{"id":"railway-forrestfieldairport-link-act-2015","name":"Railway (Forrestfield-Airport Link) Act 2015","slug":"railway-forrestfield-airport-link-act-2015","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106438,"registerId":"wa-railway-forrestfieldairport-link-act-2015-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Railway (Forrestfield-Airport Link) Act 2015","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nRailway (Forrestfield-Airport Link) Act 2015\n\nWestern Australia\n\nRailway (Forrestfield-Airport Link) Act 2015\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary matters\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n3. Terms used 2\n\nPart 2 — Authority to construct Forrestfield‑Airport Link\n\n4. Authority to construct railway 3\n\nPart 3 — Application of written laws to airport section of railway\n\n5. Compliance with Airports Act 4\n\n6. Application of *Land Administration Act 1997* 4\n\n7. Exercise by Public Transport Authority of powers under *Public Works Act 1902* 4\n\nPart 4 — Application of Metropolitan Region Scheme\n\n8. Planning approval not required for underground section of railway 5\n\nSchedule 1 — Line of Forrestfield‑Airport Link\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 7\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\n![]()Western Australia\n\nRailway (Forrestfield‑Airport Link) Act 2015\n\nNo. 34 of 2015\n\nAn Act to authorise the construction of a railway from Bayswater to Forrestfield (known as the Forrestfield‑Airport Link).\n\nThe Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary matters\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis is the *Railway (Forrestfield‑Airport Link) Act 2015*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\nairport section of the railway means so much of the railway as is constructed and maintained, or proposed to be constructed and maintained, on, over or under Perth Airport land;\n\nAirports Act means the *Airports Act 1996* (Commonwealth);\n\nMetropolitan Region Scheme has the meaning given in the *Planning and Development Act 2005* section 4(1);\n\nPerth Airport land means the land described in the *Airports Regulations 1997* (Commonwealth) Schedule 1 Part 1.18;\n\nPlanning Commission means the Western Australian Planning Commission established by the *Planning and Development Act 2005* section 7(1);\n\nrailway means the railway the construction and maintenance of which is authorised by section 4;\n\nunderground section of the railway means so much of the railway as is constructed, or proposed to be constructed, underground, but does not include any part of a railway station, or any part of a related car park, public transport interchange facility or associated means of pedestrian or vehicular access, that is constructed, or proposed to be constructed, underground.\n\n## Part 2 — Authority to construct Forrestfield‑Airport Link\n\n##### 4. Authority to construct railway\n\nA railway, with all necessary, proper and usual works and facilities in connection with the railway, may be constructed and maintained along the line described in Schedule 1.\n\n## Part 3 — Application of written laws to airport section of railway\n\n##### 5. Compliance with Airports Act\n\nA written law that applies in relation to the construction or maintenance of the railway applies in relation to the construction or maintenance of the airport section of the railway only to the extent that the written law is not inconsistent with the Airports Act.\n\n##### 6. Application of *Land Administration Act 1997*\n\n(1) The *Land Administration Act 1997* Parts 9 and 10 do not apply in relation to the acquisition of any interest in Perth Airport land required for the purpose of constructing or maintaining the railway.\n\n(2) The *Land Administration Act 1997* section 266 does not apply in relation to any interest in Perth Airport land acquired for the purpose of constructing or maintaining the railway.\n\n##### 7. Exercise by Public Transport Authority of powers under *Public Works Act 1902*\n\nThe Public Transport Authority must exercise its powers under the *Public Works Act 1902* section 99 in respect of the airport section of the railway in accordance with the Airports Act.\n\n## Part 4 — Application of Metropolitan Region Scheme\n\n##### 8. Planning approval not required for underground section of railway\n\nFor the purposes of the Metropolitan Region Scheme, the underground section of the railway is a development that may be commenced or carried out without the approval of the Planning Commission.\n\nSchedule 1 — Line of Forrestfield‑Airport Link\n\n[s. 4]\n\nThe line of the railway commences at a point along the Perth to Midland railway line near the intersection of Cobden Street with Whatley Crescent, Bayswater that is approximately 5 kilometres from the East Perth Terminal, Summers Street (off Lord Street), East Perth and proceeds in a generally south‑easterly direction for approximately 8.5 kilometres along the Tonkin Highway road reserve and Brearley Avenue road reserve, before passing through Perth Airport towards High Wycombe, terminating adjacent to the Forrestfield Rail Yard near Map Grid of Australia coordinates 404652 East and 6463348 North.\n\nThe course to be taken by the railway is shown as a red line on Public Transport Authority drawing no. 16‑C‑15‑0002 Rev A.\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Railway (Forrestfield-Airport Link) Act 2015*. The following table contains information about that Act.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Railway (Forrestfield-Airport Link) Act 2015* | 34 of 2015 | 2 Nov 2015 | 2 Nov 2015 (see s. 2) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nairport section of the railway 3\n\nAirports Act 3\n\nMetropolitan Region Scheme 3\n\nPerth Airport land 3\n\nPlanning Commission 3\n\nrailway 3\n\nunderground section of the railway 3\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: authorising the Forrestfield-Airport Link railway and resolving specific legal obstacles (airport land jurisdiction, planning approvals, land acquisition). No scope creep detected."},"complexity_factors":["Only 8 operative sections across 4 Parts","7 defined terms, all straightforward geographical or legislative references","Minimal conditional logic — primarily simple exclusions (\"does not apply\") and authority grants","Single Schedule containing a basic route description with map reference","No nested exceptions or multi-layered cross-referencing","Clear, linear structure: definitions → authority → specific legal modifications → planning exemption"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act gives the green light to build a specific railway in Perth — the Forrestfield-Airport Link. It runs roughly 8.5 kilometres from Bayswater (near the existing Midland line) to Forrestfield, passing through Perth Airport.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* **The Public Transport Authority** — they get the power to build and maintain the railway along the exact route described in Schedule 1.\n* **Perth Airport** — the railway goes through airport land, so the Act sorts out how Commonwealth airport laws interact with WA laws.\n* **Local residents and developers** — the Act exempts the underground portions from needing planning approval from the Western Australian Planning Commission.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nWithout this law, building a railway through Perth Airport would be legally messy because:\n\n1. **Commonwealth vs State law conflicts** — Perth Airport is regulated by Commonwealth legislation (the *Airports Act 1996*). This Act clarifies that where WA laws clash with Commonwealth airport laws, the Commonwealth rules win.\n2. **Land acquisition** — Normally, the *Land Administration Act 1997* governs how the government acquires land. This Act switches off those rules for Perth Airport land, meaning the project can proceed under different arrangements.\n3. **Planning approvals** — Underground sections get a free pass from the usual planning approval process, speeding up construction.\n\nIn short, this is a \"project-specific\" law that cuts through red tape to get a major transport link built."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the text provided, the Act’s scope is to authorise construction of the Forrestfield‑Airport Link and to specify how planning, land acquisition and Commonwealth airport law apply to the airport and underground sections. There is no indication in the supplied text that the scope has been altered from that original statutory purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single‑project statute with narrow subject‑matter (authorisation and procedural adjustments) — low baseline complexity (s 4; Schedule 1).","Cross‑jurisdictional interaction: state written laws applying to airport section are subordinated where inconsistent with the Commonwealth Airports Act, requiring legal assessment of inconsistency (s 5).","Express exclusions from the Land Administration Act 1997 (Parts 9 and 10 and s 266) for acquisitions on Perth Airport land create atypical acquisition mechanics and limit usual State procedural safeguards (s 6).","Obligation on the Public Transport Authority to exercise Public Works Act 1902 powers in accordance with the Airports Act embeds federal compliance requirements into State decision‑making (s 7).","Planning carve‑out for underground sections under the Metropolitan Region Scheme removes the Planning Commission approval step, changing the usual planning approval pathway and shifting timing/risk (s 8).","Key definitional thresholds (airport section of the railway; underground section of the railway; Perth Airport land) determine scope of exemptions and are outcome‑determinative — interpretation risk for borderline works (s 3).","Reliance on Schedule 1 for the line and on an external PTA drawing for the precise course introduces implementation reliance on mapping/technical documents (s 4; Schedule 1).","Practical compliance burdens fall on the Public Transport Authority and any affected land interests (acquisition, construction, maintenance), while the Planning Commission’s formal approval role is narrowed — creates concentrated decision power and dispersed compliance costs (ss 4–8)."],"plain_english_summary":"Authorises construction and maintenance of the Forrestfield–Airport Link railway from Bayswater to Forrestfield and fixes the route in Schedule 1. It changes how certain State laws apply where the line crosses Perth Airport land by deferring to the Commonwealth Airports Act, exempting some land‑administration rules, and removing the need for metropolitan planning approval for underground works. It primarily affects the Public Transport Authority, Perth Airport land interests, and the Planning Commission because it changes acquisition, planning and approval processes for the project."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to assess whether the scope of the Act changed from its original intent, as the full text of the legislation — including any amendments — was not accessible. The title suggests a focused infrastructure-enabling Act, which typically remains close to its original scope, but this cannot be confirmed without the actual content."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 'page no longer available' error","Only the title and website boilerplate were available for analysis","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without access to the actual provisions","Score of 1 reflects the impossibility of analysis, not simplicity of the law itself"],"plain_english_summary":"## Railway (Forrestfield-Airport Link) Act 2015 — Western Australia\n\n**The content of this legislation is not available for analysis.**\n\nThe page hosting this Act on the Western Australian legislation website is no longer accessible due to system upgrades. As a result, only the title and some website metadata were retrievable — not the actual text of the law.\n\n**What we can infer from the title alone:**\n- This is a **Western Australian State Act** passed in 2015\n- It relates to the **Forrestfield-Airport Link** — a rail infrastructure project connecting Perth Airport and the eastern suburb of Forrestfield to the existing Perth metropolitan rail network\n- Acts of this type typically deal with things like: authorising construction, compulsory land acquisition (government taking private land for public use), environmental approvals, and project governance\n\n**To access the actual law**, visit the [Western Australian Legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) and search for \"Forrestfield-Airport Link\" directly."},"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/railway-forrestfield-airport-link-act-2015","history":"/api/acts/railway-forrestfield-airport-link-act-2015/history","analysis":"/api/acts/railway-forrestfield-airport-link-act-2015/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/railway-forrestfield-airport-link-act-2015/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/railway-forrestfield-airport-link-act-2015/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/railway-forrestfield-airport-link-act-2015/documents"}}