{"id":"F2016L00301","name":"Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2016","slug":"seas-and-submerged-lands-historic-bays-proclamation-2016","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":438589,"registerId":"F2016L00301-fast-fetch-1775954948872","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2016","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nSeas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2016\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following Proclamation.\n\nSigned and Sealed with the\n\nGreat Seal of Australia on\n\n10 March 2016\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nGeorge Brandis QC\n\nAttorney‑General\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Declaration of historic bays\n\n7 Sea‑ward limits—Anxious Bay\n\n8 Sea‑ward limits—Encounter Bay\n\n9 Sea‑ward limits—Lacepede Bay\n\n10 Sea‑ward limits—Rivoli Bay\n\n11 Low‑water line of the same island\n\nSchedule 1—Geocentric Datum of Australia\n\n1 Reference ellipsoid\n\n2 Reference frame\n\nSchedule 2—Repeals\n\nSeas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2006\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This is the Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2016.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 12 March 2016\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under paragraph 8(a) of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n (1) In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973.\n\nGeocentric Datum of Australia means the datum described in Schedule 1.\n\nlow‑water means lowest astronomical tide.\n\nstraight line means a geodesic line.\n\n (2) For the purposes of this instrument, the position on the surface of the Earth of a point, line or area is to be determined by reference to the Geocentric Datum of Australia.\n\n6  Declaration of historic bays\n\n  For paragraph 8(a) of the Act, each of the following bays is declared to be an historic bay:\n\n (a) Anxious Bay;\n\n (b) Encounter Bay;\n\n (c) Lacepede Bay;\n\n (d) Rivoli Bay.\n\n7  Sea‑ward limits—Anxious Bay\n\n (1) Subject to section 11, the sea‑ward limits of Anxious Bay are defined by each of the straight lines constituted by joining the 2 points on the low‑water line of the coast that are on, or closest to, 2 points of latitude and longitude specified in the same paragraph in subsection (2).\n\n (2) For subsection (1), the points of latitude and longitude are:\n\n (a) from 33°11′58.9″S 134°19′43.1″E to 33°35′35.9″S 134°45′08.0″E; and\n\n (b) from 33°35′45.2″S 134°46′00.3″E to 33°35′53.9″S 134°46′35.0″E; and\n\n (c) from 33°36′37.9″S 134°48′25.0″E to 33°37′22.9″S 134°49′45.0″E.\n\n8  Sea‑ward limits—Encounter Bay\n\n (1) Subject to section 11, the sea‑ward limits of Encounter Bay are defined by the straight line constituted by joining the 2 points on the low‑water line of the coast that are on, or closest to, the points of latitude and longitude specified in subsection (2).\n\n (2) For subsection (1), the points of latitude and longitude are from 35°35′42.6″S 138°36′09.4″E to 35°35′42.8″S 138°57′29.0″E.\n\n9  Sea‑ward limits—Lacepede Bay\n\n (1) Subject to section 11, the sea‑ward limits of Lacepede Bay are defined by the straight line constituted by joining the 2 points on the low‑water line of the coast that are on, or closest to, the points of latitude and longitude specified in subsection (2).\n\n (2) For subsection (1), the points of latitude and longitude are from 36°35′47.4″S 139°50′02.8″E to 36°56′32.5″S 139°40′30.4″E.\n\n10  Sea‑ward limits—Rivoli Bay\n\n (1) Subject to section 11, the sea‑ward limits of Rivoli Bay are defined by each of the straight lines constituted by joining the 2 points on the low‑water line of the coast that are on, or closest to, 2 points of latitude and longitude specified in the same paragraph in subsection (2).\n\n (2) For subsection (1), the points of latitude and longitude are:\n\n (a) from 37°29′59.1″S 140°00′53.4″E to 37°33′54.9″S 140°06′24.4″E; and\n\n (b) from 37°29′46.8″S 140°00′43.0″E to 37°29′51.8″S 140°00′46.0″E.\n\n11  Low‑water line of the same island\n\n (1) If straight lines mentioned in section 7, 8, 9 or 10 join 2 different points on the low‑water line of the same island, the sea‑ward limits of the historic bay between those points are defined by the line constituted by a line following the low‑water line of the sea‑ward part of the coast of the island between those points.\n\n (2) For subsection (1), the sea‑ward part of the coast of an island is the part of the coast of the island that includes the most sea‑ward point of the island.\n\nSchedule 1—Geocentric Datum of Australia\n\nNote: See the definition of Geocentric Datum of Australia in subsection 5 (1).\n\n  \n\n \n\n1  Reference ellipsoid\n\n  Geodetic Reference System 1980 ellipsoid with a semi‑major axis of 6 378 137 metres and an inverse flattening of 298.257 222 101.\n\n2  Reference frame\n\n  The Geocentric Datum of Australia is realised by the coordinates of the following Australian Fiducial Network geodetic stations referred to the Geodetic Reference System 1980 ellipsoid determined within the International Earth Rotation Service Terrestrial Reference Frame 1992 at the epoch of 1994.0.\n\n \n\n- Reference frame\n- Item Geodetic station South latitude East longitude Ellipsoidal height (metres)\n- 1 AU 012 Alice Springs 23°40′12.44592″ 133°53′07.84757″ 603.358\n- 2 AU 013 Karratha 20°58′53.17004″ 117°05′49.87255″ 109.246\n- 3 AU 014 Darwin 12°50′37.35839″ 131°07′57.84838″ 125.197\n- 4 AU 015 Townsville 19°20′50.42839″ 146°46′30.79057″ 587.077\n- 5 AU 016 Hobart 42°48′16.98506″ 147°26′19.43548″ 41.126\n- 6 AU 017 Tidbinbilla 35°23′57.15627″ 148°58′47.98425″ 665.440\n- 7 AU 019 Ceduna 31°52′00.01664″ 133°48′35.37527″ 144.802\n- 8 AU 029 Yaragadee 29°02′47.61687″ 115°20′49.10049″ 241.291\n\n\n \n\nSchedule 2—Repeals\n\n \n\nSeas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2006\n\n1  The whole of the Proclamation\n\nRepeal the Proclamation.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: declaring specific historic bays and defining their seaward limits. The 2016 version is a straightforward re-enactment/update of the 2006 Proclamation it replaces, with no expansion into new policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 defined terms in section 5, all straightforward","Simple declarative structure: declare bays, define limits with coordinates, include one exception (section 11 for islands)","Technical complexity limited to geodetic specifications in Schedule 1 (reference ellipsoid parameters and geodetic station coordinates)","No nested exceptions or conditional logic beyond the single island exception in section 11","Clear repeal of single predecessor instrument in Schedule 2","Length is short (11 sections plus 2 schedules)","Cross-references minimal: only internal references to the Act and between sections"],"plain_english_summary":"This Proclamation declares Anxious Bay, Encounter Bay, Lacepede Bay and Rivoli Bay to be \"historic bays,\" bringing the waters within their seaward lines into Australia’s internal waters and subjecting them to full national jurisdiction. \n\nIt affects maritime users and foreign states by affirming Australian control over fisheries, customs, immigration and environmental law there, and replaces a 2006 proclamation with updated, precise Geocentric Datum of Australia coordinates to fix the bay boundaries."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument expressly repeals the Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2006 (Schedule 2) and re‑declares the four historic bays with their sea‑ward limits defined by the coordinates and rules set out in ss 6–11 and Schedule 1. The operative scope is therefore the boundaries and declarations as specified in this 2016 Proclamation (see Schedule 2; ss 6–11)."},"complexity_factors":["Use of precise geodetic coordinates and geodesic (\"straight line\") joins to define limits (see ss 7–10; definition of \"straight line\" in s 5).","Requirement to identify points 'on, or closest to, the low‑water line' creates technical mapping and measurement tasks (ss 7–10; 'low‑water' defined in s 5).","Island exception alters sea‑ward limits where lines join different low‑water points on the same island, requiring selection of the 'sea‑ward part' and following the low‑water line (s 11).","Dependence on a specified geodetic datum and reference frame (Geocentric Datum of Australia; Schedule 1) increases surveying precision and consistency requirements.","Repeal of the 2006 Proclamation requires administrative transition and may trigger re‑mapping and record updates (Schedule 2).","Legal effect rests on paragraph 8(a) of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, so interpretation depends on that Act (s 3).","High numeric precision of coordinates (degrees/minutes/seconds) raises implementation and verification burdens for regulators and stakeholders (ss 7–10; Sch 1)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Proclamation declares Anxious Bay, Encounter Bay, Lacepede Bay and Rivoli Bay to be \"historic bays\" under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 and sets their sea‑ward limits by precise latitude/longitude coordinates tied to the Geocentric Datum of Australia. It repeals a 2006 proclamation and requires mapping the low‑water line and straight‑line boundaries. The instrument matters because it fixes which coastal waters are captured by the bay definitions and so determines where the Act’s maritime rules apply."},"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/seas-and-submerged-lands-historic-bays-proclamation-2016","history":"/api/acts/seas-and-submerged-lands-historic-bays-proclamation-2016/history","analysis":"/api/acts/seas-and-submerged-lands-historic-bays-proclamation-2016/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/seas-and-submerged-lands-historic-bays-proclamation-2016/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/seas-and-submerged-lands-historic-bays-proclamation-2016/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/seas-and-submerged-lands-historic-bays-proclamation-2016/documents"}}