{"id":"C2021A00122","name":"Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Regulatory Levies) Act 2021","slug":"offshore-electricity-infrastructure-regulatory-levies-act-2021","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"122 of 2021","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":436351,"registerId":"C2021A00122-fast-fetch-1775953576781","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Regulatory Levies) Act 2021","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nOffshore Electricity Infrastructure (Regulatory Levies) Act 2021\n\n \n\nNo. 122, 2021\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose offshore electricity infrastructure levy, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Act to bind Crown\n\n4 Act does not impose levy on property of a State\n\n5 Extension to external Territories\n\n6 Extra‑territorial application\n\n7 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Imposition and amount of levy\n\n8 Imposition of levy\n\n9 Amount of levy\n\nPart 3—Regulations\n\n10 Regulations\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.002.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nOffshore Electricity Infrastructure (Regulatory Levies) Act 2021\n\nNo. 122, 2021\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose offshore electricity infrastructure levy, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 2 December 2021]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act is the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Regulatory Levies) Act 2021.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this Act At the same time as the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 commences. 2 June 2022\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n3  Act to bind 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. However, it does not bind the Crown in right of the Commonwealth.\n\n4  Act does not impose levy on property of a State\n\n (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.\n\n (2) In this section, property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.\n\n5  Extension to external Territories\n\n  This Act extends to the following external Territories:\n\n (a) Norfolk Island;\n\n (b) the Territory of Christmas Island;\n\n (c) the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands;\n\n (d) the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands;\n\n (e) the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands;\n\n (f) the Coral Sea Islands Territory.\n\n6  Extra‑territorial application\n\n  This Act extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia.\n\n7  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\noffshore electricity infrastructure levy means levy imposed by section 8.\n\noffshore electricity infrastructure licence holder means a person who is the holder of a licence (within the meaning of the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021).\n\noffshore infrastructure activity has the same meaning as in the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021.\n\nRegistrar has the same meaning as in the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021.\n\nRegulator has the same meaning as in the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021.\n\nPart 2—Imposition and amount of levy\n\n \n\n8  Imposition of levy\n\n (1) Offshore electricity infrastructure levy is imposed on a person:\n\n (a) who is an offshore electricity infrastructure licence holder; or\n\n (b) who engages in an offshore infrastructure activity of a kind prescribed by the regulations.\n\n (2) The regulations may prescribe different kinds of offshore electricity infrastructure levy that are imposed on a person who is an offshore electricity infrastructure licence holder.\n\n (3) Without limiting subsection (2), an offshore electricity infrastructure levy imposed on a person who is an offshore electricity infrastructure licence holder may relate to:\n\n (a) a period during which the person holds the licence; or\n\n (b) a regulatory or compliance activity undertaken by the Commonwealth, the Regulator or Registrar that relates to the licence.\n\n9  Amount of levy\n\n  The amount of offshore electricity infrastructure levy is the amount:\n\n (a) prescribed by the regulations; or\n\n (b) worked out in accordance with a method prescribed by the regulations.\n\nPart 3—Regulations\n\n \n\n10  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 2 September 2021\n\nSenate on 22 November 2021]\n\n \n\n(122/21)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act, as presented, is narrowly focused on creating a statutory head of power for levies related to offshore electricity infrastructure. It does not broaden its subject-matter beyond that original, limited purpose: it establishes who may be liable (licence‑holders and prescribed participants), delegates details to regulations, and links key terms to the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021. There is no indication in the text provided that the Act has grown beyond that core purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short length: 10 sections (concise primary statute)","Low number of defined terms in this Act (5 explicit definitions in s 7), but key terms are defined in the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021","High reliance on delegated legislation: regulations determine levy types, amounts and calculation methods (ss 8(2)–(3), 9, 10)","Cross‑reference complexity: substantive meaning of 'licence', 'offshore infrastructure activity', 'Regulator' and 'Registrar' depends on another Act","Conditionality: regulations may prescribe different kinds of levies and methods (creates branching outcomes depending on regulation design)","Constitutional/sovereign nuances: different treatment of State property, binding of Crown in State vs Commonwealth (ss 3–4)","Extra‑territorial and external Territories application which can raise jurisdictional questions (ss 5–6)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law lets the Commonwealth impose levies on holders of offshore electricity infrastructure licences and on persons who carry out prescribed offshore infrastructure activities, with regulations to set levy types, amounts and calculation methods. Designed as a cost‑recovery tool, it shifts regulatory and compliance costs onto licence‑holders and prescribed participants (and potentially their customers), creates administrative burdens for regulators, and extends to external territories while not taxing State property or binding the Commonwealth Crown."},"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":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose as a levy-imposing mechanism. It does not expand beyond collecting fees to fund regulatory oversight of offshore electricity infrastructure. The delegation of substantive details to regulations is intentional and typical for charging statutes, not scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short statute — only 10 sections across 3 Parts","Minimal defined terms (only 5 definitions in section 7, all referencing another Act)","Heavy reliance on delegated legislation — actual levy amounts, calculation methods, and prescribed activities are all left to regulations not contained in the Act itself","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic; straightforward imposition structure","Simple cross-referencing pattern — consistently refers to the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 for substantive definitions","Standard preliminary provisions (Crown binding, constitutional protection for States, territorial application) that follow common templates"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a **charging system** for companies that want to build or operate electricity infrastructure in Australia's offshore waters — things like offshore wind farms, undersea cables, or other energy projects in the ocean.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Imposes a levy** (a type of fee or tax) on two groups:\n  - Companies that hold official licences for offshore electricity projects\n  - Companies doing certain offshore energy activities that the government specifies in regulations (rules made later)\n- The money raised helps pay for the **regulatory oversight** of these projects — essentially, the cost of having government bodies monitor safety, compliance, and environmental standards.\n\n**How the amount is set:**\n- The law itself doesn't specify dollar amounts. Instead, it says the **regulations** (secondary rules made by the government) will set the actual fees or the formula for calculating them.\n- Different types of levies can be created for different situations — for example, annual fees based on how long you hold a licence, or specific charges for particular compliance activities.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Energy companies developing offshore wind, wave, or other renewable energy projects\n- Any business doing prescribed offshore infrastructure activities\n- The **Regulator** and **Registrar** (government officials who oversee these projects under a related law, the *Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021*)\n\n**Key limitations:**\n- **Doesn't apply to Commonwealth property** (federal government assets are exempt)\n- **Can't tax State property** — this protects state governments from being charged under this law\n- **Applies beyond Australia's borders** — it covers activities and entities outside Australia if they're connected to these offshore projects\n- **Covers external territories** like Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, and others\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is the **funding mechanism** that makes the broader offshore electricity regime work. Without these levies, taxpayers would foot the bill for regulating major offshore energy projects. Instead, the companies benefiting from Australia's offshore resources pay their share of oversight costs."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/offshore-electricity-infrastructure-regulatory-levies-act-2021","history":"/api/acts/offshore-electricity-infrastructure-regulatory-levies-act-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/offshore-electricity-infrastructure-regulatory-levies-act-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/offshore-electricity-infrastructure-regulatory-levies-act-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/offshore-electricity-infrastructure-regulatory-levies-act-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/offshore-electricity-infrastructure-regulatory-levies-act-2021/documents"}}