{"id":"C1972A00133","name":"Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy Collection) Act 1972","slug":"pollution-of-the-sea-by-oil-shipping-levy-collection-act-1972","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"133 of 1972","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":2517,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1972A00133-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-29","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy Collection) Act 1972","content":"Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy Collection)\n\nNo. 133 of 1972\n\nAn Act relating to the Levy imposed in respect of certain Ships in Australian ports with Oil on board.\n\n\\[Assented to 2 November 1972\\]\n\nBE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—\n\nShort title.\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy Collection) Act 1972.\n\nCommencement.\n\n2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which the Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy) Act 1972 comes into operation.\n\nDefinitions.\n\n3. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\n\n“Australian port” means a place in Australia that is a port for the purposes of the Customs Act 1901-1971;\n\n“Collector” means a person who is a Collector for the purposes of the Lighthouses Act 1911-1972;\n\n“foreign-going ship” means a ship employed in trading or going between a place or places in Australia and a place or places outside Australia;\n\n“levy” means levy imposed by the Levy Act;\n\n“light dues” means light dues payable in accordance with regulations under the Lighthouses Act 1911-1972;\n\n“oil” means crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil or lubricating oil;\n\n“oil in bulk” means oil in bunkers or tanks, or in bunkers and tanks;\n\n“quarter” means a period of three months commencing on the first day of January, the first day of April, the first day of July or the first day of October in any year;\n\n“ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation not ordinarily propelled by oars only;\n\n“the Levy Act” means the Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy) Act 1972;\n\n“tonnage”, in relation to a ship, means the net registered tonnage of the ship.\n\n  \n\nExemption in respect of ship in an Australian port by reason of an emergency, &c.\n\n4. Levy is not payable in respect of a ship for a quarter if, at no time during the quarter, was the ship in an Australian port except for the purpose, in the course of a voyage—\n\n(a) of taking on board water, provisions or fuel to be used by the ship for completing the voyage;\n\n(b) of engaging or discharging a member of the crew;\n\n(c) of disembarking a passenger or a member of the crew for urgent medical treatment; or\n\n(d) of sheltering or undergoing repairs.\n\nForeign-going ships—exempt periods.\n\n5.—(1.) In the application of this Act and the Levy Act in relation to a foreign-going ship in respect of a quarter, regard shall not be had to a time when the ship was in an Australian port during the period, if any, that, in accordance with the next succeeding sub-section, is the exempt period in relation to the ship for the quarter.\n\n(2.) Where levy is payable in respect of a foreign-going ship for a quarter, the exempt period in relation to the ship for the next succeeding quarter is so much of that succeeding quarter as occurs before the expiration of a period of three months from the earliest time during the first-mentioned quarter when the ship was in an Australian port, other than a time by reference to which levy was not payable in respect of the ship for that quarter.\n\nTime for payment of levy.\n\n6. Levy in respect of a ship for a quarter becomes due for payment upon the expiration of the quarter.\n\nPayments on account of levy.\n\n7.—(1.) Subject to sub-section (5.) of this section, there is payable on the first day of a quarter, on account of levy that may become payable for that quarter in respect of a ship, not being a foreign-going ship but being a ship to which the Levy Act applies, an amount equal to the amount of levy that may become so payable.\n\n(2.) Subject to sub-section (5.) of this section, where—\n\n(a) on any day in a quarter, light dues become payable in respect of a foreign-going ship, being a ship to which the Levy Act applies; and\n\n(b) an amount has not previously become payable under this section on account of levy that may become payable in respect of the ship for that quarter,\n\nthere is payable on that day, on account of levy that may become so payable, an amount equal to the amount of levy that may become so payable.\n\n(3.) Where—\n\n(a) a foreign-going ship, being a ship to which the Levy Act applies, is in an Australian port at any time during a quarter; and\n\n  \n\n(b) an amount has not previously become payable under this section on account of levy that may become payable in respect of the ship for that quarter,\n\na Collector may, by notice served on the master of the ship in such manner as is prescribed, require an amount to be paid on account of levy that may become so payable and, subject to sub-section (5.) of this section, there is payable, within such period as is specified in the notice, on account of levy that may become so payable, an amount equal to the amount of levy that may become so payable.\n\n(4.) Where an amount is paid to the Commonwealth under this section on account of levy that may become payable in respect of a ship for a quarter, the amount so paid—\n\n(a) shall, if levy becomes payable in respect of the ship for the quarter, be deemed to be payment of the levy; or\n\n(b) shall, if levy does not become so payable, be repaid to the master or owner of the ship.\n\n(5.) An amount is not payable under this section on account of levy in respect of a ship for a quarter if the owner or master of the ship satisfies a Collector that levy is not, and is not likely to become, payable in respect of the ship for that quarter.\n\nPersons liable to pay levy and amounts on account of levy.\n\n8. The owner and master of a ship are jointly and severally liable to pay levy that is payable in respect of the ship or an amount that, under the last preceding section, is payable on account of levy that may become payable in respect of the ship.\n\nRecovery of levy and amounts on account of levy.\n\n9.—(1.) Levy, when it becomes due for payment, or an amount that, under section 7 of this Act, is payable on account of levy, is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the person or persons by whom the levy or the amount is payable.\n\n(2.) In proceedings to recover levy in respect of a ship for a quarter, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is established by the defendant—\n\n(a) that, at all times when the ship was in an Australian port or Australian ports during the quarter, there was on board the ship a quantity of oil in bulk weighing not less than ten tons; and\n\n(b) that, at no time during the quarter, was the ship in an Australian port, in the course of a voyage, only for a purpose specified in section 4 of this Act.\n\nEnforcement of levy by distress, and detention of ships.\n\n10.—(1.) If levy due for payment in respect of a ship is not paid, a Collector may, without prejudice to any other remedy for the recovery of the levy, enter upon the ship and distrain the goods or equipment belonging to or on board the ship, and detain them until the levy is paid.\n\n  \n\n(2.) If payment of the levy is not made within the period of three days next following the distress, a Collector may, at any time during the continuance of the non-payment, sell the goods distrained, and apply the proceeds in payment of the levy payable and of all reasonable expenses incurred by him under this section, and shall, on demand, pay the surplus, if any, to the owner or master of the ship.\n\n(3.) A ship in respect of which levy is due for payment may be detained by a Collector until the levy is paid.\n\n(4.) A reference in this section to levy due for payment in respect of a ship shall be read as including a reference to an amount that, under section 7 of this Act, is payable on account of levy that may become payable in respect of a ship.\n\nRegulations.\n\n11. 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, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act, and in particular prescribing penalties not exceeding One hundred dollars for offences against the regulations.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act has a tightly defined and consistent purpose: it is purely a collection and enforcement mechanism for the levy imposed under the companion Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy) Act 1972. Every provision — exemptions, payment timing, advance payments, enforcement, and regulations — directly serves that single purpose. There is no evidence that the scope has drifted beyond its original intent. The Act is narrow by design."},"complexity_factors":["11 defined terms in the definitions section, several cross-referencing external Acts (Customs Act 1901-1971, Lighthouses Act 1911-1972, and the companion Levy Act)","Conditional logic in section 5 (foreign-going ships exempt periods) requires tracking time windows across consecutive quarters — this is the most complex provision","Section 7 has five subsections with layered conditions governing when advance payments are triggered across three different scenarios (non-foreign ships, foreign ships via light dues, and Collector-initiated demands)","Multiple cross-references between sections (e.g. s.7 referenced in ss.8, 9, 10; s.4 referenced in s.9)","Rebuttable presumptions in section 9(2) add a procedural legal layer that non-lawyers would find difficult to navigate","Enforcement mechanisms span three different remedies (debt recovery, distress/seizure, ship detention) requiring readers to understand how they interact","Dependence on an external companion Act (the Levy Act) for the levy amount itself, meaning this Act cannot be fully understood in isolation"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act sets out how a mandatory levy on ships carrying oil in bulk visiting Australian ports is collected — who must pay, when it’s due, and enforcement if unpaid. It affects ship owners and masters and the government Collectors who enforce payment, including powers to seize goods, detain ships, and recover debts. It supports Australia’s efforts to fund and enforce measures against oil pollution from shipping."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Section 7(1)","severity":"high","reasoning":"Section 7(1) requires payment on the first day of a quarter of an amount equal to the levy that 'may become payable' for that quarter. However, the levy is calculated based on whether the ship was in an Australian port during the quarter with oil in bulk on board — facts that only crystallise over the course of the entire quarter. On day one, it is literally impossible to know what the levy will be, because the triggering conditions haven't yet occurred. The Act requires an exact payment of an amount whose quantum depends on future events that haven't happened yet.","confidence":0.88,"description":"Payment on account of levy is due on the first day of a quarter for an amount equal to the levy that 'may become payable' for that quarter — but the levy amount cannot be known until the end of the quarter."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Section 5(2)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 5(2) defines the exempt period for a succeeding quarter by reference to 'the earliest time during the first-mentioned quarter when the ship was in an Australian port'. This mechanism only works if there is a prior quarter in which levy was payable. For a ship's inaugural levy-paying quarter, there is no prior quarter to reference, so the exempt period mechanism simply cannot initialise. This is not fatal in practice — it just means no exempt period applies — but the Act never explicitly says this, leaving a gap in the machinery.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The 'exempt period' for a quarter is defined by reference to events in the previous quarter, creating a situation where the exempt period for a ship's very first quarter of levy liability can never be calculated, as there is no 'first-mentioned quarter' to look back to."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Section 7(5)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 7(5) requires a person to persuade a Collector of a counterfactual future prediction — that levy will not become payable during a quarter that has not yet occurred. Ship itineraries change, emergencies happen, and ports of call are not always fixed. The standard of 'not likely to become payable' imposes an impossible evidentiary burden on the ship owner/master to prove a negative about future events, and places unreviewable discretion in the Collector with no guidance on what evidence suffices.","confidence":0.72,"description":"An owner or master can escape the on-account payment obligation by satisfying a Collector that levy 'is not, and is not likely to become, payable' — but this is an inherently speculative and unverifiable standard at the start of a quarter."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 9(2)(a)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 9(2)(a) presumes, for recovery proceedings, that oil in bulk of not less than ten tons was present 'at all times' the ship was in an Australian port during the quarter. This is a stronger presumption than the actual liability threshold requires — levy may only require the ship to have had oil on board at some qualifying time, not necessarily at all times in port. The presumption therefore over-reaches the substantive liability it is meant to support, potentially making it easier to establish liability in court than the underlying Act strictly warrants.","confidence":0.7,"description":"The evidentiary presumption requires courts to presume that oil was on board 'at all times' the ship was in port, even though the levy-triggering condition under the Levy Act need only be satisfied at some point during the quarter — creating a presumption broader than the underlying liability."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 10(2)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 10(2) permits a Collector to sell equipment belonging to or on board the ship after just three days. 'Equipment' could include navigation, propulsion or safety equipment. Selling such equipment could render the ship unseaworthy or inoperable, making it unable to leave port — thereby potentially generating further levy liability for future quarters (as the ship remains 'in an Australian port'). The enforcement mechanism could thus create a compounding levy debt by the very act of attempting to recover an existing one.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The distress and sale power allows a Collector to sell goods distrained from a ship after only 3 days of non-payment, potentially destroying the ship's operational capacity and making levy compliance itself impossible going forward — a disproportionate remedy that could be self-defeating."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"Section 6","section_b":"Section 7(1)","confidence":0.92,"description":"Section 6 provides that levy only 'becomes due for payment upon the expiration of the quarter', yet Section 7(1) requires a payment equal to the full levy amount on the first day of that same quarter — before the levy has even accrued or become due."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 7(4)(b)","section_b":"Section 8","confidence":0.82,"description":"Section 7(4)(b) provides that if levy does not ultimately become payable, amounts paid on account shall be repaid to 'the master or owner' (singular, at the payer's election or the Commonwealth's discretion). However, Section 8 makes both the owner and master jointly and severally liable for payment. The Act creates joint and several liability going in, but provides for repayment to only one of the two liable parties going out, with no mechanism for determining which one receives the refund or protecting the other's interest."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 4","section_b":"Section 9(2)(b)","confidence":0.85,"description":"Section 4 provides that levy is not payable if the ship was in an Australian port only for a purpose specified in that section (emergency, crew, medical, repairs). Section 9(2)(b) creates a presumption in recovery proceedings that the ship was NOT in port only for such a purpose. This reversal of the onus is a direct substantive tension: Section 4 treats exempt purposes as a shield that removes liability entirely, while Section 9(2)(b) presumes that shield away in court, forcing defendants to disprove their own entitlement to the exemption rather than the Crown having to negate it."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Section 7(3)","section_b":"Section 7(2)","confidence":0.68,"description":"Section 7(2) makes an amount payable on account automatically on the day light dues become payable in respect of a foreign-going ship. Section 7(3) gives a Collector a separate power to issue a notice requiring payment on account for the same ship in the same quarter. Both subsections are qualified by 'an amount has not previously become payable under this section', yet Section 7(3) does not exclude the scenario where an amount has already been triggered automatically under Section 7(2) on the same day — creating ambiguity about whether a Collector can issue a notice on the very day light dues fall due before the automatic liability under 7(2) has been administratively processed."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/pollution-of-the-sea-by-oil-shipping-levy-collection-act-1972","history":"/api/acts/pollution-of-the-sea-by-oil-shipping-levy-collection-act-1972/history","analysis":"/api/acts/pollution-of-the-sea-by-oil-shipping-levy-collection-act-1972/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/pollution-of-the-sea-by-oil-shipping-levy-collection-act-1972/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/pollution-of-the-sea-by-oil-shipping-levy-collection-act-1972/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/pollution-of-the-sea-by-oil-shipping-levy-collection-act-1972/documents"}}