{"id":"C2004A02413","name":"Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy Collection) Act 1981","slug":"protection-of-the-sea-shipping-levy-collection-act-1981","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"35 of 1981","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6734,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A02413-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy Collection) Act 1981.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This Act shall come into operation on the day on which the Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981 comes into operation.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Repeal","content":"#### 3 Repeal\n\n  The Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy Collection) Act 1972 and the Pollution of the Sea by Oil (Shipping Levy Collection) Amendment Act 1979 are repealed.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 4 Interpretation\n\n  (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> Australian port means a place appointed, proclaimed or prescribed as a port under the Customs Act 1901, or under a law of a State or the Northern Territory.\n\n> authorised person means a person appointed under section 4B.\n\n> Collector means:\n\n    (a) a Collector within the meaning of the Customs Act 1901; or\n    (b) an authorised person.\n\n> foreign‑going ship means a ship that is engaged in making overseas voyages.\n\n> levy means levy imposed by the Levy Act.\n\n> Levy Act means the Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981.\n\n> master, in relation to a ship, means the person having command or charge of the ship.\n\n> oil means any hydrocarbon oil or hydrocarbon liquid fuel, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil, lubricating oil, heating oil, petrol, aviation fuel and kerosene.\n\n> oil in bulk means oil in bunkers or tanks, or in bunkers and tanks.\n\n> overseas voyage: a ship’s voyage is an overseas voyage if in the course of the voyage the ship is present (except because of stress of weather, saving life at sea or other unavoidable cause) in waters outside the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone of Australia. However, the voyage is not an overseas voyage if:\n\n    (a) the voyage commences from a port in Queensland and ends at the same port or another port in Queensland; and\n    (b) as an incidental part of its voyage, the ship is present in waters that are outside the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone of Australia but within the Protected Zone; and\n    (c) the ship is not otherwise present in waters that are outside the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone of Australia.\n\n> Protected Zone means the zone that is:\n\n    (a) established under Article 10 of the Treaty between Australia and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea concerning Sovereignty and Maritime Boundaries in the area between the two Countries, including the area known as Torres Strait, and Related Matters, done at Sydney on 18 December 1978, as amended and in force for Australia from time to time; and\n    (b) the area bounded by the line described in Annex 9 to that Treaty.\n\n> Note: The text of the Treaty is set out in Australian Treaty Series 1985 No. 4 (\\[1985\\] ATS 4). In 2012, the text of a Treaty in the Australian Treaty Series was accessible through the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (www.austlii.edu.au).\n\n> quarter means a period of 3 months commencing on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October in any year.\n\n> ship means any kind of vessel used in navigation by water, however propelled or moved, and includes the following:\n\n    (a) a barge, lighter or other floating craft;\n    (b) an air‑cushion vehicle, or other similar craft, used wholly or primarily in navigation by water.\n\n> tonnage, in relation to a ship, means the net tonnage of the ship.\n\n> Tonnage Measurement Convention means the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, done at London on 23 June 1969, as amended and in force for Australia from time to time.\n\n> Note: The text of the Convention is set out in Australian Treaty Series 1982 No. 15 (\\[1982\\] ATS 15). In 2012, the text of a Convention in the Australian Treaty Series was accessible through the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (www.austlii.edu.au).\n\n  (2) Where, at any time, the net tonnage applicable to a ship has been determined otherwise than in accordance with the Tonnage Measurement Convention, then, in the application of this Act to the ship at that time, a reference in this Act to the tonnage of a ship shall be taken to be a reference to the net tonnage of the ship expressed in tons.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"4A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of the Criminal Code","content":"#### 4A Application of the Criminal Code\n\n  Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code applies to all offences created by this Act.\n\n> Note: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"4B","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appointment of authorised person","content":"#### 4B Appointment of authorised person\n\n  (1) The Minister may, in writing, appoint a person to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act.\n  (2) The Minister may, in writing, delegate the power of appointment under subsection (1) to an officer of the Department.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exemption in respect of ship in an Australian port by reason of an emergency etc.","content":"#### 5 Exemption in respect of ship in an Australian port by reason of an emergency etc.\n\n  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    (a) of taking on board water, provisions or fuel to be used by the ship for completing the voyage;\n    (b) of engaging or discharging a member of the crew;\n    (c) of disembarking a passenger or a member of the crew for urgent medical treatment; or\n    (d) of sheltering or undergoing repairs.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exempt periods in relation to foreign‑going ships","content":"#### 6 Exempt periods in relation to foreign‑going ships\n\n  (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 subsection (2), is the exempt period in relation to the ship for the quarter.\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 3 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.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Time for payment of levy","content":"#### 7 Time for payment of levy\n\n  Levy in respect of a ship for a quarter becomes payable upon the expiration of the quarter.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payments on account of levy","content":"#### 8 Payments on account of levy\n\n  (1) Subject to subsection (5), 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, being a ship to which the Levy Act applies other than a foreign‑going ship, an amount equal to the amount of levy that may become so payable.\n  (3) Where:\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    (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  a Collector may, by written notice given to the master of the ship, require an amount to be paid on account of levy that may become so payable and, subject to subsection (5), 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  (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    (a) shall, if levy becomes payable in respect of the ship for the quarter, be deemed to be payment of the levy; or\n    (b) shall, if levy does not become so payable, be repaid to the master or owner of the ship.\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.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Persons liable to pay levy and amounts on account of levy","content":"#### 9 Persons liable to pay levy and amounts on account of levy\n\n  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 section 8, is payable on account of levy that may become payable in respect of the ship.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Recovery of levy and amounts on account of levy","content":"#### 10 Recovery of levy and amounts on account of levy\n\n  (1) Levy that has become payable, or an amount that, under section 8, 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  (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    (a) that, at some time when the ship was in an Australian port during the quarter, there was on board the ship a quantity of oil in bulk weighing not less than 10 tonnes; and\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 5.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Recovery of unpaid levy by distress","content":"#### 11 Recovery of unpaid levy by distress\n\n  (1) Where levy payable in respect of a ship has not been paid, a Collector may, without prejudice to any other remedy for the recovery of the levy, enter upon the ship and distrain goods or equipment belonging to the ship, and detain them until the levy is paid.\n  (2) If payment of the levy is not made before the expiration of the period of 3 days after the distress, the Collector may, at any time while the levy remains unpaid, sell by public auction the goods or equipment distrained and, out of the proceeds of the sale, may, to the extent that the amount of those proceeds allows, recover the levy and all reasonable expenses incurred by him under this section.\n  (3) For the purposes of a sale under subsection (2), the Commonwealth shall be deemed to be the absolute owner of the goods or equipment the subject of the sale.\n  (4) Where, after deducting from the proceeds of the sale the amount of the levy and the expenses of the Collector, a surplus remains, the Collector shall, on demand, pay that surplus to the owner or master of the ship.\n  (5) A reference in this section to levy payable in respect of a ship shall be read as including a reference to an amount that, under section 8, is payable on account of levy that may become payable in respect of the ship.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Detention of ship for unpaid levy","content":"#### 12 Detention of ship for unpaid levy\n\n  (1) A ship in respect of which levy is payable may be detained by a Collector until the levy is paid.\n  (2) If a ship that has been detained by a Collector under subsection (1) goes to sea without having been released by the Collector, the master of the ship commits an offence punishable, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding 5 penalty units.\n  (2A) An offence under subsection (2) is an offence of strict liability.\n\n> Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.\n\n  (3) A reference in this section to levy payable in respect of a ship shall be read as including a reference to an amount that, under section 8, is payable on account of levy that may become payable in respect of the ship.\n  (4) While a ship is detained under subsection (1), a person does not have the power of seizure provided for by section 123 of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 in relation to the ship.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 13 Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act, and, in particular, prescribing penalties not exceeding $200 for offences against the regulations.","sortOrder":14}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act replaced earlier legislation focused specifically on oil pollution (the 'Pollution of the Sea by Oil' collection Acts of 1972 and 1979). The rebranding to 'Protection of the Sea' reflects a broader environmental protection framing rather than purely oil-pollution response, and the new Act incorporates updated international standards including the Tonnage Measurement Convention and the Torres Strait Treaty — neither of which featured in the predecessor legislation."},"complexity_factors":["Dual liability structure — both owner and master are jointly and severally liable, creating potential confusion about who must pay","Separate levy calculation Act referenced but not reproduced here, requiring cross-referencing to understand the full regime","Exempt period rules for foreign-going ships involve time-based calculations across quarters that are not immediately intuitive","Multiple definitions with technical maritime and international treaty references (Tonnage Measurement Convention, Torres Strait Treaty)","Interaction with other legislation including the Customs Act 1901 and Personal Property Securities Act 2009","Strict liability criminal offence for sailing while detained — no mental element required","Advance payment regime differs between foreign-going and domestic ships, adding administrative complexity","Torres Strait / Protected Zone carve-out requires reference to an international treaty and its annexures"],"plain_english_summary":"## Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy Collection) Act 1981\n\n### What does this law do?\nThis Act sets out **how a shipping levy (a fee) is collected** from ships that visit Australian ports. The levy itself is set by a separate law (the Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981) — this Act is purely about the *mechanics* of collecting it.\n\nThe money raised helps fund Australia's oil pollution response and sea protection measures.\n\n### Who does it affect?\n- **Ship owners and masters (captains)** of vessels that dock at Australian ports\n- **Foreign-going ships** (ships that travel internationally) are treated slightly differently from domestic vessels\n- **Government officials** (called \"Collectors\" — essentially customs officers or appointed persons) who administer the levy\n\n### Key rules:\n- **When is the levy due?** At the end of each three-month period (quarter — January, April, July, October)\n- **Who pays?** The owner *and* the captain are both personally responsible — either can be chased for the full amount\n- **Advance payments:** For domestic ships, payment is due at the *start* of the quarter. For foreign ships visiting a port, a Collector can demand payment on the spot\n- **Exemptions:** Ships that only stopped in Australia briefly — for example, to take on fuel, treat a sick crew member, shelter from a storm, or pick up/drop off a crew member — may not owe the levy for that quarter\n- **Torres Strait special rule:** Queensland ships passing through the Torres Strait area (between Australia and Papua New Guinea) are not treated as making an international voyage\n\n### What happens if you don't pay?\n- The debt is owed to the Commonwealth (Australian Government)\n- Officials can **board the ship and seize its equipment or cargo** (called \"distress\") and sell it at public auction after 3 days\n- Officials can **detain the entire ship** in port until the levy is paid\n- If the captain sails away while the ship is detained, that's a **criminal offence** (strict liability — meaning no excuse is needed, just the act of sailing away)\n\n### Why does it matter?\nThis law gives the government real teeth to collect maritime levies — including physically stopping ships from leaving Australia. Ship owners and captains need to be aware they are *jointly responsible* for payment, and that Australian authorities have broad powers to enforce collection."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"8(1)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 8(1) requires payment on the first day of a quarter of an amount equal to levy that 'may become payable' for that quarter. However, whether levy is payable depends on events occurring during the quarter (e.g., whether the ship enters an Australian port with qualifying oil on board). On day one, neither the owner nor the Collector can know the final levy amount with certainty, yet the full amount is demanded immediately. Section 8(5) provides a partial escape valve, but it requires the owner or master to satisfy a Collector that levy 'is not, and is not likely to become, payable' — placing a prospective predictive burden on the shipowner about future events.","confidence":0.72,"description":"Payment on account of levy is due on the first day of a quarter for an amount equal to levy that 'may become payable' for that same quarter, before it is known whether levy will actually be payable."},{"type":"other","section":"11(3)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Distress is a coercive recovery mechanism ordinarily applicable to debts that are certain and due. By virtue of section 11(5) read with section 11(3), the Collector can seize and sell a ship's goods to recover amounts paid 'on account of levy that may become payable' — i.e., a contingent liability. If levy ultimately does not become payable, section 8(4)(b) requires repayment, but by then the goods may already have been sold at public auction under section 11(2). This creates a situation where property is forcibly sold to satisfy a debt that may never finally exist.","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 11 authorises distress and sale of ship goods to recover levy that has not yet definitively crystallised as owing, by extending 'levy payable' to include amounts payable 'on account of levy that may become payable'."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"11(3) and 12(3)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 11(3) deems the Commonwealth the absolute owner of distrained goods for sale purposes. However, section 12(4) specifically addresses the interaction with the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 only in the context of ship detention, not distress. The deeming of absolute ownership in s.11(3) could extinguish registered security interests in goods without addressing the PPSA framework, creating a legal inconsistency between the deemed ownership fiction and the PPSA's registered interests regime.","confidence":0.55,"description":"Commonwealth is deemed 'absolute owner' of distrained goods for sale purposes (s.11(3)), yet section 12(4) preserves the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 framework (except for the specific carve-out), implying third-party security interests may co-exist with the Commonwealth's deemed absolute ownership."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"6(2)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 6(2) defines the exempt period for a succeeding quarter by reference to a time 'other than a time by reference to which levy was not payable in respect of the ship for that quarter.' Determining whether levy was payable for the first quarter requires disregarding any exempt period applicable to that quarter (s.6(1)), which in turn depends on whether levy was payable in the quarter before that. This creates a backward-looking chain that could theoretically be difficult to resolve for a ship's first quarter of operation or first Australian port call.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The 'exempt period' mechanism can result in a circular or indeterminate calculation where the exempt period for one quarter is defined by reference to levy being 'payable' in the prior quarter, which itself may depend on exempt periods."},{"type":"other","section":"13","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 12(2) expresses its penalty in 'penalty units' consistent with the Crimes Act 1914 s.4AA framework, which allows penalties to be updated by regulation over time. Section 13, however, prescribes a fixed cap of '$200' for regulatory offences. This dollar amount has not been indexed and is now trivially small, effectively rendering regulatory offence provisions toothless. The internal inconsistency in drafting approach also creates interpretive uncertainty about whether '$200' was intended to track the penalty unit value at the time of enactment.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The regulation-making power prescribes a penalty cap of '$200' expressed as a dollar amount rather than penalty units, inconsistent with the modernised penalty unit framework used elsewhere in the Act (e.g., s.12(2) uses penalty units)."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"7","section_b":"8(1)","confidence":0.85,"description":"Section 7 provides levy becomes payable upon expiration of the quarter, but section 8(1) requires payment of the full levy amount on the first day of the same quarter — before the liability has legally arisen."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"8(4)(b)","section_b":"11(2) and 11(5)","confidence":0.8,"description":"Section 8(4)(b) entitles the master or owner to repayment if levy does not become payable, but sections 11(2) and 11(5) permit the Collector to sell distrained goods to recover amounts paid on account of levy before it is confirmed whether levy is ultimately payable, potentially making repayment under 8(4)(b) impossible in kind."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"5","section_b":"10(2)(b)","confidence":0.65,"description":"Section 5 grants an exemption where a ship was in an Australian port only for specified purposes, but section 10(2)(b) places the burden on the defendant in recovery proceedings to rebut the presumption that the ship was not in port only for those purposes — reversing the ordinary evidentiary position in a way that may conflict with the Criminal Code's fault element framework applied by section 4A."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"12(2) and 12(2A)","section_b":"4A","confidence":0.5,"description":"Section 12(2A) imposes strict liability for the offence of taking a detained ship to sea, and section 4A applies Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code to all offences. However, strict liability under section 6.1 of the Criminal Code still preserves the defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact. The master of a detained ship could theoretically argue honest and reasonable mistake about the detention status, which may undermine the intended absolute liability contemplated by the strict liability designation in a maritime enforcement context."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"9","section_b":"8(3)","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 9 makes the owner and master jointly and severally liable for levy. Section 8(3) requires the Collector to give written notice to the master specifically to trigger the payment obligation for a foreign-going ship. This creates a tension where the owner is jointly liable but has no statutory right to receive notice, meaning liability can be imposed on the owner without any notice mechanism directed at them."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is the original 1981 legislation. It appears to maintain its original narrow purpose as a collection mechanism for the shipping levy, though it has been amended over time (evidenced by references to the Criminal Code and Personal Property Securities Act which came later). The scope remains tightly focused on levy collection procedures."},"complexity_factors":["15 defined terms in section 4, including complex nested definitions for 'overseas voyage' with a 3-part exception for Torres Strait/Queensland voyages","Cross-references to companion Levy Act, Customs Act 1901, Criminal Code, Personal Property Securities Act 2009, and international treaties (Tonnage Measurement Convention, Torres Strait Treaty)","Conditional logic in section 6 creating rolling 3-month exempt periods for foreign-going ships that depends on timing of previous quarter's port visits","Dual liability structure (joint and several liability) for owners and masters","Multiple enforcement mechanisms (debt recovery, distress/seizure, detention, criminal penalties) with overlapping scope","Presumptions in section 10 that reverse burden of proof in civil recovery proceedings"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets up the machinery for collecting a shipping levy from ships that carry oil in Australian waters. It's the 'collection' companion to the Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981, which actually imposes the levy.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Who pays:** Ship owners and masters (captains) of vessels carrying oil in bulk (10+ tonnes) in Australian ports.\n- **When it applies:** The levy applies quarterly to ships that visit Australian ports, with special rules for foreign-going ships (those making overseas voyages).\n- **Key exemptions:**\n  - Ships only in port for emergencies, repairs, or taking on supplies\n  - Foreign-going ships get a 3-month 'exempt period' after their first port visit in a quarter\n  - Torres Strait voyages between Queensland ports (special Protected Zone rules)\n- **How it's collected:**\n  - Domestic ships pay in advance at the start of each quarter\n  - Foreign ships pay when demanded by a Collector (customs officer or authorised person)\n  - The Commonwealth can seize and sell ship equipment if levy isn't paid (distress)\n  - Ships can be detained until payment is made\n- **Enforcement:** Creates criminal offences for sailing while detained, with strict liability (no need to prove intent). Allows recovery as a debt with legal presumptions favouring the Commonwealth.\n\n**Why it matters:** This funds Australia's oil pollution response capabilities. It replaced older 1970s oil pollution legislation and ensures ships carrying oil contribute to the cost of potential spill clean-ups."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-shipping-levy-collection-act-1981","history":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-shipping-levy-collection-act-1981/history","analysis":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-shipping-levy-collection-act-1981/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-shipping-levy-collection-act-1981/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-shipping-levy-collection-act-1981/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/protection-of-the-sea-shipping-levy-collection-act-1981/documents"}}