{"id":"wa-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983","name":"W.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983","slug":"w-a-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":182358,"registerId":"wa-wa-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"W.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nWestern Australian Marine Act 1982\n\nW.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983\n\nWestern Australia\n\nW.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Classification of vessels 1\n\n5. Application of Sections 5 and 6 of Code 2\n\n6. Application of Section 8 of Code 2\n\n7. Application of Section 9 of Code 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 3\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nWestern Australian Marine Act 1982\n\nW.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\nThese regulations may be cited as the *W.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983* 1*.*\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThese regulations shall come into operation on 1 July 1983.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\n(1) In these regulations —\n\nCode means the Uniform Shipping Laws Code, referred to in section 115 of the Act, as in existence on 1 October 2009.\n\n(2) In the provisions of the Code incorporated in these regulations, a term has the same meaning as it has in the Code.\n\n[Regulation 3 inserted: Gazette 11 Dec 2009 p. 5092.]\n\n##### 4. Classification of vessels\n\nFor the purposes of these regulations, vessels shall be classified in the manner provided by clause 6 of Section 1 of the Code.\n\n##### 5. Application of Sections 5 and 6 of Code\n\nThe provisions of Sections 5 and 6 of the Code are incorporated in these regulations and shall extend and apply to and in respect of all vessels and voyages to which the Act applies.\n\n##### 6. Application of Section 8 of Code\n\n(1) The provisions of Section 8 of the Code are incorporated in these regulations and shall extend and apply to and in respect of all vessels and voyages to which the Act applies.\n\n[(2) deleted]\n\n[Regulation 6 amended: Gazette 24 Oct 2008 p. 4671.]\n\n##### 7. Application of Section 9 of Code\n\nThe provisions of Section 9 of the Code are incorporated in these regulations and shall extend and apply to and in respect of all vessels and voyages to which the Act applies.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *W.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Gazettal** | | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *W.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983* | 1 Jul 1983 p. 2177 | | 1 Jul 1983 (see r. 2) |\n| *W.A. Marine Amendment Regulations 1992* Pt. 4 | 11 Aug 1992 p. 3976-80 | | 11 Aug 1992 |\n| **Reprint 1: The *W.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Regulations 1983* as  at 7 Mar 2003** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *W.A. Marine (Construction, Stability and Engineering) Amendment Regulations 2008* | 24 Oct 2008 p. 4670-1 | | r. 1 and 2: 24 Oct 2008 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 25 Oct 2008 (see r. 2(b)) |\n| *W.A. Marine Amendment Regulations 2009* Pt. 4 | | 11 Dec 2009 p. 5087‑109 | 12 Dec 2009 (see r. 2(b)) | | |\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\nCode 3(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"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"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available. The retrieved content consists solely of a website unavailability notice and an Acknowledgement of Country, neither of which contains legislative substance."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — only an error/redirect page was provided","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without access to the actual content","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"These Western Australian subordinate regulations set technical standards for the construction, stability and engineering of marine vessels operating in WA waters. They matter to boat builders, vessel owners and marine operators because they govern how vessels must be built and equipped to meet safety and compliance expectations. Access the full text on the WA legislation site."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulations, originally made in 1983, have been amended to incorporate and rely explicitly on a specific version of the Uniform Shipping Laws Code (fixed as at 1 Oct 2009 by Reg 3). That amendment—and later edits (see 2008/2009 entries in the compilation table and the deletion in Reg 6)—means scope and substantive obligations are driven by the referenced Code version and the incorporated Sections 5, 6, 8 and 9, applying those external rules to 'all vessels and voyages to which the Act applies' (Regs 3–7)."},"complexity_factors":["Incorporation by reference of a large external instrument (the Uniform Shipping Laws Code) rather than reproducing text increases interpretive complexity and requires consulting the Code (Reg 3; Regs 5–7).","Broad application language — provisions apply to 'all vessels and voyages to which the Act applies' — expands coverage and shifts the boundary-drawing task to the Marine Act and its interpretation (Regs 5–7).","Classification depends on a specific clause of the Code (clause 6 of Section 1), so factual vessel categorisation requires reading and applying the Code’s classification rules (Reg 4).","Version fixation — the Code is fixed 'as in existence on 1 October 2009' (Reg 3(1)), so compliance obligations follow that snapshot; amendments to those external rules require regulatory amendment to change obligations.","Amendment history and deletions (see Reg 6 amendment/deletion and compilation table) mean historical versions and changes must be tracked for compliance and enforcement questions.","Enforcement and compliance burdens fall on vessel owners/operators who must meet technical standards set out outside the regulation text (Regs 5–7), increasing transactional/legal costs for operators.","Potential reliance on the Marine Act for scope and enforcement creates cross-instrument interpretive dependencies (Regs 5–7 referring to 'to which the Act applies')."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations fold specified parts of the Uniform Shipping Laws Code into Western Australian law, classify vessels according to the Code, and make Sections 5, 6, 8 and 9 of the Code apply to every vessel and voyage covered by the Marine Act. Vessel owners and operators must therefore meet the Code’s construction, stability and engineering requirements; the regulations fix the applicable Code version as at 1 October 2009 (Reg 3), so compliance and enforcement depend on that external instrument."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose of incorporating specific technical sections of the Uniform Shipping Laws Code regarding vessel construction, stability and engineering. The 2009 amendment updated the reference to a specific version of the Code (as at 1 October 2009) rather than expanding the scope. The removal of regulation 6(2) in 2008 actually narrowed the scope slightly."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short—only 7 regulations plus interpretation provisions","Minimal defined terms—only 1 defined term ('Code') in the regulations themselves","No conditional logic or nested exceptions within the legislative text","Heavy reliance on external incorporation by reference (the Uniform Shipping Laws Code), which creates practical complexity for users who must consult external documents, but the legislative mechanism itself is simple","Straightforward structure: citation, commencement, definitions, classification, and three incorporation provisions","Deleted provision (regulation 6(2)) indicates some historical simplification"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set safety standards for how boats and ships must be built and engineered in Western Australia. They essentially import technical rules from the 'Uniform Shipping Laws Code' (a national set of maritime safety standards) into Western Australian law.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Requires vessels to meet specific construction, stability, and engineering standards\n- Applies these standards to all vessels covered by the Western Australian Marine Act 1982\n- Uses a classification system from the Code to categorize different types of vessels\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Boat builders and shipyards constructing vessels in WA\n- Owners and operators of commercial vessels\n- Anyone responsible for vessel maintenance and safety\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThese rules ensure boats are seaworthy and won't sink or break apart. By referencing the Uniform Shipping Laws Code, WA aligns its safety standards with other Australian states, making it easier for vessels to operate across state borders without meeting different rules in each place.\n\n**Key technical note:** The regulations don't spell out all the detailed rules themselves—they simply say 'use the Code' (specifically the version that existed on 1 October 2009). This is a common technique in maritime law to keep technical standards up-to-date without constantly rewriting legislation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/w-a-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983","history":"/api/acts/w-a-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983/history","analysis":"/api/acts/w-a-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/w-a-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/w-a-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/w-a-marine-construction-stability-and-engineering-regulations-1983/documents"}}