{"id":"tas:act-1973-076","name":"Meteorites Act 1973","slug":"meteorites-act-1973","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"76 of 1973","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110242,"registerId":"tas-act-1973-076-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","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 [Meteorites Act 1973](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1973-076) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 2 Interpretation\n\n> In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –\n> \n> > ***meteorite*** means a natural mass that has fallen to the earth from beyond the atmosphere;\n> \n> > [*\\[Section 2 Amended by No. 40 of 2017, Sched. 4, Applied:14 Feb 2018\\]*](/view/html/inforce/2018-02-14/act-2017-040#JS4@Ja4@GC1@EN) ***the Trustees*** means the Board of Trustees of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery under the [Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Act 2017](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-9999-999) .","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Vesting of meteorites","content":"### 3 Vesting of meteorites\n\n> > (1)  A meteorite which, after the commencement of this Act, is found by any person on any land, is the property of the Crown and the management and control thereof is vested in the Trustees.\n> \n> > (2)  Subject to [subsection (3)](#GS3@Gs3@EN) of this section, the Trustees shall take all steps to preserve a meteorite *in situ* or at some other suitable place.\n> \n> > (3)  The Trustees may allow or make arrangements for scientific or other investigation of a meteorite.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Duties of persons finding meteorites","content":"### 4 Duties of persons finding meteorites\n\n> A person who finds a meteorite –\n> \n> > > (a) shall, as soon as practicable after the finding, give notice of it, to the Trustees; and\n> > \n> > > (b) may recover and deliver the meteorite to the Trustees.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Protection and recovery of meteorites","content":"### 5 Protection and recovery of meteorites\n\n> *\\[Section 5 Amended by No. 43 of 1991, s. 5 and Sched. 1 \\]*No person shall –\n> \n> > > (a) wilfully damage or destroy a meteorite; or\n> > \n> > > (b) except for the purpose of recovering and delivering a meteorite to the Trustees, remove or be in possession of the meteorite.\n> \n> Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Reimbursement of expenses","content":"### 6 Reimbursement of expenses\n\n> > (1)  The Trustees may, in their discretion, refund the amount of any reasonable expense incurred by a person, in –\n> > \n> > > > (a) notifying the Trustees of the finding of a meteorite;\n> > > \n> > > > (b) furnishing information to the Trustees which results in the finding of a meteorite; or\n> > > \n> > > > (c) recovering and delivering a meteorite to them.\n> \n> > (2)  Notwithstanding the provisions of [subsection (1)](#GS6@Gs1@EN) of this section, the Trustees may offer and pay a reward in any of the cases referred to in that subsection.\n> \n> > (3)  Where damage is occasioned to any land in the course of the recovery of a meteorite by or on the authority of the trustees, the trustees shall compensate the owner of the land for that damage and any such compensation is recoverable by action in a court of competent jurisdiction.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing Crown ownership of meteorites and creating a simple administrative scheme for their preservation. The only amendment noted (2017) merely updates the name of the museum board to reflect new legislation, without expanding the Act's substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section ('meteorite' and 'the Trustees')","No cross-references to other Acts except the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Act 2017 (a simple administrative update)","Straightforward conditional structure with no nested exceptions","Six short sections totaling approximately 400 words","Simple offence structure in section 5 with flat penalty (no tiered or aggravated offences)","No delegated legislation or regulation-making powers","Minimal administrative machinery — essentially a property vesting scheme with basic enforcement"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act makes the Tasmanian government (specifically, the \"Crown\") the automatic owner of any meteorite that falls to Earth and is found in Tasmania after 1973. It puts the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery's Board of Trustees in charge of looking after these space rocks.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* **Anyone who finds a meteorite** in Tasmania — they must report it to the Museum Trustees and can hand it over\n* **The Trustees** — they must preserve meteorites and can allow scientific study\n* **Landowners** — they get compensated if meteorite recovery damages their property\n\n**Key rules:**\n\n* **You cannot keep a meteorite you find** — it belongs to the Crown automatically\n* **You must report finds** to the Museum Trustees as soon as practical\n* **Damaging or stealing meteorites is illegal** — fines up to 10 penalty units (a standard fine unit used in Australian law)\n* **You can get your expenses back** — or even a reward — for reporting or recovering meteorites\n* **The Museum decides** where meteorites are kept and who can study them\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law ensures scientifically valuable space material doesn't disappear into private collections. Meteorites are rare geological and astronomical specimens; centralising them with the state museum preserves them for research and public benefit. It's essentially a \"finders-keepers\" law in reverse — the Crown keeps, but finders get reimbursed."},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act has been amended (notably s.2 and s.5), which altered the statutory definition of the trustee body and updated protection wording/penalty provisions. Those amendments change who administers the scheme and some enforcement details, but they do not expand the Act's substantive subject-matter: it remains limited to meteorites found after commencement and vests those meteorites in the Crown (see s.2, s.3, s.5, s.6)."},"complexity_factors":["Specialised subject matter limited to naturally fallen meteorites (defined term in s.2).","Ownership shift from finder/landholder to Crown and vesting of management in a specified trustee body (s.3).","Mandatory duties on finders to notify and optional right to recover, creating modest compliance obligations (s.4).","Criminal prohibition and monetary penalty for interference, requiring enforcement and evidentiary processes (s.5).","Discretionary financial powers for Trustees to refund expenses or pay rewards and a statutory compensation duty to landowners for recovery damage (s.6).","Amendments referenced in the text (s.2 and s.5) that change institutional definitions or wording without expanding technical scope."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act makes any meteorite found on land the property of the Crown and places management and control with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Trustees. Finders must notify the Trustees and may recover and deliver the meteorite. The law prohibits damaging or keeping meteorites except to recover and hand them over, imposes a penalty, allows the Trustees to reimburse or reward finders, and requires them to compensate landowners for damage caused during recovery."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to have remained consistent with its original 1973 intent — vesting ownership of found meteorites in the Tasmanian Crown. Amendments noted in the Table of Amending Instruments are likely administrative updates (e.g., ministerial responsibility changes) rather than substantive expansions or reductions in scope."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow and specific subject matter (meteorites only)","Short Act with limited provisions — Tasmanian legislation of this era typically runs only a few sections","Straightforward Crown ownership concept with minimal exceptions or procedural complexity","No cross-jurisdictional or federal interaction evident","Full operative text not provided, so some uncertainty remains about penalty provisions or administrative mechanisms"],"plain_english_summary":"The Meteorites Act 1973 declares that any meteorite found in Tasmania belongs to the Crown, not the landowner or finder. That means property owners, discoverers, scientists and collectors cannot keep or dispose of meteorites without government authority. The law matters because it lets Tasmania control and preserve meteorites for scientific study and public benefit."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/meteorites-act-1973","history":"/api/acts/meteorites-act-1973/history","analysis":"/api/acts/meteorites-act-1973/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/meteorites-act-1973/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/meteorites-act-1973/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/meteorites-act-1973/documents"}}