An Act relating to the Treaty on the Zone of Cooperation in the Timor Gap
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Short title [see Note 1]
This Act may be cited as the Petroleum (Timor Gap Zone of Cooperation) Act 1990.
2 Commencement [see Note 1]
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation, being a day not earlier than the day on which the Treaty enters into force for Australia.
3 Object of the Act
The object of this Act is to enable Australia to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty.
4 Ministerial Council and Joint Authority authorised to exercise rights of Australia
The Ministerial Council and the Joint Authority exercise the rights and responsibilities of Australia, in relation to the exploration for and exploitation of petroleum resources in Area A of the Zone of Cooperation, in accordance with the Treaty.
5 Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Area A of the Zone of Cooperation means the area described as Area A in Annex A of the Treaty.
Joint Authority means the body established by Article 7 of the Treaty.
Ministerial Council means the body established by Article 5 of the Treaty.
Treaty means the Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the Zone of Cooperation in an Area between the Indonesian Province of East Timor and Northern Australia, done over the Zone of Cooperation on 11 December 1989, being the Treaty the text of which is set out in Schedule 1, and includes that Treaty:
(a) as amended from time to time; and
(b) as read with the Notes exchanged between Australia and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor at Dili, on 10 February 2000, the text of which is set out in Schedule 2.
(2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a word or an expression that is defined in the Treaty, when used in this Act, has the same meaning as in the Treaty.
5A Application of the Criminal Code
Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code applies to all offences created by this Act.
Note: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.
Part 2—General Provisions
6 International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act to apply to Joint Authority
The Joint Authority is an international organisation to which the International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1963 applies.
7 Prospecting for petroleum
A person must not prospect for petroleum in Area A of the Zone of Cooperation except with the approval of the Joint Authority.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.
8 Petroleum operations
A person must not undertake petroleum operations in Area A of the Zone of Cooperation except under and in accordance with a production sharing contract, or with the approval of the Joint Authority.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.
9 Powers of Inspectors
(1) An inspector appointed by the Joint Authority under Article 34 of the Petroleum Mining Code may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the Petroleum Mining Code, the regulations and directions issued under Article 37 of the Petroleum Mining Code, and contract terms and conditions applying to petroleum operations in Area A of the Zone of Cooperation have been complied with, at all reasonable times and on production of a certificate of appointment as an inspector:
(a) enter or board any structure, vessel or aircraft that is in Area A and is being used for petroleum operations; and
(b) inspect and test any equipment being used or proposed to be used for petroleum operations in Area A; and
(c) enter or board any structure, vessel, aircraft or building in which the inspector has reason to believe that there are any documents relating to petroleum operations in Area A, and inspect, take extracts from and make copies of any of those documents.
(2) The person in charge of any structure, vessel, aircraft or building referred to in subsection (1) must, at the request of an inspector, provide the inspector with all reasonable facilities and assistance for the effective exercise of powers under this section.
Penalty: $5,000.
(3) A person must not obstruct or hinder an inspector exercising powers under this section.
Penalty: $5,000.
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (4), see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.
10 Jurisdiction of State and Territory courts
(1) Subject to this section, the courts of each State and Territory are invested with federal jurisdiction in civil matters:
(a) relating to an act or omission done in Area A of the Zone of Cooperation; and
(b) involving damage suffered or expenses incurred by Australia, by a State or Territory, or by a person who is a national or permanent resident of Australia.
(2) The jurisdiction with which courts are invested by subsection (1) is invested within the limits, other than limits having effect by reference to localities, of their respective jurisdictions (whether those limits are as to subject‑matter or otherwise).
(3) This section does not limit the jurisdiction of the courts of a State or Territory arising otherwise than under this section.
11 Northern Territory laws to be applied
(1) Subject to this section, in exercising jurisdiction conferred by section 10, a court is to apply the laws, whether written or unwritten, in force in the Northern Territory.
(2) The laws referred to in subsection (1) do not include laws that are substantive criminal laws, or laws of criminal investigation, procedure and evidence, within the meaning of Schedule 1 to the Crimes at Sea Act 2000, but nothing in this section detracts from the operation of that Act.
(3) A law is taken to be in force in the Northern Territory even if it applies only in part of the Northern Territory.
(4) This section does not require a court to apply a law that is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth (including this Act).
(5) This section does not limit the operation that any law has apart from this section.
(6) The regulations may provide that a law, or specified provisions of a law, referred to in subsection (1) are not to be applied for the purposes of that subsection, or are to be so applied with specified modifications.
Part 3—Tax Provisions
12 Interpretation
In this Part:
Australian tax means:
(a) tax imposed by the Fringe Benefits Tax Act 1986; or
(b) income tax imposed as such by any Act; or
(c) sales tax imposed on imported goods.
13 Australian tax—Treaty and Taxation Code have the force of law
(1) Subject to this Part, the provisions of the Treaty and of the Taxation Code, so far as those provisions affect Australian tax, have the force of law according to their tenor.
(2) When applying subsection (1):
(a) during the period of the administration of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET):
(i) UNTAET is to be treated as the body politic of the territory (the territory) administered by it under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1272 (1999) of 25 October 1999 at New York; and
(ii) the competent authority in relation to the Taxation Code and the territory is the Transitional Administrator of UNTAET, or a person authorised by the Administrator to be such an authority; and
(iii) a reference to a resident of a Contracting State is a reference to a resident of the territory, when the case requires; and
(b) after the territory ceases to be administered by UNTAET:
(i) the body politic of the territory and the competent authority are the body and the authority identifed in the regulations; and
(ii) a reference to a resident of a Contracting State is to be interpreted in accordance with the regulations.
Note: In 2000 the text of the Resolution was available in the Library of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and accessible on the Internet through the Department’s or the United Nations’ world‑wide web site.
14 Medicare levy to be treated as income tax
For the purposes of this Part, Medicare levy is taken to be income tax and to be imposed as such and, unless the contrary intention appears, references to income tax are to be construed accordingly.
15 Incorporation of Australian tax laws
(1) Subject to subsection (2), the following Acts are incorporated and are to be read as one with this Part:
(a) the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986;
(b) the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936;
(c) any Act, so far as it relates to the assessment of sales tax imposed on imported goods.
(2) The provisions of this Part have effect in spite of anything inconsistent with those provisions contained in any of the following Acts:
(a) the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 (other than section 67 of that Act);
(b) the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (other than Part IVA of that Act);
(c) any Act, so far as it relates to the assessment of sales tax imposed on imported goods;
(g) an Act imposing Australian tax.
16 Calculation of rebates under Taxation Code
(1) This section applies where, under Article 4, 9, 10 or 11 of the Taxation Code, a taxpayer is entitled to a rebate against income tax of 50% of the gross tax payable in Australia on particular profits, or particular income, derived by the taxpayer in a year of income.
(2) In determining that rebate, the gross tax payable in Australia on those profits or that income is calculated using the formula:
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where:
Notional Australian tax means the amount of income tax that would be assessed under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 in respect of the taxpayer’s taxable income of the year of income if:
(a) the taxpayer was not entitled to any rebate of income tax or credit against the taxpayer’s liability for income tax; and
(b) the taxpayer was not liable to pay additional tax under Division 7 of Part III of that Act.
Taxable income means the number of whole dollars in the taxpayer’s taxable income of the year of income.
Rebatable amount means so much of the taxpayer’s taxable income of the year of income as is attributable to those profits or to that income, as the case may be.
(3) A reference in this section to income tax is a reference to income tax imposed as such by any Act.
Part 4—Regulations
17 Regulations
(1) The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
(2) The regulations may prescribe penalties not exceeding a fine of $500 for offences against regulations made for the purposes of Part 3.