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — the source page returned a 'page not found' error","Cannot assess complexity without access to the actual text","Score of 1 reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the law itself"],"plain_english_summary":"## Marine Navigational Aids Act 1973 (WA)\n\n**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe actual text of this Western Australian law could not be retrieved. The page hosting this legislation has been taken down as part of a website upgrade by the Parliamentary Counsel's Office.\n\n**What we know:**\n- This is a **Western Australian state law** dating from **1973**\n- Based on its title, it likely relates to the regulation of **marine navigational aids** — equipment like lighthouses, buoys, beacons, and markers that help boats and ships navigate safely along the WA coastline and waterways\n- It would typically affect **vessel operators, port authorities, maritime businesses, and coastal landowners**\n\n**To access the actual legislation**, try:\n- The [Western Australian Legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au)\n- Contacting the Parliamentary Counsel's Office directly"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original 1973 Act focused on establishing and maintaining marine navigational aids. Over time, the scope has expanded to include: (1) a specific fee regime for fishing boats added in 1978 (section 3A); (2) detailed delegation powers added in 2019 (section 6); and (3) extensive regulation-making powers including incident reporting and specific prohibitions added in 2019 (section 7). While still fundamentally about navigation aids, the Act now encompasses enforcement mechanisms, cost recovery from specific maritime users, and administrative machinery that weren't in the original conception."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 operative sections plus interpretation section","5 defined terms in section 2, plus 1 additional defined term in section 3A(3)","Simple structure with clear subject matter divisions","Limited cross-referencing (primarily internal references to section 3(1)(aa))","Some conditional logic in section 3(1A) requiring port authority agreement for aids within port boundaries","Standard delegation provisions in section 6 following common template","Regulation-making power in section 7 is broad but lists specific examples rather than leaving entirely open-ended"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law sets up the rules for lighthouses, buoys, beacons and other navigation markers that help ships find their way safely along the coast and into ports.\n\n**Who's in charge:**\n- The **chief executive officer** of the transport department manages navigation aids in open waters\n- **Port authorities** manage aids within their specific port areas\n\n**What they can do:**\n- Build, change, move or remove navigation aids (lighthouses, buoys, radio beacons, electronic aids, etc.)\n- Take over private navigation aids by agreement\n- Maintain all aids under their control\n\n**Who pays:**\n- **Fishing boats** must pay fees for using navigation aids outside port areas (though some classes may be exempt)\n\n**Protections:**\n- The government, port authorities and their officers are protected from being sued for anything done in good faith regarding navigation aids, even if negligent\n- This protection also covers previous owners who transferred control of aids to the government\n\n**Offences:**\n- It's illegal to damage or interfere with navigation aids (maximum fine $12,000)\n- Courts can also order offenders to pay repair costs\n- Regulations can create additional rules (like banning boats from tying up to buoys) with similar penalties\n\n**Delegation:**\n- The chief executive officer can delegate powers to department officers in writing, but those officers can't pass the power on to anyone else."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act’s operational scope has been expanded since enactment. Notable additions include a fee regime for fishing boats (s.3A), explicit inclusion of electronic/radio aids in the definition (s.2), formalised port authority consent for aids inside ports (s.3(1A)), a written delegation regime (s.6), and broader regulation‑making powers covering reporting, attachment prohibitions and additional offences (ss.6–7). These changes increase regulatory, enforcement and cost‑allocation powers and link the Act to other licensing regimes (s.2, s.3A)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑statutory references to other regimes (Port Authorities Act 1999; Fish Resources Management Act 1994; Pearling Act 1990) increase compliance and coordination requirements (see s.2, s.3A).","Port authority consent requirement limits unilateral action by the chief executive officer within port boundaries, creating an inter-agency coordination point (s.3(1A)).","Delegation framework requires written delegations and restricts sub‑delegation, affecting administrative accountability (s.6).","Regulations grant broad discretion to prescribe fees, exemptions, reporting duties, prohibitions and penalties — centralising detailed rule‑making power (s.7, s.3A(2)).","Statutory immunity narrows civil remedies against the State, officials and certain private owners acting in good faith, altering litigation risk allocation (s.4).","Criminal offence and civil restitution powers for damage to aids combine enforcement and cost‑recovery mechanisms, affecting potential sanctions and liabilities (s.5, s.7(f)).","Provision for agreements to transfer control of aids and to allocate maintenance expenses affects private owners’ contractual choices and potential obligations (s.3(1)(aa), s.3(3)(b)).","Expanded definition to explicitly include electronic and radio aids broadens technological scope and regulatory reach (s.2)."],"plain_english_summary":"Establishes who can install, alter and maintain marine navigational aids (lighthouses, buoys, radio/electronic aids) and how those aids can be transferred to or managed by the department or port authorities (see s.3). It authorises fees on fishing boats for aids outside ports (s.3A), creates penalties for damaging or interfering with aids (s.5), limits civil claims against the State and its agents for acts done in good faith (s.4), and gives the executive power to make regulations and delegate functions (ss.6–7)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/marine-navigational-aids-act-1973","history":"/api/acts/marine-navigational-aids-act-1973/history","analysis":"/api/acts/marine-navigational-aids-act-1973/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/marine-navigational-aids-act-1973/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/marine-navigational-aids-act-1973/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/marine-navigational-aids-act-1973/documents"}}