{"id":"C1963A00061","name":"Submarine Cables and Pipelines Protection Act 1963","slug":"submarine-cables-and-pipelines-protection-act-1963","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"61 of 1963","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":1767,"registerId":"C2016C00970","compilationNumber":"11","startDate":"2016-10-21","status":"InForce","reasons":[{"affect":"Amend","markdown":"sch 1 (items 483-485) of the [Statute Update Act 2016](/C2016A00061)","dateChanged":null,"amendedByTitle":null,"affectedByTitle":{"name":"Statute Update Act 2016","year":2016,"number":61,"titleId":"C2016A00061","provisions":"sch 1 (items 483-485)","seriesType":"Act","optionalSeriesNumber":null}}],"registeredAt":"2016-10-24T12:32:05.897Z"},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Submarine Cables and Pipelines Protection Act 1963.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Saving of other laws","content":"#### 3 Saving of other laws\n\n  (1) This Act shall be read and construed as being in addition to and not in derogation of or in substitution for any other law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory.\n  (2) The reference in the last preceding subsection to a law of the Commonwealth includes a reference to the Imperial Act known as the Submarine Telegraph Act, 1885, insofar as that Act is part of the law of the Commonwealth.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Extension of Act to Territories","content":"#### 4 Extension of Act to Territories\n\n  This Act extends to all the Territories.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act applies only to cables and pipelines beneath the high seas","content":"#### 5 Act applies only to cables and pipelines beneath the high seas\n\n  (1) This Act applies only to a submarine cable or pipeline, or that part of a submarine cable or pipeline:\n    (a) that is beneath the high seas or in the exclusive economic zone; and\n    (b) that is not a submarine cable (within the meaning of Schedule 3A to the Telecommunications Act 1997) in a protection zone (within the meaning of that Schedule).\n  (2) In subsection (1):\n\n> high seas has the same meaning as in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of the Criminal Code","content":"#### 5A 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":5},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act binds Crown","content":"#### 6 Act binds Crown\n\n  This Act binds the Crown in right of the Commonwealth, of each of the States, of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory and any authority constituted by or under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Persons not to break or injure submarine cables or pipelines","content":"#### 7 Persons not to break or injure submarine cables or pipelines\n\n  (1) A person commits an offence if the person engages in conduct and the conduct results in a ship registered in Australia or in a Territory breaking or injuring:\n    (a) a submarine telegraph or a telephone cable in such a manner as might interrupt or obstruct telegraphic or telephonic communications; or\n    (b) a submarine pipeline; or\n    (c) a submarine high‑voltage cable.\n\nPenalty: Imprisonment for 12 months or 20 penalty units.\n\n  (1A) A person commits an offence if the person engages in conduct and the person is negligent as to whether the conduct will result in a ship registered in Australia or in a Territory breaking or injuring:\n    (a) a submarine telegraph or a telephone cable in such a manner as might interrupt or obstruct telegraphic or telephonic communications; or\n    (b) a submarine pipeline; or\n    (c) a submarine high‑voltage cable.\n\nPenalty: Imprisonment for 3 months or 10 penalty units.\n\n  (2) Where:\n    (a) a breakage of, or an injury to, a cable or pipeline is caused by persons acting with the sole object of saving their lives or their ships; and\n    (b) those persons took all necessary precautions to avoid breaking or injuring the cable or pipeline,\n  the last preceding subsection does not apply in relation to the break or injury.\n  (3) In this section:\n\n> engage in conduct means:\n\n    (a) do an act; or\n    (b) omit to perform an act.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Liability for breaking or injuring a cable or pipeline","content":"#### 8 Liability for breaking or injuring a cable or pipeline\n\n  If a person, in the course of laying or repairing a submarine cable or pipeline of which he or she is the owner, causes a break in or injury to another cable or pipeline, he or she is liable to bear the cost of repairing the break or injury.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Indemnity for loss of anchor etc","content":"#### 9 Indemnity for loss of anchor etc\n\n  If, after all reasonable precautionary measures have been taken, an anchor, a net or any other fishing gear belonging to a ship is sacrificed in order to avoid injuring a submarine cable or pipeline, the owner of the ship is entitled to be indemnified for his or her loss by the owner of the cable or pipeline.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Punishment of offences","content":"#### 10 Punishment of offences\n\n  (1) An offence against this Act may be prosecuted either summarily or upon indictment, but an offender is not liable to be punished more than once in respect of the same offence.\n  (2) In summary proceedings against a person for an offence against this Act, the court shall not impose on that person, in respect of the offence, a penalty of imprisonment for a term exceeding 3 months or a pecuniary penalty exceeding 10 penalty units.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Jurisdiction of courts","content":"#### 11 Jurisdiction of courts\n\n  (1) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section:\n    (a) the several courts of the States are invested with federal jurisdiction; and\n    (b) jurisdiction is conferred on the several courts of the Territories,\n  with respect to offences against this Act.\n  (2) The jurisdiction invested in or conferred on courts by the last preceding subsection is invested or conferred within the limits (other than limits having effect by reference to the places at which offences are committed) of their several jurisdictions, whether those limits are as to subject‑matter or otherwise, but subject to the conditions and restrictions specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (2) of section thirty‑nine of the Judiciary Act 1903‑1960.\n  (3) The jurisdiction invested in, or conferred on, a court of summary jurisdiction by this section shall not be judicially exercised except by a Chief, Police, Stipendiary, Resident or Special Magistrate.\n  (4) The trial on indictment of an offence against this Act, not being an offence committed within a State, may be held in any State or in any Territory.\n  (5) Subject to this Act, the laws of a State or Territory with respect to the arrest and custody of offenders or persons charged with offences and the procedure for:\n    (a) their summary conviction;\n    (b) their examination and commitment for trial on indictment;\n    (c) their trial and conviction on indictment; and\n    (d) the hearing and determination of appeals arising out of any such trial or conviction or out of any proceedings connected therewith,\n  and for holding accused persons to bail apply, so far as they are applicable, to a person who is charged in that State or Territory with an offence against this Act.\n  (6) Except as provided by this section, the Judiciary Act 1903‑1960 applies in relation to offences against this Act.","sortOrder":11}],"analysis":{"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based solely on the text provided, the Act’s operative scope is a narrow, clearly‑stated territorial one: it governs damage to submarine cables and pipelines beneath the high seas and in the EEZ and excludes cables in protection zones defined elsewhere (s5). The Act also preserves other Commonwealth and State/Territory laws (s3). Nothing in the instrument’s text indicates a change from that stated scope."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow spatial scope but cross‑references external instruments: applies only to cables/pipelines beneath the high seas or in the EEZ and excludes protection‑zone cables (s5).","Overlap and preservation of other laws: expressly adds to, not substitutes, Commonwealth/State/Territory law and references the Imperial Submarine Telegraph Act (s3).","Criminal liability layers: strict offence, negligent offence with different penalties, and a statutory exception for lifesaving acts (s7(1), s7(1A)‑(2)).","Civil allocation of costs and indemnities: owner liability for repair where laying/repairing causes damage and indemnity for lost fishing/anchoring gear when sacrificed to avoid damage (ss8‑9).","Procedural and jurisdictional detail: dual modes of prosecution (summary or indictment) with limits on summary penalties and specified courts/jurisdictional rules (ss10‑11).","Application of the Criminal Code to all offences under the Act (s5A) creates standard criminal responsibility principles to be applied."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act makes it a crime to break or damage submarine cables, pipelines or submarine high‑voltage cables located beneath the high seas or in the exclusive economic zone. It creates criminal penalties, civil liability for repair costs and an indemnity where ship gear is sacrificed to avoid damage.\n\nThe law applies to ships (including Crown vessels) and to owners of cables and pipelines, and sets out how prosecutions proceed and which courts have jurisdiction. It matters because it assigns who bears repair costs and creates legal incentives to avoid harming undersea infrastructure."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original 1963 Act likely focused on telegraph and telephone cables given the era. The current version has expanded to explicitly cover: (1) submarine high-voltage cables (modern power transmission), (2) submarine pipelines (oil/gas infrastructure), and (3) incorporates modern legal frameworks including the 1982 UN Convention on Law of the Sea and the 1997 Telecommunications Act. The addition of s 5A (Criminal Code application) and the negligence offence in s 7(1A) reflect contemporary criminal law standards. The carve-out in s 5(b) for cables in protection zones under telecommunications law shows the Act has been narrowed in scope in coastal areas where newer laws apply, while maintaining coverage in international waters."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 11 sections and straightforward structure","Minimal defined terms (only 3 explicit definitions: 'high seas', 'engage in conduct', and references to external definitions from Telecommunications Act 1997 and UN Convention on Law of the Sea)","Simple conditional logic: basic offence (s 7(1)), negligence variant (s 7(1A)), and single exception for life-saving (s 7(2))","Cross-references limited to: Criminal Code Chapter 2 (general criminal principles), Judiciary Act 1903 (court procedures), Telecommunications Act 1997 Schedule 3A (carve-out for protected zones), and UN Convention on Law of the Sea (definition)","No nested exceptions or complex deeming provisions","Clear territorial scope limited by s 5 to high seas and exclusive economic zone, with explicit exclusion of cables in protection zones under telecommunications law"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act protects submarine cables and pipelines lying beneath the high seas and Australia's exclusive economic zone (the ocean area where Australia has special rights over resources). It makes it a crime to break or damage these cables and pipelines, with penalties including up to 12 months in prison.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Ship owners and operators** – especially those with Australian-registered vessels\n- **Fishing vessels** – the Act includes a safety valve: if you lose fishing gear or anchors while taking reasonable care to avoid damaging cables, the cable owner must compensate you\n- **Cable/pipeline owners** – they must pay for repairs if they damage someone else's cable while laying or fixing their own\n\n**Key protections and exceptions:**\n\n- **Intentional or reckless damage:** Up to 12 months prison or a fine\n- **Negligent damage:** Up to 3 months prison or a smaller fine  \n- **Life-saving exception:** No penalty if damage occurs while people are genuinely trying to save lives or ships, provided they took all reasonable precautions\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nSubmarine cables carry over 99% of international internet and phone traffic, plus electricity between islands and offshore facilities. Pipelines transport oil and gas. This 1963 law (updated over time) ensures Australia meets international obligations to protect this critical undersea infrastructure. It fills gaps left by newer telecommunications laws by specifically covering cables outside Australia's coastal waters.\n\nThe Act also cleverly balances protection with fairness – it doesn't punish genuine accidents during emergencies, and compensates fishers who sacrifice equipment to avoid damage."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/submarine-cables-and-pipelines-protection-act-1963","history":"/api/acts/submarine-cables-and-pipelines-protection-act-1963/history","analysis":"/api/acts/submarine-cables-and-pipelines-protection-act-1963/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/submarine-cables-and-pipelines-protection-act-1963/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/submarine-cables-and-pipelines-protection-act-1963/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/submarine-cables-and-pipelines-protection-act-1963/documents"}}