Swan and Canning Rivers (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2006

The Act introduces and redefines a small set of jurisdictional and drafting concepts that are central to how statutory powers and planning processes will operate after repeal of the 1988 Trust Act.

• Commencement day (s 3): a defined term meaning the day on which s 4 (repeal of the Swan River Trust Act 1988) comes into operation. The Act allows different provisions to start on different days by proclamation (s 2). The compilation table records assent on 6 October 2006 and staged commencement, with most of the Act commencing on 25 September 2007.

• Development control area and Riverpark: the Act does not itself define these terms but remaps numerous references in other Acts to the development control area or Riverpark as defined in the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 (see Schedule 1 amendments, e.g. Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 amendments at Sch 1 cl 1(2)-(3); Waterways Conservation Act 1976 amendments at Sch 1 cl 8(2)). Clause 17 inserts a definition of "Swan development control area" into the Metropolitan Region Scheme by reference to the new management Act.

• Continuation of the Trust (s 11): the Swan River Trust established under the new management Act is declared to be a continuation of the Trust under the 1988 Act, the same legal entity with the same rights and obligations. This is an explicit legal continuity device that avoids need for assignment of rights and obligations in many contexts.

• Membership change (s 12): notwithstanding corporate continuity, s 12(1) ends the office of members appointed under the repealed Act on the commencement day. References in documents to the chairman or members are to be read as if references to the board under the new management Act where the context requires (s 12(2)). That creates a discontinuity in personnel while preserving corporate continuity.

• Transfer of leases (s 13): leases of land in the River reserve that were entered into under Marine and Harbours Act 1981 s 12 and are in effect immediately before the commencement day "have effect" after commencement as if entered into by the Swan River Trust under the new management Act. The Registrar of Titles is empowered to record and register necessary documents (s 13(2)), and s 13(3) states that this operation is not to be regarded as a breach of contract, or a breach of assignment restrictions, or giving rise to remedies on change of beneficial or legal ownership, or causing instruments to be void, or releasing surety.

• Subsidiary legislation continuity and power to amend (ss 7 and 14): regulations made under the abolished Act continue in force as if made under the new management Act (s 14). In addition, s 7 authorises the Governor, on the Minister’s recommendation, to amend any subsidiary legislation to make consequential amendments, provided the Minister considers each amendment necessary or desirable as a consequence of the new management Act. The Minister’s recommendation constraint is an express statutory limit on the use of the Governor’s regulation-making power under s 7.

• Transitional regulations and limited retrospective effect (s 9): the Act allows regulations to make necessary provision for transitional matters, including the power to provide that specified provisions of the new management Act or subsidiary legislation "do not apply" or "apply with specified modifications" to particular matters (s 9(3)). Regulations may be backdated to any day on or after commencement day but before publication in the Gazette (s 9(4)), however s 9(6) prevents those regulations from operating to affect prejudicially the rights of private persons or impose liabilities for conduct done before publication (subject to exceptions for the State).

• Planning referral and decision-making (replacement of clause 30A by s 21): the new clause 30A creates a structured referral regime between the Western Australian Planning Commission (the Commission), the Swan River Trust and Ministers. It distinguishes applications where any part of a lot is within the Swan development control area or abuts waters in that area (cl 30A(2)(a)) from developments that merely abut or are likely to affect waters in the area (cl 30A(2)(b)). For the first class, the Commission is required to determine the application in a manner consistent with Trust advice (cl 30A(5)), subject to a ministerial resolution process where the SCRM Minister and the Minister for Planning can resolve disagreements (cl 30A(7)); for the second class, the Commission must merely have regard to Trust advice (cl 30A(6)). The Trust has 42 days to provide written advice (cl 30A(3)); failure to advise within the period is taken as having no advice (cl 30A(4)). The Trust may exempt classes from referral (cl 30A(9)).

• Construction of references (s 10): references in other written laws to the repealed enactment include references to corresponding provisions of the new management Act (s 10(1)), and references to the management area of the Trust may be read as references to the development control area under the new Act where context requires (s 10(2)). This is a drafting device that modifies interpretation of multiple statutes.

These concepts reallocate jurisdictional boundaries, adjust planning referral mechanics, and allow executive correction of subordinate law. They are textual and administrative levers that change how planning applications intersect with the rivers’ protection regime and how prior regulatory instruments continue to operate.

This Act affects multiple cohorts of actors because it rewrites institutional relationships and statutory references rather than imposing discrete new private obligations.

• Swan River Trust and its members: the corporate body continues (s 11) but members appointed under the 1988 Act cease to hold office on commencement day (s 12(1)). The Trust under the 2006 management Act inherits rights and obligations (s 11). The practical effect is that the corporate entity remains able to hold property, sue and be sued, but its governance will change under the new Act. Persons appointed to the old Trust should expect termination of their statutory office by operation of s 12(1) and replacement appointment processes under the new management Act.

• Developers, landowners and applicants to the Planning Commission: the amended Metropolitan Region Scheme and the new clause 30A (s 21) change referral paths. Where a development falls within, abuts, or is likely to affect the Swan development control area or waters, applicants must expect the Trust to be given full particulars of the application (cl 30A(2), inserted by s 21). The Trust has 42 days to provide advice (cl 30A(3)). For developments where any part of the lot is within the Swan development control area, the Commission must determine in a manner consistent with Trust advice (cl 30A(5)). For developments merely likely to affect waters, the Commission must have regard to Trust advice but need not follow it (cl 30A(6)). This alters the planning risk and timetable for applicants and increases the influence of the Trust in some decision pathways.

• Ministers and the executive: the SCRM Minister and the Minister for Planning are given a formal role to resolve disagreements between the Commission and the Trust for developments in the core class (cl 30A(7)). The Governor, on the Minister’s recommendation, can amend subsidiary legislation consequentially (s 7). That centralises an executive correction mechanism and creates a ministerial political-resolution overlay on certain planning disputes (cl 30A(7)).

• Registrars, land title holders and lessees: s 13 transfers the effective contracting party of certain existing Marine and Harbours Act leases to the Trust and empowers the Registrar of Titles to register and record necessary documents (s 13(2)). Section 13(3) shields this conversion from being treated as breach of contract, assignment prohibition, or causes of termination. Persons whose leases are affected are stakeholders because their counterparty changes on the statutory record, but the Act says the change is not to be regarded as giving rise to civil wrongs or remedies on the listed grounds.

• Local governments and statutory authorities dealing with waterways: Schedule 1 amends the Waterways Conservation Act 1976 so that the Act does not apply in respect of the development control area or the Riverpark (Sch 1 cl 8(3)). It also prohibits local laws under that Act from having effect in the development control area or the Riverpark (Sch 1 cl 8(5) replacing s 56(1a)). The CEO’s appointment powers for inspectors and honorary inspectors are constrained not to apply in the development control area without prior consultation with the management authority (Sch 1 cl 8(6)-(7)). Those changes shift regulatory competence away from that Act, concentrating control in the new management Act and the Trust.

• Makers and users of subordinate legislation and planning instruments: regulations made under the repealed Trust Act continue under the new management Act (s 14), but the Governor and Minister may also remake subsidiary legislation consequentially (s 7). The Planning and Development Act 2005 is amended to refer to strategic documents under the new management Act and to the development control area (Sch 1 cl 6). Practitioners drafting instruments must replace old references (Swan River Trust Act 1988, management area) with the new terminology (development control area, Riverpark) and ensure instruments align with new clause 30A referral rules.

• Private persons and businesses: while the Act contains protection against prejudicial retrospective effect of regulations (s 9(6)), regulations may be backdated to commencement day and can modify application of new provisions to particular matters (ss 9(3)-(4)). Businesses that had arrangements premised on the old statutory regime must review how the transfer of roles and potential amendment of subsidiary legislation affects licences, approvals or local-law coverage.

Overall, the Act primarily affects public-sector actors (Trust, Commission, Ministers) and regulated parties engaged in development and waterfront activities. It also imposes transitional administrative tasks on registries and statutory authorities to update records, references and processes and creates new procedural steps that private applicants must follow.

The Act does not itself create many new individual positive duties; rather it reallocates rights and duties by mapping the old statutory framework into the new management Act and by changing the planning referral and determination mechanics in the Metropolitan Region Scheme. Key duties and rights created or preserved by the Act include the following, with statutory anchors:

• Duty on Governor and Minister in relation to subsidiary legislation: the Governor may make subsidiary legislation amending subsidiary legislation made under any Act on the Minister’s recommendation (s 7(1)). The Minister may recommend only if the Minister considers each proposed amendment necessary or desirable as a consequence of the new management Act (s 7(2)). This imposes an internal executive constraint on the exercise of the Governor’s power to tidy up subsidiary law.

• Duty to provide continuity and legal identity to the Trust: the Act declares that the Swan River Trust established under the new management Act is a continuation of the Trust as established under the repealed Act and has the same rights and obligations (s 11). This preserves property, litigation positions and statutory capacities of the Trust.

• Duty to vacate office for old members and read references to the new board: members under the 1988 Act cease to hold office on commencement day (s 12(1)). Documents referencing chairman or member are to be read as references to the chairman or member of the board of the Swan River Trust under the new management Act where the context requires (s 12(2)). That places an obligation on persons interpreting documents to treat certain references as automatically mapped.

• Right of certain leases to continue with revised contracting party: a lease of land in the River reserve entered into under Marine and Harbours Act s 12 and in effect immediately before commencement day is treated after commencement as if entered into by the Swan River Trust under the new management Act (s 13(1)). The Registrar of Titles is required to take notice and to register documents to give effect (s 13(2)). Section 13(3) creates statutory protection shielding this substitution from being treated as a breach or giving rise to remedies on certain bases.

• Duty and timeframes for the Trust to advise on referred planning applications: under new clause 30A, when an application concerns land that is partly within the Swan development control area or abuts waters in that area, or is likely to affect waters, the Commission must give particulars to the Trust (cl 30A(2)). The Trust must give written advice within 42 days or a longer period allowed by the Commission (cl 30A(3)). Failure to advise within time is taken as having no advice (cl 30A(4)). This sets a procedural duty, a deadline and a consequence.

• Binding effect of Trust advice in certain cases and ministerial resolution power: for applications where a development is on a lot any part of which is within the Swan development control area or abuts such waters, the Commission is required to determine in a manner consistent with Trust advice (cl 30A(5)). If the Commission does not agree with part or all of the Trust’s advice, the SCRM Minister and the Minister for Planning resolve the matter and the Minister for Planning directs the Commission accordingly (cl 30A(7)). This creates a layered right/duty structure: Trust advice effectively becomes determinative, subject to ministerial override involving both Ministers.

• Duty on the Commission to have regard to Trust advice for other possibly affecting developments: for developments that are not captured by clause 30A(2)(a) but are likely to affect waters in the development control area, the Commission must have regard to the Trust’s advice (cl 30A(6)). This is a weaker duty,consideration rather than consistency.

• Right of the Trust to determine classes of applications that do not need referral: clause 30A(9) allows the Trust to determine that particular classes or descriptions of application need not be referred, and to notify the Commission. This is a delegable administrative discretion that reduces workload for both parties when exercised.

• Regulation-making powers for transitional matters: s 9 permits regulations to prescribe matters necessary or convenient to effect the transition from the old Act to the new management Act, including modified application or non-application of specified provisions and limited retrospective operation (s 9(1)-(4)). These are broad legislative powers that may affect private rights but are constrained by s 9(6), which prevents prejudicial retrospective effect or imposition of liabilities on private persons before publication in the Gazette.

• Preservation of subordinate instruments: regulations made under the old Trust Act continue as if made under the new management Act and may be amended or repealed accordingly (s 14). That creates a continuity right for those relying on extant subordinate instruments and an administrative duty on regulators to manage those instruments under the new head of power.

• Construction rights: s 10(1) provides that a reference in a written law to an enactment repealed by s 4 includes a reference to the corresponding provision, if any, of the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006. Section 10(2) allows references to the management area of the Trust to be read as including the development control area. These are interpretive rules that preserve existing legal effects across statutes.

In short, the Act restructures decision-making duties and preserves many pre-existing rights and instruments while imposing new procedural duties (particularly the 42‑day advice duty and the referral/consistency/ministerial resolution mechanism in clause 30A). The Act also grants the executive remedial powers over subsidiary legislation to align other instruments with the new statutory framework.

This Act is primarily transitional and consequential; it does not create a new penalty regime or prescribe criminal offences or pecuniary penalties within its text. Instead, the Act’s enforcement and compliance consequences arise indirectly through:

• Continuation and transfer of enforcement mechanisms under other statutes: by remapping references from the Swan River Trust Act 1988 to the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 and by amending multiple Acts in Schedule 1, the Act ensures that existing enforcement and penalty provisions in those other Acts will continue to apply but under new references or structures. For example, the Waterways Conservation Act 1976 amendments (Sch 1 cl 8) remove the Act’s application in the development control area or Riverpark, thereby shifting enforcement competence to the new management Act and any penalty provisions that Act contains. The Act itself does not reproduce those penalty clauses.

• Administrative compliance obligations with procedural consequences: the replacement clause 30A imposes obligations on the Commission to refer applications and to determine consistently with Trust advice in certain cases (cl 30A(2)-(7)). Failure by the Commission to follow these procedural duties could be subject to judicial review under administrative law principles if a party seeks relief, but the Act does not itself prescribe sanctions. The Act creates ministerial mechanisms (cl 30A(7)) so that disagreements are resolved by Ministers who can direct the Commission; this is an enforcement pathway in the executive hierarchy.

• Protection against retrospective regulation imposing liabilities: s 9(6) prevents regulations under s 9 from operating so as to affect prejudicially private persons’ rights or to impose liabilities for past conduct before the publication of those regulations in the Gazette. That restricts the executive’s ability to create retrospective penalties by regulation.

• Registrar of Titles duties: s 13(2) directs the Registrar of Titles to record and register documents to give effect to the statutory transfer of leases. The Registrar’s failure to do so would be an administrative failure subject to normal public law remedies or internal administrative review mechanisms, again not penalised in this Act.

• Continuing subordinate instrument enforcement: s 14 provides that regulations made under the repealed Trust Act continue in force as if made under the new management Act. Any enforcement mechanisms contained in those regulations remain operative; again, the Act itself does not add penalties.

Because the Act is not a source of new criminal or civil penalties, the enforcement picture is that existing penalty and enforcement regimes remain in force but are reallocated and administered under the new statutory umbrellas and subject to revised procedural duties. Parties seeking to understand precise penalties must therefore consult the substantive provisions in the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 and the other Acts amended in Schedule 1 (for example, offences and penalties in the Waterways Conservation Act 1976, Jetties Act 1926, Marine and Harbours Act 1981, and the Planning and Development Act 2005 as amended).

Practically, the Act raises enforcement risk through the administrative changeover: gaps, delays or errors in remaking or updating subsidiary legislation (themselves enabled by s 7) could temporarily change the enforceability of particular rules. The protective device in s 9(6) limits prejudicial retrospective impacts on private parties in respect of transitional regulations.

The Act operates as a statutory re-mapping instrument: it amends references, removes the old Trust Act, and integrates the rivers’ management framework into the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 and existing planning infrastructure. The Schedule 1 amendments are the principal mechanism for this interaction. Key interactions include:

• Planning and Development Act 2005: Schedule 1 cl 6 makes multiple changes to the Planning and Development Act 2005. Section 36(a) of that Act is replaced to make the Planning Commission's discretion subject to inconsistency with Part 5 of the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 and certain Metropolitan Region Scheme amendments (Sch 1 cl 6(2)). The Planning and Development Act’s references to management programmes and the management area are redirected to strategic documents and the development control area as defined in the new management Act (Sch 1 cl 6(3)-(6)). Clause 16 of this Act further states that the amendments to the Metropolitan Region Scheme effected by Part 4 (ss 15-22) have effect as though enacted under the Planning and Development Act 2006 (s 16(1)). The interaction is therefore close: the planning statute’s decision-making and procedural framework is modified so the Trust and the new management provisions have primacy or influence in specific contexts (see new clause 30A as inserted by s 21).

• Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS): Part 4 makes express amendments to the MRS (ss 15-22). Clause 30A of the MRS is replaced to create the referral, advice and decision hierarchy between the Commission, the Trust and Ministers (s 21). The new MRS text cross-defines "Swan development control area" by reference to the new management Act (s 17). The effect is to embed the new management Act’s development control area into metropolitan planning decision-making.

• Environmental Protection Act 1986 and Environmental Protection (Swan and Canning Rivers) Policy 1997: section 5 expressly revokes the approval given under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 s 31(d) to the draft Environmental Protection (Swan and Canning Rivers) Policy 1997 and, despite s 33(1) of the Environmental Protection Act, declares that that Policy ceases to have the force of law on commencement. This removes a specific environmental policy instrument from the statutory environment and shifts environmental policy control to whatever regime is set out in the new management Act and the planning/other statute frameworks.

• Marine and Harbours Act 1981: Schedule 1 amends references such that section 12(3) is changed to refer to section 70 of the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 rather than s 50 of the old Trust Act (Sch 1 cl 5(2)). This interacts directly with s 13 of the 2006 consequential Act which treats certain leases as having effect as if entered by the Trust under the new management Act.

• Land Administration Act 1997 and Conservation and Land Management Act 1984: Schedule 1 updates multiple cross-references so that operational interaction with crown land, conservation reserves and management programmes is based on the development control area or Riverpark referral points set by the new management Act (Sch 1 cl 1(2)-(3) and cl 4(2)).

• Waterways Conservation Act 1976: Schedule 1 inserts definitions of "development control area" and "Riverpark" by reference to the new management Act and excludes those areas from the operation of that Act (Sch 1 cl 8(2)-(4)). Further, local laws made under the Waterways Conservation Act are prohibited from having effect in these areas (Sch 1 cl 8(5)). The CEO’s inspector appointments are curtailed with respect to those areas without prior consultation with the management authority (Sch 1 cl 8(6)-(7)). These changes allocate regulatory competence away from that Act and toward the new management Act and the Trust.

• East Perth Redevelopment Act 1991, Jetties Act 1926, Swan Valley Planning Act 1995: each is amended in Schedule 1 to replace old references to the Trust Act or management area with references to the new management Act and its relevant sections (Sch 1 cl 2, cl 3, cl 7). This ensures consistency across development and jetties rules.

• Interpretation Act 1984: s 8 applies relevant provisions of the Interpretation Act 1984 (for example, ss 16(1), 36 and 38) to the repeal and substitution, treating the repeal as if the repealed Act were repealed and re-enacted by the new management Act. This is an interpretive mechanism that ensures continuity of legal effects in the transition.

Overall, the Act functions as a bridging instrument. It reassigns legal relationships and procedures but leaves substantive offences, penalties and enforcement mechanisms to the primary statutes amended or to the new Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006. Practitioners must read this Act alongside the 2006 management Act, the Planning and Development Act 2005, and the various Acts amended in Schedule 1 to determine operative rights, duties, and enforcement remedies applicable to particular factual scenarios.

The Act’s compilation table in the instrument provides immediate historical facts about enactment and commencement. Key dates and legislative steps are:

• Assent and initial commencement: The Act received assent on 6 October 2006 (compilation table). Sections 1 and 2 (short title and commencement provisions) commenced on that date. The rest of the Act (other than ss 1 and 2) commenced on 25 September 2007 as noted in the compilation table and by Gazette notice (Gazette 25 Sep 2007 p. 4835).

• No later amending Acts are shown within this text: the document you supplied is a compiled copy including the Schedule of consequential amendments and a compilation table; there are no further amending Acts recorded within this extract. The Notes section indicates where the various Acts amended (for example, Conservation and Land Management Act 1984, Jetties Act 1926) are reprinted and where subsequent amendments to those Acts may be found in Western Australian Legislation Information Tables; those cross-references indicate continuing legislative maintenance was contemplated.

• Transitional and interpretive application of Interpretation Act 1984: s 8 explicitly applies selected provisions of the Interpretation Act 1984 (for example ss 16(1), 36 and 38) to the repeal of the Swan River Trust Act 1988, treating the repeal as if the Act were repealed and re-enacted by the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006. This is not an amendment history item per se but a device which governs how earlier instruments, rights and obligations are carried forward.

• Commencement staging: s 2 allows different days to be fixed by proclamation for different provisions. The compilation table records the two-stage commencement pattern noted above. Different commencement dates are a typical legislative technique used to give agencies time to adopt new procedures, make transitional regulations under s 9, and set up new boards and administrative systems.

• Consequential amendments executed through Schedule 1: although not "amendments to this Act", Schedule 1 effects substantive amendments to other primary statutes, including the Planning and Development Act 2005, Waterways Conservation Act 1976, and others. The Schedule records where those particular Acts are to be reprinted and how the cross-references are to be rewritten.

• No recorded subsequent repeals or replacements in this compilation: the provided compilation does not show further changes to this Act after 2007. Users should check the current Western Australian legislation database for any later amendments to this Act or the Acts it amends because this compiled text records the state as at the compilation date included.

Because the instrument is transitional and consequential in nature, its amendment history is primarily about commencement timing and the discrete step of replacing the old Trust Act with a new management Act. The important historical fact for practitioners is the repeal date and the date on which the old Trust Act ceased to have effect, together with the mapping devices (s 10) and Schedule 1 amendments that updated numerous cross-references. The Act’s section 5 terminating the force of an Environmental Protection Policy on commencement (s 5) is also a discrete historical action with practical consequences from the commencement day.

The text you provided contains no case law or judicial decisions. It is a stand-alone statutory instrument making consequential and transitional provisions; it does not reproduce any litigation history. There are no cases named in this Act and no recorded judicial interpretations within this document.

For practitioners seeking litigation history relevant to the themes and effects of this Act, the appropriate search path is to:

• Examine judicial decisions interpreting the new Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 and the Metropolitan Region Scheme amendments (including clause 30A). Any disputes about the Commission’s duty to follow Trust advice in cases where cl 30A(5) applies, or about the ministerial resolution process in cl 30A(7), would likely arise in administrative law proceedings.

• Search for cases concerning s 13-type transfers of leases and the consequences for property law disputes where a party alleges detriment from the statutory substitution of contracting parties. Because s 13(3) precludes treating the substitution as a breach of contract or giving rise to remedies listed, litigation might instead focus on alleged indirect effects not covered by s 13(3), or on interpretation of the new management Act’s property powers.

• Investigate jurisprudence applying s 9’s transitional regulation powers, particularly in contexts where regulations were backdated under s 9(4) and a party alleged prejudicial retrospective effect despite s 9(6). Courts might be asked to interpret the limits of s 9(6) and the meaning of "affect in a manner prejudicial."

• Review cases on the effect of s 11 continuity provisions, as courts sometimes need to decide whether a "continuation" clause truly carries over liabilities, or whether there are gaps or novations that alter parties’ rights.

This Act itself does not include litigation history. Users should consult the Western Australian Law Reports and databases for decisions on the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 and disputes arising under the amended planning and waterways regimes to build a litigation-informed view.

This Act contains several drafting and operational features that can produce surprising or unintended effects if overlooked. The following are concrete "gotchas" grounded in the text:

• Corporate continuity but membership termination: s 11 continues the Trust as the same legal entity, yet s 12(1) causes the members appointed under the old Act to cease to hold office on commencement day. This means the corporate entity retains rights and obligations, but statutory office-holders change. Practically, contracts signed by persons in those offices remain binding on the body, while individual office-holders lose their statutory office. Contracts, delegations, and decision records that rely on the identity or authority of specific office-holders must be reviewed.

• Statutory substitution of lease contracting party with statutory protection: s 13(1) makes certain existing leases "have effect" after commencement as if entered into by the Trust under the new management Act. That is a statutory reassignment without formal counterparty consent. Section 13(3) then states the operation is not to be regarded as a breach of contract, assignment restriction, breach of confidence, cause for remedy, voidness, or release of surety on the grounds listed. That is broad protection for the State and the Trust, but it may not immunise all legal claims. Parties should not assume all conceivable contractual or equitable remedies are excluded; the list in s 13(3) is specific. For example, if a claim rests on a ground not listed (for example misrepresentation that predated the statutory substitution), the statutory protection may not apply.

• Broad executive power to amend subsidiary legislation: s 7 allows the Governor, on the Minister’s recommendation, to amend subsidiary legislation made under any Act where each amendment is necessary or desirable because of the new management Act. This is a powerful tidy-up tool. The Minister’s statutory limit (s 7(2)) is the only textual constraint. That increases the speed with which regulators can remake rules but also raises risk of overbroad regulatory correction by instrument rather than parliament. The Minister’s view that an amendment is "necessary or desirable" is the statutory threshold.

• Transitional regulations with limited backdating: s 9(3) and (4) permit regulations to modify the application of the new management Act, including backdating to any day on or after commencement day. This can create retrospective legal effects, yet s 9(6) prevents regulations from prejudicially affecting persons other than the State. Users must be alert to the possibility of transitional regulations that alter the legal status of matters occurring during the transition window, and to the carve-outs in s 9(6).

• Revocation of the Environmental Protection Policy with immediate loss of legal force: s 5 revokes the approval of the draft Environmental Protection (Swan and Canning Rivers) Policy 1997 and, despite the usual saving in the Environmental Protection Act 1986 s 33(1), declares the Policy ceases to have the force of law on commencement. Parties who relied on that Policy for approvals, conditions or enforcement should be aware that it ceases to be a legal instrument as of commencement day and must examine what replaces it under the new management Act.

• New MRS referral mechanics introduce a binding dynamic plus ministerial override: the replacement clause 30A (s 21) creates a situation where the Commission must determine some applications consistently with Trust advice (cl 30A(5)). However, if the Commission disagrees, the SCRM Minister and Minister for Planning resolve the matter and the Minister for Planning directs the Commission (cl 30A(7)). This layered approach increases the Trust’s practical influence while preserving executive override through Ministers; practitioners should account for the potential for political resolution and its timing in project risk assessments.

• Strict time limit and deemed no-advice outcome: the Trust has 42 days to advise the Commission on a referred application (cl 30A(3)). If the Trust does not advise within the time allowed, it is "taken to have no advice to give" (cl 30A(4)). That can result in an automatic procedural outcome,applications can proceed without Trust input if deadlines are missed, whether due to administrative failure or deliberate choice. Applicants should ensure that referrals are logged and that the Trust has sufficient time; regulators should manage internal timetables.

• Waterways Conservation Act exclusion and local-law prohibition: Schedule 1 cl 8 inserts exclusions and makes the Waterways Conservation Act inapplicable to the development control area and Riverpark, and prevents local laws under that Act having effect there (Sch 1 cl 8(3)-(5)). Local governments and operators who previously relied on that Act’s local-law power must look to the new management Act for regulatory standards. Failure to recognise this shift could lead to wasted compliance effort or misapplied enforcement.

• Continuing subordinate instruments: s 14 preserves regulations made under the old Trust Act as if made under the new management Act. That saves immediate regulatory gaps but means legacy subordinate instruments may contain references inconsistent with the new statutory language. Practitioners should review extant regulations for obsolete references and check for regulations amended under s 7.

• Interpretation-by-substitution risk: s 10(1) and (2) tell readers to read references to the repealed enactment as references to corresponding provisions of the new management Act, and management area references as references to the development control area as required. That eases transition but can create interpretive disputes where correspondence is unclear. Parties should not assume one-to-one mapping in complex provisions without checking both statutes.

Being attentive to these provisions and their draft-language specifics is necessary to avoid procedural missteps, misallocated compliance resources, and surprise disagreements about legal responsibilities during and after the transition.

Compliance under this consequential and transitional Act is primarily about updating processes, documentation, referrals, and regulatory awareness so that public authorities, developers, landholders and advisers operate under the new legal architecture. Practical steps, grounded in the Act’s text, are as follows.

For developers, applicants and planning practitioners:

• Identify whether proposed works or applications touch the Swan development control area or abut waters in that area. The Metropolitan Region Scheme as amended (ss 17-22) and the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 define the boundaries to be used for referral tests. If any part of a lot is within the Swan development control area, or the lot abuts waters in it, expect a mandatory referral to the Trust under clause 30A(2)(a) (s 21).
• Prepare for an additional 42‑day referral step: once particulars are given to the Trust, the Trust has 42 days to advise, or a longer period allowed by the Commission in its discretion (cl 30A(3)). Factor that period into project timetables. If the Trust fails to provide advice in time, it is taken to have no advice (cl 30A(4)).
• Anticipate that, for developments captured by clause 30A(2)(a), the Commission will determine consistently with the Trust’s advice (cl 30A(5)). This becomes a determinative element of approval risk. If the Commission disagrees, the matter proceeds to ministerial resolution (cl 30A(7)), which introduces political and timing risk.
• For developments that merely "are likely to affect" waters in the Swan development control area (cl 30A(2)(b)), the Commission must "have regard to" Trust advice (cl 30A(6)). Expect persuasive engagement rather than determinative control.
• Check whether the Trust has determined that a class of applications need not be referred (cl 30A(9)) to avoid unnecessary referral steps; if so, ensure appropriate waiver or exemption documentation is obtained or recorded.

For the Swan River Trust and its board and staff:

• Ensure governance transition is implemented in accordance with s 11 and s 12: while the Trust continues as the same legal entity (s 11), membership appointed under the old Act ceases (s 12(1)). Implement appointment processes under the new management Act promptly to avoid governance gaps and be ready to assume new statutory duties.
• Implement timely advice processes for planning referrals to meet the 42‑day deadline (cl 30A(3)). Develop standard templates for "full particulars" and for the written advice the Trust will provide to the Commission.
• Where appropriate, determine and notify the Commission about classes of application that need not be referred (cl 30A(9)). Doing so reduces transactional friction and clarifies expectations for applicants.

For the Western Australian Planning Commission:

• Update internal procedures and application checklists to trigger referral to the Trust as required by clause 30A. Ensure the Commission accurately identifies the trigger conditions in cl 30A(2)(a) and (b).
• Maintain record of dates when particulars are provided to the Trust to enforce the 42-day timeline and to ensure that a failure to respond is logged in accordance with cl 30A(4).
• If the Commission disagrees with Trust advice in cases where cl 30A(5) applies, engage early with the SCRM Minister and Minister for Planning as required under cl 30A(7) so the ministerial resolution path can be timely.

For Registrars, land title attorneys and lessees of River reserve land:

• Where leases were entered into under Marine and Harbours Act 1981 s 12 and are in effect before commencement day, treat those leases as having effect as if entered by the Trust under the new management Act (s 13(1)). Record in title searches and in client advisories that the statutory contracting party has been remapped by statute.
• Comply with s 13(2): the Registrar of Titles is to take notice of s 13 and is empowered to record and register documents to give effect to the statutory transfer. Lessees or their advisers should lodge any required updating documents and check the Title register to ensure statutory entries reflect the change.
• Note s 13(3) for risk assessment: the Act states the operation "is not to be regarded" as a breach or cause of contractual remedy for the enumerated grounds. That reduces risk of contractual termination claims tied specifically to change of contracting party; however, advise clients to review specific contractual clauses and seek legal advice on any remaining claims.

For Ministers and the State:

• The Minister responsible for the management Act must observe the restriction on recommending Governor-made amendments to subsidiary legislation: the Minister may recommend only if each proposed amendment is necessary or desirable as a consequence of the enactment of the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006 (s 7(2)). Keep records of the rationale to justify the "necessary or desirable" test.
• If a dispute arises under cl 30A(5), Ministers must follow cl 30A(7) in resolving matters between the Commission and the Trust and ensure directions by the Minister for Planning to the Commission are properly documented and consistent with the Planning and Development Act rights (cl 30A(8) notes it is not to be read as limiting s 17 of the Planning and Development Act 2005).

For regulators making subsidiary legislation and transitional regulations:

• Use the transitional regulation power (s 9) carefully. If there is no sufficient provision in the Act for a transitional matter, regulations may prescribe required matters and can provide for application or non-application of specified provisions or modify them for particular matters (s 9(1)-(3)). Ensure regulatory drafting includes safeguards and explicit statements about whether regulations are being applied prospectively or backdated within the permissible transitional range.
• Be aware that regulations under s 9 may be backdated to any day on or after the commencement day but before Gazette publication (s 9(4)), but s 9(6) bars those regulations from prejudicially affecting private persons’ rights or imposing liabilities for conduct done prior to publication. Maintain contemporaneous policy records to justify retrospective operation where necessary.

For local governments and bodies relying on the Waterways Conservation Act 1976:

• Note that the Waterways Conservation Act no longer applies to the development control area or Riverpark (Sch 1 cl 8(3)-(4)) and local laws under that Act must not be made to have effect there (Sch 1 cl 8(5)). Amend local regulatory strategies and enforcement plans so they align with the new management Act and Trust responsibilities rather than relying on the Waterways Conservation Act in those areas.

For lawyers and compliance officers:

• Search and update any documentation, licences, consent orders, planning agreements and local laws that reference the repealed Swan River Trust Act 1988, the Trust’s management area, or the Environmental Protection (Swan and Canning Rivers) Policy 1997 to reflect the new references (s 10(1) and s 10(2)). Use the construction rules in s 10 to interpret pre-existing documents where context allows but do not assume automatic one-to-one mapping in complex contractual terms without legal review.
• Watch for secondary instruments made under the old Act that continue under s 14. Review them for consistency with the new management Act and for possible amendment under s 7.

In all of these compliance tasks, keep in mind the statutory protections against prejudicial retrospective regulation (s 9(6)), the continuity of regulations (s 14), the transfer and protection of lease status (s 13), and the 42-day advice timeframe and ministerial resolution pathway in clause 30A (s 21). Practical compliance is therefore primarily an exercise in statutory cross-referencing, process adaptation, and timeline management rather than in meeting new sanction-bearing obligations created by this Act itself.