Version incorporating amendments as at
1 March 2019
table of provisions
Section Page
1 Short title, commencement and division 1
2 Repeal and savings 1
Part I—Water police 3
3 Vessels may be boarded and searched 3
4 Penalty for wilfully obstructing or resisting persons in search of seamen 3
Part II—Foreign seamen 4
5 Definitions 4
9 Vessels or places may be searched 4
10 Warrants not to be issued and offences not to be prosecuted except in certain cases 5
11 Penalties on persons harboring deserters 5
12 Attesting witness need not be called 6
13 Expenses by whom payable 6
14 Service of proceedings 7
Schedule 8
Endnotes 9
1 General information 9
2 Table of Amendments 11
3 Amendments Not in Operation 12
4 Explanatory details 13
Version No.015
Seamen's Act 1958
No. 6362 of 1958
Version incorporating amendments as at
1 March 2019
An Act to consolidate the Law relating to Seamen.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say):
1 Short title, commencement and division
This Act may be cited as the Seamen's Act 1958, and shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation of the Governor in Council published in the Government Gazette, and is divided into parts as follows:
Part I—Water Police ss 3 and 4;
Part II—Foreign Seamen ss 5–14.
2 Repeal and savings
(1) The Act mentioned in the Schedule to the extent thereby expressed to be repealed is hereby repealed accordingly.
(2) Except as in this Act expressly or by necessary implication provided—
(a) all persons things and circumstances appointed or created by or under the repealed Act or existing or continuing under that Act immediately before the commencement of this Act shall under and subject to this Act continue to have the same status operation and effect as they respectively would have had if that Act had not been so repealed;
(b) in particular and without affecting the generality of the foregoing paragraph such repeal shall not disturb the continuity of status operation or effect of any order notification assent information complaint warrant service proceeding liability or right made effected issued granted given fixed accrued incurred or acquired or existing or continuing by or under the repealed Act before the commencement of this Act.
Part I—Water police
No. 3766 s. 3.
S. 3 amended by No. 32/2014 s. 58.
3 Vessels may be boarded and searched
Any superintendent or officer of water police or any member of the police force may, with such assistance as may be required, enter on board and search any vessel entering or being within any port or harbor of Victoria, when and so often as he has reasonable ground for believing such search to be necessary in the execution of his duty.
No. 3766 s. 4.
S. 4
amended by Nos 7315 s. 5(4), 9945 s. 3(3)(Sch. 2 item 32).
4 Penalty for wilfully obstructing or resisting persons in search of seamen
Every master of any vessel and every other person who resists or wilfully obstructs any superintendent or officer of water police justice water-policeman member of the police force or any of their respective assistants whilst searching for or endeavouring to secure any seaman or other person on board or reasonably suspected to be on board such vessel or in any house or place on shore, or rescues or attempts to rescue or assists any such seaman or other person, shall for every such offence be liable to a penalty of not more than $40 for the first offence, and of not less than $20 nor more than $100 for a second or subsequent offence; and in case of non-payment thereof to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months unless such penalty and all costs are sooner paid; and all penalties under this section shall be paid to and form part of the "Police Superannuation Fund".
Part II—Foreign seamen
No. 3766 s. 5.
5 Definitions
In this Part—
consul includes consul vice-consul or other consular officer or agent;
foreign vessels includes all vessels not belonging to any British possession;
seaman includes every person (except masters pilots and apprentices) employed or engaged in any capacity on board any vessel;
vessel means any navigable ship or boat of whatever construction and whether moved by wind steam or any other power.
Ss 6–8 repealed by No. 8242 s. 2.
No. 3766 s. 9.
S. 9
amended by Nos 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 174.1(a)(b)), 6/2018 s. 68(Sch. 2 item 112).
9 Vessels or places may be searched
A magistrate, on the evidence on oath or by affirmation or by affidavit of the master or other person having charge of any foreign vessel that he has good cause for suspecting that any runaway seaman of such vessel is harbored secreted or concealed on board any vessel or in any house or place whatsoever, may issue a warrant to search such vessel or such house or place and to apprehend such seaman; and every such seaman shall upon his apprehension be brought with all convenient speed before a bail justice or the Magistrates' Court to be dealt with according to law.
No. 3766 s. 10.
S. 10 amended by No. 8242 s. 3(a)(b).
10 Warrants not to be issued and offences not to be prosecuted except in certain cases
No such warrant as hereinbefore mentioned shall be issued, except at the instance or with the express assent in writing of the consul of the nation or state to which such vessel as aforesaid belongs, unless it has been three several times notified in the Government Gazette under the authority of the Governor in Council that the Government of such nation or state has by its proper officer signified its desire that this Part may be enforced in all cases against the crews of vessels belonging to such nation or state.
No. 3766 s. 11.
S. 11 amended by Nos 7315 s. 5(4), 9945 s. 3(3)(Sch. 2 item 32).
11 Penalties on persons harboring deserters
Every person who knowingly harbors conceals employs or retains or assists in harboring concealing employing or retaining any seaman belonging to any foreign vessel who has deserted therefrom or otherwise absconded or absented himself from duty, or knowingly causes induces or persuades any such seaman by words or by any other means whatsoever to violate any agreement which he has entered into to serve on board any such vessel as aforesaid, or knowingly assists in the desertion absconding or absence from duty of any such seaman shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $40 for the first offence and of not less than $20 nor more than $100 for a second or subsequent offence and in default of payment forthwith or within the time appointed to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months.
No. 3766 s. 12.
S. 12 amended by No. 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 174.2).
12 Attesting witness need not be called
In any proceeding under this Part it shall not be necessary, for the purpose of proving the list roll articles or agreement under or by which any such seaman has shipped joined or engaged to serve on board any such vessel, to call any subscribing or attesting witness thereto; but such list roll articles or agreement as aforesaid may be proved as if there were no such subscribing or attesting witness, and a copy of any such list roll article or agreement as aforesaid certified under the hand of the consul of the nation or state to which such vessel belongs to be a true copy shall be received as prima facie evidence of the existence and contents thereof; and the certificate of the consul of any nation or state in which such list roll articles or agreement has been made as to the true spirit effect and meaning thereof according to the law of such nation or state shall be received as prima facie evidence of the effect of such list roll articles or agreement in all matters not inconsistent with the language thereof respectively; and in any proceeding under this Part the Magistrates' Court may in its discretion receive proof of matters as evidence although not admissible according to the strict rules of law.
No. 3766 s. 13.
13 Expenses by whom payable
All expenses incidental to the apprehension confinement and removal of any seaman under and by virtue of the powers and authority conferred by this Part shall be paid by the consul master mate or other person at whose instance such seaman has been apprehended proceeded against or removed.
No. 3766 s. 14.
14 Service of proceedings
The service of any summons or other matter in any legal proceedings under this Part shall be good service, if made personally on the person to be served, or if made by leaving such summons for him on board any vessel to which he belongs with the person being or appearing to be in command or charge of such vessel.
Section 2.
Schedule
Number of Act
Title of Act
Extent of Repeal
3766
Seamen's Act 1928
The whole
Endnotes
1 General information
See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
The Seamen's Act 1958 was assented to on 30 September 1958 and came into operation on 1 April 1959: Government Gazette 18 March 1959 page 893.
INTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)
Style changes
Section 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.
References to ILA s. 39B
Sidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided section or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subsections or subclauses, the original section or clause becomes subsection or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression "(1)" at the beginning of the original section or clause.
Interpretation
As from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:
• Headings
All headings included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any heading inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. This includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; sections; clauses; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms. See section 36(1A)(2A).
• Examples, diagrams or notes
All examples, diagrams or notes included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Act. See section 36(3A).
• Punctuation
All punctuation included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 forms part of that Act. Any punctuation inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. See section 36(3B).
• Provision numbers
All provision numbers included in an Act form part of that Act, whether inserted in the Act before, on or after 1 January 2001. Provision numbers include section numbers, subsection numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).
• Location of "legislative items"
A "legislative item" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of an Act is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.
• Other material
Any explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of an Act.
See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).
2 Table of Amendments
This publication incorporates amendments made to the Seamen's Act 1958 by Acts and subordinate instruments.
Penalties and Sentences (Amendment) Act 1983, No. 9945/1983
Assent Date:
20.9.83
Commencement Date:
S. 2 on 1.9.81: s. 1(4); rest of Act (except s. 8) on 20.12.83: Government Gazette 14.12.83 p. 4035; s. 8 was never proclaimed and was repealed by No. 10096 s. 4(4)