Petroleum (Registration Fees) Regulations 1990

The principal legal concept in the instrument is prescription of fees by regulation. This operates through a three-part mechanism present in the text: (1) statutory delegation, where the Act authorises the Governor in Council to prescribe amounts (implied by the instrument’s references to section 4 subsections); (2) conversion, where those delegated powers are exercised by specifying exact dollar values (reg 3); and (3) temporal linkage, where commencement of these regulations is tied to the commencement of an amending Act (reg 2).

The regulation uses the phrase "for the purposes of section 4(x) of the Act, the prescribed amount is an amount of $Y" (reg 3(1)-(5)). This is a technical device: the regulations do not purport to create new duties or penalties, they give precise effect to statutory references to "the prescribed amount". The instrument therefore sits as subordinate law that operationalises the Act’s fee references.

A secondary concept is the ongoing administrative maintenance of fee levels through amendment. The compilation table and the annotation after regulation 3 list numerous amending instruments and reprints from 1990 through to 2023. Those entries illustrate the standard lifecycle of fee regulations: initial promulgation, periodic adjustments by amendment regulations and reprints, and cross-referencing with other fees and charges instruments (for example, several amendments are contained in instruments titled "Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations" in various years).

There are also formal drafting points evident in the instrument. Regulation 1 establishes a short title for citation (r 1). Regulation 2 sets commencement by reference to an Act rather than specifying an operative date (r 2). Regulation 3 uses plain, numeric dollar amounts rather than indexing formulae or percentage schedules; the amounts are specified to the cent level (for example $6 010.00), which is a clear, discrete figure without embedded adjustment mechanisms.

The regulations are narrowly focussed: they do not include definitions, schedules of transaction types, refund mechanisms, procedures for payment, or penalty clauses. Any such procedural or enforcement features must therefore be located in the parent Act or other subordinate instruments; the regulations themselves are limited to the concept of prescribed monetary amounts tied to the Act’s section 4 subsections.

The regulations affect only those persons or entities who, under the Act, are required to pay fees described by section 4 subsections. The instrument does not identify those classes of persons; it does not define "applicant", "registrant", "licensee" or any other category. Instead, it links to the Act’s s 4 by reference (reg 3(1)-(5)). Consequently, identifying who pays requires consulting the Act’s section 4, which the regulations explicitly reference as the locus of the substantive payment obligations.

Because the regulations simply set amounts for specified subsections of s 4, the affected parties will be those whose dealings with the department or registry fall under the particular subsection referenced. For example, if s 4(2) of the Act requires a person to pay a registration fee in particular circumstances, then the person in those circumstances must pay $6,010.00 as prescribed by r 3(1). The instrument thus delegates the determination of the dollar quantum while leaving liable classes of persons and triggering events to the parent statute.

Administratively, the entities that decide and implement the payment process , the responsible department or ministerial office , are affected in their budgeting, invoicing and compliance systems because the regulations fix specific amounts that will feed into revenue collections and record-keeping. The compilation table indicates that amendments have been carried out through a sequence of fees-and-charges instruments issued by the mining and petroleum regulatory authority (see compilation table entries for 2016-2023), signalling that the regulatory agency and its finance systems are recurringly engaged to update the amounts and put the new figures into practice.

Because the instrument imposes a monetary obligation, it is the payers who bear the direct financial cost. The instrument does not assign or alter rights beyond that payment obligation. Indirectly, affected businesses , such as small contractors, applicants for exploration or production rights, or geothermal proponents , will experience the administrative and cash-flow implications of paying the listed amounts at the time and in the circumstances the Act requires. The regulations do not differentiate by corporate size, activity type or tenure; they provide a flat dollar amount per statutory subsection. Whether that payment is a one-off, annual, per-application charge, or conditional on an event is determined by the Act’s section 4, not by these regulations.

Duties

• The primary duty created by this instrument is to pay the "prescribed amount" as defined for each cited subsection of section 4 of the Act. The duty to pay arises under the Act; these regulations convert the statutory phrase "the prescribed amount" into specific dollar figures (reg 3(1)-(5)). The text does not itself state the trigger events for payment, frequency of payment, or point of payment. Those elements are left to s 4 of the Act. The regulations therefore impose a payment duty in quantum only.
• The regulations impose no procedural obligations about how payment is to be made. There is no text on invoicing, acceptable payment methods, timing deadlines, receipt issuance, proof of payment or administrative steps. Those must be found in the Act or in separate instruments administered by the responsible department.
• The regulations impose no explicit duties on the administering agency to provide receipts, refunds, waivers, or exemptions. Again, any such duties must be located in the Act or in other subordinate instruments.

Rights

• The instrument does not create express rights for payers. It does not contain provisions for refunds, appeals, remission, offsets or challenges to the amount itself. If the Act contains appeal or review rights concerning fee decisions or payment enforcement, those rights are not reproduced or modified by these regulations.
• There is an implicit right that the "prescribed amount" is determinable and ascertainable from these regulations: recipients of the statutory obligation can consult the regulation to find the exact dollar amount for the relevant subsection (reg 3). This converts an otherwise indeterminate statutory reference into a concrete figure.
• The regulations do not confer any entitlement to services, licences, or governmental action in exchange for payment beyond what the Act may already provide. They are neutral about exchangeable benefits: the only function is to state the amounts.

Who decides

• The regulation-making authority (the Governor in Council or other executive instrumentality) exercises the power to set or update prescribed amounts under the delegated authority in the Act. The instrument’s amendment history in the compilation table shows that successive amendments and reprints have been made by formal regulations and Statutory Rules, implying that administrative decision-makers and the executive vary the amounts over time through the standard subordinate legislation process (compilation table).

Mechanics to note

• Because duties are defined in quantum only, compliance decision-making (who pays, when, and under what conditions) requires cross-referencing the Act. Practically, legal and compliance advisers must read the Act’s s 4 alongside r 3 to determine obligations in totality. The regulations should be read as supplementing s 4, not replacing it.

The regulations themselves do not contain any penalty clauses, enforcement provisions, sanctioning mechanisms, or administrative enforcement procedures. Regulation 3 is confined to prescribing monetary amounts; regulations 1 and 2 cover citation and commencement only. There is no text within this instrument imposing fines, criminal offences, late-payment penalties, or specifying collection powers such as recovery by debt, set-off, or lien.

Because the instrument refers explicitly to section 4 of the Act as the operative source for the payment obligation (reg 3(1)-(5)), any enforcement regime must be located in the Act or in other subordinate instruments made under the Act or related legislation. The regulations’ silence on enforcement means the following, as can be directly read from the text:

• There is no enforcement detail in these regulations to which a regulated person can look for penalty rates, interest on overdue amounts, or behaviour-directing sanctions. The instrument supplies only the monetary figures (reg 3).
• The administrative machinery that will enforce payment , for example, invoicing authority, recovery procedures, suspension or refusal of rights for non-payment , is not enumerated here. Those mechanisms, if any exist, are to be found in other parts of the statutory scheme (the Act or other regulations).

The compilation table and amendment notes show the instrument has been updated many times by "Fees and Charges" amendments in the Mines and Petroleum Regulations and related Statutory Rules. Those amendment instruments sometimes exist within a broader regulatory package that includes enforcement or consequential changes, but this particular instrument contains none of those features. Therefore, practitioners should not assume the regulations alter enforcement regimes; to determine enforcement status they must consult the Act and any enforcement provisions in associated subordinate legislation.

For legal or compliance certainty, the practical consequence is that the regulation permits determination of the quantum only; assessment of penalty exposure or remedies for non-payment requires reference to the parent Act or to the administrative policy and procedural instruments of the administering authority.

The regulations interact with the Act by explicit reference to section 4: each prescribed amount is declared "for the purposes of section 4(x) of the Act" (reg 3(1)-(5)). That is an integral interaction: the regulations give content to the Act’s references to "the prescribed amount" by providing the concrete dollar values. The commencement provision (reg 2) likewise ties the regulations to the timing of another statute: they "shall come into operation on the commencement of the Petroleum (Registration Fees) Amendment Act 1990" (r 2). This shows an interaction in two dimensions: substantive (filling out statutory placeholders) and temporal (becoming effective only when the amending Act is commenced).

The compilation table documents a sequence of instruments that have amended or reprinted the regulations and shows cross-referencing between these regulations and other fees instruments. Notably, numerous amendments are contained in instruments titled "Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations" or similar, across the years 2016-2023 (compilation table). Those entries demonstrate an operational link between the regulatory architecture for mining and petroleum fees and the specific fee figures in these regulations. The effect is that broader fees-and-charges programmes are used to adjust the prescribed amounts here, meaning the regulations operate within a portfolio of subordinate instruments managed under the mining and petroleum regulatory framework.

The instrument also records a change of citation and an update to the instrument’s name: "Now known as the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Registration Fees) Regulations 1990; citation changed (see note under r. 1)." That indicates an administrative interaction with naming conventions and possibly with consolidation of petroleum and geothermal regulatory frameworks.

There is no express interaction in the text with taxation law, administrative law remedies, bankruptcy or insolvency regimes, or financial penalties. Any such cross-cutting interactions would depend on provisions in the Act or other statutes. For example, whether unpaid prescribed amounts constitute a debt recoverable under the State’s normal processes, or whether payment obligations survive insolvency or attract priority, cannot be determined from this instrument; those matters are governed elsewhere.

Finally, the amendment history shows interaction with the Gazette and statutory rule publication process. The compilation table records precise publication and commencement dates for various amending instruments. That affects how the present regulation must be read in time and indicates that the regulation’s operation is integrally connected to the statutory instrument-making and commencement processes set out in general legislation governing subordinate instruments.

The regulations have a documented history of amendments, reprints and name changes recorded in the compilation table and the notes appended to regulation 3. The original instrument was made as the Petroleum (Registration Fees) Regulations 1990 and published on 28 September 1990 with an initial commencement on 1 October 1990 (compilation table first entry). The instrument has since been amended repeatedly. Notable entries in the compilation table and regulation 3 annotations include:

• Amendments in 2002 and 2003 (Petroleum (Registration Fees) Amendment Regulations 2002 and 2003) with the 2002 instrument having effect from 1 July 2002 and the 2003 instrument commencing on 28 February 2003 (compilation table).
• A reprint as at 7 May 2004 incorporating earlier amendments (compilation table).
• Amendments in 2009 and a reprint in 2010, with specific commencement notes in the Gazette for r 1 and r 2 and different commencement for the rest of the Regulations (compilation table).
• Two sets of amendments in 2010 (one titled Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Registration Fees) Amendment Regulations 2010 and a second numbered (No. 2) 2010), with staggered commencement days (compilation table).
• Subsequent amendments in 2011, 2012, 2014 (twice), 2015 and a series grouped under Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Levies)/(Fees and Charges) Regulations for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023 (compilation table).
• Regulation 3 has an explicit list of amendment dates in the attestation after r 3, running from 28 Jun 2002 through to SL 2023/36 r. 24 (amendment note under r 3).

The pattern in the compilation table shows that amendments to the prescribed amounts commonly take effect at the start of the financial year (several entries show "other than r 1 and 2" commencing on 1 July of the relevant year). That is a recurring administrative approach, although the instrument itself does not mandate that timing; the amending instruments have used that commencement convention in multiple years (for example 1 Jul 2009, 12 May 2010 exceptions noted, 1 Jul 2011, 1 Jul 2012, 26 Feb 2014, 1 Jul 2014, 1 Jul 2015, 1 Jul 2016, 1 Jul 2017, 1 Jul 2018, 1 Jul 2019, 1 Jul 2020, 1 Jul 2021, 1 Jul 2023 in the compilation table).

Reprints have been produced at multiple points (Reprint 1 as at 7 May 2004; Reprint 2 as at 6 Aug 2010; Reprint 3 as at 13 Jul 2018), indicating the instrument has been consolidated periodically to incorporate amending provisions. The note "Now known as the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Registration Fees) Regulations 1990; citation changed (see note under r. 1)" records a formal renaming at some point in the amendment history.

In short, the regulations have been subject to frequent and periodic amendment, typically by fees-and-charges instruments and often with commencement aligning with financial-year timing. Practitioners should consult the latest reprint or the Gazette notices for the precise operative date of any amendment.

The regulation text and the compilation table supplied do not record any litigation history, case law, or judicial decisions concerning the regulations themselves. There are no cases named in the instrument, no cross-references to judicial determinations, and no annotations indicating judicial interpretation or challenge.

Because the instrument is a subordinate fee instrument, litigation that concerns the prescribed amounts, their validity, or their application would typically arise in the context of proceedings dealing with the parent Act, administrative decisions by the regulator, or disputes over statutory interpretation. None of those materials are included in the text before you.

Consequently, the present instrument provides no primary source material on legal disputes, appeals, or judicial interpretation of the prescribed amounts. If a practitioner requires litigation history relevant to these regulations, the next step is to search court databases and administrative review tribunal records for proceedings that cite the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Registration Fees) Regulations 1990 or the corresponding sections of the Act (not contained in this text). The absence of litigation references in the instrument means the regulations stand as an administrative schedule until and unless judicial review or statutory challenge is recorded elsewhere.

For due diligence, anyone advising a client should treat the regulations as a legislative fact , a declared list of amounts , and then check judicial databases, tribunal decisions and any reported cases that engage with the Act’s s 4 or the application of prescribed amounts. The instrument itself provides no further guidance on precedential or interpretive history.

The instrument’s narrow form and the way it is updated create several practical pitfalls which arise directly from the text and the compilation history.

1. Prescribed amounts are tethered to specific subsections. The five amounts apply respectively to s 4(2), s 4(3), s 4(4), s 4(6) and s 4(7) of the Act (reg 3(1)-(5)). A common compliance error would be to apply the wrong amount to a payment obligation if the practitioner misidentifies which subsection of s 4 is the trigger. Because the regulations do not set out the circumstances each subsection covers, a user must cross-check the Act to ensure they map the correct quantum to the correct triggering event.

2. The instrument is silent on timing, invoicing and payment mechanism. There is no provision specifying when the fee is due, who must issue the invoice, or how payment is to be made (reg 3; regs 1-2). Failure to consult the Act or departmental guidance could lead to late payment, dispute over acceptance of payment, or administrative confusion.

3. The amounts have been amended repeatedly and often in packages that take effect on later dates. The compilation table shows multiple amendment instruments with differing commencement provisions (compilation table). Some amendments to the regulations took effect on the date of publication of r 1 and r 2 but other parts came into force on later specified dates (see several compilation table entries). Practically, applying an outdated amount because the practitioner has not checked the latest reprint or the Gazette commencement notices is a material risk.

4. Slight numeric discrepancies matter. The figures prescribed are precise to the cent. For example, reg 3(4) is $9,550.00 while reg 3(5) is $9,597.00 , differences that could be overlooked if amounts are rounded or poorly transcribed. Always read the regulation text rather than relying on summaries.

5. The commencement linkage to the amending Act. Regulation 2 ties the commencement of these regulations to the commencement of the Petroleum (Registration Fees) Amendment Act 1990 (r 2). For legal effect, this creates a dependency: if the Amendment Act’s commencement is delayed or staged, these regulations will only commence when that Act does. Subsequent amendments, however, followed ordinary regulation commencement practice (see compilation table), so practitioners must map the interactions of commencement dates across instruments.

6. No enforcement language here. Because there are no penalty or enforcement provisions in this instrument, practitioners should not assume that late payment penalties, enforcement discretions or remission pathways are altered by these regulations (there are none in the text). That information must be sought in the Act or in policy material.

7. Citation and name changes. The instrument has been renamed and recited as "Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Registration Fees) Regulations 1990" with an annotation noting the citation change (other notes). Practitioners should ensure that any searches use the current citation as well as previous titles to avoid missing historic materials or amendments.

8. Reliance on reprints. The compilation table lists several reprints (2004, 2010, 2018). A reprint consolidates amendments up to a date; relying on a reprint without checking for subsequent amendments can lead to error. The amending instruments listed up to SL 2023/36 r. 24 indicate later changes after some reprints.

9. No indexation or automatic adjustment mechanism. The instrument prescribes fixed dollar figures with no formula for indexation, CPI adjustment or escalation. Any future changes must be made by amendment instruments. Assuming an automatic escalation is not supported by the text.

10. Administrative packaging. Several amendments are effected in larger "Fees and Charges" instruments for Mines and Petroleum matters (compilation table). An amendment to these regulations might be bundled with numerous other fee changes; therefore, the legislative history should be read in context to identify parallel changes in related instruments that may affect administrative practice.

Each of these points derives from the text and the compilation table. They are not judicial findings; they are operational risks and practical pitfalls that follow from the instrument’s structure and recorded amendment practice.

To comply with the requirements that the regulations operationalise, the following practical steps are directly supported by the instrument and its compilation notes.

1. Identify the trigger under the Act. The regulations prescribe amounts "for the purposes of section 4(x) of the Act" (reg 3(1)-(5)). Compliance begins by determining whether the transaction, application or registration event in question falls under s 4(2), s 4(3), s 4(4), s 4(6) or s 4(7) of the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Registration Fees) Act 1967. The regulations do not define triggers; they provide the corresponding amounts only.

2. Apply the correct prescribed amount. Once the correct subsection is identified, pay the amount listed in the regulation:

   • s 4(2) , $6,010.00 (reg 3(1));
   • s 4(3) , $6,010.00 (reg 3(2));
   • s 4(4) , $9,550.00 (reg 3(3));
   • s 4(6) , $6,010.00 (reg 3(4));
   • s 4(7) , $9,597.00 (reg 3(5)). Ensure the amount is transcribed precisely to the cent as stated.

3. Check effective dates and amendment history. Before processing payment, verify you are using the current regulation. The compilation table shows frequent amendments and reprints (compilation table). Confirm the operative version by consulting the latest reprint or by checking the Gazette notices and the Statutory Rules listed in the compilation table for commencement details (some amendments commence on 1 July of a year, others on the date of publication).

4. Document the payment and mapping. Maintain documentary evidence showing:

   • which subsection of s 4 was the legal basis;
   • the regulation clause read to identify the prescribed amount (reg 3(x));
   • the date the amount was determined and the version of the regulations consulted (reference to Gazette/Statutory Rule or reprint date from compilation table);
   • receipt or proof of payment issued by the administering authority.

5. Confirm payment mechanism and timing from the Act/agency. The regulations are silent on how or when to pay. Obtain the procedural details , invoicing authority, account details, permitted payment methods, deadlines, and consequences for late payment , from the Act’s procedural provisions or the administering agency’s published guidance. The instrument does not provide these details (reg 3).

6. Monitor for updates routinely. Given the pattern of annual or periodic amendments shown in the compilation table, establish a compliance check at least annually, timed around typical amendment commencements (many amendments have used 1 July as an operative date) so you do not miss an increase or change in prescribed amounts (compilation table). Subscribe to the relevant Gazette or the agency’s notifications.

7. Reconcile fees in budgeting. Treat the prescribed amounts as fixed charges when budgeting for applications or registrations governed by s 4. The amounts are set in regulation and will remain so until a further amending instrument changes them (reg 3 and compilation table). Plan for the administrative work required to update internal fee schedules when the State amends the figures.

8. Seek clarification where ambiguity exists. If there is any uncertainty about which subsection applies, whether a payment has been accepted, or how to proceed after payment, request written confirmation from the administering authority rather than relying solely on the regulations’ monetary table. The regulations’ narrow scope means administrative discretion and procedures are likely handled elsewhere.

9. Consider administrative timelines when aggregating payments. If multiple applications or registrations are to be made, map each to the correct subsection and calculate aggregate exposure. The regulations do not provide reductions or combined-fee mechanisms, so each statutory trigger should be treated discretely unless the Act or agency guidance provides otherwise.

10. Retain legal advice on complex cases. If the amount in dispute is material, or if a party is contesting the applicability of a subsection, obtain legal advice. The regulations alone do not supply remedies or appeal routes; such processes will be governed by the Act or by general administrative law remedies.

These compliance actions are strictly based on the structure and content of the regulations and their recorded amendment practice. The regulations prescribe the amounts; compliance requires mapping statutory obligations to those amounts and following up with procedural rules located outside the text.