{"id":"nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999","name":"Nuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999","slug":"nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":105843,"registerId":"wa-nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Nuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nNuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999\n\nWestern Australia\n\nNuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Interpretation 1\n\n4. Objects of Act 2\n\n5. Relation to other laws 2\n\n6. Act to bind Crown 3\n\n7. Prohibition against constructing or operating a nuclear waste storage facility 3\n\n7A. Prohibition against transporting nuclear waste 3\n\n8. Liability of officers for offence by body corporate 4\n\n8A. Injunctions 4\n\n9. No public expenditure on storage or disposal of nuclear waste 5\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 6\n\nOther notes 6\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nNuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999\n\nAn Act to prohibit the storage, disposal or transportation in Western Australia of certain nuclear waste, to amend the *Nuclear Activities Regulation Act 1978* and the *Radiation Safety Act 1975* 1, and  for other purposes.\n\n[Long title amended: No. 2 of 2004 s. 4.]\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Nuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999.*\n\n[Section 1 amended: No. 2 of 2004 s. 5.]\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n##### 3. Interpretation\n\n(1) In this Act unless otherwise provided —\n\n  nuclear plant means a nuclear reactor, a radioisotope enrichment plant involved in the enrichment of uranium or plutonium, a nuclear reprocessing plant or a nuclear weapons facility, whether or not it is in a place to which this Act applies;\n\n  nuclear waste means material —\n\n(a) that is or contains a radioactive substance; and\n\n(b) that —\n\n(i) is waste of a nuclear plant; or\n\n(ii) results from the testing, use or decommissioning of nuclear weapons,\n\nwhether or not that material has been conditioned or reprocessed;\n\n  nuclear waste storage facility means any installation for the storage or disposal of any nuclear waste;\n\n  person includes, without limiting the *Interpretation Act 1984*, the Crown in all its capacities;\n\n  public money and statutory authority money have the meanings given to them by section 3 of the *Financial Management Act 2006*;\n\n  radioactive substance has the meaning given to it by section 4 of the *Radiation Safety Act 1975.*\n\n(2) For the purposes of the definition of “nuclear waste”, waste of a nuclear plant does not include waste that results from the use of the products of a nuclear plant.\n\n(3) For the purposes of this Act, a person transports nuclear waste in the State whether or not the origin or destination of the waste is a place to which this Act applies.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 2 of 2004 s. 6; No. 77 of 2006 s. 17.]\n\n##### 4. Objects of Act\n\nThe objects of this Act are to protect the health, welfare and safety of the people of Western Australia and to protect the environment in which they dwell by prohibiting the establishment of a nuclear waste storage facility in this State, the use of any place in this State for the storage or disposal of nuclear waste and the transportation in this State of nuclear waste.\n\n[Section 4 amended: No. 2 of 2004 s. 7.]\n\n##### 5. Relation to other laws\n\n(1) Subject to subsection (2) this Act has effect notwithstanding any other written law.\n\n(2) An authorisation within the meaning of section 41A of the *Radiation Safety Act 1975* that has been granted or effected with the consent of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with that section has effect according to its terms.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 2 of 2004 s. 8.]\n\n##### 6. Act to bind Crown\n\nThis Act shall bind the Crown in right of the State of Western Australia and, so far as the legislative competence of the Parliament of Western Australia extends, in all its other capacities.\n\n##### 7. Prohibition against constructing or operating a nuclear waste storage facility\n\n(1) A person shall not construct or operate a nuclear waste storage facility in the State or use any place in the State for the storage or disposal of nuclear waste.\n\n(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 000.\n\n(3) Subsection (1) does not apply if the construction or operation, or the use of the place —\n\n(i) results from an emergency situation; and\n\n(ii) is for the purpose of preventing danger to human life or health, or irreversible damage to the environment, arising from that situation.\n\n(4) Proceedings for a contravention of subsection (1) are to be dealt with by a court constituted by a magistrate.\n\n[Section 7 amended: No. 2 of 2004 s. 9.]\n\n##### 7A. Prohibition against transporting nuclear waste\n\n(1) A person shall not transport nuclear waste in the State.\n\n(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence.\n\nPenalty: $500 000.\n\n(3) Subsection (1) does not apply if the transport is carried out in an emergency situation to prevent danger to human life or health or irreversible damage to the environment.\n\n(4) Proceedings for a contravention of subsection (1) are to be dealt with by a court constituted by a magistrate.\n\n[Section 7A inserted: No. 2 of 2004 s. 10.]\n\n##### 8. Liability of officers for offence by body corporate\n\n\t\t*The Criminal Code* section 39 (which provides for the criminal liability of officers of a body corporate) applies to an offence under section 7(2) or 7A(2) of this Act.\n\n[Section 8 inserted: No. 9 of 2023 s. 110.]\n\n##### 8A. Injunctions\n\n(1) The Minister may apply to a court for an injunction to prevent a person from doing anything that would involve —\n\n(a) the construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility in the State;\n\n(b) the use of any place in the State for the storage or disposal of nuclear waste;\n\n(c) the transport of nuclear waste in the State,\n\nor that would facilitate or provide assistance in relation to any of those matters.\n\n(2) It is not necessary for the Minister to prove that the act or failure sought to be prevented by the injunction has previously occurred or would, if the injunction were not granted, be likely to occur or continue.\n\n(3) An interim injunction may be granted before final determination of an application under subsection (1).\n\n(4) The court is not to require, as a condition of granting an interim injunction, that an undertaking be given as to damages or costs.\n\n(5) The taking of proceedings against any person for an offence under this Act is not affected by —\n\n(a) the making of an application under subsection (1) for an injunction;\n\n(b) the grant or refusal of an injunction upon an application under subsection (1); or\n\n(c) the rescission, variation, or expiry of an injunction granted upon an application under subsection (1).\n\n[Section 8A inserted: No. 2 of 2004 s. 12.]\n\n##### 9. No public expenditure on storage or disposal of nuclear waste\n\nNo public money or statutory authority money is to be expended or to be granted or advanced to any person —\n\n(a) for the purpose of; or\n\n(b) for the purpose of encouraging or financing any activity associated with,\n\nthe development, construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility in the State or the use of any place in the State for the storage or disposal of nuclear waste.\n\n[Section 9 amended: No. 77 of 2006 s. 17.]\n\n[10. Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).]\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Nuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999* 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.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Nuclear Waste Storage (Prohibition) Act 1999* 2 | 54 of 1999 | 7 Dec 1999 | 7 Dec 1999 (see s. 2) |\n| *Nuclear Waste Storage (Prohibition) Amendment Act 2004* | 2 of 2004 | 1 Apr 2004 | 1 Apr 2004 (see s. 2) |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Nuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999* as at 6 Jan 2006** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Financial Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2006* s. 17 | 77 of 2006 | 21 Dec 2006 | 1 Feb 2007 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 19 Jan 2007 p. 137) |\n| *Directors’ Liability Reform Act 2023* Pt. 3 Div. 43 | 9 of 2023 | 4 Apr 2023 | 5 Apr 2023 (see s. 2(j)) |\n\n\nOther notes\n\n1 The provisions in this Act amending these Acts have been omitted under the *Reprints Act 1984* s. 7(4)(e).\n\n2 Now known as the *Nuclear Waste Storage and Transportation (Prohibition) Act 1999*; short title changed (see note under s. 1).\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\nnuclear plant 3(1)\n\nnuclear waste 3(1)\n\nnuclear waste storage facility 3(1)\n\nperson 3(1)\n\npublic money 3(1)\n\nradioactive substance 3(1)\n\nstatutory authority money 3(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act’s scope has expanded since original inception. The 2004 amendments added a clear prohibition on transporting nuclear waste within the State and inserted Ministerial injunctive powers (now reflected in s7A and s8A). Later amendments updated cross-references and definitions (Financial Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2006) and extended officers’ liability by expressly applying the Criminal Code provision on officer liability (Directors’ Liability Reform Act 2023 reflected in s8). Those changes broadened the Act from a ban on siting and operating storage facilities to a wider statutory regime that also bans transport, restricts public financing, and strengthens enforcement tools."},"complexity_factors":["Relatively short Act (9 operative sections plus definitions and notes)","Seven defined terms in s3(1) (nuclear plant, nuclear waste, nuclear waste storage facility, person, public money, statutory authority money, radioactive substance)","Key cross-references to other statutes: Radiation Safety Act 1975 (definition and s41A authorisations) (s3(1), s5), Financial Management Act 2006 (definitions of public/statutory authority money) (s3(1)), Criminal Code s39 (applied by s8)","Two substantive prohibitions with near-identical structure (construction/operation/use in s7; transport in s7A) including identical penalty quantum ($500,000) and magistrates’ court jurisdiction","Narrow emergency exceptions to both prohibitions (s7(3), s7A(3))","Ministerial injunction power with atypical procedural features (no need to prove prior occurrence or likelihood; interim injunctions; no undertaking as to damages) (s8A)","‘Operates notwithstanding’ clause (s5(1)) with specific carve‑out (s5(2)) increases legal interaction complexity modestly"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanically)\n\n- Prohibits three activities in Western Australia: constructing or operating a nuclear waste storage facility or using any place in WA for storage/disposal of nuclear waste (s7); transporting nuclear waste within WA (s7A); and spending public money or statutory authority money to support the development, construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility or the use of any place in WA for storage or disposal of nuclear waste (s9).\n- Criminal penalties attach to the prohibitions: an individual or entity that breaches the construction/operation or transport bans faces a fine up to $500,000 (s7(2), s7A(2)). Proceedings for those offences are handled in a magistrates’ court (s7(4), s7A(4)).\n- There is a statutory emergency exception for the construction/operation and transport prohibitions if the action is necessary to prevent danger to human life or health or irreversible environmental damage arising from an emergency (s7(3), s7A(3)).\n- The Act applies to the Crown (state) (s6) and generally operates despite other written law, except that certain authorisations under the Radiation Safety Act 1975 that have both Houses’ consent are effective according to their terms (s5).\n- Directors/officers can be held criminally liable for offences by a corporation under the Criminal Code provision applied to this Act (s8 as linked to Criminal Code s39).\n- The Minister may seek injunctive relief to stop or prevent activity that would involve construction/operation, use for storage/disposal, transport, or assistance/facilitation of those things; the court may grant interim injunctions without requiring an undertaking as to damages and the Minister need not prove the act has previously occurred or is likely to occur (s8A).\n\nWho it affects\n\n- Private companies or individuals that might build, own, operate or finance facilities for storage or disposal of nuclear waste in WA (s7, s9).\n- Transporters and logistics operators that would move material that meets the Act’s definition of \"nuclear waste\" through or within WA (s3(1), s3(3), s7A).\n- Statutory authorities and government agencies, because they are barred from using public or statutory authority funds to encourage, finance or carry out such projects (s9) and the Act binds the Crown (s6).\n- Officers and directors of corporate entities, because corporate offending can give rise to personal criminal liability under the Criminal Code provision applied to this Act (s8).\n\nWhy it matters (stated purpose and practical effects)\n\n- The Act’s stated object is to protect public health, welfare, safety and the environment in WA by preventing establishment, use and transport of nuclear waste facilities and movements within the State (s4).\n- Mechanically, the law closes off in-State options for long‑term storage, disposal and transport corridors for material that is or contains a radioactive substance and is waste of a nuclear plant or results from weapons testing/use (see definition of \"nuclear waste\" in s3(1)).\n\nCosts, incentives and trade-offs (mechanisms, not judgment)\n\n- Who pays: offending persons/companies face fines (s7(2), s7A(2)). Taxpayers are prevented from funding or subsidising such projects because public and statutory authority money cannot be spent or granted for them (s9).\n- Who decides: the Minister can seek preventive court orders (s8A); criminal enforcement and fines are determined by courts (magistrates’ court for offences) (s7(4), s7A(4)). Parliament retains an override route for specific Radiation Safety Act authorisations that have both Houses’ consent (s5(2)).\n- Behaviour changes: private actors lose the option to site or operate storage/disposal facilities or to transport nuclear waste within WA; government agencies lose the option to fund or support such activity. Those activities will need to be located, financed or routed outside WA, or avoided entirely.\n- Compliance burden and enforcement: the Act creates criminal exposure for corporations and their officers (s8) and gives the Minister streamlined access to injunctions with reduced procedural hurdles (s8A(2),(3),(4)).\n- Substitution effects and opportunity costs: by forbidding in‑State storage/transport and public financing for those activities, the Act shifts demand for storage, disposal and transport services to other jurisdictions or to different waste-management strategies (e.g. on-site retention, export, or different treatment). That shift has economic consequences for firms that would have offered those services and for industries that generate waste.\n- Risk of concentrated benefits/diffuse costs: the Act creates clear protection for communities in WA against local storage/transport activity; any economic benefits that might have flowed to proponents of local facilities are foreclosed. The law concentrates legal certainty (a ban) in favour of avoiding in‑State facilities; the distribution of costs (higher transport costs, overseas/ interstate handling) is dispersed across waste generators and possibly taxpayers outside the State.\n\nImplementation and legal interactions\n\n- The Act cross‑refers to and relies on definitions and provisions in other laws: it uses the Radiation Safety Act 1975 definition of \"radioactive substance\" (s3(1)) and gives effect notwithstanding other written laws except limited parliamentary‑consented authorisations under the Radiation Safety Act (s5). It also applies the Criminal Code rule on officer liability (s8). Those cross‑references create dependencies in interpretation and enforcement.\n- The emergency exception (s7(3), s7A(3)) is narrow: it applies where the action results from an emergency situation and is necessary to prevent danger to life/health or irreversible environmental damage. Outside that narrow exception the prohibitions are absolute.\n\nKey provisions to look at in the text\n\n- Definitions and territorial reach: definition of \"nuclear waste\" and transport rule (s3(1), s3(3)).\n- Main prohibitions and penalties: construction/use (s7), transport (s7A), and the public money ban (s9).\n- Enforcement tools: criminal liability (s7(2), s7A(2), s8), and Ministerial injunctive power with reduced procedural requirements (s8A).\n\nSource’s stated purpose vs mechanical effect\n\n- The Act states its purpose is protective (health, welfare, environment) (s4). Mechanically, it achieves that by removing the legal ability to site, operate, fund or transport nuclear waste within WA, subject to a narrow emergency exception and to any Radiation Safety Act authorisation that has passed both Houses (s5(2), s7(3), s7A(3)). This creates certainty about what activities are forbidden within WA, and shifts any associated activity (and economic decisions) to outside the State or into other lawful pathways."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative text was available for review. The submission contained only a webpage error message and an Acknowledgement of Country, with no substantive provisions, amendments, or explanatory material to evaluate."},"complexity_factors":["No actual legislative text was provided — only a website error page","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without the substantive content of the Act","Score of 1 reflects the trivial complexity of the content actually submitted, not the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"This appears to be a Western Australian 1999 law that prohibits the storage and transportation of nuclear waste in WA. It would primarily affect businesses, landowners, transport operators and government bodies involved with radioactive materials, and matters because it reflects state control over nuclear activities (potentially clashing with Commonwealth powers). Reliable legal analysis requires the Act’s text."},"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 1999 Act (then called the Nuclear Waste Storage (Prohibition) Act) focused solely on prohibiting storage and disposal facilities. The 2004 amendments significantly expanded scope by adding section 7A, which prohibits the transportation of nuclear waste through WA — effectively turning a storage-focused law into a comprehensive ban on nuclear waste activities including transit. Additionally, section 8A introduced injunction powers, and section 8 (inserted 2023) extended criminal liability to corporate officers. The legislation has grown from a facility-focused prohibition to a broader regime covering transport, corporate accountability, and preventive court orders."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 9 operative sections (plus spent provisions)","Only 7 defined terms in the interpretation section","Simple prohibitory structure: broad ban + single emergency exception","Minimal cross-referencing — only references to the Criminal Code, Radiation Safety Act, and Financial Management Act for definitions","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic beyond the emergency exemption in sections 7(3) and 7A(3)","Straightforward penalty structure (flat $500,000 fine)","Amendments in 2004 and 2023 added discrete new provisions (transport ban, injunctions, directors' liability) without complicating existing architecture"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is a Western Australian law that puts a blanket ban on anything to do with nuclear waste in the state. Specifically, it makes it illegal to:\n\n*   **Build or run** a nuclear waste storage facility\n*   **Store or dispose of** nuclear waste anywhere in WA\n*   **Transport** nuclear waste through WA\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **Everyone** — including individuals, companies, and the government itself (the Crown). No one gets an exemption.\n*   **Company directors and officers** — they can be held personally criminally liable if their company breaks this law.\n*   **Government agencies** — they are banned from spending public money on nuclear waste storage or transport projects.\n\n**Key details:**\n\n*   **Penalties:** Breaking these rules carries a hefty fine — up to **$500,000**.\n*   **Emergency exception:** The only time these bans don't apply is in a genuine emergency where nuclear waste needs to be moved or stored temporarily to save lives or prevent irreversible environmental damage.\n*   **Injunctions:** The Minister can go to court to get an order (called an **injunction** — a court order forcing someone to stop doing something) to block nuclear waste activities before they even happen. The court doesn't need proof that the activity is definitely going to occur.\n*   **Overriding other laws:** This Act trumps other WA laws, unless Parliament has specifically authorised a nuclear activity through a special process under the *Radiation Safety Act 1975*.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law reflects a strong policy stance by Western Australia against becoming a destination for nuclear waste — whether from Australian nuclear facilities or overseas. It effectively closes WA off as a potential site for a national radioactive waste dump and prevents the state from being used as a transport corridor for nuclear waste moving elsewhere. The 2004 amendments strengthened the original 1999 Act by adding the transport ban and injunction powers."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999","history":"/api/acts/nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/nuclear-waste-storage-and-transportation-prohibition-act-1999/documents"}}