{"id":"C2004A00102","name":"Petroleum and Minerals Authority Act 1973","slug":"petroleum-and-minerals-authority-act-1973","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"43 of 1974","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":2751,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00102-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-29","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Petroleum and Minerals Authority Act 1973","content":"PETROLEUM AND MINERALS AUTHORITY\n\nACT 1973\n\nNo. 43 of 1974\n\nAn Act to establish a Petroleum and Minerals Authority.\n\nBE IT ENACTED by the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia, as follows:—\n\nPART I—PRELIMINARY\n\nShort title.\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the Petroleum and Minerals Authority Act 1973.\n\nCommencement\n\n2. This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.\n\nInterpretation.\n\n3. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\n\n“approved bank” means a bank approved by the Treasurer;\n\n“Australian continental land mass” means so much of the morphological unit of which Australia forms part as comprises Australia and the part of that unit surrounding Australia extending to the outer boundary of the continental shelf, within the meaning of the Convention, adjacent to that coast, that is to say—\n\n(a) subject to paragraph (b), to the foot of the continental rise or, in any place where there is no continental rise, to the foot of the continental slope; and\n\n(b) in any place where the outer boundary of the continental shelf, within the meaning of the Convention, adjacent to the coast of Australia has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, been determined by agreement between Australia and another country—to that boundary,\n\nbut does not include—\n\n(c) Papua New Guinea; or\n\n(d) a part of that morphological unit adjacent to Papua New Guinea declared by Proclamation to be excluded from the Australian continental land mass;\n\n“Authority” means the Petroleum and Minerals Authority established by this Act\n\n  \n\n“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Authority, and includes a person acting as the Chairman of the Authority;\n\n“construction material” means sand, clay, stone, earth or gravel;\n\n“Convention” means the Convention entitled “Convention on the Continental Shelf” signed at Geneva on 29 April 1958;\n\n“Executive Member” means the Executive Member of the Authority, and includes a person acting as the Executive Member of the Authority;\n\n“member” means a member of the Authority, and includes a person acting as a member of the Authority;\n\n“mineral” means a naturally occurring substance or mixture of substances (other than petroleum);\n\n“minerals exploration area” means an area on the Australian continental land mass declared, by a notice under section 43 that is in force, to be a minerals exploration area for the purposes of this Act;\n\n“part-time member” means a member of the Authority appointed to be a part-time member, and includes a person acting as a part time member of the Authority;\n\n“petrochemical” means a substance, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state, but not being a petroleum product, manufactured from any of, or from a mixture of any of, the following sub­stances, that is to say, a petroleum product, petroleum or a petroliferous mineral;\n\n“petroleum” means—\n\n(a) any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state;\n\n(b) any naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state; or\n\n(c) any naturally occurring mixture of a hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state, and one or more of the following, that is to say, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen, helium and carbon dioxide;\n\n“petroleum exploration area” means an area on the Australian con­tinental land mass declared, by a notice under section 43 that is in force, to be a petroleum exploration area for the purposes of this Act;\n\n“petroleum pool” means a naturally occurring accumulation of petroleum;\n\n“petroleum product” means—\n\n(a) any hydrocarbon or mixture of hydrocarbons produced by subjecting petroleum to a process of refining or produced from petroliferous minerals; or\n\n(b) any mixture of a hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons so produced with another substance or other substances;\n\n  \n\n“petroliferous mineral” means any naturally occurring mineral from which any hydrocarbon, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state, may be produced;\n\n“pipeline” means a pipe or system of pipes for conveying petroleum or another substance;\n\n“refined substance ” means a metal or another substance produced in the course of, or as a result of, subjecting to a process or processes of refining a metal or other substance obtained as a result of the treatment of minerals;\n\n“Secretary” means the Secretary to the Department of Minerals and Energy;\n\n“Territory” means an internal Territory.\n\nApplication of Act.\n\n4. The operation of this Act extends to the outer limit of the Australian continental land mass and applies to all persons, including foreigners.\n\nPART II—ESTABLISHMENT, FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE PETROLEUM AND MINERALS AUTHORITY\n\nEstablishment of Authority.\n\n5. There is hereby established an authority by the name of the Petroleum and Minerals Authority.\n\nFunctions of Authority in relation to petroleum,\n\n6. Subject to section 9, the functions of the Authority include the following:—\n\n(a) to explore for petroleum and petroliferous minerals on the Australian continental land mass and elsewhere;\n\n(b) to recover petroleum and petroliferous minerals from the Australian continental land mass or from any other place;\n\n(c) to refine petroleum in Australia or elsewhere;\n\n(d) to manufacture petroleum products and petrochemicals in Australia or elsewhere;\n\n(e) to buy and sell petroleum, petroliferous minerals, petroleum products and petrochemicals, whether in Australia or elsewhere; and\n\n(f) to transport petroleum, petroliferous minerals, petroleum products and petrochemicals on the Australian continental land mass and between Australia and other countries.\n\nFunctions of Authority in relation to minerals.\n\n7. (1) Subject to section 9, the functions of the Authority include the following:—\n\n(a) to explore for minerals on the Australian continental land mass and elsewhere;\n\n(b) to recover minerals from their natural site on the Australian continental land mass or from any other place;\n\n  \n\n(c) to treat minerals for the purpose of extracting metals and other substances in Australia or elsewhere;\n\n(d) to refine metals and other substances obtained as a result of the treatment of minerals in Australia or elsewhere;\n\n(e) to crush, screen or otherwise treat or prepare for sale coal and construction materials in Australia or elsewhere;\n\n(f) to buy and sell minerals, refined substances and manufactured materials and substances, whether in Australia or elsewhere; and\n\n(g) to transport minerals, refined substances and manufactured materials and substances on the Australian continental land mass and between Australia and other countries.\n\n(2) In this section—\n\n“manufactured materials and substances” means materials and substances manufactured from a refined substance;\n\n“minerals” does not include petroliferous minerals.\n\nOther function of Authority.\n\n8. Subject to section 9, the Authority has, in addition to any other functions conferred on it by this Act, the following functions:—\n\n(a) to assist, otherwise than by providing a financial grant or subsidy, persons to carry on, and to co-operate with persons in the carrying on, of any undertaking or operation of a kind within the functions of the Authority under section 6 or 7;\n\n(b) to operate, or make arrangements with a view to the operation of, a scheme designed to ascertain the quantities of petroleum and minerals available for recovery from the Australian conti­nental land mass; and\n\n(c) to co-operate with authorities, organizations and other persons in formulating proposals designed to ensure that the recovery of petroleum and minerals so available is carried on in the best interests of the Australian people having regard to the long term needs of the Australian people.\n\nRestrictions on exercise of functions.\n\n9. (1) Subject to sub-section (2), the Authority may perform the functions conferred on it by sections 6 ,7 and 8 only—\n\n(a) in a Territory;\n\n(b) in relation to the natural resources of any part of the submarine areas of the Australian continental land mass;\n\n(c) for the purpose of, by way of or so as to facilitate trade and commerce with other countries, among the States, between Territories or between a Territory and a State;\n\n(d) for the purpose of ensuring the availability when a state of war, or danger of war, exists, of adequate reserves and supplies of petroleum, petroleum products, petrochemicals, minerals and\n\n  \n\nrefined substances capable of being used for the purpose of the defence of Australia; or\n\n(e) in respect of matters incidental to or related to the performance of its functions in accordance with paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).\n\n(2) Sections 6, 7 and 8 shall be taken to confer on the Authority only functions that may be performed by the Authority in accordance with sub-section (1).\n\nDuties of Authority.\n\n10. (1) In relation to operations by way of exploration for, or recovery of, petroleum or a mineral, it is the duty of the Authority to make thorough preliminary investigations in accordance with generally accepted principles.\n\n(2) The Authority shall perform its functions, in so far as it is reasonably practicable for it to do so, in such a manner as will ensure that adequate quantities of petroleum or of any mineral of a kind ordinarily imported into Australia from another country are available for use in Australia at any time when the exportation of petroleum or minerals of that kind to Australia is restricted or prohibited by the Government of another country.\n\n(3) It is the duty of the Authority—\n\n(a) to ensure that operations carried on by or on behalf of the Authority in a petroleum exploration area in connexion with the exploration of that area for petroleum or the recovery of petroleum from that area are carried on in a proper and workmanlike manner and in accordance with good oil field practice;\n\n(b) to ensure that all operations carried on by or on behalf of the Authority—\n\n(i) in a minerals exploration area in connexion with the exploration of that area for minerals or the recovery of minerals from that area; or\n\n(ii) in connexion with the construction, maintenance or operation of a pipeline,\n\nare carried on in a proper and workmanlike manner;\n\n(c) to ensure that—\n\n(i) all structures, equipment and other property that the Authority brings, or causes to be brought, into a petroleum exploration area or a minerals exploration area are maintained in good condition and repair; and\n\n(b) all structures, equipment and other property in a petroleum exploration area or minerals exploration area belonging to the Authority or under its control that are not used or to be used in that area in connexion with operations by way of exploration for, or recovery of, petroleum or minerals are removed from that area;\n\n  \n\n(d) to secure the safety, health and welfare of persons engaged in operations of the Authority in a petroleum exploration area or minerals exploration area;\n\n(e) to carry on operations by way of exploration for, or recovery of, petroleum or minerals on the submarine areas of the Australian continental land mass in a manner that does not interfere with—\n\n(i) navigation;\n\n(ii) fishing;\n\n(iii) the conservation of the resources of the sea and sea-bed; or\n\n(iv) any operations of another person being lawfully carried on by way of exploration for, recovery of or conveyance of petroleum or minerals or by way of the construction or operation of a pipeline,\n\nto a greater extent than is necessary for the reasonable exercise of the rights and performance of the duties of the Authority; and\n\n(f) to consider, in connexion with the exercise of any of its functions, factors connected with the ecology and the environment.\n\n(4) In particular, and without limiting the generality of sub-section (3), the Authority shall, in carrying on operations connected with exploration for, or the recovery of, petroleum in a petroleum exploration area—\n\n(a) control the flow, and prevent the waste or escape, in that area of petroleum or water;\n\n(b) prevent the escape in that area of any mixture of water or drilling fluid with petroleum or any other matter;\n\n(c) prevent damage to petroleum-bearing strata in any area, whether adjacent to that area or not;\n\n(d) keep separate each petroleum pool discovered in that area; and\n\n(e) prevent water or any other matter entering a petroleum pool through wells in that area, except when required by, and in accordance with, good oil field practice.\n\nGeneral power of authority.\n\n11. The Authority has power to do, in Australia or elsewhere, all things necessary or convenient to be done for or in connexion with, or as incidental to, the performance of its functions under this Act.\n\nParticular power of authority.\n\n12. (1) Without limiting the generality of section 11, the Authority has power, for or in connexion with the performance of its functions—\n\n(a) to purchase land;\n\n(b) to take land on lease;\n\n(c) to take easements over land;\n\n(d) to sell, or otherwise dispose of, land vested in the Authority but not required for the purposes of the Authority;\n\n  \n\n(e) to lease land vested in the Authority the use of which is not for the time being required by the Authority;\n\n(f) to release any easements over land;\n\n(g) to purchase or take on hire plant, machinery, equipment or other goods;\n\n(h) to dispose of plant, machinery, equipment or other goods owned by the Authority but not required by the Authority;\n\n(i) to provide transport, accommodation, provisions, medical treatment, hospital facilities and amenities for officers and employees of the Authority and their families;\n\n(j) subject to sub-section (2), to enter into an agreement, on such terms and conditions as the Authority deems fit, with any person or body for or in relation to the performance of work, the provision of services or the doing of any other thing—\n\n(i) by the Authority for, on behalf of or in association with the person or body; or\n\n(ii) by the person or body for or on behalf of the Authority;\n\n(k) to form, or participate in the formation of, a company;\n\n(l) to subscribe for or otherwise acquire, and dispose of, shares in, or debentures or other securities of, a company;\n\n(m) to enter into an agreement, on such terms and conditions as the Authority deems fit, with any person or body for the use by the Authority of a patent, process or method of performing any work;\n\n(n) to authorize the use of any patent vested in the Authority;\n\n(o) to acquire, upon such terms as the Authority deems fit, an interest in—\n\n(i) a mining undertaking that is being or is to be carried on on the Australian continental land mass or elsewhere by another person or body; or\n\n(ii) any undertaking other than a mining undertaking that is being or is to be carried on in Australia or elsewhere by another person or body and is an undertaking of a kind that the Authority is authorized by this Act to carry on;\n\n(p) to lend moneys, upon such terms and conditions as the Authority deems fit, to a person or body carrying on or intending to carry on—\n\n(i) a mining undertaking on the Australian continental land mass; or\n\n(ii) any other undertaking in Australia of a kind that the Authority is authorized by this Act to carry on,\n\nfor use by the body or person in connexion with that mining undertaking or other undertaking;\n\n  \n\n(q) to underwrite issues of shares in, or debentures or other securities of, a company carrying on, or intending to carry on, an undertaking of a kind referred to in paragraph (p);\n\n(r) to enter into a partnership or arrangement for sharing the risks involved in carrying on operations by way of exploration for, or recovery of, petroleum or minerals, and for sharing the petroleum or minerals recovered in the course of carrying on the operations or the profits derived from carrying on the operations;\n\n(s) to give guarantees; and\n\n(t) to do anything incidental to any of its powers.\n\n(2) Sub-section (1) does not authorize the Authority to enter into an agreement for the Authority to explore for, or recover, a substance, being petroleum or a mineral, for, on behalf of or in association with another person body at any place on the Australian continental land mass unless that person or body is authorized to explore for, or recover, as the case requires, the substance at that place.\n\n(3) The Authority is not authorized by paragraph (1)(q) to under write issues of shares in, or debentures or other securities of, a company or companies the nominal values of which exceed at any time in the aggregate such sum as the Treasurer determines.\n\n(4) The power of the Authority to give guarantees in accordance with paragraph (1)(s) is subject to such limits as the Treasurer determines as to the total amount of moneys (other than interest) the pay­ment of which may at any time be the subject of such guarantees.\n\n(5) In this section “mining undertaking” means an undertaking in the course of which operations by way of—\n\n(a) exploration for petroleum or minerals; or\n\n(b) extraction of petroleum or minerals from its or their natural site, are, or are proposed to be, carried on.\n\nPower to enter land and take levels &c.\n\n13. (1) Where—\n\n(a) the occupier of land has consented in writing to an authorized person entering upon the land, with such assistance as is necessary, for the purpose of exercising the functions of an authorized person under this section; or\n\n(b) a warrant granted under section 50 authorizes an authorized person to enter upon land, with such assistance as is necessary, for the purpose of exercising those functions,\n\nthe authorized person may, with such assistance as is necessary—\n\n(c) enter upon the land; and\n\n(d) exercise on land so entered the functions of an authorized person under this section.\n\n  \n\n(2) Where an authorized person enters upon land in accordance with sub-section (1), he shall, upon demand by the occupier of the land, produce to the occupier an instrument issued by the Authority certifying that he is an authorized person for the purposes of this section and, if the entry is in pursuance of a warrant, that warrant.\n\n(3) A person shall not, without reasonable excuse, obstruct or hinder a person acting in pursuance of sub-section (1).\n\nPenalty: $200.\n\n(4) The functions of an authorized person under this section are, for the purpose of ascertaining the suitability of land for the carrying out of the functions of the Authority—\n\n(a) to inspect the land; and\n\n(b) on land entered by him, to make surveys, take levels, sink bores, dig pits and examine the soil and do other acts necessary for that purpose.\n\n(5) In this section—\n\n(a) “authorized person” means a person appointed in writing by the Authority to be an authorized person for the purposes of this section; and\n\n(b) a reference to land includes a reference to land owned or occupied by a State.\n\nPower to enter and occupy land.\n\n14. (1) Where-\n\n(a) the occupier of land has consented in\n\nthe Authority may, for the purposes of this writing to the Authority entering upon the land and doing an act specified under sub­section (2); or\n\n(b) a warrant granted under section 50 authorizes the Authority to enter upon land and do such an act,\n\nthe Authority may, for the purposes of this Act—\n\n(c) enter upon and occupy the land; and\n\n(d) do that act on and over land so occupied.\n\n(2) The acts referred to in sub-section (1) are—\n\n(a) to construct, build or place any plant, machinery, equipment or goods;\n\n(b) to take sand, clay, stone, earth, gravel, timber, wood or other materials or things;\n\n(c) to make cuttings or excavations;\n\n(d) to dispose of sand, clay, stone, earth, gravel, timber, wood or other materials or things;\n\n(e) to erect workshops, sheds and other buildings;\n\n(f) to make roads; and\n\n(g) to manufacture and work materials of any kind.\n\n  \n\n(3) The Authority may demolish, destroy or remove on or from land occupied by it in pursuance of sub-section (1) any plant, machinery, equipment, goods, workshop, shed, building or road constructed, built, placed or erected on the land in pursuance of that sub-section.\n\n(4) The person shall not, without reasonable excuse, obstruct or hinder the exercise of the powers or rights of the Authority under this section.\n\nPenalty: $200.\n\n(5) Before occupying land in pursuance of a warrant, the Authority shall, upon demand by the occupier of the land, cause the warrant to be produced to the occupier.\n\n(6) In this section, a reference to land includes a reference to land owned or occupied by a State.\n\nAuthority subject to minister.\n\n15. (1) The Authority shall comply with the directions (if any) of the Minister in relation to the performance of a function or the exercise of a power by the Authority under this Act.\n\n(2) Without limiting the application of sub-section (1), where the Minister is satisfied that it is desirable to do so for the purpose of carrying out the policy of the Government of Australia with respect to aid for overseas countries, the Minister may direct the Authority to carry on outside Australia an undertaking or operation of a kind within the functions of the Authority and may give directions to the Authority with respect to the financial or other arrangements in accordance with which the Authority is to carry on the undertaking or operations.\n\n(3) A direction received by the Authority under sub-section (1) or (2) shall be set out in the report of the Authority under section 53 with respect to its operations during the year in which the direction was received.\n\nPART III—CONSTITUTION AND MEETINGS OF THE\n\nAUTHORITY\n\nAuthority to be a body corporate.\n\n16. (1) The Authority—\n\n(a) is a body corporate, with perpetual succession;\n\n(b) shall have a common seal;\n\n(c) may acquire, hold or dispose of real and personal property; and\n\n(d) may sue or be sued in its corporate name.\n\n(2) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Authority affixed to a document and shall presume that it was duly affixed.\n\n  \n\nMembership of Authority.\n\n17. (1) The Authority shall consist of five members, namely—\n\n(a) the Chairman;\n\n(b) the Secretary to the Department of Minerals and Energy;\n\n(c) the Executive Member; and\n\n(d) two other members.\n\n(2) The members other than the Secretary shall be appointed by the Governor-General, the Chairman and the Executive Member being appointed as full-time members and the members referred to in paragraph (1)(d) being appointed as part-time members.\n\n(3) A member other than the Secretary shall be appointed for such period, not exceeding 7 years, as the Governor-General specifies in the instrument of appointment, but is eligible for re-appointment.\n\n(4) The Authority shall be deemed to have been constituted upon the appointment of the Executive Member.\n\n(5) Notwithstanding sub-section 23(3), until the appointment of the part-time members or the expiration of 6 months after the commencement of this Act, whichever first occurs, a meeting of the Authority at which the Secretary and the Executive Member are present shall be deemed to be a valid meeting and the remaining sub-sections of section 23 have effect as if the Secretary were the Chairman.\n\n(6) The performance of the functions or the exercise of the powers of the Authority is not affected by reason of there being a vacancy or vacancies in the membership of the Authority.\n\nRemuneration and allowances.\n\n18. (1) The Chairman and the Executive Member shall be paid remuneration at such respective rates, and annual allowances at such respective rates (if any), as the Parliament fixes, but, until 1 January 1975, those rates of remuneration and the rates (if any) of those allowances, shall be as prescribed.\n\n(2) A part-time member shall be paid remuneration at such rate as the Parliament fixes, but, until 1 January 1975 the rate of that remuneration shall be as prescribed.\n\n(3) A part-time member shall be paid such allowances (not including an annual allowance) as are prescribed.\n\nLeave of absence.\n\n19. The Minister may grant leave of absence to a member other than the Secretary on such terms and conditions as to remuneration or otherwise as the Minister determines.\n\nResignation.\n\n20. The Chairman, the Executive Member or a part-time member may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to the Governor-General.\n\n  \n\nTermination of appointment.\n\n21. (1) The Governor-General may terminate the appointment of the Chairman, the Executive Member or a part-time member for misbehavior or physical or mental incapacity.\n\n(2) If—\n\n(a) the Chairman, the Executive Member or a part-time member becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his creditors or makes an assignment of his remuneration for their benefit;\n\n(b) the Chairman or the Executive Member—\n\n(i) engages in paid employment outside the duties of his office;\n\n(ii) is absent from duty, except on leave of absence granted by the Minister, for 14 consecutive days or for 28 days in any 12 months; or\n\n(iii) in any way, otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members, of an incorporated company consisting of not less than twenty-five persons becomes concerned or interested in a contract entered into by or on behalf of the Authority or participates or claims to participate in the profit of any such contract or any benefit or emolument arising from any such contract; or\n\n(c) a part-time member—\n\n(i) is absent, except on leave granted by the Authority, from three consecutive meetings of the Authority; or\n\n(ii) fails to comply with his obligations under sub-section (3),\n\nthe Governor-General shall terminate the appointment of the member.\n\n(3) A part-time member who is directly or indirectly interested in a contract made or proposed to be made by the Authority, otherwise than as a member, and in common with other members, of an incorporated company consisting of not less than twenty-five persons, shall, as soon as possible after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge, disclose the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Authority.\n\n(4) A disclosure under sub-section (3) shall be recorded in the minutes of the Authority, and the part-time member—\n\n(a) shall not take part after the disclosure in any deliberation or decision of the Authority with respect to the contract; and\n\n(b) shall be disregarded for the purposes of constituting a quorum of the Authority for any such deliberation or decision.\n\n  \n\nActing appointments.\n\n22. (1) Where the Chairman or the Executive Member is, or is expected to be, absent from duty or from Australia or there is a vacancy in the office of Chairman or Executive Member, the Minister may appoint a person to be acting Chairman or acting Executive Member, as the case requires, during the absence or until the filling of the vacancy.\n\n(2) An acting Chairman or an acting Executive Member appointed in the event of the office of Chairman or Executive Member, as the case may be, becoming vacant shall not continue in office after the expiration of 12 months after the occurrence of the vacancy.\n\n(3) If a part-time member is at any time appointed acting Chairman or acting Executive Member, his office shall, during the period of his appointment, be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to be vacant.\n\n(4) Where a part-time member is, or is expected to be, unable (whether on account of illness or otherwise) to attend meetings of the Authority, or there is a vacancy in the office of a part-time member, the Minister may appoint a person to be an acting member during that inability, or until the filling of the vacancy, and the person so appointed has all the powers and functions of a part-time member.\n\n(5) The Minister may—\n\n(a) determine the terms and conditions of appointment of a person appointed under this section; and\n\n(b) at any time terminate such an appointment.\n\n(6) The validity of a decision of the Authority shall not be questioned in any proceedings on a ground arising from the fact that the occasion for the appointment of a person purporting to be appointed under this section had not arisen or that an appointment under this section had ceased to have effect.\n\nMeetings of Authority.\n\n23. (1) The Authority shall hold such meetings as are necessary for the performance of its functions.\n\n(2) A meeting of the Authority may be convened at any time—\n\n(a) by the Chairman; or\n\n(b) if there is a vacancy in the office of Chairman or the Chairman is absent from duty or from Australia—by the Secretary.\n\n(3) At a meeting of the Authority, three members constitute a quorum.\n\n(4) The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Authority at which he is present.\n\n(5) If the Chairman is not present at a meeting of the Authority, the Secretary shall, if present at the meeting, preside at the meeting.\n\n  \n\n(6) If neither the Chairman nor the Secretary is present at a meeting of the Authority, the members present shall elect one of their number to preside at the meeting.\n\n(7) Questions arising at a meeting of the Authority shall be deter­mined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting.\n\n(8) At a meeting of the Authority, the person presiding has a delib­erative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, also has a casting vote.\n\nDelegation by Authority.\n\n24. (1) The Authority may, by instrument under the seal of the Authority, delegate to a member or to an officer or employee of the. Authority, either generally or otherwise as provided in the instrument of delegation, all or any of its powers or functions under this Act, except\n\nthis power of delegation.\n\n(2) The power or function so delegated shall be exercised and performed by the delegate in accordance with the instrument of delegation.\n\n(3) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of a power or the performance of a function by the Authority.\n\n(4) A delegation under this section continues in force notwithstanding a change in the membership of the Authority.\n\nPART IV—STAFF\n\nStaff of authority.\n\n25. (1) Subject to this section, the Authority may appoint such officers and engage such employees as it thinks necessary for the purposes of this Act.\n\n(2) The terms and conditions of employment of persons appointed or engaged under sub-section (1) shall be as determined by the Authority.\n\n(3) In making a determination with respect to the terms and conditions of employment of officers and employees of the Authority who are performing duties that are comparable with the duties performed by officers included in a class of officers of the Australian Public Service, the Authority shall have regard to the terms and conditions of employment of the officers included in that class.\n\nPublic Service Arbitration Act not to apply.\n\n26. The Public Service Arbitration Act 1920-1972 does not apply in relation to the employment of officers or employees of the Authority.\n\n  \n\nPreservation of certain awards.\n\n27. Nothing in this Act prevents the making of an industrial award, order, determination or agreement under any Act (other than the Public Service Arbitration Act 1920-1972) in relation to officers or employees of the Authority or affects the operation of any such award, order, deter­mination or agreement in relation to those officers or employees.\n\nPower of Authority to provide benefits for officers and employees.\n\n28. Subject to section 18, the Authority may pay any allowances, and pay or provide any other benefits (whether of a pecuniary nature or otherwise, including benefits by way of financial or other assistance in connexion with housing, transport, insurance or superannuation) for the Executive Member, or for an officer or employee of the Authority, that, in the opinion of the Authority, are necessary or desirable to assist the Executive Member, officer or employee in, or place him in a position that will facilitate, the performance of his duties or reimburse him for any loss or expenditure incurred by him by reason of, or in the course of, the performance of his duties or that in the opinion of the Authority, having regard to the interests of the Authority, are necessary or desirable for any other reason.\n\nSuperannuation.\n\n29. (1) The Authority is an approved authority for the purposes of the Superannuation Act 1922-1973.\n\n(2) For the purposes of that Act, the Chairman and the Executive Member shall each be taken to be a person who is required to give the whole of his time to the duties of his office.\n\n(3) For the purposes of the application of section 145 of the Superannuation Act 1922-1973, the Chairman and the Executive Member shall be deemed to be employed by the Authority.\n\nOfficers’ Rights Declaration Act.\n\n30. Where the Chairman, the Executive Member or an officer or employee of the Authority was, immediately before his appointment or engagement, an officer of the Australian Public Service or a person to whom that Officers’ Rights Declaration Act 1928-1969 applied—\n\n(a) he retains his existing and accruing rights;\n\n(b) for the purpose of determining those rights, his service under this Act shall be taken into account as if it were service in the Australian Public Service; and\n\n(c) the Officers’ Rights Declaration Act 1928-1969 applies as if this Act and this section had been specified in the Schedule to that Act.\n\n  \n\nPART V—FINANCE\n\nFinancial policy of Authority.\n\n31. In the exercise of its functions, the Authority shall pursue a policy directed towards securing, in each financial year, revenues sufficient—\n\n(a) to meet the expenditure, and provision for expenditure, of the Authority properly chargeable to revenue of that year, including provision in respect of income tax payable by the Authority in relation to that financial year; and\n\n(b) to permit the payment to Australia of a reasonable return on the capital of the Authority.\n\nCapital of Authority.\n\n32. (1) The Treasurer may make available to the Authority, out of moneys appropriated by the Parliament for the purpose, such amounts as are, in the opinion of the Minister, required by the Authority.\n\n(2) The capital of the Authority consists of the amounts made available by the Treasurer to the Authority under sub-section (1) less any amounts of capital repaid by the Authority to Australia.\n\n(3) Interest is not payable to Australia on the capital of the Authority.\n\n(4) The capital of the Authority is repayable to Australia at such times and in such amounts as the Minister, with the concurrence of the Treasurer, determines.\n\n(5) For the purposes of a determination under sub-section (4), the Minister and the Treasurer shall have regard to any advice that the Authority has furnished to the Minister in relation to its financial affairs.\n\nBorrowing by Authority.\n\n33. (1) The Authority may, with the approval of the Treasurer—\n\n(a) borrow moneys from an approved bank, the Australian Industrial Development Corporation or another lender for the purpose of the performance of its functions under this Act; and\n\n(b) give security over any of its assets for the purpose of a borrowing referred to in paragraph (a).\n\n(2) The Treasurer may, out of moneys appropriated by the Parliament for the purposes of this Act, make advances to the Authority of such amounts and on such terms as the Treasurer determines.\n\n(3) The Authority shall not borrow otherwise than in accordance with this section.\n\n(4) The Treasurer may, on behalf of Australia, guarantee the payment of amounts borrowed in accordance with sub-section (1) and the payment of interest on amounts so borrowed.\n\n  \n\nBank accounts.\n\n34. (1) The Authority may open and maintain an account or accounts with an approved bank or approved banks and shall maintain at all times at least one such account.\n\n(2) The Authority shall pay all moneys of the Authority, including moneys borrowed by the Authority, into an account referred to in this section.\n\nApplication of moneys.\n\n35. (1) The moneys of the Authority may be applied by the Authority—\n\n(a) in payment or discharge of the costs, expenses and other obligations of the Authority; and\n\n(b) in payment of remuneration and allowances payable to any person under this Act,\n\nbut not otherwise.\n\n(2) Moneys of the Authority not immediately required for the purposes of the Authority may be invested—\n\n(a) on fixed deposit with an approved bank;\n\n(b) in securities of Australia; or\n\n(c) in any other manner approved by the Treasurer.\n\nProfits of Authority.\n\n36. (1) For the purposes of this Act, the profits of the Authority for a financial year are the amount, if any, remaining after deducting from the revenue received or receivable in respect of that financial year the expenditure, and provision for expenditure, properly chargeable against that revenue, including provision in respect of income tax payable by the Authority in relation to that financial year.\n\n(2) The profits of the Authority for a financial year shall be applied in such manner as the Minister, with the concurrence of the Treasurer, determines.\n\n(3) In making a determination under sub-section (2), regard shall be had to any advice which the Authority has furnished to the Minister in relation to the financial affairs of the Authority.\n\nPurchase and disposal of assets.\n\n37. The Authority shall not, without the approval of the Minister—\n\n(a) acquire any property, right or privilege for a consideration exceeding in amount or value $500,000 or, if a higher amount is prescribed, that higher amount;\n\n(b) dispose of any property, right or privilege where the amount or value of the consideration for the disposal, or the value of the property, right or privilege, exceeds $500,000 or, if a higher amount is prescribed, that higher amount;\n\n(c) enter into a contract for the construction of a building for the Authority, being a contract under which the Authority is to pay an amount exceeding $500,000 or, if a higher amount is prescribed, that higher amount; or\n\n  \n\n(d) enter into a lease of land for a period exceeding 10 years.\n\nProper account to be kept.\n\n38. The Authority shall cause to be kept proper accounts and records of the transactions and affairs of the Authority in accordance with accounting principles generally applied in commercial practice and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorized and that proper control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Authority and over the incurring of liabilities by the Authority.\n\nAccounts were authority assists overseas country.\n\n39. (1) The Authority shall keep a separate account of its receipts\n\nand disbursements in respect of an undertaking or operations carried on in accordance with a direction given under sub-section 15(2).\n\n(2) Where—\n\n(a) the Authority carries on outside Australia an undertaking or operations in pursuance of a direction given under sub-section 15; and\n\n(b) the Authority satisfies the Minister that the undertaking has, or the operations have, while being carried on in accordance with any financial or other arrangements directed by the Minister under that sub-section, been carried on at a loss in any financial year,\n\nthe Authority is entitled to be reimbursed by Australia to the extent of that loss.\n\nAudit.\n\n40. (1) The Auditor-General shall inspect and audit the accounts, and records of financial transactions of the Authority and records relating to assets of, or in the custody of, the Authority and shall forthwith draw the attention of the Minister to any irregularity disclosed by the inspection and audit that is, in the opinion of the Auditor-General, of sufficient importance to justify his doing so.\n\n(2) The Auditor-General may, in his discretion, dispense with all or any part of the detailed inspection and audit of any accounts or records referred to in sub-section (1).\n\n(3) The Auditor-General shall, at least once in each year, report to the Minister the results of the inspection and audit carried out under sub\\-section (1).\n\n(4) The Auditor-General, or an officer authorized by him, is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounts, records, documents and papers of the Authority relating directly or indirectly to the receipt or payment of moneys by the Authority or to the acquisition, receipt, custody or disposal of assets by the Authority.\n\n(5) The Auditor-General, or an officer authorized by him, may make copies of, or take extracts from, any such accounts, records, documents or papers.\n\n  \n\n(6) The Auditor-General, or an officer authorized by him, may require any person to furnish him with such information in the possession of the person or to which the person has access as the Auditor-General or authorized officer considers necessary for the purposes of the functions of the Auditor-General under this Act, and the person shall comply with the requirement.\n\n(7) A person who contravenes sub-section (6) is guilty of an offence punishable, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding $200.\n\nLiability to taxation.\n\n41. (1) The Authority is subject to taxation under the laws of Australia.\n\n(2) Subject to sub-section (3), the Authority is not subject to taxation under a law of a State or of a Territory.\n\n(3) The regulations may provide that sub-section (2) does not apply in relation to taxation under a specified law of a State or Territory.\n\n(4) The Authority is not a public authority for the purpose of paragraph 23(d) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936-1973.\n\nPART VI—MISCELLANEOUS\n\nReports to Minister.\n\n42. The Authority shall—\n\n(a) from time to time inform the Minister concerning the general conduct of its operations; and\n\n(b) furnish to the Minister such information relating to those operations as the Minister requires.\n\nPetroleum exploration areas and minerals exploration areas.\n\n43. (1) The Authority may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare an area of the Australian continental land mass to be a petroleum exploration area or a minerals exploration area for the purposes of this Act and may, from time to time, by notice published in the Gazette, alter the boundaries of such an area.\n\n(2) Before commencing to explore for, or carry on operations for the recovery of—\n\n(a) petroleum in a petroleum exploration area; or\n\n(b) minerals in a minerals exploration area,\n\nthe Authority shall notify in the Gazette its intention to do so.\n\n(3) The Authority shall not commence to explore for, or carry on operations for the recovery of—\n\n(a) petroleum on any land in a petroleum exploration area; or\n\n(b) minerals on any land in a minerals exploration area,\n\nunless the occupier of the land has consented in writing to the Authority entering upon the land, or the Authority has been granted a warrant under section 50 authorizing it to enter upon the land, for the purpose of\n\n  \n\ncommencing so to explore or to carry on those operations, as the case may be.\n\n(4) Sub-section (3) does not apply to or in relation to exploration for, or the carrying on of operations for the recovery of, petroleum or minerals in a submarine area other than a submarine area below waters referred to in section 14 of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973.\n\nPurposes for which Authority may explore or mine for petroleum or minerals.\n\n44. (1) The Authority may declare that it intends to explore for, or carry on operations for the recovery of—\n\n(a) petroleum in a petroleum exploration area; or\n\n(b) minerals in a minerals exploration area,\n\nfor a specified purpose, being a purpose of a kind referred to in paragraph 9(1)(c) or(d).\n\n(2) A declaration under sub-section (1) in respect of a petroleum exploration area or minerals exploration area may be included in a notice in respect of the area under sub-section 43(2) or in a separate notice published in the Gazette.\n\n(3) The Authority may, by notice published in the Gazette, vary or revoke a declaration under sub-section (1).\n\nProperty in petroleum and minerals.\n\n45. (1) Subject to this Act, upon the recovery by the Authority—\n\n(a) of any petroleum from its natural site in a petroleum exploration area; or\n\n(b) of any minerals from their natural site in an exploration area,\n\nthe petroleum becomes, or the minerals become, the property of the Authority.\n\n(2) Where any petroleum becomes, or minerals become, the property of the Authority by virtue of sub-section (1), the Authority is liable to pay to the person (including a State) who was the owner of the petroleum or minerals immediately before it becomes or they become the property of the Authority such fair and reasonable compensation as is determined by agreement between the Authority and the owner or, in the absence of agreement, by action by the owner against the Authority in the Australian Industrial Court.\n\n(3) In an action against the Authority under sub-section (2) by the owner of any petroleum or minerals recovered from its or their natural site in an area, being a petroleum exploration area or a minerals exploration area, as the case may be—\n\n(a) the court may award compensation in the form of a royalty to be paid by the Authority to the owner in respect of any petroleum or minerals, as the case may be, belonging to the owner recovered by the Authority in that area; and\n\n  \n\n(b) the court shall, in assessing compensation, have regard to all the circumstances of the case, including the work done by, or on behalf of, the Authority in exploring for petroleum or minerals, as the case may be, in that area and in extracting petroleum or minerals, as the case may be, from its or their natural site in that area.\n\nApplication of laws to the Authority.\n\n46. Subject to this Act, the Authority is not subject to any requirement, obligation, liability, penalty or disability under a law of Australia, or of a State or Territory, to which Australia is not subject.\n\nAuthority to do as little damage as possible.\n\n47. (1) In the exercise of its powers under this Act, the Authority shall cause as little detriment and inconvenience and do as little damage as possible.\n\n(2) Where the owner of land is injuriously affected by the exercise, in relation to that land, of any of the powers conferred on the Authority by Part II of this Act, compensation shall be paid by the Authority.\n\n(3) Where any land is entered or occupied in pursuance of this Act, the Authority is liable to pay compensation to the owner or occupier of the land, or both, as the case requires, and the compensation so payable shall include compensation in respect of—\n\n(a) damage of a temporary character as well as damage of a permanent character; and\n\n(b) the taking of sand, clay, stone, earth, gravel, timber, wood, materials or other things by the Authority in pursuance of section 14.\n\n(4) Where sand, clay, stone, earth, gravel, timber, wood, materials or other things are taken from land in pursuance of section 14 and are not the property of the owner or occupier of the land, sub-section (3) applies as if a reference to the owner or occupier of the land, or both, included a reference to the owner of the sand, clay, stone, earth, gravel, timber, wood, materials or other things.\n\n(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as excluding or limiting any liability of the Authority apart from this section in respect of a matter in relation to which compensation is not payable under this section.\n\n(6) The provisions of section 19 of the Lands Acquisition Act 1955-1966 apply in relation to the determination of compensation payable by the Authority under this section in like manner as they apply in relation to the determination of compensation payable under that section, except that the references in that section to the Minister and to the Commonwealth shall be read as references to the Authority.\n\n  \n\nAcquisition of land\n\n48. (1) For the purpose of the Lands Acquisition Act 1955-1966, the acquisition of land for the purposes of the Authority under this Act shall be deemed to be the acquisition of land for a public purpose.\n\n(2) In the application of the Lands Acquisition Act 1955-1966 in relation to the acquisition of land for the purposes of the Authority under this Act, a reference in that Act to an interest in relation to land shall be read as including a reference to an easement in favour of the Authority without a dominant tenement, being an easement that confers on the Authority rights in, under, on, over, across or through the land for the purposes of the construction, maintenance and operation of a pipeline under this Act or for any purpose incidental to any of those purposes.\n\n(3) An instrument by virtue of which an interest in land is acquired by the Authority, whether by agreement or by compulsory process, shall not be taken to create an easement in favour of the Authority of a kind referred to in sub-section (2) unless it is expressed to create an easement in favour of, or to transfer an easement to, the Authority.\n\nMarking of route of pipeline.\n\n49. The Authority shall mark, and keep marked, as provided in the regulations, the route of any pipeline constructed by it.\n\nWarrants,\n\n50. Where application is made by the Authority or by a person who is an authorized person within the meaning of section 13, as the case requires, to a Justice of the Peace for a warrant under this section, the Justice of the Peace may—\n\n(a) if he is satisfied, by information on oath or affirmation—\n\n(i) that land comprises or forms part of a petroleum exploration area or minerals exploration area;\n\n(ii) that the Authority has notified in the Gazette its intention to commence to explore for, or carry on operations for the recovery of, petroleum or minerals, as the case requires, in that area;\n\n(iii) that the Authority has resolved to commence to explore for, or carry on operations for the recovery of, petroleum or minerals, as the case requires, on that land; and\n\n(iv) that the occupier of the land has refused to consent, or that it is impracticable to obtain the consent of the occupier of the land within a reasonable time, to the Authority entering upon the land for the purpose of commencing to explore for, or carry on operations for the recovery of, petroleum or minerals, as the case requires, on the land,\n\ngrant a warrant authorizing the Authority to enter upon the land for the purpose of commencing to explore for, or carry on oper­ations for the recovery of, petroleum or minerals, as the case requires, on that land;\n\n  \n\n(b) if he is satisfied, by information on oath or affirmation—\n\n(i) that the occupier of land has refused to consent, or that it is impracticable to obtain the consent of the occupier of land within a reasonable time, to the Authority entering upon, and occupying, the land and doing on land so occupied an act specified in sub-section 14(2); and\n\n(ii) that the doing of that act on the land is reasonably necessary for the purposes of this Act,\n\ngrant a warrant authorizing the Authority to enter upon, and occupy, the land and do that act on land so occupied; or\n\n(c) if he is satisfied, by information on oath or affirmation—\n\n(i) that the occupier of land has refused to consent, or that it is impracticable to obtain the consent of the occupier of land within a reasonable time, to the authorized person entering upon the land with such assistance as is necessary for the purpose of exercising the functions of an authorized person under section 13; and\n\n(ii) that entry upon the land for that purpose is reasonably required for the purposes of this Act,\n\ngrant a warrant authorizing that authorized person to enter upon the land with such assistance as is necessary for the purpose of exercising the functions of an authorized person under that section.\n\nWorks not to be adversely affected.\n\n51. (1) Except as prescribed, a person shall not carry out any work whereby any works, or proposed works, of the Authority, or the use, or the proposed use, of the works of the Authority, is or may be adversely affected or interfered with.\n\n(2) An offence against sub-section (1) may be prosecuted summarily or upon indictment, but an offender is not liable to be punished more than once in respect of the same offence.\n\n(3) An offence against sub-section (1) is punishable—\n\n(a) upon summary conviction—by a fine not exceeding $200 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both; or\n\n(b) upon conviction on indictment—by a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or both.\n\n(4) Where proceedings for an offence against sub-section (1) are brought in a court of summary jurisdiction, the court may commit the defendant for trial or, with the consent of the defendant, determine the proceedings.\n\n  \n\n(5) This section does not prejudice any civil remedy available to the Authority.\n\n(6) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent or affect the operation of a provision in a law of a State prohibiting any acts which are also prohibited by this section.\n\nJurisdiction of courts.\n\n52. (1) Subject to this section—\n\n(a) the several courts of the States are invested with Federal jurisdiction; and\n\n(b) jurisdiction is conferred on the several courts of the Territories, with respect to offences against this Act or the regulations that are com­mitted outside Australia and the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands.\n\n(2) The jurisdiction invested in or conferred on courts by sub-section (1) is invested or conferred within the limits (other than limits having effect by reference to the place at which offences are committed) of their several jurisdictions.\n\n(3) The trial on indictment of an offence against this Act not committed within a State may be held in any State or Territory.\n\n(4) Subject to this Act, the laws of a State or Territory with respect to the arrest and custody of offenders or persons charged with offences and the procedure for—\n\n(a) their summary conviction;\n\n(b) their examination and commitment for trial on indictment;\n\n(c) their trial and conviction on indictment; and\n\n(d) the hearing and determination of appeals arising out of any such trial or conviction or out of any proceedings connected therewith,\n\nand for holding accused persons to bail apply, as far as they are applicable, to a person who is charged in that State or Territory with an offence against this Act or the regulations that was committed outside Australia and the Territories.\n\n(5) Except as provided by this Act, the Judiciary Act 1903-1969 applies in relation to offences against this Act or the regulations.\n\nAnnual report.\n\n53. (1) The Authority shall, as soon as practicable after each 30 June, prepare and furnish to the Minister, for presentation to the Parliament, a report of its operations during the year ended on that date, together with financial statements in respect of that year in such form as the Treasurer approves.\n\n  \n\n(2) Before furnishing financial statements to the Minister, the Authority shall submit them to the Auditor-General, who shall report to the Minister—\n\n(a) whether the statements are based on proper accounts and records;\n\n(b) whether the statements are in agreement with the accounts and records and show fairly the financial transactions and the state of affairs of the Authority;\n\n(c) whether the receipt, expenditure and investment of moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets, by the Authority during the year have been in accordance with this Act; and\n\n(d) as to such other matters arising out of the statements as the Auditor-General considers should be reported to the Minister.\n\n(3) The Minister shall cause the report and financial statements, together with the report of the Auditor-General, to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after their receipt by the Minister.\n\n(4) The first report and financial statements to be prepared and furnished to the Minister by the Authority under this section shall relate to the period commencing on the date of commencement of this Act and ending on 30 June 1974.\n\nRegulations.\n\n54. (1) The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which, by this Act, are required or permitted to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act, and, in particular—\n\n(a) making provision for or in relation to the closing of any pipes forming part of a pipeline of the Authority;\n\n(b) making provision for and in relation to the depositing with the prescribed authority of a State or Territory, for public informa­tion, of plans showing—\n\n(i) the route of any pipe or system of pipes that the Auth­ority proposes to construct in that State or Territory; and\n\n(ii) the site on which the Authority proposes to install any equipment or construct any structures in that State or Territory in relation to such a pipe or system of pipes; and\n\n(c) prescribing penalties, not exceeding a fine of $200 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months, or both, for offences against the regulations.\n\n(2) Without limiting the generality of sub-section (1), the regulations that may be made under that sub-section include regulations making provision with respect to the manner of carrying on the operations of the Authority and for ensuring the safety of those operations and of persons engaged on those operations.\n\n  \n\n(3) The regulations may make provision of a kind referred to in sub\\-section (2) by providing for the application to or in relation to the Authority, with or without modifications, of any provisions of, or of any orders or directions under, a law of Australia or of a State or Territory as in force at a particular time or as in force from time to time.\n\nNOTE\n\nThe Petroleum and Minerals Authority Act 1973 was held by the High Court not to be a valid law of the Commonwealth. See State of Victoria and Another v. Commonwealth of Australia and Another, State of New South Wales and Another v. Commonwealth of Australia and Another, State of Western Australia v. Commonwealth of Australia, and State of Queensland and Another v. Com­monwealth of Australia and Another; 49 A.L.J.R. 243.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears consistent with its original intent as stated in the long title ('An Act to establish a Petroleum and Minerals Authority'). While the Act grants extensive commercial powers (exploration, refining, manufacturing, transport, banking, company formation), these are all ancillary to the core purpose of creating a national resources authority. The breadth reflects the ambitious scope of the original policy rather than scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["21 defined terms in the interpretation section (section 3), including complex geographical definitions like 'Australian continental land mass' that reference international treaties (1958 Geneva Convention)","Nested conditional restrictions on the Authority's functions in section 9, limiting operations to specific constitutional heads of power (Territories, submarine areas, interstate/international trade, defence)","Multiple cross-references to other Acts: Lands Acquisition Act 1955-1966, Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, Superannuation Act 1922-1973, Income Tax Assessment Act 1936-1973, Judiciary Act 1903-1969, Public Service Arbitration Act 1920-1972, and Officers' Rights Declaration Act 1928-1969","Detailed procedural requirements for warrants (section 50) with multiple cumulative conditions that must be satisfied before a Justice of the Peace can grant entry powers","Complex financial arrangements involving capital repayments, borrowing limits, Treasurer approvals, and profit distribution mechanisms (sections 31-37)","Specific exceptions and carve-outs throughout, such as the exclusion of Papua New Guinea from the continental land mass definition and special accounting for overseas aid projects"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation creates a government-owned corporation called the **Petroleum and Minerals Authority** to explore for, extract, and trade Australia's oil, gas, and mineral resources.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Establishes the Authority as a corporate body with powers to:\n  - Explore for and recover petroleum (oil and gas) and minerals across Australia and its continental shelf\n  - Refine petroleum and manufacture petrochemicals\n  - Buy, sell, and transport these resources domestically and internationally\n  - Build pipelines and infrastructure\n  - Form companies, borrow money, and enter commercial partnerships\n\n**Key restrictions:**\n- The Authority can only operate in specific circumstances: in Australian Territories, on submarine (underwater) areas, for international or interstate trade, or for national defence purposes during wartime\n- It must follow environmental and safety standards, including \"good oil field practice\"\n- It must pay compensation to landowners when entering or occupying private land\n\n**Governance:**\n- Five-member board including a full-time Chairman, Executive Member, the Secretary of the Department of Minerals and Energy, and two part-time members\n- Subject to ministerial direction and annual audit\n- Funded by government capital (interest-free loans from Treasury) but expected to operate commercially and return profits\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis was an ambitious attempt to create a national \"oil and mining company\" that could compete with private industry and secure Australia's resource independence. However, the **High Court struck down this Act as unconstitutional** (see cases listed at the end), meaning the Authority was never legally valid. The decision established important limits on the Commonwealth's power to create commercial corporations under the Constitution."},"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":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act was purpose-built from the outset as a broad enabling statute for a Commonwealth resources authority with wide-ranging powers over petroleum and minerals. The scope of the enacted legislation is consistent with its stated original intent — there is no evidence of legislative creep or amendment that expanded it beyond its founding purpose. Indeed, the Act never came into lawful operation at all, having been invalidated by the High Court before it could be amended or expanded."},"complexity_factors":["Approximately 25 defined terms in the interpretation section (s.3), including multi-part definitions of 'petroleum', 'petrochemical', 'Australian continental land mass', and 'petroleum product'","Heavily conditional grants of power in s.9, which restricts all functions in ss.6-8 to specific constitutional heads of power (territories, trade and commerce, defence, submarine areas) — creating a layered conditional structure","Cross-references between sections are pervasive: ss.6, 7, 8 all subject to s.9; s.13 references s.50; s.14 references s.50; s.43 references s.9; s.45 references s.43; s.47 references s.14 and the Lands Acquisition Act; s.53 references s.15","Incorporates or applies multiple external statutes by reference, including the Lands Acquisition Act 1955-1966, Superannuation Act 1922-1973, Officers' Rights Declaration Act 1928-1969, Public Service Arbitration Act 1920-1972, Income Tax Assessment Act 1936-1973, and Judiciary Act 1903-1969","The geographic scope definition ('Australian continental land mass') is itself a complex multi-limb definition referencing an international treaty (the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf) with carve-outs for Papua New Guinea","Dual criminal jurisdiction structure in s.52 with both summary and indictable pathways for offences, including provisions for cross-jurisdictional trials","Nested financial controls: Authority spending above thresholds requires Minister approval (s.37); borrowings require Treasurer approval (s.33); profits distributed as Minister and Treasurer jointly determine (s.36); capital repaid as Minister and Treasurer jointly determine (s.32)","The warrant system in s.50 contains three separate conditional pathways, each with multiple sub-conditions that must be satisfied before a Justice of the Peace may act"],"plain_english_summary":"## Petroleum and Minerals Authority Act 1973\n\n**What this law tried to do**\n\nThis Act attempted to create a federal government body called the **Petroleum and Minerals Authority** — a Commonwealth-owned enterprise with sweeping powers to explore for, extract, process, buy, sell, and transport **oil, gas, and minerals** across Australia and beyond.\n\n> ⚠️ **Critical note:** The High Court of Australia ultimately struck down this entire Act as **constitutionally invalid** — meaning it was never lawfully in force. The Commonwealth lacked the constitutional power to pass it in the form it took. This is one of the most significant legislative failures in Australian history.\n\n---\n\n**Who it was meant to affect**\n\n- **All Australians**, through a government-owned resources body operating in their interests\n- **Private mining and petroleum companies**, who would have competed — and potentially collaborated — with the Authority\n- **State governments**, whose own resource rights and regulatory turf the Act significantly encroached upon\n- **Landowners and occupiers**, who could have had their land entered or taken over (with compensation) for resource operations\n\n---\n\n**What the Authority was supposed to be able to do**\n\nThe Authority would have had extraordinarily broad powers, including to:\n\n- **Explore for and extract** oil, gas, and minerals across the Australian continental landmass and offshore areas\n- **Refine petroleum** and manufacture petroleum products and petrochemicals\n- **Buy and sell** resources domestically and internationally\n- **Build and operate pipelines**\n- **Enter into joint ventures**, acquire shares in private companies, lend money to miners, and underwrite securities\n- **Enter private land** (with consent or a court warrant) to survey, dig, and occupy it for resource purposes\n- **Declare \"exploration areas\"** by Gazette notice, giving the Authority the right to operate there\n\nThe Authority was structured as a **corporate body** (meaning it could own property, sue and be sued, and enter contracts in its own name), governed by a five-member board including a Chairman, Executive Member, and the Secretary of the Department of Minerals and Energy.\n\n---\n\n**Financial arrangements**\n\n- The Commonwealth would have **capitalised** (funded) the Authority through parliamentary appropriations\n- The Authority could **borrow money** with Treasury approval and have those borrowings guaranteed by the Commonwealth\n- It was required to pursue **commercial profitability** — covering its costs and returning a profit to the Commonwealth\n- It was subject to **income tax** but largely exempt from State and Territory taxes\n- The Auditor-General would have overseen its accounts, with annual reports to Parliament\n\n---\n\n**Why it mattered (and matters still)**\n\nThis Act was a bold attempt by the Whitlam Government to establish **direct Commonwealth control over Australia's natural resources** — a significant departure from the established federal-state balance, where States traditionally controlled onshore mining. The High Court's invalidation of the Act is a landmark moment in Australian constitutional law, clarifying the limits of Commonwealth legislative power over natural resources."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"1 (Short title) & NOTE","severity":"high","reasoning":"An Act held to be constitutionally invalid is void ab initio. Every person who purported to exercise a function or power under it, and every person who complied with its obligations, did so under a legal nullity. The Authority itself never validly existed, meaning its 'duties', 'powers', and 'functions' were all meaningless. This is the most fundamental absurdity that infects the entire instrument.","confidence":1,"description":"The Act is titled the 'Petroleum and Minerals Authority Act 1973' but bears the number 'No. 43 of 1974', meaning it was enacted in 1974 — yet the NOTE confirms the High Court struck it down entirely as constitutionally invalid. The Act therefore established an Authority, imposed duties, created offences, and granted powers that were legally void from inception. Every compliance obligation in the Act was retroactively impossible to fulfil lawfully."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"17(4) & 17(1)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 17(1) mandatorily specifies the Authority's composition as five named positions. Section 17(4) deems constitution complete on appointment of just one of those five. These two provisions are logically inconsistent: a body whose prescribed membership is five cannot simultaneously be 'constituted' with one member unless the word 'constituted' is given a meaning divorced from its composition requirement. This creates genuine uncertainty about when the Authority has valid legal existence.","confidence":0.85,"description":"The Authority is deemed constituted upon appointment of the Executive Member alone (s.17(4)), yet s.17(1) provides that the Authority 'shall consist of five members'. An Authority of one member is not an Authority of five members, so the Authority is simultaneously constituted and not constituted."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"17(5) & 23(3) & 23(5)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The interaction of ss.17(5), 23(3) and 23(5) is internally inconsistent. A two-person meeting cannot satisfy a quorum of three except by the deeming fiction in s.17(5), but that same provision deems the Secretary to be the Chairman, which then triggers s.23(5)'s precondition (Chairman not present) to be false, removing the Secretary's basis for presiding under that provision — while simultaneously the deeming provision already grants it. The drafting creates a tangle of overlapping and inconsistent fictions.","confidence":0.75,"description":"Section 17(5) provides that until part-time members are appointed or 6 months elapses, a meeting of just the Secretary and Executive Member is valid, AND that the Secretary shall be treated as if he were the Chairman. However s.23(3) requires a quorum of three members — which two people cannot satisfy — and s.23(5) already separately provides that the Secretary presides when the Chairman is absent. Section 17(5) purports to modify s.23(3) by deeming a two-person meeting valid while simultaneously declaring the Secretary to be the Chairman, making s.23(5) circular: the Secretary presides because he is deemed to be the Chairman, but s.23(5) only applies when the Chairman is NOT present."},{"type":"other","section":"10(3)(c)","severity":"low","reasoning":"The mislabelling of what should be paragraph (c)(ii) as '(b)' is a drafting error that creates genuine ambiguity: does the removal obligation in sub-paragraph '(b)' stand alone as a separate duty at the same level as paragraph (c), or is it properly a sub-obligation within paragraph (c)? This affects the scope of the Authority's duty to remove unused structures.","confidence":0.95,"description":"Section 10(3)(c) contains an internal typographical/logical error: sub-paragraph (i) is properly labelled, but sub-paragraph (ii) is labelled '(b)' instead of '(ii)'. This means the provision literally reads as two competing top-level paragraphs at different levels of the legislative hierarchy, making the grammatical and legal scope of the duty to remove structures unclear."},{"type":"other","section":"14(1)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The text of s.14(1) has clearly suffered a printing or drafting error that renders the provision incoherent on its face. It is impossible to determine with certainty from the enacted text alone what consent was required and in what form. While the legislative intent can be partially reconstructed from context and from s.13(1)(a) by analogy, a person seeking to comply strictly with the section as enacted faces a provision that is literally unreadable.","confidence":0.98,"description":"Section 14(1) contains a clear drafting corruption: the opening text reads 'Where- (a) the occupier of land has consented in the Authority may, for the purposes of this writing to the Authority entering upon the land...' — the clause is syntactically broken, with the words 'the Authority may, for the purposes of this' appearing mid-sentence where they do not belong. The section is grammatically unintelligible as enacted."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"9(1) & 9(2)","severity":"low","reasoning":"The structure is: sections 6-8 grant broad functions; s.9(1) restricts their exercise; s.9(2) then redefines the functions as if they were always limited — this is not merely a restriction but a redefinition that refers back to the restriction. The circularity is mild (the practical effect is intelligible) but it is logically untidy and creates interpretive ambiguity about whether the Authority has broad functions subject to restrictions, or only narrow functions from the outset.","confidence":0.7,"description":"Sections 9(1) and 9(2) form a circular limitation: s.9(2) says ss.6, 7 and 8 confer only functions performable in accordance with s.9(1), while s.9(1) says the Authority 'may perform the functions conferred on it by sections 6, 7 and 8 only' in specified circumstances. The sections mutually define and limit each other — s.9(2) says the functions ARE only those in s.9(1), while s.9(1) speaks of pre-existing functions being restricted. Together they create a circular definition of what functions the Authority actually has."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"31 & 32(3)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 31(b) mandates the Authority orient its policy to earn a 'reasonable return on capital', which is a standard financial concept implying a yield above the cost of funds. Section 32(3) simultaneously confirms no interest is charged on that capital. A 'return on capital' where capital is interest-free is an incoherent concept — the Authority is directed to generate a surplus whose measure (reasonable return) has no defined basis given that the capital has no explicit cost. The obligation is effectively unmeasurable.","confidence":0.8,"description":"Section 31 requires the Authority to pursue a policy of generating revenues sufficient to pay 'a reasonable return on the capital of the Authority', implying capital-like financial obligations. However, s.32(3) expressly provides that 'Interest is not payable to Australia on the capital of the Authority.' If no return in the form of interest is owed, the nature of the 'reasonable return' demanded by s.31(b) is undefined and potentially impossible to compute or satisfy."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"46","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The exemption's scope is defined by reference to the legal position of 'Australia' — itself a shifting and contested concept in intergovernmental immunity law. The provision outsources its own scope to the uncertain body of law governing Commonwealth immunity from State laws, making it impossible for a regulated party or the Authority itself to know with certainty what laws apply. The circularity is that the exemption applies where Australia is not subject to a law, but Australia's immunity is partly defined by the overall legislative scheme of which this Act is itself a part.","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 46 exempts the Authority from 'any requirement, obligation, liability, penalty or disability under a law of Australia... to which Australia is not subject.' This creates a circular and potentially unlimited exemption: because the Commonwealth of Australia is itself not subject to many State laws by virtue of crown immunity and constitutional immunity, this provision could exempt the Authority from virtually all State regulatory law — an extraordinarily broad and self-referential scope determined entirely by reference to Australia's own immunities."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"53(4) & 2","severity":"low","reasoning":"The reporting obligation in s.53(4) presupposes commencement before 30 June 1974. If proclamation occurred after that date, the provision requiring a report for a period ending 30 June 1974 would impose a retroactive and impossible reporting obligation. The High Court ultimately struck down the Act, making this moot, but the drafting created a contingent impossibility.","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 53(4) requires the first annual report to cover the period from commencement of the Act to 30 June 1974. Section 2 provides the Act commences on a Proclamation date. If the Act had not been proclaimed before 30 June 1974, the first reporting period would be zero or negative in length — or the first report would need to be prepared before the Act had commenced, which is impossible."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"51(1)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Criminalising interference with 'proposed works' without any requirement that those proposals be publicly notified, gazetted, or otherwise communicated to affected persons imposes an obligation that cannot be complied with by any reasonably diligent person. Unlike the pipeline marking requirement in s.49 (which at least requires physical demarcation of existing pipelines), there is no mechanism by which third parties can ascertain what the Authority 'proposes' to build in order to avoid interfering with it.","confidence":0.82,"description":"Section 51(1) prohibits interference with 'proposed works' of the Authority — that is, works not yet built. A person cannot practically know what the Authority proposes to build at any given time with sufficient precision to avoid interfering with those unbuilt, unannounced proposals, making compliance with this provision as it applies to proposed works practically impossible."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"17(1)","section_b":"17(4)","confidence":0.88,"description":"Section 17(1) mandates the Authority 'shall consist of five members' (Chairman, Secretary, Executive Member, and two part-time members). Section 17(4) deems the Authority constituted upon appointment of only the Executive Member — a single person. An entity consisting of five members cannot simultaneously be constituted by one."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"31(b)","section_b":"32(3)","confidence":0.8,"description":"Section 31(b) requires the Authority to pursue revenues sufficient to pay 'a reasonable return on the capital of the Authority', implying a financial yield obligation on capital. Section 32(3) states 'Interest is not payable to Australia on the capital of the Authority.' These provisions create contradictory financial obligations: one demands a return on capital, the other negates the primary form such a return would take."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"15(1)","section_b":"11","confidence":0.65,"description":"Section 11 grants the Authority power to 'do all things necessary or convenient' for the performance of its functions — a broad, autonomous power. Section 15(1) requires the Authority to 'comply with the directions (if any) of the Minister in relation to the performance of a function or the exercise of a power'. Where the Minister issues directions that constrain or redirect the Authority's exercise of its general power under s.11, the Authority faces conflicting obligations: it must follow ministerial directions and it must do all things necessary for its functions, which may not align."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"9(1)","section_b":"6, 7, 8","confidence":0.78,"description":"Sections 6, 7 and 8 grant the Authority broad functions expressed without geographic or constitutional limitation (e.g., exploring 'elsewhere', buying and selling 'whether in Australia or elsewhere'). Section 9(1) then restricts exercise of those functions to specific constitutional heads of power — Territories, submarine areas, interstate/overseas trade, defence, and incidental matters. The unrestricted grant in ss.6-8 directly conflicts with the restrictions in s.9(1), creating uncertainty about whether functions beyond s.9(1) categories exist at all."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"26","section_b":"27","confidence":0.6,"description":"Section 26 excludes the Public Service Arbitration Act 1920-1972 from applying to Authority employees, apparently to remove a mechanism for employment dispute resolution. Section 27 then preserves the ability to make industrial awards, orders and agreements under 'any Act (other than the Public Service Arbitration Act)' in relation to those same employees. The result is that s.26 removes one dispute resolution avenue while s.27 preserves others — which is not strictly contradictory, but creates significant uncertainty about which industrial relations framework actually governs Authority staff, particularly where awards made under other Acts intersect with matters typically dealt with under the excluded Act."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"41(1)","section_b":"46","confidence":0.55,"description":"Section 41(1) expressly subjects the Authority to 'taxation under the laws of Australia'. Section 46 exempts the Authority from requirements under laws of Australia to which Australia itself is not subject. To the extent Australia (the Commonwealth) enjoys any immunity from its own taxation laws — a nuanced and contested question — s.46 could be read to partially undo the explicit taxation obligation in s.41(1), creating an internal tension between specific subjection to tax and a general exemption that may encompass tax."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"10(2)","section_b":"15(1)","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 10(2) imposes an independent statutory duty on the Authority to ensure petroleum and minerals are available for import substitution purposes — a mandatory obligation framed as a duty of the Authority. Section 15(1) requires the Authority to comply with Ministerial directions in the exercise of its functions. If the Minister directs the Authority to act in a manner inconsistent with s.10(2)'s stockpiling/availability duty, the Authority faces directly conflicting statutory obligations with no express hierarchy to resolve them."}]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The text establishes a new Authority with an explicit set of powers, duties and limits. The Act itself sets out the scope of the Authority’s functions (exploration, recovery, refining, manufacture, trade and transport), its territorial ambit (to the outer limit of the Australian continental land mass), financial arrangements and land‑use powers (secs 4–12, 31–39, 13–14). The document does not contain historical or comparative material showing a change from an earlier statutory design or original intent, so there is no textual evidence in this instrument that the scope has been changed from a prior legislative intent."},"complexity_factors":["Broad and multi‑faceted scope: combines commercial, regulatory and sovereign powers (exploration, extraction, refining, trade, transport, land acquisition) (secs 6–12, 13–14, 45–48).","Cross‑portfolio controls and approvals: Ministerial directions and Treasurer approvals/limits for capital, borrowing and guarantees create interlocking executive discretion (secs 15, 32–33, 12(3)–(4)).","Detailed property and compulsory‑acquisition mechanics: entry, occupation, warrants, compensation and interaction with the Lands Acquisition Act add procedural complexity (secs 13–14, 45–48, 50).","Financial and commercial mechanisms: ability to form companies, underwrite, lend, borrow and invest requires commercial accounting, auditing and regulatory compliance (secs 12, 31–40).","Statutory exemptions and interactions with other laws: selective application/exemption from other laws and capacity to import external laws via regulation creates legal interaction points (secs 46, 54(3)).","Employment and industrial relations carve‑outs: separate employment regime and non‑application of Public Service Arbitration Act affect HR and industrial complexity (secs 25–29, 26).","Enforcement and criminal provisions: multiple offence provisions and jurisdictional clauses spanning States and Territories add procedural and prosecutorial complexity (secs 51, 52)."],"plain_english_summary":"### What this law does, in plain terms\n\n- Mechanically, the Act creates a new corporate body called the Petroleum and Minerals Authority (the Authority) and gives it a comprehensive set of powers and duties to explore for, extract, process, buy, sell and transport petroleum, petroliferous minerals and other minerals (secs 5–8, 11–12). It also creates governance, staffing, financial and reporting arrangements for that body (Parts III–V, sec 53). The Authority can hold property, form or take stakes in companies, lend and borrow (subject to Treasurer approval), give guarantees (subject to Treasurer limits) and enter commercial contracts (sec 12, 32–34). It has statutory powers to enter and occupy land, to take materials, to mark and build pipelines, and to acquire land under the Lands Acquisition Act (secs 13–14, 48–49). The Authority must pay compensation where its exercise of powers injuriously affects landowners (secs 45(2), 47).\n\n### Who is affected\n\n- The Authority (established by the Act) — it receives operational, commercial and statutory powers and obligations (secs 5–12).\n- Landowners, occupiers and prior owners of petroleum or minerals recovered by the Authority — they are subject to entry, occupation and acquisition powers and are entitled to compensation where the Authority takes or injures property (secs 13–14, 45(2), 47–48).\n- The Australian Government executive — the Treasurer and the Minister have financial and supervisory roles (capital advances, approvals, limits on guarantees, directions to the Authority) (secs 15, 32–34, 36, 37, 12(3)–(4)).\n- Private businesses in petroleum/mineral industries — the Authority can form companies, enter partnerships, underwrite issues and otherwise participate in commercial activity that may overlap with private enterprise (sec 12).\n- Persons and organizations engaged in operations that might be affected by Authority works or pipelines — the Act creates criminal and civil remedies where interference or adverse impact occurs (secs 49–51).\n\n### Why it matters (the Act’s stated objectives and how it pursues them)\n\n- The Act explicitly empowers the Authority to act in ways that the text describes as supporting trade and commerce, and the defence of Australia by ensuring availability of adequate reserves when external supplies are restricted (sec 9(1)(c)–(d); sec 10(2)). It also authorizes the Authority to operate schemes to determine recoverable quantities and to cooperate with other bodies to ensure recovery is carried out \"in the best interests of the Australian people\" (sec 8(b)–(c)). Those are statements of purpose contained in the text (secs 8–10). \n\n- To pursue these purposes, the Act gives the Authority both commercial tools (buy/sell, form companies, lend, underwrite, enter partnerships, borrow with Treasurer approval) and sovereign tools (land-entry and compulsory acquisition powers, exemption from certain laws to which Australia is not subject) (secs 12, 13–14, 33, 46). The Minister may give directions to the Authority and require reporting of directions in the annual report (sec 15, 53).\n\n### Costs, incentives and trade-offs (mechanisms and likely effects on behaviour)\n\n- Who pays: initial and ongoing funding can come from amounts made available by the Treasurer (sec 32), borrowing from approved lenders with Treasurer approval (sec 33), and the Authority’s own revenues (secs 31, 35). Where the Authority incurs losses while carrying out Minister-directed overseas operations, it may be reimbursed by Australia (sec 39(2)). Owners of resources and land receive compensation when the Authority recovers petroleum or minerals (sec 45(2)) or injuriously affects land (sec 47).\n\n- Incentives and competition: the Act authorizes the Authority to engage in commercial activity that could compete with private firms — the Authority may buy and sell products, form companies, subscribe for shares, underwrite issues and enter partnerships (sec 6–7, 12). Those powers create an incentive for the Authority to operate commercially (sec 31 requires revenue sufficient to meet costs and provide a reasonable return on capital), but they are coupled with executive oversight (Ministerial directions, Treasurer approvals and limits) (secs 15, 12(3)–(4), 33).\n\n- Compliance burden and reporting: the Authority must keep proper commercial accounts, submit annual financial statements and reports to the Minister and the Auditor‑General, and make those public to Parliament (secs 38, 53, 40). The Auditor‑General has detailed access and reporting powers (sec 40).\n\n- Bureaucratic discretion and constraints: the Minister may direct the Authority and the direction must be disclosed in the Authority’s annual report (sec 15(1), (3)). The Treasurer controls capital advances, borrowing approvals and limits on guarantees and large asset transactions (secs 32–33, 12(3)–(4), 37). The Authority may delegate many functions but not its power to delegate itself (sec 24).\n\n- Effects on private choice and property rights: the Authority may enter land with consent or by warrant (secs 13–14, 50), occupy land, take materials and construct works subject to compensation rules (secs 14, 47–48). Owners whose resources are recovered are entitled to \"fair and reasonable\" compensation by agreement or by action in the Australian Industrial Court (sec 45(2)–(3)). Those mechanisms substitute statutory processes for private bargain in some circumstances.\n\n- Environmental, safety and operational limits: the Authority has duties to follow good oil‑field and mining practice, to secure the safety, health and welfare of workers, and to consider ecological and environmental factors (sec 10(1), (3), (4)). The regulations may further prescribe safety and operational rules and can apply existing law to the Authority with or without modification (sec 54(1)–(3)).\n\n### Concentrated benefits, diffuse costs and risk of substitution\n\n- Concentrated benefits: the Authority itself, its commercial partners and financiers may receive concentrated commercial upside from successful exploration and development because the Act permits direct commercial participation and financial engineering (sec 12).\n\n- Diffuse costs: the Act creates possible fiscal exposure for the Commonwealth (capital advances, reimbursement of losses for Minister‑directed overseas operations, guarantees on borrowings) (secs 32, 33, 39). Compensation and land‑use impacts fall on individual landowners and prior resource owners (secs 45–48).\n\n- Substitution effects and capture risk: by authorizing the Authority to form companies, underwrite securities and enter commercial markets, the Act provides routes by which government activity can substitute for private activity; oversight is placed with the Minister and the Treasurer (secs 12, 15, 32–33). The text builds in some financial constraints (Treasurer approvals and limits) but grants broad commercial discretion to the Authority (secs 12(1)(j)–(s), 24).\n\n### Implementation risks and administrative burden\n\n- The Authority requires detailed administrative systems (accounting, auditing, property management, compensation procedures, staff employment terms outside standard Public Service arbitration) (secs 25–29, 38–40). The Act expressly excludes the Public Service Arbitration Act from applying to Authority employees (sec 26), which changes how industrial relations are handled.\n\n- The Act interacts with multiple existing statutes (Lands Acquisition Act, Superannuation Act, Income Tax law, Seas and Submerged Lands Act for some submarine areas), so practical implementation requires coordination across legal regimes (secs 29, 46, 48, 43(4)).\n\n### What decisions change as a result of the Act\n\n- The Authority (a new body corporate) decides to explore, extract, process, transport and trade in petroleum and minerals within the statutory limits (secs 5–9, 11–12).\n- The Minister and the Treasurer decide whether to direct the Authority, provide capital or guarantees, and set financial limits for major transactions (secs 15, 32–33, 12(3)–(4), 37).\n- Landowners and prior owners face statutory procedures (consent, warrants, compensation, acquisition) instead of purely private negotiation for access to and recovery of resources (secs 13–14, 45–48).\n\n### Key sections to consult for practical detail\n\n- Establishment and core functions: secs 5–9, 11–12\n- Land entry, occupation and warrants: secs 13–14, 50\n- Compensation and acquisition: secs 45–48\n- Finance, borrowing and Treasurer control: secs 31–37\n- Ministerial control and reporting: secs 15, 53\n- Duties on operations, safety and environment: sec 10\n- Regulatory scope and offences: secs 51, 54\n\n(Section references are to provisions in the Act text.)"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/petroleum-and-minerals-authority-act-1973","history":"/api/acts/petroleum-and-minerals-authority-act-1973/history","analysis":"/api/acts/petroleum-and-minerals-authority-act-1973/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/petroleum-and-minerals-authority-act-1973/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/petroleum-and-minerals-authority-act-1973/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/petroleum-and-minerals-authority-act-1973/documents"}}