Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Regulations 1990

The regulations operate through a simple statutory mechanism: they prescribe numerical amounts “for the purposes of” specified subsections of the parent statute. That is the regulation’s essential conceptual device. The key concepts to extract from the text are the following.

Prescribed amount by reference (reg 3). The regulations do not create new obligations; they define the “prescribed amount” used in the Act. The phrase “for the purposes of section 4(2) of the Act, the prescribed amount is an amount of $6 010.00” (and parallel formulations for the other subsections) is a statutory cross-reference device. The concept is that the Act contains provisions that require or refer to a “prescribed amount” and the regulations fix what that number is.

Statutory specificity and multiplicity. Different subsections of section 4 attract different prescribed amounts. The instrument therefore recognises that the Act contemplates multiple, distinct fee events or categories, and allocates a specific dollar figure to each. The amounts are not all identical: s 4(4) and s 4(7) attract higher figures than s 4(2)/(3)/(6), which suggests the Act distinguishes between different registration activities by cost or administrative classification, though that classificatory detail is not contained in these regulations themselves.

Delegated rate-setting. This instrument is an example of delegated rate-setting in which Parliament has left the quantum of statutory fees to be determined in subordinate legislation. The regulations are the operative vehicle for that delegated decision-making. The compilation table shows that the instrument has been amended multiple times by other regulations (including fee and levy amendments under Mines and Petroleum Regulations instruments), which is consistent with fee levels being adjusted periodically by regulation rather than by amendment to the parent Act.

Commencement linkage (reg 2). The commencement of these regulations is tied to the commencement of another Act, the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Amendment Act 1990. The linkage means the regs did not automatically commence on a fixed date but awaited the parent amendment Act’s commencement, a common mechanism when a regulation implements or operationalises an Act amendment.

No process or indexation mechanism. The regulations do not provide a formula, indexation mechanism, periodic review timetable, or CPI-link; they simply state fixed dollar amounts. Any ongoing update of fee levels has been achieved by subsequent instruments (see compilation table), not by an automatic indexation rule within this instrument.

Formal publication and reprints. The compilation table and amendment notes attached to regulation 3 document the statutory publishing history: multiple amendment regulations, repeated reprints, and effective dates are recorded. This establishes the regulatory practice of updating the figures by gazetted instruments and reprints.

In short, the main conceptual role of the regulations is numerically prescriptive: they supply the fixed monetary figures that the parent Act requires for fee-charging events specified by subsections of s 4.

The regulations affect three categories of actors in concrete, source-grounded ways:

1. Persons who must pay the fees under the parent Act. The regulations fix the monetary amounts that apply “for the purposes of section 4(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the Act” (reg 3). The regulations do not name those persons; therefore the direct, legal obligation to pay arises from the Act’s substantive provisions. Practitioners and entities considering registrations under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Act 1982 must consult s 4 of the Act to determine whether they fall within the classes to which these prescribed amounts apply. The regulations’ textual effect is limited to specifying the amount payable for each referenced subsection.

2. The administering agency or government revenue stream. By prescribing fee amounts, the regulations allocate a revenue stream to the government for the registration activities governed by the Act. The regulations do not specify how the revenue is accounted for or applied; those details are left to the Act, agency practice, or treasury rules. The practical consequence for the administration is that budgeted revenue and administrative cost recovery depend on the figures in reg 3 and, because the figures have been amended repeatedly (compilation table), are subject to periodic change via subordinate instruments.

3. Advisers and compliance professionals. Lawyers, accountants, title agents, land and petroleum advisers, and compliance officers who handle submerged lands registrations must apply the precise amounts set out at reg 3 when calculating payable fees. The repeated amendments listed in the compilation table mean these professionals must confirm which version of the regulation (or which Gazette notice) is operative at the time a registration is lodged.

Indirectly affected actors. While not specified in the text, the economic incidence will tend to fall on the party required by the Act to make a registration or payment (again, identified by the Act’s s 4). For example, private petroleum companies, contractors, or lessees engaged in activities that require registration under the Act will see an administrative cost quantified by these regulations. The regulations do not allocate the cost among partners, joint venturers, or contractors; any allocation among private parties will be governed by their commercial contracts and by the substantive rules of the Act.

Geographic and legal scope. The regulations are Western Australian subordinate legislation and apply in the jurisdictional scope of the parent Act, namely to matters covered by the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Act 1982. The regulations are silent on extraterritorial treatment; any such issue must be resolved by reference to the Act.

Timing and transitional effect. Because reg 2 ties commencement to the commencement of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Amendment Act 1990, affected parties needed to track that Act’s commencement date to know when these amounts first applied. Subsequent amendments recorded in the compilation table show multiple later effective dates; affected parties therefore must confirm the operative version for any given transaction.

The regulations themselves impose one primary legal duty and leave other rights and duties to the parent Act.

Duty to apply the prescribed amount numbers. The principal duty created by these regulations is to apply the specified monetary figures when the Act requires a “prescribed amount.” The statutory language is prescriptive: for each listed subsection of s 4, “the prescribed amount is an amount of $X” (reg 3(1)-(5)). That is a duty on administrators and users to use the figure set in these regulations as the numerical input that the Act references.

No standalone payment procedure. The regulations do not create procedural rules governing how payments are made, when they are due, to whom they are paid, or what receipts or instruments of proof are required. Those duties and associated rights,such as a right to registration once a fee is paid, or a duty to pay prior to registration,are not established by these regulations but must be located in the parent Act or other subsidiary regulations. The regulation is silent on refund rules, time for payment, or documentation.

No rights of exemption or waiver in the regulations. The regulations do not create exemptions, concessions, or waivers. If exemptions exist, they must be found in the Act or other instruments. The text contains no discretion-granting clause to allow an administering authority to reduce or waive the prescribed amounts; any such power would have to be derived from the Act.

Fixed quantum rather than formulaic. Because the regulations set fixed dollar amounts rather than a percentage or index-linked figure, the duty is to use that exact amount until it is altered by a later regulatory amendment. The compilation table shows numerous subsequent amendments and reprints; consequently the duty on a registrant or officer is to confirm which regulatory text was operative at the relevant time of application or registration.

Allocation across subsections. The regulations create separate duties depending on which subsection of s 4 applies. For instance, s 4(4) and s 4(7) attract higher amounts ($9,550.00 and $9,597.00 respectively) than the other listed subsections ($6,010.00). The duty is therefore conditional on the classification of the registration event. Identifying the correct duty requires reading section 4 of the Act alongside regulation 3.

Administrative duty to maintain currency. The compilation table and amendment notes appended to regulation 3 indicate regular updates by gazetted instruments, many effective on or about 1 July of the listed year. Administrators and practitioners therefore have a de facto duty to ensure they are using the current prescribed amounts by checking reprints, Gazette notices, or the consolidated legislation available from official sources.

Rights extinguished or conferred. The regulations do not by themselves create a substantive right (for example a right to registration) nor do they expressly extinguish any right. Any entitlement (such as a right to have an application registered on payment of fee, or to a refund) must be found in the Act or other subordinate instruments. The regulations’ sole legal consequence is numeric: they determine the sum that will be treated as the prescribed amount under the listed subsections.

The regulations contain no penalty, sanction, or enforcement provisions. They do not create offences, enforcement mechanisms, payment deadlines, or administrative remedies. The document is limited to prescribing monetary figures to be used in the parent Act (regulation 3) and to specifying citation and commencement (regulations 1-2).

Consequently, enforcement and penalties, and the legal consequences of non-payment, must be derived from the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Act 1982 or any other statutory instrument that deals with payment, recovery, or registration procedures. The regulations themselves neither prescribe coercive measures nor delegate enforcement powers.

Practical implications from that silence:

• Determination of the consequences of non-payment. The legal consequences for failing to pay the prescribed amount (for example, whether the registration application may be rejected, suspended, or later regularised) are not answered by these regulations. Reference to the parent Act is necessary to determine enforcement steps and any sanction regime.
• Recovery and debt collection. There is no power in these regulations authorising debt recovery actions, interest on overdue fees, or administrative penalties. Such powers will exist, if at all, in other legislation.
• Administrative discretion. The regulations do not confer a power to reduce or waive fees. Whether an administering authority has discretion to accept a lesser payment, to defer payment, or to grant relief depends on powers conferred elsewhere.
• Audit and accounting. The regulations say nothing about the accounting or audit treatment of receipts. Any obligations on the administering agency to account for or remit these amounts will be found in the Act, treasury directions, or financial management legislation.

For compliance monitoring and enforcement responsibilities (for example, which agency enforces or receives the fees), readers must consult the Act and the administrative arrangements that allocate responsibilities among agencies. The compilation table indicates that subsequent amendments have come via instruments with titles referring to Mines and Petroleum Regulations; this suggests the regulatory regime is administratively aligned with mining and petroleum portfolio instruments, but the regulations themselves do not state the identity of the enforcing agency.

Where a practitioner needs to advise on enforcement risk, the correct next step,compelled by the text,is to read the parent Act for penalty provisions and any related subordinate instruments for procedural rules. The regulations’ omission of penalties is therefore a material feature: they only fix numbers.

The regulations operate as subordinate legislation to the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Act 1982. Their interaction with other laws is principally by reference and by administrative practice recorded in the compilation table.

Primary interaction: the parent Act. Each prescription in reg 3 is expressly “for the purposes of section 4(x) of the Act.” The regulations therefore interact with the Act by supplying the numerical element (the “prescribed amount”) that the Act’s operative clauses require. The regulations do not replicate or modify the substantive provisions of the Act; they merely supply the numeric data the Act refers to.

Amendment instruments and related regulations. The compilation table shows a pattern of later amendments and related instruments that bear on fee levels and the broader fees and charges framework. Examples recorded in the compilation table include instruments titled “Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Amendment Regulations” (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015) and a series of “Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Levies)” or “(Fees and Charges)” Regulations from 2016 through 2023. Those instruments suggest cross-linkage between fee-setting under this instrument and wider fees regimes for mines and petroleum. The regulations therefore function within an administrative cluster of subordinate legislation concerned with mineral and petroleum fees.

Gazette and commencement mechanics. The compilation table records the Gazette publication and specific commencement arrangements for the principal regulation and for each amending instrument. This demonstrates interaction between these regulations and the statutory mechanics of commencement and publication required by the Interpretation Act and the State’s legislative practice. The timing of amendments,often with parts commencing on publication and others on specified dates,means the operation of these regulations must be read in tandem with the commencement clauses of the amending instruments.

No express cross-references to other Acts within the text. The regulations do not, for example, reference the Financial Management Act, the Interpretation Act, or specific provisions of the Mines and Petroleum Regulations beyond what is evident in the compilation table. Any interaction with those instruments is therefore indirect and must be inferred from the administrative context or traced by consulting the cited amending instruments.

Delegated rate-setting versus statutory rates. The regulations illustrate a common pattern where the parent Act delegates the quantum of fees to subordinate regulations. That means any legal challenge to the fee quantum could require addressing the validity of the delegated instrument under principles of statutory interpretation and the enabling provision in the Act. The regulations themselves do not comment on the enabling power; that is in the Act.

Licensing and administrative practice. The compilation table records several reprints and amendments, indicating an administrative practice of periodically updating fee figures through the Gazette. Practically, this interacts with agency procedures for licence application, fee collection, and system configuration for payment processing. The regulations’ revisions, often effective at the start of the financial year, will be reflected in departmental fee schedules and business processes.

To understand fully how these regulations operate in the broader legal field, a practitioner must read them alongside:

• the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Act 1982 (for the substantive duties, definitions, and enforcement),
• the amending regulations and Gazette notices recorded in the compilation table (for temporal effect and the evolution of amounts),
• the Mines and Petroleum Regulations and any instruments that align fee schedules across portfolios (as suggested by the titles in the compilation table),
• general financial management and interpretation statutes governing subordinate legislation.

The compilation table appended to the regulations provides the authoritative history of publication and amendment for this instrument. The regulations were originally made as the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Regulations 1990 and first published in the Western Australian Government Gazette on 28 September 1990, with an initial commencement tied to 1 October 1990 (see reg 2 and Gazette references in the compilation table).

Key items from the compilation table and amendment notes:

• Original instrument: Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Regulations 1990, Gazette 28 Sep 1990 p. 5108‑9. Commencement: 1 Oct 1990 (see reg 2 and Gazette 28 Sep 1990 p. 5099).
• Amendment regulations and dates: The table records multiple amendment regulations and their publication dates. Select entries are:
  • Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Amendment Regulations 2002 (Gazette 28 Jun 2002 p. 3094‑5). Commencement: 1 Jul 2002.
  • Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Amendment Regulations 2003 (Gazette 28 Feb 2003 p. 675‑6). Commencement: 28 Feb 2003.
  • Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Amendment Regulations 2009 (Gazette 23 Jun 2009 p. 2477-8). Parts commenced 23 Jun 2009 and 1 Jul 2009.
  • Amendment Regulations in 2010 (two separate instruments: 11 May 2010 and 16 Jul 2010), with staged commencements in May and July 2010.
  • Amendments in 2011 (Gazette 1 Jul 2011), 2012 (Gazette 12 Jun 2012 with some parts from 1 Jul 2012), and multiple instruments in 2014, 2015.
  • From 2016 onwards, several instruments bearing the title “Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Levies)” or “(Fees and Charges)” amended fee regimes and are recorded as amending this instrument or being relevant to its operation; those instruments are dated annually for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 (SL 2020/93), 2021 (SL 2021/85), and 2023 (SL 2023/36).
• Reprints: The compilation table records Reprint 1 (as at 7 May 2004), Reprint 2 (as at 23 Nov 2012), and Reprint 3 (as at 5 Sep 2014). Reprints incorporate the amendments up to the date of reprint, providing consolidated texts for users.
• Amendment notation in regulation 3: The regulation itself carries an editorial note listing amendment dates and Gazette references: “[Regulation 3 amended: Gazette 28 June 2002 p. 3095; 28 Feb 2003 p. 676; 23 Jun 2009 p. 2477-8; 11 May 2010 p. 1822; 16 Jul 2010 p. 3362; 1 Jul 2011 p. 2739; 12 Jun 2012 p. 2460; 25 Feb 2014 p. 502; 17 Jun 2014 p. 1986; 30 Jun 2015 p. 2350; 24 Jun 2016 p. 2331; 23 Jun 2017 p. 3299; 25 Jun 2018 p. 2314; 18 Jun 2019 p. 2050; SL 2020/93 r. 23; SL 2021/85 r. 34; SL 2023/36 r. 30.]”

Patterns and implications from the amendment history:

• Frequency and timing. A number of the amendments have effective dates clustered around late June/early July in many years. This suggests an administrative practice of aligning fee adjustments with the State’s financial year, although the regulations themselves do not impose such a schedule.
• Source of amendments. From 2016 the amendment instruments are labelled as part of “Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges/Levies) Regulations” which implies the fees regime for petroleum registration is adjusted as part of a broader, annual or periodic review process of mines and petroleum fee schedules.
• Small numerical adjustments. The live text shows some non-round dollar amounts (for example $9,597.00 in reg 3(5)), which points to discrete amendments that have produced small changes rather than uniform rounding or indexing. The detailed Gazette references are the primary record for when and how each change was effected.

For any legal or commercial transaction, practitioners must rely on the specific amending instrument and its commencement clause to ascertain which prescribed amount applied at the relevant time. The compilation table provides the necessary references to trace that history back to the Gazette and to reprints that consolidate amendments to particular dates.

The regulations themselves do not record any litigation history, case names, or judicial determinations in their text or compilation table. The instrument is a short fee-schedule regulation and contains no annotated references to judicial review, appeals, or case law.

What the text does record, and what is relevant for practitioners seeking litigation information, is as follows:

• No cases named. The regulations and the compilation table do not list any cases that have interpreted the numbers, enforced payment, or challenged the rate-setting exercise. There is no internal annotation of judicial decisions.
• No recorded statutory appeals procedure in the regulations. Because these regulations do not create procedural or enforcement rules, they do not, within their text, create appeal rights or specify tribunals. Any litigation arising from the absence or payment of fees would therefore turn on provisions in the parent Act or other procedural instruments.
• How to proceed if litigation is a concern. To identify litigation that might engage these regulations, a practitioner must:
  • Search case law and tribunal decisions that interpret section 4 of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Act 1982, because the regulations operate by reference to that section.
  • Search judicial review records for challenges to subordinate fee instruments on grounds such as lack of power, procedural fairness in decision-making, or invalid delegation; the regulations themselves give no hint of such litigation.
  • Inspect the Gazette notices and the amending instruments (listed in the compilation table) which are the primary documentary sources that could be challenged for procedural irregularities in their making, for example by failure to comply with publication or notification requirements. The regulations provide the citation and Gazette references necessary to locate those instruments for review.

Absent any registered cases in the immediate text, there is no litigation history to summarise from the instrument itself. For a complete picture of disputes tied to these fee prescriptions, a jurisdictional legal database search against the parent Act, its amendments, and decisions involving mining and petroleum fee schedules will be required. The regulations offer the reference points (reg 3 and the compilation table entries) needed to scope such a search.

The text is short, but it contains several practical pitfalls that can catch practitioners who rely on partial reading or outdated copies. These are factual and procedural caveats grounded in the instrument’s text and its compilation table.

1. The regulations do not say what activities attract which fee. Reg 3 prescribes dollar amounts “for the purposes of section 4(x) of the Act” but does not define the transactional events that those subsections describe. The consequence: you must read s 4 of the parent Act to determine whether an application or registration falls under s 4(2), s 4(3), s 4(4), s 4(6) or s 4(7). Failing to do so can lead to using the wrong fee quantum.

2. The regulations do not contain payment mechanics or deadlines. There is no instruction on how, when, or to whom fees must be paid. If the Act or an administrative guideline specifies payment timing or method, that must be followed; the regulation is silent.

3. The amounts change by amendment, often mid-year. The compilation table shows many amendments and reprints; many amendments have effective dates of 1 July or similar. Using a copy of the regulations that predates the controlling amendment or relying on a reprint without checking its date can lead to charging or paying an incorrect amount. Always confirm the operative version and the commencement clause of the amending instrument.

4. Slight asymmetry in amounts. The amounts are not all rounded or consistent: reg 3(5) prescribes $9,597.00, while reg 3(3) prescribes $9,550.00, and the other subsections use $6,010.00. These small numerical differences matter because they will determine discrete payment amounts; do not assume a single fee applies across all registration types.

5. No indexation formula. The regulations do not provide an automatic indexation mechanism. Changes to amounts occur by subsequent amending regulations. If you expect CPI adjustments, do not assume they are automatic,the compilation table demonstrates that adjustments have been effected by separate instruments.

6. Commencement tied to another Act. Reg 2 makes the regulations commence on the commencement of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Amendment Act 1990. That linkage can create an administrative timing gotcha if one assumes the regulations commenced on a particular Gazette publication date rather than the commencement date of the Amendment Act.

7. No penalties or dispute resolution mechanisms in these regs. If a client asks about the consequences of incorrect payment, dispute, refund or waiver, this instrument offers no answer. The necessary provisions will be elsewhere. Be cautious not to advise on enforcement or remedies from these regulations alone.

8. Administrative cross-linking with Mines and Petroleum instruments. The compilation table records numerous later amendments as part of “Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges/Levies) Regulations” (2016-2023). It is easy to overlook that a change relevant to these prescribed amounts may be contained in a broader instrument that updates multiple fee schedules. Effective practice requires searching beyond the standalone title of this regulation.

9. Reprints may not reflect the latest amendment. The compilation table lists reprints up to particular dates. If relying on a reprint, confirm whether later amending instruments have been added since that reprint date. The reprints are useful consolidation tools but are not substitutes for checking the most recent Gazette notices or the consolidated online legislation.

10. Attribution and licensing. The work is © State of Western Australia 2023 and is licensed under CC BY 4.0. If reproducing the regulations verbatim or substantially quoting them in client materials, ensure correct attribution as required by the licence: “© State of Western Australia 2023.”

In practice, these “gotchas” translate into concrete steps: always cross-reference s 4 of the Act to classify the registration event, check the exact amending instrument that was in force on the date of the transaction, and confirm payment method and enforcement consequences under the Act, not in these regulations.

Compliance with the regulatory regime created by this instrument requires a short sequence of documentary checks and practical steps, because the regulation itself is limited to specifying monetary figures.

Step 1 , Identify the relevant subsection of the parent Act. The first and indispensable task is to read section 4 of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Registration Fees Act 1982 and determine whether the registration event you are advising on or undertaking falls under s 4(2), (3), (4), (6) or (7). The regulations prescribe different amounts for these subsections (reg 3(1)-(5)), so correct classification is essential.

Step 2 , Apply the prescribed amount from regulation 3. Once the correct subsection is identified, apply the monetary figure specified in the corresponding paragraph of reg 3:

• 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)).

Step 3 , Confirm the operative version and effective date. Because the compilation table records many amendments and reprints, confirm the exact version of the regulation in force on the date of the registration. Check the Gazette reference and the commencement clause of any relevant amending instrument listed in the compilation table. If the transaction spans an amendment date, determine which figure legally applied at the time of the lodgement or triggering event.

Step 4 , Verify payment procedures under the Act or administrative instructions. The regulation does not specify payment mechanics. Consult the parent Act and the relevant administrative guidance (for example departmental fee payment instructions or online payment portals) for:

• to whom the fee is payable;
• acceptable payment methods;
• when the fee must be paid (lodgement, approval, or other event);
• evidence of payment required for processing the registration;
• whether electronic lodgement systems handle payment automatically.

Step 5 , Document payment and retain proof. Given that the regulation itself does not specify refund or dispute mechanisms, keep documentary records evidencing the amount paid, the date of payment, payer identity, and payment reference. This is practical risk management in case of any future enquiry about whether the correct amount was tendered.

Step 6 , Check for exemptions or special treatment in the Act. The regulation contains no exemptions. If there is a claim for an exemption, concession, or waiver, locate the authority in the Act or in other subordinate instruments. Do not rely on these regulations for exemption authority.

Step 7 , Watch for routine updates. The compilation table shows regular amendments, often clustered around the State’s financial year. Institute a compliance check (for example, annually in June/July) to verify whether the prescribed amounts have changed for the coming year and to update internal fee schedules, pricing models, billing instructions, and IT payment configurations accordingly.

Step 8 , Coordinate with contracts and cost-allocation. If the fee falls upon a commercial counterparty by contract, ensure contracts anticipate amendment risk. Because amounts are set by regulation and change by subsequent instruments, parties should allocate fee risk in their contracts and specify which version of fees applies to a particular transaction date.

Step 9 , If in doubt, obtain written confirmation. Where the classification of an event under s 4 is uncertain, consider seeking written advice from the administering agency or a legal opinion. The regulation’s silence on procedural points makes obtaining authoritative administrative guidance useful.

Step 10 , Use the compilation table to locate legislative history for disputes. If a compliance question relates to which fee applied historically, use the Gazette references and the reprints in the compilation table to assemble a chronological record of the prescribed amounts and to support any claim or audit defence.

Following these steps will align practice with the regulation’s limited but concrete legal effect: the rule that, for purposes of the specified subsections of s 4, the prescribed sums are the dollar figures listed in regulation 3. The key compliance risk is procedural: ensuring you apply the correct figure for the correct subsection at the correct time and that you pay in the manner the parent Act or administrative guidance requires.