{"id":"F1997B02094","name":"Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Regulations 1983","slug":"protection-of-the-sea-civil-liability-regulations-1983","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"222 of 1983","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":29481,"registerId":"commonwealth-F1997B02094-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Regulations","content":"#### 1 Name of Regulations\n\n  These Regulations are the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Regulations 1983.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 2 Interpretation\n\n  (1) In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears, the Act means the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Act 1981.\n  (2) In these Regulations, except in so far as the contrary intention appears, an expression used in a regulation made for the purposes of a provision in either Part II or Part III of the Act, and used in the Convention (whether or not a particular meaning is assigned to it by the Convention) has, in that regulation, the same meaning as in the Convention.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Acceptable guarantees","content":"#### 4 Acceptable guarantees\n\n  Each of the following kinds of guarantees are acceptable for the purposes of paragraph 3 of Article V of the Convention:\n    (a) a guarantee given by a bank within the meaning of the Banking Act 1959;\n    (b) a letter of guarantee given by an organization known as a Protection and Indemnity Club, being an organization the members of which carry on the business of marine insurance including insurance in respect of pollution damage;\n    (c) a guarantee given by a guarantor approved by the Minister or by an officer of the Authority authorized in writing by the Minister for the purpose of this regulation.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Relevant insurance certificate (Act s 15)","content":"#### 5 Relevant insurance certificate (Act s 15)\n\n  A certificate issued, for the purposes of Article VII of the Convention, by or under the authority of the Government of a country to which the Civil Liability Convention applies in respect of a ship registered in a country that is not a country to which the Civil Liability Convention applies, being a certificate issued on behalf of the Government of that last‑mentioned country, shall be taken to be a relevant insurance certificate in respect of that ship for the purposes of paragraph 15 (7) (c) of the Act.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Person with whom application for insurance certificate must be lodged","content":"#### 7 Person with whom application for insurance certificate must be lodged\n\n  For subsection 16 (2) of the Act, a person who performs the duties of any of the following positions in the Authority is a prescribed person:\n    (a) Manager, Environment Protection;\n    (b) Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Maritime Standards Division.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Fee for issue of an insurance certificate","content":"#### 9 Fee for issue of an insurance certificate\n\n  (1) Subject to subregulation (2), a fee of $70 is prescribed for the issue of an insurance certificate in respect of a ship under section 16 of the Act.\n  (2) A fee of $40 is prescribed for the renewal of a certificate mentioned in subregulation (1) if there are no changes to any material particulars (other than period of operation).","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Person to whom copy of insurance certificate must be forwarded","content":"#### 10 Person to whom copy of insurance certificate must be forwarded\n\n  For subsection 16 (6) of the Act, a person who performs the duties of Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Maritime Standards Division, in the Authority is a prescribed person.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Relevant insurance certificate—prescribed information","content":"#### 11 Relevant insurance certificate—prescribed information\n\n  (1) For the definition of relevant insurance certificate in section 19A of the Act, the following information is prescribed:\n    (a) the name of the ship;\n    (b) the name of the ship’s owner;\n    (c) the name and business address of the person who is providing insurance or other financial security in respect of the ship to cover the liability of the ship’s owner for pollution damage caused in Australia;\n    (d) the information referred to in subregulation (2);\n    (e) the amount of cover provided under the policy of insurance or financial security, being an amount that is at least the amount referred to in subregulation 12 (1).\n  (2) For paragraph (1) (d), the information is:\n    (a) if the document is a Certificate of Entry issued by a Protection and Indemnity Club—the day when the insurance or financial security commences, being a day that is:\n    (i) not earlier than the last 20 February before the day when the ship enters or leaves, or attempts to enter or leave, a port in Australia; or\n    (ii) if the ship enters or leaves, or attempts to enter or leave, a port in Australia after 19 February but before 20 March in a year—not earlier than 20 February in the previous year; or\n    (b) in any other case—the period of validity of the insurance or financial security, being a period that includes the day when the ship enters or leaves, or attempts to enter or leave, a port in Australia.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Relevant insurance certificate—prescribed amount","content":"#### 12 Relevant insurance certificate—prescribed amount\n\n  (1) For the definition of relevant insurance certificate in section 19A of the Act, the prescribed amount is the amount necessary to cover the liability of the ship’s owner for pollution damage in respect of an incident up to:\n    (a) if the Convention applies to the ship—the limit of liability for the ship under the applied provisions of the Convention; or\n    (b) if the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, as amended by the 1996 Protocol, applies to the ship—the total of the limits of liability, for the ship, for each kind of claims under that Convention, as it has effect for Australia under the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Act 1989.\n\n> Note: The Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims and the 1996 Protocol are reproduced in Schedules 1 and 1A, respectively, of the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Act 1989.\n\n  (2) In this regulation:\n\n> incident means an occurrence, or series of occurrences, having the same origin.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Tonnage of certain ships","content":"#### 13 Tonnage of certain ships\n\n  The gross tonnage of a ship for which no gross tonnage has been determined in accordance with the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 is taken, for the purpose of paragraph 19B (1) (b) of the Act, to be:\n    (a) if the ship has an overall length of less than 33 metres—less than 400 tons; or\n    (b) if the ship has an overall length of at least 33 metres—at least 400 tons.","sortOrder":9}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"These Regulations clarify and operationalise obligations under the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Act 1981 and applicable international Conventions rather than extending substantive scope. They prescribe acceptable guarantee types, certificate content and amounts, administrative recipients, fees and a rule for tonnage where none is measured (see regs 4, 5, 7, 9, 11–13). No provision in the text purports to alter the Act’s coverage."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to the Act and international Conventions create dependency on external instruments for meaning and limits (reg 2; reg 12 referencing Convention and Limitation Act).","Multiple documentary and timing requirements for insurance certificates, including special timing rules for Certificates of Entry from P&I Clubs (reg 11(1)–(2)).","Discretionary approval power for guarantors vested in the Minister or an authorised Authority officer (reg 4(c)), introducing administrative discretion.","Prescribed monetary charges and a two‑tier fee schedule (issue and discounted renewal) impose direct costs on ship owners or their insurers (reg 9).","Designated internal Authority roles for lodging and receiving applications concentrate administrative responsibility (regs 7, 10).","Prescribed calculation of required cover tied to international liability limits requires technical legal and accounting steps to determine adequacy (reg 12).","Simplified rule to classify gross tonnage by overall length where official tonnage measurement is absent creates a binary threshold affecting liability class (reg 13).","Usage of defined terms and reliance on the Convention’s definitions means operational actors must align documents with internationally-sourced terminology (reg 2(2)).","Compliance burden is concentrated on ship owners/insurers to procure, maintain and forward certificates and guarantees; potential for timing mismatches and administrative rejection (reg 11; regs 7,10)."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set the concrete rules under the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Act 1981 for what counts as acceptable financial guarantees and insurance for ships, the information and amounts an insurance certificate must show, fees for issuing or renewing certificates, and which Authority officers handle applications. Ship owners, insurers, banks and Protection & Indemnity Clubs must supply specified documents and cover amounts tied to international conventions; the Minister or authorised officers decide on approved guarantors and administrate compliance."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: operationalising the insurance and certification requirements of the Civil Liability Convention. The provisions cover guarantees, certificates, fees, and prescribed amounts — all directly supporting the parent Act's scheme. There is no significant scope creep; the content is administrative and procedural rather than expanding substantive liability."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple nested cross-references to the parent Act (Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Act 1981) and two international conventions (Civil Liability Convention and 1976/1996 Maritime Claims Convention)","Conditional logic in Regulation 11(2) with date-based exceptions for insurance validity periods (20 February cut-off dates with special rules for March entries)","Dual calculation methods for liability limits in Regulation 12 depending on which convention applies to the ship","Prescribed officer positions that may become outdated as AMSA restructures (specific job titles rather than functional descriptions)","Regulation 2(2) incorporates definitions by reference from the Convention with a complex 'unless contrary intention appears' qualifier"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese Regulations set out the practical details for how ship owners prove they have insurance or financial backing to pay for oil pollution damage caused by their vessels in Australian waters. They work alongside the *Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Act 1981* to implement Australia's obligations under an international treaty called the **Civil Liability Convention** (an agreement about who pays for oil spills from ships).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Ship owners and operators** who want to enter or leave Australian ports — they must have proper insurance certificates\n- **Banks and insurance companies** — specifically \"Protection and Indemnity Clubs\" (mutual insurance associations for shipping) and banks that can issue financial guarantees\n- **The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)** — the government body that issues certificates and collects fees\n\n**Key practical rules:**\n\n- **What counts as a guarantee:** Banks, P&I Clubs, or government-approved guarantors can provide the financial backing\n- **Fees:** $70 for a new insurance certificate; $40 for renewals if nothing has changed\n- **Who to apply to:** Specific AMSA officers (Manager, Environment Protection; or Deputy CEO, Maritime Standards Division)\n- **What certificates must show:** Ship name, owner name, insurer details, coverage amount, and validity dates tied to when the ship enters Australian ports\n- **Minimum coverage amounts:** Based on ship tonnage, calculated using either the Civil Liability Convention limits or the 1976/1996 Maritime Claims Convention limits\n- **Small ships:** Special rules for measuring tonnage if a ship hasn't been officially measured under international rules — under 33 metres long means under 400 tons\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nIf a ship spills oil in Australian waters, someone needs to pay for the cleanup and compensation. These Regulations make sure there's always a financial backstop — whether that's an insurance company, a bank, or a mutual club — so taxpayers don't foot the bill for private shipping accidents. They also ensure Australia meets its international treaty obligations."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-civil-liability-regulations-1983","history":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-civil-liability-regulations-1983/history","analysis":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-civil-liability-regulations-1983/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-civil-liability-regulations-1983/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-civil-liability-regulations-1983/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-civil-liability-regulations-1983/documents"}}