Navigation Act 1958 (Cth)
NAVIGATION.
An
Act to amend the
[Assented to 27th May, 1958.]
BE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—
(2.) The
(3.) The Principal Act, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the
(2.) Each Part, Division or section inserted in the Principal Act by a section of this Act shall come into operation on the date on which the last-mentioned section comes into operation.
“2a. This Act binds the Crown in right of the Commonwealth or of a Slate and any authority constituted by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory of the Commonwealth.
“3. Except where the contrary intention appears, this Act does not apply to or in relation to a vessel belonging to the Commonwealth Naval Forces or to the naval forces of any other country, including a foreign country.”.
“5. This Act is divided into Parts, as follows:—
Part I.—Introductory (Sections 1–9).
Part II.—Masters and Seamen.
Division 1.—General (Sections 10–12).
Division 2.—The Superintendent (Section 13).
Division 3.—Officers (Sections 14–26).
Division 4.—Supplying Seamen (Sections 28–32).
Division 5.—Apprentices (Sections 34–38).
Division 6.—Rating of Seamen (Sections 39–42).
Division 7.—The Crew (Sections 43–45).
Division 7a.—Approval of Engagements of Seamen (Sections 45a-45c).
Division 8.—The Agreement (Sections 46–60a).
Division 9.—Discharge of Seamen (Sections 61–68).
Division 10.—Seamen’s Wages (Sections 69–94).
Division 12.—Discipline (Sections 99–115).
Division 13.—Provisions (Sections 116–122).
Division 14.—Health (Sections 123–133).
Division 15.—Accommodation (Sections 135—138b).
Division 16.—Protection of Seamen (Sections 139–148d).
Division 17.—Property of Deceased Seamen (Sections 149–160).
Division 18.—Relief to Seamen’s Families (Sections 161–162).
Division 19.—Relief and Maintenance of Distressed Seamen (Sections 163–163a).
Division 20.—The Master (Sections 164–169).
Division 21.—The Log (Sections 170–175).
Part III.—Foreign Seamen (Sections 177–186).
Part IV.—Ships and Shipping.
Division 1.—General (Sections 187–192b).
Division 2.—Surveys of Steamships and Survey Certificates (Sections 193–206).
Division 2a.—Sailing Ships (Section 206b).
Division 2b.—Safety Convention Certificates (Sections 206c–206s).
Division 3.—Unseaworthy Ships. (Sections 207–214).
Division 4.—Life-saving Appliances and Fire Protection (Sections. 215–217).
Division 5.—Deck and Load Lines (Sections 218–227).
Division 6.—Signals of Distress (Sections 228–230).
Division 6a.—Radio Equipment (Sections 231–231f).
Division 7.—Compasses (Sections 232–234).
Division 8.—Collision, Boat, and Fire Drills (Section 235).
Division 9.—Anchors, Chain Cables, and Gear (Sections 236–247).
Division 10.—Dangerous Goods, Livestock, Grain, Deck and other Cargoes (Sections 248–257).
Division 11.—Lights, Signals, and Sailing Regulations (Sections 258–265a).
Division 13.—Report of Accidents and of Dangers to Navigation (Sections 268–269a).
Part V.—Passengers (Sections 270–283).
Part VI.—The Coasting Trade (Sections 284–293a).
Part VII.—Wrecks and Salvage.
Division 1.—Interpretation (Sections 294–295).
Division 2.—Wreck (Sections 296–314).
Division 3.—Salvage (Sections 315–317a).
Division 4.—Procedure in Salvage (Sections 318–327).
Division 5.—Jurisdiction in Salvage (Section 328).
Division 6.—Removal of Wreck (Section 329).
Division 7.—Salvage Claims by and against the Crown (Sections 329a-329c).
Part VIII.—Limitation of Liability in respect of Government Ships (Sections 330–336).
Part IX.—Courts of Marine Inquiry (Sections 356–377a).
Part X.—Legal Proceedings.
Division 1.—Jurisdiction (Sections 378–385).
Division 2.—Offences (Sections 386–391).
Division 3.—Prosecution and Penalties (Sections 392–399).
Division 4.—Evidence and Service (Sections 400–405).
Division 5.—Proceedings against the Crown (Section 405a).
Part XI.—Miscellaneous (Sections 406–425).”.
“6.—(1.) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—
‘agreement’, in relation to a ship, means the agreement between the master of the ship and the crew of the ship and, in relation to a seaman belonging to a ship, means the agreement between the master of the ship and the seaman;
‘apprentice’ means a person bound by indentures of apprenticeship to the sea service;
‘articles of agreement’ has the same meaning as agreement;
‘Australian-trade ship’ means a ship (other than a foreign-going ship, a limited coast-trade ship or a river and bay ship) employed in trading or going between places in Australia;
‘British ship’ includes a ship registered in a Commonwealth country or a ship recognized by the law of a Commonwealth country as a ship belonging to that country;
‘Collector’ means a Collector of Customs or other principal officer of Customs doing duty at a port under the
Customs Act 1901–1957;‘Commonwealth country’ means—
(
a )Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Ghana and Malaya; and(
b ) any other country declared by the regulations to be a Commonwealth country,and includes—
(
c ) a colony, overseas territory or protectorate of a country specified in paragraph (a ) of this definition or of a country declared to be a Commonwealth country under paragraph (b ) of this definition; and(
d )a territory for the international relations of which a country so specified or declared is responsible;‘consul’ includes consul-general, vice-consul, pro-consul and consular agent;
‘Deputy Director’ means a Deputy Director of Navigation and includes the Director;
‘diplomatic or consular representative of Australia’ means a person appointed to hold, or to act in, any of the following offices (being an office of the Commonwealth) in a country or place outside Australia:—
(
a ) ambassador;(
b ) minister;(
c ) head of mission;(
d ) chargé d’affaires; and(
e ) consul;‘discharge’ means the certificate of discharge given to a seaman upon his discharge from a ship;
‘effects’ includes documents;
‘equipment’, in relation to a ship, includes every thing or article belonging to or to be used in connexion with, or necessary for the navigation and safety of, the ship and, in particular, includes boats, tackle, pumps, apparel,
furniture, life-saving appliances, spars, masts, rigging, sails, fog signals, lights, signals of distress, radio equipment, medicines, medical and surgical stores and appliances, apparatus for preventing or extinguishing fires, buckets, compasses, charts, axes, lanterns and gear and apparatus for loading and discharging cargo;
‘foreign-going ship’ means a ship employed in trading or going between a place or places in Australia and a place or places outside Australia;
‘Government ship’ means a ship—
(
a ) which belongs to the Commonwealth or a State;(
b ) the beneficial interest in which is vested in the Commonwealth or a State;(
c ) which is for the time being demised or sub-demised to or in the exclusive possession of the Commonwealth or a State; or(
d ) which is registered in Australia as a Government ship for the purposes of the Merchant Shipping Act,and includes a ship which belongs to the Commonwealth Naval Forces, but does not include a ship which belongs to the Australian Coastal Shipping Commission constituted under the
Australian Coastal Shipping Commission Act 1956;‘harbour’ means a harbour properly so called, whether natural or artificial, and includes an estuary, navigable river, creek, channel, haven, roadstead, dock, pier, jetty or other work in or at which ships can obtain shelter or ship and unship goods or passengers;
‘justice’ means Justice of the Peace;
‘limited coast-trade ship’ means a sea-going ship engaged in making voyages from and to a port in Australia within such limits as are prescribed in relation to that port;
‘master’ means a person having command or charge of a ship;
‘Medical Inspector of Seamen’ means a person appointed under section one hundred and twenty-three of this Act to be a Medical Inspector of Seamen;
‘officer’ means the master, a mate or an engineer of a ship;
‘officer of Customs’ means a person who is an officer for the purposes of the
Customs Act 1901–1957;‘official’ means a Deputy Director, a superintendent, a surveyor, a Medical Inspector of Seamen or any other person, including a Collector or other officer of Customs, required to perform functions or discharge duties for the purposes of this Act;
‘official log-book’, in relation to a ship, means the official log-book kept by the master of the ship in pursuance of section one hundred and seventy-one of this Act or in pursuance of the law of a country other than Australia;
‘passenger’ means a person carried on board a ship with the knowledge or consent of the owner, charterer, agent or master of the ship, not being—
(
a )a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board the ship on the business of the ship;(
b )a person on board the ship in pursuance of an obligation imposed on the master by any law (including a law of a country other than Australia) to assist shipwrecked, distressed or other persons or by reason of circumstances that could not have been prevented or forestalled by the owner, charterer, agent or master of the ship; or(
c ) a child under the age of one year;‘pilot’ means a person who does not belong to, but has the conduct of, a ship;
‘port’ includes place and harbour;
‘proper authority’—
(
a ) in relation to a port in Australia—means the superintendent at that port;(
b )in relation to a port in a Commonwealth country other than Australia—means a person who, under the law of that country, has, with respect to that port, powers, duties and functions similar to the powers, duties and functions of a superintendent under this Act; and(
c ) in relation to a port in a country other than a Commonwealth country—means a diplomatic or consular representative of Australia or a consul of any other Commonwealth country;‘radio equipment’ includes radio navigational aid equipment;
‘river and bay ship’ means—
(
a )a ship which is employed exclusively in trading or going between places within the limits of a port, bay or river in Australia or within prescribed limits in a gulf or gulfs in Australia; or(
b )a ship, or a ship included in a class of ships, specified by the Minister by notice in theGazette, being a ship which trades exclusively within the limits of a port, bay or river inAustralia specified in the notice and within a radius of three nautical miles seaward from the entrance of that port, bay or river;
‘seaman’ means a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the business of the ship, other than—
(
a ) the master of the ship;(
b ) a pilot;(
c ) an apprentice; or(
d ) a person temporarily employed on the ship in port;‘ship’ means a vessel not ordinarily propelled by oars only;
‘superintendent’—
(
a )in relation to a port in which a Mercantile Marine Office has been established under section thirteen of this Act—means the superintendent appointed at that office, and includes a deputy superintendent so appointed; and(
b )in relation to a port in which a Mercantile Marine Office has not been so established but at which there is a Collector—means that Collector;‘surveyor’ means a person appointed to be a surveyor under section one hundred and ninety of this Act;
‘the Court’, in relation to proceedings under this Act, means the court exercising jurisdiction in respect of those proceedings;
‘the Director’ means the Director of Navigation;
‘the Marine Council’ means the Marine Council established under section four hundred and twenty-four of this Act;
‘the Merchant Shipping Act’ means the Imperial Act known as the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, as amended from time to time;
‘this Act’ includes the regulations;
‘tidal water’ means a part of the sea, or a part of a river, within the ebb and flow of the tide at ordinary spring tides, but does not include a harbour;
‘vessel’ means a vessel used in navigation, other than air navigation, and includes a barge, lighter or like vessel;
‘wages’ includes emoluments.
“(2.) A reference in this Act to failure to do an act or thing shall be read as including a reference to refusal or neglect to do that act or thing.
“(3.) Strict compliance with a prescribed form is not necessary and substantial compliance with that form is sufficient.
“6a. A person who, by this Act, is required to answer a question asked under or for the purposes of this Act shall be deemed not to have complied with that requirement unless he answers the question truly to the best of his knowledge, information and belief.
“6b. For the purposes of this Act, a seaman or apprentice has deserted from his ship—
(
a )if he is absent from his ship with the intention of not returning to the ship; or(
b )if he is absent from his ship for a continuous period exceeding forty-eight hours without leave, lawful cause or reasonable excuse.
“6c. For the purposes of this Act—
(
a )an officer is incompetent if he is inefficient in the performance of any of his duties as an officer; and(
b )an officer is guilty of misconduct if he is guilty of careless navigation, drunkenness, tyranny, want of skill, improper conduct or, without reasonable cause or excuse, failure of duty.
“6d. For the purposes of this Act, a ship shall be deemed to have been taken or sent to sea, or to have gone or proceeded to sea, if the ship has been got under way for the purpose of—
(
a ) going to sea;(
b ) plying or running; or(
c ) proceeding on a voyage.
“6e.—(1.) For the purposes of this Act, but subject to the next succeeding sub-section—
(
a )the proper return port of a master who has been engaged for service on a ship is—(i) such port as is agreed upon between the owner of the ship and the master; or
(ii) in the absence of agreement—the port at which the master shipped;
(
b )the proper return port of a seaman who has been engaged for service on a ship is—(i) such port as is agreed upon between the master of the ship and the seaman, either in the seaman’s agreement or otherwise; or
(ii) in the absence of agreement—the port at which the seaman shipped; and
(
c ) the proper return port of an apprentice is the port at which the indentures of apprenticeship of the apprentice were entered into.
“(2.) A master, seaman or apprentice and the owner of a ship may agree to refer a question which has arisen between them as to the proper return port of the master, seaman or apprentice to a proper authority for his decision.
“(3.) Section eighty-one of this Act applies to and in relation to such an agreement as if it were an agreement to which that section applies and the reference in that section to a superintendent were a reference to a proper authority.
“6f. A reference in this Act to a Commonwealth country shall be read as if it included a reference to the Republic of Ireland, and a reference in this Act to a British subject shall be read as if it included a reference to a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.”.
“(2.) In this section, ‘owner’, in relation to a ship, includes a person who is the manager or secretary of a body corporate which is the owner of the ship.”.
“9.—(1.) The Minister may, by instrument in writing, delegate, either generally or otherwise as provided in the instrument of delegation, all or any of his powers and functions under this Act (except this power of delegation) so that the delegated powers and functions may be exercised and performed by the delegate in accordance with the instrument of delegation.
“(2.) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of a power or the performance of a function by the Minister.”.
(2.) Where, immediately before the date of commencement of this section, a delegation issued under the section repealed by this section was in force, that delegation has effect on and after that date as if it had been issued under the section inserted in the Principal Act by this section.
“14.—(1.) Subject to sub-section (9.) of this section—
(
a ) the owner of a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade shall not suffer the ship to go to sea unless the ship carries a duly certificated master and the prescribed complement of officers for the ship;(
b )the master of a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade shall not take the ship to sea unless the ship carries the prescribed complement of officers for the ship; and(
c ) the master of a British ship (not being a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade) shall not take the ship to sea from a place in Australia unless he is a duly certificated master and the ship carries such duly certificated officers as are, by the law of the country in which the ship is registered, necessary for the ship when going to sea from a place in that country.
Penalty: One hundred pounds.
“(2.) Subject to the next succeeding sub-section, the prescribed complement of officers for a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade is—
(
a )the complement of officers specified in Schedule I. to this Act for the class of ships in which that ship is included; or(
b )if regulations prescribing the complement of officers for that ship, or the class of ships in which that ship is included, are in force—the complement of officers so prescribed.
“(3.) Upon application in that behalf being made as
prescribed, the Minister may, by order published in the
(
a )from and including a date specified in the order, the prescribed complement of officers for a ship—(i) be varied in the manner specified in the order; or
(ii) be the complement specified in the order; or
(
b )the prescribed complement of officers for a ship to be constructed or in the course of construction shall, upon the completion of the ship, be the complement specified in the order.
“(4.) The Minister shall not make an order under the last preceding sub-section unless the application has been referred for advice to a committee of advice appointed under section four hundred and twenty-four of this Act and the committee has furnished advice to the Minister with respect to the application.
“(5.) An order
made under sub-section (3.) of this section shall not be deemed to be a
Statutory Rule within the meaning of the
“(6.) Where, after an order has been made in relation to a ship (including a ship to be constructed or in the course of construction) under sub-section (3.) of this section, regulations prescribing the complement of officers for the ship, or the class of ships in which the ship is included, come into force, the order ceases to be in force.
“(7.) Subject to the next succeeding sub-section, if—
(
a ) a ship is at a port and the number of officers of a particular description required to be carried on the ship by virtue of sub-section (1.) of this section has not been obtained; and(
b )a Deputy Director, or a proper authority at the port, is satisfied that the owner or master of the ship has made all reasonable efforts to obtain that number of officers of that description, including, if the port is in Australia, the seeking of the assistance of the organization of employees of which officers of that description are members,
the Deputy Director or the proper authority, as the case may be, may, by writing under his hand, either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, consent to the master taking the ship to sea from the port without the officer or officers of that description not obtained.
“(8.) Where the number of duly certificated officers required to be carried on a ship by virtue of sub-section (1.) of this section has not been obtained, a Deputy Director or a proper authority at a port shall not give his consent under the last preceding sub-section to the taking of the ship to sea unless he is satisfied that the officers who will be carried on the ship are able to perform all the duties of the duly certificated officers who, but for the consent, would be required to be carried on the ship.
“(9.) If a Deputy Director or a proper authority at a port gives his consent under sub-section (7.) of this section to the master of a ship taking the ship to sea from a port without an officer or officers of a particular description and the master complies with the conditions, if any, subject to which the consent is given—
(
a ) the owner of the ship may suffer the ship to go to sea from that port; and(
b )the master may take the ship to sea, and may lawfully command the officers and crew of the ship to take the ship to sea, from that port,
notwithstanding that the ship does not carry that officer or those officers of that description.
“14a.—(1.) If—
(
a ) the number of officers of a particular description ordinarily carried on a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade is greater than the number of officers of that description required to be carried on the ship by virtue of sub-section (1.) of the last preceding section;(
b ) the number of officers of that description ordinarily carried on the ship has not been obtained; and(
c ) an officer or other member of the crew of the ship lodges with the master of the ship an objection in writing to the ship being taken to sea from a port specified in the objection with less than the number of officers of that description ordinarily carried on the ship,
then, notwithstanding that the prescribed complement of officers for the ship is carried on the ship, the master shall not take the ship to sea from the port unless—
(
d ) a Deputy Director or a proper authority at the port, by writing under his hand, consents to the master taking the ship to sea from the port without the officer or officers of that description not obtained; and(
e )the master, as soon as practicable after receiving the consent, posts up the consent, or a copy of the consent, in a prominent place on the ship, being a place to which all officers and other members of the crew of the ship have access, and keeps it so posted up until the ship is taken to sea.
“(2.) A Deputy Director or proper authority shall not give his consent under the last preceding sub-section to the master of a ship taking the ship to sea from a port unless the Deputy Director or proper authority is satisfied that the owner or master of the ship has made all reasonable efforts to obtain the number of officers of the particular description ordinarily carried on the ship, including, if the port is in Australia, the seeking of the assistance of the organization of employees of which officers of that description are members.
“15.—(1.) Certificates of competency of each of the grades set out in the following table, of such sub-grades of those grades as are prescribed and of such other grades, and of such sub-grades of those other grades, as are prescribed may be granted in accordance with this Act:—
|
|
|
|
“(2.) The regulations may provide that the holder of a certificate of a grade or sub-grade specified in the regulations shall be deemed to be the holder of certificates of such other grades and sub-grades as are so specified.
“(3.) The regulations shall make provision whereby—
(
a )the holder of a certificate as an engineer of any grade or sub-grade is permitted to serve in such ships, for such voyages and in such capacities as will enable him to qualify for a certificate of the grade next higher to that of which he is the holder; and(
b )the holder of a certificate as second class coast engineer or as third class coast engineer is permitted to qualify for a certificate as coast engineer of the grade next higher to the grade of the certificate of which he is the holder by service in river and bay ships.”.
“17. A person shall not be admitted to examination for a certificate unless—
(
a )he is a British subject or, for a period of at least one year immediately before the date of the examination, he has been continuously resident in the Commonwealth;(
b ) he speaks and writes the English language intelligibly; and(
c ) he possesses such other qualifications as are prescribed.”.
“18a.—(1.) A certificate as extra master, master of a foreign-going ship, first mate of a foreign-going ship, extra first class engineer or first class engineer shall not be delivered to a person who is not a British subject.
“(2.) Where, but for the last preceding sub-section, a person would be eligible for a certificate as extra master or master of a foreign-going ship, the Minister may grant to that person a permit to serve as master of a foreign-going ship registered in Australia and, for the purposes of this Act, the holder of such a permit shall, in relation to a ship so registered, be deemed to be the holder of a certificate as master of a foreign-going ship.
“(3.) Where, but for sub-section (1.) of this section, a person would be eligible for a certificate as first mate of a foreign-going ship, the Minister may grant to that person a permit to serve as first mate of a foreign-going ship registered in Australia and, for the purposes of this Act, the holder of such a permit shall, in relation to a ship so registered, be deemed to be the holder of a certificate as first mate of a foreign-going ship.
“(4.) Where, but for sub-section (1.) of this section, a person would be eligible for a certificate as extra first class engineer or first class engineer, the Minister may grant to that person a permit to serve as first class engineer of a ship registered in
Australia and, for the purposes of this Act, the holder of such a permit shall, in relation to a ship registered in Australia, be deemed to be the holder of a certificate as first class engineer.
“(5.) A permit granted under this section may be revoked by the Minister at any time.
“18b.—(1.) Upon application by a person who has attained the rank of lieutenant, as a seaman specialist, in the Commonwealth Naval Forces and has such other qualifications as are prescribed, the Minister may grant to that person, without examination, a certificate of service as master of a foreign-going ship.
“(2.) Upon application by a person who has attained the rank of lieutenant, as an engineer specialist, in the Commonwealth Naval Forces and has such other qualifications as are prescribed, the Minister may grant to that person, without examination, a certificate of service as first class engineer.
“(3.) Upon application by a person who has attained the rank of sub-lieutenant, as an engineer specialist, in the Commonwealth Naval Forces and has such other qualifications as are prescribed, the Minister may grant to that person, without examination, a certificate of service as second class engineer.
“(4.) A certificate of service granted under this section shall be in such form as is prescribed.
“(5.) For the purposes of this Act—
(
a ) a certificate of service as master of a foreign-going ship granted under this section shall be deemed to be a certificate of competency as master of a foreign-going ship;(
b ) a certificate of service as first class engineer granted under this section shall be deemed to be a certificate of competency as first class engineer; and(
c ) a certificate of service as second class engineer granted under this section shall be deemed to be a certificate of competency as second class engineer.
“19.—(1.) A certificate or permit granted under this Division shall be in duplicate.
“(2.) One part shall be delivered to the person entitled to the certificate or permit and the other part shall be preserved and recorded in such manner as the Minister directs.”.
(
a )by inserting in sub-section (1.), after the word “certificate” (first occurring), the words “granted under this Division”;(
b ) by omitting sub-section (3.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—“(3.) Where a person is required to deliver up a certificate under this section, the Minister may, and, if the person so requests, shall, cause an inquiry to be held by a Court of Marine Inquiry into a charge that that person is incompetent by reason of his unfitness.”; and
(
c ) by inserting at the end thereof the following subsection:—“(6.) Where a person is required to deliver up a certificate under this section and an inquiry is not held under sub-section (3.) of this section, the Minister shall retain the certificate until he is satisfied that the grantee of the certificate is fit to perform the duties required of him.”.
“21. If the Minister is satisfied that a certificate or permit granted to a person under this Division has been lost or destroyed, he may issue to that person a certified copy of the certificate or permit and that copy is, for the purposes of this Act, of the same effect as the certificate or permit.
“22. A certificate issued or recognized under a law in force in the United Kingdom which corresponds with a certificate of competency or a certificate of service under this Division shall be recognized for the purposes of this Act as if it were a certificate of competency or a certificate of service granted under this Division.”.
“26. A person shall not engage or go to sea as an officer in a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade unless he speaks and writes the English language intelligibly.”.
“Division 4.—Supplying Seamen.
“28. In this Division, ‘seaman’ includes a person who is seeking employment as a seaman or is engaged or supplied, or is offered for engagement or supply, as a seaman on board a ship.
“29.—(1.) A person shall not supply a seaman to be entered on board a ship at a port in Australia unless that person is—
(
a ) the superintendent for that port;(
b ) the owner, agent or charterer, or an officer, of the ship; or(
c ) an officer of an organization of employees of which seamen of the description of that seaman are members.
“(2.) A person shall not employ, for the purpose of supplying a seaman to be entered on board a ship at a port in Australia, a person who is prohibited by the last preceding sub-section from supplying that seaman at that port.
“(3.) A person shall not engage a seaman to be entered on board a ship at a port in Australia unless that person is—
(
a ) the superintendent for that port; or(
b ) the owner, agent or charterer, or an officer, of the ship.
“(4.) A person shall not employ, for the purpose of engaging a seaman to be entered on board a ship at a port in Australia, a person who is prohibited by the last preceding sub-section from engaging that seaman at that port.
Penalty: Fifty pounds or imprisonment for three months.
“30. The superintendent for a port shall—
(
a )keep a register of persons desiring to be entered as seamen on board ships at the port; and(
b ) supply seamen to be entered on board ships at the port.
“31. A person shall not, at a port in Australia, receive or accept a seaman for service on board a ship unless that person is satisfied that the seaman has not been engaged or supplied in contravention of this Act.
Penalty: Fifty pounds or imprisonment for three months.
“32. A person shall not, at a port in Australia, demand or receive, directly or indirectly, remuneration from a person for providing, or promising to provide, a seaman with employment on a ship, including a foreign ship.
Penalty: Fifty pounds.”.
“ (b )has attained the age of fifteen years;
“ (c )has passed a prescribed sight test and is otherwise physically fit for the sea service; and”.
“36. If—
(
a )an apprentice who entered into indentures of apprenticeship in Australia dies or deserts from a ship; or(
b )the indentures of such an apprentice are assigned, cancelled or otherwise cease,
the master of the apprentice shall, as soon as practicable, give notice in writing to a proper authority at a port of the death or desertion of the apprentice or of the assignment, cancellation or cessation of the indentures, as the case may be.”.
(
a ) by omitting all the words before paragraph (a )and inserting in their stead the words “The master of a ship, other than a river and bay ship, shall, before taking an apprentice to sea from a port in Australia—”; and(
b ) by omitting the words “Penalty: Five pounds.”.
(
a ) by inserting after the word “apprentice” (first, occurring) the words “who entered into indentures of apprenticeship in Australia”;(
b )by omitting the word “insolvent” and inserting in its stead the word “bankrupt”; and(
c ) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:—“(2.) Where the owner of a ship is a company and a winding-up of the company is commenced, the owner shall, for the purposes of the last preceding sub-section, be deemed to have become bankrupt on the date of the commencement of the winding-up.”.
“39.—(1.) If the superintendent at a port is satisfied that—
(
a ) a person—(i) has attained the prescribed age;
(ii) has performed the prescribed qualifying service at sea; and
(iii) has passed the prescribed examination; or
(
b )a person had, before the commencement of this section, served at sea in the capacity of able seaman or on deck in any equivalent or superior capacity,
the superintendent may issue to that person a certificate of qualification as an able seaman.
“(2.) A seaman is not entitled to be rated as an able seaman for the purposes of this Act unless he is the holder of—
(
a ) a certificate issued under the last preceding sub-section; or(
b )a certificate included in a class of certificates issued by a Commonwealth country other than Australia and declared by the regulations to be a class of certificates corresponding with certificates issued under this section.
“(3.) If a superintendent is satisfied that a certificate of qualification as an able seaman issued to a person under this section has been lost or destroyed, he may issue to that person a certified copy of the certificate and that copy is, for the purposes of this Act, of the same effect as the certificate.
“39a. A seaman is not entitled to be rated as an ordinary seaman for the purposes of this Act unless—
(
a ) he has attained the prescribed age; and(
b ) he has performed the prescribed qualifying service at sea.
“39b.—(1.) A seaman is not entitled to be rated as a greaser for the purposes of this Act unless—
(
a ) he has attained the age of eighteen years; and(
b ) he has had at least six months’ service at sea as a fireman or such other service at sea as is prescribed.
“(2.) A seaman is not entitled to be rated as a fireman for the purposes of this Act unless—
(
a ) he has attained the age of eighteen years; and(
b )he has had at least six months’ service at sea in the stokehold or bunkers of a ship as a trimmer or such other service at sea as is prescribed.
“(3.) A seaman is not entitled to be rated as a trimmer for the purposes of this Act unless he has attained the age of eighteen years.
“39c. A seaman is not entitled to be rated as a shipwright or a ship’s carpenter for the purposes of this Act unless—
(
a )he has served an apprenticeship as a shipwright or a ship’s carpenter or such other apprenticeship as is prescribed; or(
b ) he has performed the prescribed qualifying service at sea.
“39d. A person, other than a person who—
(
a ) has not previously served at sea; or(
b ) is a member of a prescribed class of seamen,
shall not, at a port in Australia, engage as a seaman in a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade unless he satisfies the superintendent at the port that he is an efficient boat-hand.
“40. A superintendent may refuse to approve the engagement of a seaman to be entered on board a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade if the superintendent is not satisfied that the seaman is entitled under this Act to the rating appropriate to the capacity in which he is to be engaged.”.
“43.—(1.) Subject to sub-section (9.) of this section, the owner of a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade shall not suffer the ship to go to sea, and the master of the ship shall not take the ship to sea, unless the ship carries the prescribed crew for that ship.
Penalty: One hundred pounds.
“(2.) Subject to the next succeeding sub-section, the prescribed crew for a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade is—
(
a ) the number of persons specified in the scales set out in Schedule II. to this Act of each of the descriptions so specified for the class of ships in which that ship is included; or(
b )if regulations prescribing the crew for that ship, or the class of ships in which that ship is included, are in force—the crew so prescribed.
“(3.) Upon
application in that behalf being made as prescribed, the Minister may, by order
published in the
(
a ) from and including a date specified in the order, the prescribed crew for a ship—(i) be varied in the manner specified in the order; or
(ii) be the crew specified in the order; or
(
b )the prescribed crew for a ship to be constructed or in the course of construction shall, upon the completion of the ship, be the crew specified in the order.
“(4.) The Minister shall not make an order under the last preceding sub-section unless the application has been referred for advice to a committee of advice appointed under section
four hundred and twenty-four of this Act and the committee has furnished advice to the Minister with respect to the application.
“(5.) An order
made under sub-section (3.) of this section shall not be deemed to be a
Statutory Rule within the meaning of the
“(6.) Where, after an order has been made in relation to a ship (including a ship to be constructed or in the course of construction) under sub-section (3.) of this section, regulations prescribing the crew for the ship, or the class of ships in which the ship is included, come into force, the order ceases to be in force.
“(7.) Subject to the next succeeding sub-section, if—
(
a )a ship is at a port and the number of seamen of a particular description required to be carried on the ship by virtue of sub-section (1.) of this section has not been obtained; and(
b )a Deputy Director, or a proper authority at the port, is satisfied that the owner or master of the ship has made all reasonable efforts to obtain that number of seamen of that description, including, if the port is in Australia, the seeking of the assistance of the organization of employees of which seamen of that description are members,
the Deputy Director or the proper authority, as the case may be, may, by writing under his hand, either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, consent to the master taking the ship to sea from the port without the seaman or seamen of that description not obtained.
“(8.) A Deputy Director or proper authority shall not give his consent under the last preceding sub-section to the master of a ship taking the ship to sea if the effect of so doing would be to authorize the master to take the ship to sea with less than four-fifths of the engine-room staff, or less than four-fifths of the deck complement, of the ship.
“(9.) If a Deputy Director or a proper authority at a port gives his consent under sub-section (7.) of this section to the master of a ship taking the ship to sea from a port without a seaman or seamen of a particular description not obtained and the master complies with the conditions, if any, subject to which the consent is given—
(
a ) the owner of the ship may suffer the ship to go to sea from that port; and(
b )the master may take the ship to sea, and may lawfully command the officers and crew of the ship to take the ship to sea, from that port,
notwithstanding that the ship does not carry that seaman or those seamen of that description.
“(10.) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against sub-section (1.) of this section if the defendant satisfies the Court—
(
a )that the ship went to sea with not less than four-fifths of the engine room staff, and with not less than four-fifths of the deck complement, of the ship;(
b )that the failure to obtain the prescribed crew for the ship was not due to any default or neglect on his part; and(
c ) that an officer or other member of the crew of the ship did not lodge with the master of the ship an objection in writing to the ship being taken to sea.
“(11.) For the
purposes of sub-section (8.) of this section and of paragraph (
“(12.) In this section—
‘deck complement’, in relation to a ship, means the number of persons which, by virtue of sub-section (1.) of this section, the ship is required to carry as able seamen, ordinary seamen, boys and apprentices;
‘engine-room staff’, in relation to a ship, means the number of persons which, by virtue of sub-section (1.) of this section, the ship is required to carry for employment in the engine-room, stoke-hold, bunkers and boiler-room of the ship.
“44.—(1.) If—
(
a )the number of seamen of a particular description ordinarily carried on a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade is greater than the number of seamen of that description required to be carried on the ship by virtue of sub-section (1.) of the last preceding section;(
b ) the number of seamen of that description ordinarily carried on the ship has not been obtained; and(
c ) an officer or other member of the crew of the ship lodges with the master of the ship an objection in writing to the ship being taken to sea from a port specified in the objection with less than the number of seamen of that description ordinarily carried on the ship,then, notwithstanding that the prescribed crew for the ship is carried on the ship, the master shall not take the ship to sea from the port unless—
(
d )a Deputy Director or a proper authority at the port, by writing under his hand, consents to the master taking the ship to sea from the port without the seaman or seamen of that description not obtained; and(
e )the master, as soon as practicable after receiving the consent, posts up the consent, or a copy of the consent, in a prominent place on the ship, being a place to which all officers and other members of the crew of the ship have access, and keeps it so posted up until the ship is taken to sea.
“(2.) A Deputy Director or proper authority shall not give his consent under the last preceding sub-section to the master of a ship taking the ship to sea from a port unless the Deputy Director or proper authority is satisfied that the owner or master of the ship has made all reasonable efforts to obtain the number of seamen of the particular description ordinarily carried on the ship, including, if the port is in Australia, the seeking of the assistance of the organization of employees of which seamen of that description are members.”.
(
a ) by omitting sub-section (1.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—“(1.) The engagement, at a port in Australia, of a seaman to be entered on board a ship to which this section applies (not being an engagement to which section forty-seven of this Act applies) is subject to the approval of the superintendent at that port, but the superintendent shall not refuse to approve of the engagement except in accordance with this Act.”;
(
b )by omitting sub-section (4.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—“(4.) If a seaman deserts a ship to which this section applies, or, while he is bound by an agreement to serve in a ship to which this section applies, refuses or fails, without reasonable cause, to join that ship, the master shall report the fact to a superintendent.”;
(
c ) by omitting from sub-section (9.) the words “Where the Marine Council or a Committee appointed under section four hundred and twenty-four of this Act(or a majority of the members of that Council or of such a Committee)” and inserting in their stead the words “Where the Marine Council, or a majority of the members of that Council,”;
(
d ) by omitting sub-section (10.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-sections:—“(9a.) A superintendent shall refuse to approve the engagement of a person who, in the opinion of the superintendent, does not possess a knowledge of the English language sufficient to enable him to understand fully orders that may be given to him in the performance of his duties.
“(10.) Where the character of a seaman is such, or the conduct of a seaman has been such, that the seaman is, in the opinion of a master of a ship to which this section applies, unsuitable for engagement as a seaman, the master shall report the circumstances to a superintendent and, if practicable, inform the seaman that he has made the report.”;
(
e ) by omitting from sub-section (11.) the words “paragraph (d ) of sub-section (3.) of”; and(
f ) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:—“(13.) This section applies—
(
a ) to ships registered in Australia;(
b ) to ships engaged in the coasting trade; and(
c ) to ships regularly employed in trading to andfrom ports in Australia and owned by a person, firm or company resident, or having his or its principal place of business, in Australia.”.
“45c. A person shall not make to a superintendent, for the purpose of obtaining the approval of the superintendent to the engagement of a seaman or otherwise in connexion with the engagement of a seaman, a statement that is false or misleading in a particular.”.
“46.—(1.) Subject to the next succeeding section, where, after the commencement of this section, a seaman is engaged at a port in Australia to serve on a ship, not being a river and bay ship, the master of the ship shall not take the ship to sea with
that seaman as a member of the crew of the ship, and the owner of the ship shall not suffer or permit the ship to be so taken to sea, unless the master has entered into an agreement with the seaman in accordance with this section.
“(2.) An agreement under this section between the master of a ship and a seaman—
(
a )shall be in the prescribed form or, if an agreement in a form other than the prescribed form is already in force between the master and other members of the crew of the ship, in accordance with that other form;(
b )shall be prepared, in duplicate, by or under the supervision of a superintendent;(
c ) shall be signed by the master in the presence of a superintendent before it is signed by the seaman;(
d )shall, after having been read over and explained by a superintendent to the seaman, be signed by the seaman in the presence of the superintendent;(
e ) shall be attested by a superintendent; and(
f ) shall be dated—(i) where the agreement is entered into when the crew of the ship is first engaged—at the time of signature by the master; or
(ii) in any other case—at the time of signature by the seaman.
“(3.) A superintendent may refuse to attest an agreement under this section between a seaman and the master of a ship which is not exempt from Division 5 of Part IV. unless—
(
a )a certificate relating to the ship and having effect as a Load Line Convention certificate or an Australian load line certificate for the purposes of that Division is produced to the superintendent; and(
b )particulars as to the position of the deck line and load lines specified in the certificate have been inserted in the agreement.
“(4.) An agreement under this section may, with the approval of a superintendent, include any lawful provisions agreed upon between the master and seaman in addition to the provisions specified in the prescribed form.
“(5.) A superintendent who attests an agreement entered into under this section shall retain one part of the agreement and deliver the other part to the master of the ship.
“47. Sub-section (1.) of the last preceding section does not apply with respect to a seaman engaged to serve on a ship if—
(
a ) the seaman was engaged as a substitute in the place of—(i) a seaman who entered into an agreement under that section but was not on board at the time specified in the agreement; or
(ii) a seaman whose services were lost within twenty-four hours before the ship’s putting to sea by reason of death, desertion or other unforeseen cause;
(
b )it was not practicable to comply with that sub-section with respect to the substitute;(
c ) the master of the ship, before taking the substitute to sea or as soon thereafter as was practicable, entered into an agreement with the substitute, being an agreement which—(i) complies with paragraph (
a )of sub-section (2.) of the last preceding section;(ii) after having been read over and explained to the substitute, was signed by him in the presence of a witness; and
(iii) was attested by the witness; and
(
d )the master of the ship reported the transaction, in the prescribed form, to a proper authority at the next port of call.
“48.—(1.) Where, after the commencement of this section, a seaman is engaged at a port outside Australia to serve on a ship registered in Australia, the master of the ship shall not take the ship to sea with that seaman as a member of the crew of the ship unless—
(
a )the master has entered into an agreement with the seaman with respect to the employment of the seaman on the ship; and(
b )except in a case where it was not practicable so to do, the agreement was entered into before a proper authority at the port.
“(2.) A proper authority at a port outside Australia before whom an agreement is entered into shall, so far as it is practicable so to do, ensure that the requirements of section forty-six of this Act applicable to agreements with seamen engaged at ports in Australia are complied with in relation to the agreement entered into before him as if the agreement were entered into in Australia and the proper authority were a superintendent.
“49. A person shall not engage an alien to be entered as a seaman on board a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade unless the alien produces satisfactory evidence
of his nationality to a proper authority at the port at which he is to be engaged.
Penalty: One hundred pounds.”.
(
a )by inserting in sub-section (1.), after the word “agreement”, the words “under section forty-six of this Act”;(
b ) by omitting paragraph (a )of sub-section (5.) and inserting in its stead the following paragraph:—
“ (a )a free passage to the proper return port of the seaman;”;(
c ) by omitting from paragraph (c ) of sub-section (5.) the words “five shillings per day” and inserting in their stead the words “One pound per day or at such other rate as is provided for in the seaman’s agreement, whichever is the higher,”; and(
d ) by omitting from paragraph (d ) of sub-section (5.) the words “three shillings per day” and inserting in their stead the words “Fifteen shillings per day or at such other rate as is provided for in the seaman’s agreement, whichever is the higher,”.
“53.—(1.) The master of a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade shall cause a legible copy of the agreement (being a copy which does not contain the names or signatures of, or particulars relating to, the master and members of the crew of the ship) to be posted up in a part of the ship to which all members of the crew have access and shall use all reasonable precautions to keep the copy so posted up until the termination of the agreement.
“(2.) A person shall not wilfully deface or destroy a copy of an agreement posted up under the last preceding sub-section.”.
“(2.) A certificate signed by a proper authority at a port that an erasure, interlineation or alteration in an agreement was made with the consent of all the persons interested is, in all courts, evidence of the matter certified to.”.
“59a.—(1.) Where injury or damage is suffered by a seaman by reason of the wrongful act, neglect or default of another person engaged in common employment with the seaman, the employer is liable in damages in respect of that injury or damage in the same manner and in the same cases as if they had not been engaged in common employment.
“(2.) This section applies to injury or damage arising from a wrongful act, neglect or default committed after the date of commencement of this section, whether the contract of service was made before or is made after that date.
“(3.) In this section, ‘seaman’ includes master and apprentice.
“60. A person who engages or discharges a seaman at a port in Australia shall pay to the superintendent at that port such fee as is prescribed and may deduct from the wages of the seaman such proportion of the fee as is prescribed.
“60a.—(1.) The master of a ship shall not take the ship to sea from a port in which a Mercantile Marine Office has been established under section thirteen of this Act unless the master produces to the Collector at that port a certificate of clearance from that port issued to the master under the next succeeding sub-section.
“(2.) Where the superintendent at a port in which a Mercantile Marine Office has been established is satisfied that the master of a ship who proposes to take the ship to sea from that port—
(
a )has complied with the provisions of this Act relating to masters and crews of ships, and to the engagement and discharge of seamen, in so far as those provisions apply in relation to that ship; and(
b )can take the ship to sea from that port without contravening any of those provisions,
the superintendent shall issue to the master a certificate of clearance from that port.”.
“61. When a seaman is discharged from a ship, not being a river and bay ship, at a port in Australia, the master of the ship shall—
(
a )sign and give to the seaman, through or in the presence of a superintendent, a discharge in accordance with the prescribed form or, if the ship is not registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade, in a form approved by the Minister; and(
b )return to the seaman any previous discharge of the seaman in the possession of the master.”.
“(1.) The master of a ship shall not, at a port in Australia, discharge a seaman entered on board that ship who was engaged outside Australia unless—
(
a ) the agreement with the seaman has expired; or(
b )the superintendent at that port has granted his sanction to the discharge and indorsed the agreement, if any, to that effect.”.
“62a.—(1.) The master of a ship registered in Australia shall not, at a port outside Australia, discharge a seaman from the ship unless—
(
a )the seaman is discharged in pursuance of sub-section (3.) of this section; or(
b )a proper authority at the port has approved the discharge and indorsed the agreement with the seaman to that effect.
“(2.) A proper authority may withhold his approval to the discharge of a seaman under the last preceding sub-section if he is of the opinion—
(
a )that the discharge cannot be effected except in contravention of the agreement with the seaman, of a provision of this Act or of a law of the country in which the discharge is to be made; or(
b ) that the discharge of the seaman would be unjust.
“(3.) If a ship registered in Australia is sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of while the ship is at a port in a country other than a Commonwealth country, the master shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the ship’s agreement, discharge each seaman entered on board the ship other than a seaman who, in the presence of a proper authority at the port, consents in writing to continue to serve on the ship.
“(4.) Sub-section (5.) of section fifty of this Act applies to and in relation to a seaman discharged in pursuance of the last preceding sub-section as if that seaman had been discharged in pursuance of sub-section (3.) of that section.
“(5.) If—
(
a )the indentures of an apprentice carried on a ship (being indentures entered into in Australia) cease at a time when the ship is outside Australia by reason of the master of the apprentice ceasing to have an interest in the ship; and(
b )the indentures do not continue by virtue of the proviso to sub-section (1.) of section thirty-eight of this Act,
the apprentice is entitled to receive from the master of the apprentice—
(
c ) a free passage to the proper return port of the apprentice; and(
d )victualling and accommodation until the apprentice arrives at that port or a sufficient allowance for that victualling and accommodation.
“(6.) When a seaman is discharged from a ship registered in Australia at a port outside Australia, the master of the ship shall sign and give to the seaman, through or in the presence of a proper authority, a discharge showing the capacity in which the seaman served on the ship and the date on which, and the place at which, the seaman was engaged for service on the ship and the date on which, and the place at which, the seaman is discharged from the ship.
Penalty: Fifty pounds.”.
“66.—(1.) On the discharge of a seaman from a ship, the master of the ship shall return to the seaman any certificate belonging to the seaman which is in the possession, custody or control of the master.
Penalty: Fifty pounds.
“(2.) In the last preceding sub-section, ‘certificate’ means a certificate of competency granted under section fifteen of this Act, a permit issued under section eighteen a of this Act, a certificate of service granted under section eighteen b of this Act, a certificate referred to in section twenty-two or twenty-four of this Act or a certificate issued under section thirty-nine or one hundred and twenty-one of this Act, and includes a certified copy of such a certificate.”.
“68.—(1.) A person shall not—
(
a )knowingly sign or give a false certificate of discharge or knowingly make, sign or deliver a false report of character;(
b )forge or fraudulently alter a certificate of discharge, a permit to sign articles or a report of character;(
c ) fraudulently use, or fraudulently produce to a proper authority at a port—(i) a certificate of discharge;
(ii) a permit to sign articles; or
(iii) a report of character,
that is forged, is altered or does not relate to him; or
(
d ) allow a person to use fraudulently—(i) a certificate of discharge;
(ii) a permit to sign articles; or
(iii) a report of character,
that does not relate to that last-mentioned person.
Penalty: One hundred pounds.
“(2.) A reference in the last preceding sub-section to a certificate of discharge, a permit to sign articles or a report of character includes a reference to a copy of a certificate of discharge, a permit to sign articles or a report of character, as the case may be.”.
“70.—(1.) Subject to this section, a seaman who is engaged in Australia for service in a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade may, before first going to sea in the ship, make stipulations, being stipulations approved by the superintendent at the port, for the allotment and payment of portion of his wages as a seaman to—
(
a ) a person who is, or is stated by the seaman to be—(i) his grandparent, parent, wife, brother, sister, child or grandchild; or
(ii) a person towards the maintenance of whom the seaman contributes; or
(
b ) a bank.
“(2.) Except by agreement with the master of the ship on which he engages to serve, a seaman is not entitled to make stipulations under this section for the allotment of a portion of his wages which, or of portions of his wages the total of which, is greater than three-fourths of the wages.
“(3.) A stipulation under this section is of no force unless—
(
a ) an allotment note in the prescribed form is prepared and signed by the master and the seaman; and(
b ) the sum allotted is specified in the agreement with the seaman.
“(4.) A seaman engaged in Australia for service in a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade shall not make stipulations for the allotment and payment of his wages, or any portion of his wages, otherwise than in accordance with this section.”.
(2.) The amendment made by the last preceding sub-section does not apply to or in relation to an allotment of wages stipulated for before the commencement of this section.
“75.—(1.) Subject to section seventy-nine of this Act, where a seaman is discharged at a port in Australia, or at a port outside Australia from a ship registered in Australia, the seaman shall, before or at the time he is given his discharge, be paid, in the presence of a proper authority or, if that is not practicable, through a proper authority, the amount of wages due to him up to the time of his discharge, less any deductions specified in the account required to be delivered to him under sub-section (1.) of section seventy-six of this Act and any other deductions approved by the proper authority.
“(2.) If the seaman is not paid the amount of his wages in accordance with the last preceding sub-section, the master of the ship from which he is discharged, and the owner of the ship, are each guilty of an offence punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding Fifty pounds.
“(3.) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under this section if the person charged proves that the failure to pay to the seaman the amount of his wages in accordance with subsection (1.) of this section was due to the seaman’s act or default, to a reasonable dispute as to liability for those wages or to any other cause not attributable to the wrongful act or default of the owner or master of the ship.”.
“(1.) The master of a ship who discharges a seaman at a port in Australia, and the master of a ship registered in Australia
who discharges a seaman at any port, shall deliver to the seaman, either directly or through a proper authority, at the prescribed time and in the prescribed form or, if the ship is not registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade, in a form approved by the Minister, a full and true account of the wages of the seaman and of the deductions made or to be made on any account whatever from those wages.”.
“77.—(1.) Subject to any provision to the contrary in his agreement and to the next succeeding sub-section, a seaman entered on board a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade shall, after all lawful deductions have been made—
(
a )be paid, on the first day of each month, the wages earned by him during the period that commenced on the sixteenth day, and ended on the last day, of the month last preceding that month; and(
b )be paid, on the sixteenth day of each month, the wages earned by him during the period that commenced on the first day, and ended on the fifteenth day, of that month.
“(2.) Where, on a day on which a seaman is required to be paid wages under the last preceding sub-section, the ship on which he is entered is not in port, or is in a port at which there is no bank, the seaman shall be paid the wages within a period of twenty-four hours after the arrival of the ship at a port at which there is a bank.
“(3.) Subject to sub-section (5.) of this section, if a payment of wages is not made to a seaman at or before the time when the payment is required to be made to him under the preceding provisions of this section, he is entitled to recover from the owner or master of the ship, in addition to the wages due to him, a sum equal to two days’ pay for each of the days, not including days in excess of fourteen, during which payment of the wages is delayed beyond that time or such lesser sum as the Court thinks just in the circumstances.
“(4.) An amount which a seaman is entitled to recover under the last preceding sub-section may be recovered in the same Court and in the same manner as wages due to the seaman.
“(5.) It is a defence to an action for the recovery of an amount under sub-section (3.) of this section if the person against whom the action is brought satisfies the Court—
(
a ) that—(i) the seaman became entitled to the payment of wages on a day on which it was impracticable for moneys with which to pay the wages to be obtained by the master from a bank in the port in which the ship lay; and
(ii) the wages were paid as soon as practicable after that day; or
(
b ) that the delay in payment of the wages was due to the seaman’s act or default, to a reasonable dispute as to liability for the wages or to any other cause not attributable to the wrongful act or default of the owner or master of the ship.
“(6.) In this section—
‘bank’ does not include a savings bank;
‘wages’, in relation to a seaman, does not include a payment or allowance for the working of overtime or any other payment or allowance not included in the ordinary wages of the seaman.
“78. If a seaman’s wages are not paid in accordance with section seventy-five of this Act before or at the time he is given his discharge from a ship, the seaman’s wages shall continue to run until the time of the final settlement of his wages (and shall be payable at double rates for any period after the time he is given his discharge from the ship) unless the delay is due to the seaman’s act or default, to a reasonable dispute as to liability for the wages or to any other cause not attributable to the wrongful act or default of the owner or master of the ship.”.
“81.—(1.) A master or owner may agree with a seaman or apprentice to refer a question which has arisen between them to a superintendent for his decision.
“(2.) A superintendent may hear and decide a question referred to him under the last preceding sub-section.
“(3.) An agreement referred to in sub-section (1.) of this section shall, unless the contrary intention appears from the agreement, be deemed to contain a provision that the decision of the superintendent shall be final and binding on each party to the agreement and a person claiming under such a party.
“(4.) A superintendent who gives a decision on a question referred to him under this section shall record that decision in a document under his hand and that document is admissible in evidence.”.
“82.—(1.) Subject to this Act, a seaman’s right to wages begins—
(
a ) at the time at which he commences work; or(
b )at the time specified in his agreement for his commencement of work or presence on board,
whichever is the earlier.
“(2.) If the engagement of a seaman for service on a ship terminates and, on the same day, he is engaged again for service on the same ship, he is not entitled to wages in respect of that day under both engagements, but, if he works under the new engagement on that day and the rate of his wages under the new engagement is higher than the rate of his wages under the old engagement, he is entitled to wages in respect of that day at the higher rate.”.
(
a )by inserting in sub-section (1.), after the word “Australia the words” or engaged in the coasting trade”; and(
b ) by omitting paragraph (a )of sub-section (1.) and inserting in its stead the following paragraph:—
“ (a )conveyance, by or at the cost of the owner of the ship, to the proper return port of the seaman; and”.
(
a ) by inserting in paragraph (a )of sub-section (1.), after the word “seaman”, the words “or apprentice”; and(
b ) by omitting sub-sections (2.) and (3.).
“100. A seaman or apprentice who commits an act, or is guilty of an omission, specified in column 1 of the following table is guilty of an offence against this Act punishable upon conviction by a penalty not exceeding the penalty specified in column 2 of that table opposite to that act or omission:—
Column 1. | Column 2. |
Offence. | Punishment. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
Column 1. | Column 2. |
Offence. | Punishment. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
“111.—(1.) If the master of a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade is satisfied that a seaman or apprentice belonging to the ship has, after the commencement of this section, committed an offence against section one hundred of this Act, the master—
(
a )shall enter, or cause to be entered, in the official logbook of the ship particulars of the offence;(
b )shall, if the offender is still in the ship or the master can readily communicate with him, furnish a copy of the entry to the offender within twenty-four hours after the entry is made or as soon thereafter as is practicable; and(
c ) shall enter, or cause to be entered, in the official log-book of the ship a record of the furnishing to the offender of the copy of the entry and particulars of the reply, if any, made to the master by the offender in relation to the entry.
Penalty: Fifty pounds.
“(2.) In any proceedings in a court in relation to an offence of which particulars have been entered in the official log-book of a ship in pursuance of this section, the court may refuse to receive evidence of the offence if the entry is not produced or proved to the court.”.
“(2.) A summons
under paragraph (
“(3.) A member of a Court of Marine Inquiry, or a person appointed by a Court of Marine Inquiry to receive evidence on behalf of the Court, may administer an oath to a person appearing
as a witness before the Court or the person so appointed, and the Court, or the person so appointed, may examine the witness upon oath.
“(4.) Where a witness to be examined before a Court of Marine Inquiry, or before a person appointed to receive evidence on behalf of a Court of Marine Inquiry, conscientiously objects to take an oath, he may make an affirmation that he so objects and that the evidence he will give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and an affirmation so made is of the same force and effect, and entails the same liabilities, as an oath.
“(5.) A witness attending before a Court of Marine Inquiry, or before a person appointed to receive evidence on behalf of the Court of Marine Inquiry, shall be paid such allowances as are fixed by or under the regulations.
“370a.—(1.) Where a person who has been summoned under this Part to attend before a Court of Marine Inquiry, or to attend before a person appointed to receive evidence on behalf of a Court of Marine Inquiry, fails to attend or appear before the Court or the person so appointed as required by the summons, a member of the Court may, on proof by statutory declaration of the service of the summons, issue a warrant for the apprehension of that person.
“(2.) A warrant so issued authorizes the apprehension of the person and his being brought before the Court, or before the person appointed to receive evidence on behalf of the Court, as the case may be, and his detention in custody for that purpose until he is released by order of a member of the Court.
“(3.) A warrant
so issued may be executed by a person who is a member of the Police Force of a
State or Territory of the Commonwealth or a Peace Officer holding office under
the
“(4.) The apprehension of a person under this section does not relieve him from any liability incurred by him by reason of his failure to attend before the Court or the person appointed to receive evidence on behalf of the Court.
“370b.—(1.) A person served with a summons under this Part to attend a Court of Marine Inquiry, or to attend a person appointed to receive evidence on behalf of a Court of Marine Inquiry, shall not, without reasonable excuse—
(
a ) fail to attend the Court or the person so appointed; or(
b )fail to produce any document, book or writing in his custody or control which he was required by the summons to produce.
“(2.) A person appearing as a witness before a Court of Marine Inquiry, or before a person appointed to receive evidence on behalf of a Court of Marine Inquiry, shall not, without reasonable excuse—
(
a ) refuse or fail to be sworn or to make an affirmation; or(
b )refuse or fail to answer a question which he is lawfully required to answer by the Court or the person so appointed, as the case may be.
“(3.) A person shall not—
(
a ) wilfully insult or disturb a Court of Marine Inquiry;(
b ) interrupt the proceedings of a Court of Marine Inquiry;(
c ) use insulting language towards a Court of Marine Inquiry or a member of a Court of Marine Inquiry; or(
d ) by writing or speech use words calculated—(i) to influence improperly a Court of Marine Inquiry or a witness before the Court; or
(ii) to bring a Court of Marine Inquiry, or a member of a Court of Marine Inquiry, into disrepute.
Penalty: One hundred pounds or imprisonment for three months.”.
“375. If, at any time during the progress of an inquiry being held by a Court of Marine Inquiry, the Court has reason to believe that an officer is incompetent or has been guilty of misconduct, the Court may direct the officer to deliver up his certificate of competency and the officer shall thereupon deliver the certificate to the Court.
Penalty: Fifty pounds.”.
“375b.—(1.) Where a Court of Marine Inquiry has cancelled or suspended the certificate of an officer, the officer may, subject to the next succeeding sub-section, appeal against the cancellation or suspension to the Supreme Court of the State or Territory of the Commonwealth in which the inquiry was held.
“(2.) An appeal under the last preceding sub-section shall be instituted not later than the expiration of a period of one month after the date of the cancellation or suspension or, in a case where the inquiry out of which the cancellation or suspension arose is reheard by a Court of Marine Inquiry under section three hundred and sixty-six of this Act, after the date of the decision of that Court.
“(3.) On the hearing of an appeal under this section, a Supreme Court may confirm, revoke or vary the cancellation or suspension appealed from and may make such order as to costs as it thinks fit.
“(4.) A Supreme Court hearing an appeal under this section shall have the assistance of not less than two assessors appointed under section three hundred and sixty of this Act.”.
(2.) The amendment made by the last preceding sub-section does not affect an appeal under section three hundred and seventy-five b of the Principal Act pending at the commencement of this section.
“Division 1.—Jurisdiction.”.
(
a )by omitting the words “a British subject” (wherever occurring) and inserting in their stead the words “an Australian citizen”; and(
b )by omitting the words “a British ship” (wherever occurring) and inserting in their stead the words “ a ship registered in Australia”.
(2.) The amendments made by the last preceding sub-section do not affect the jurisdiction of a court to try an offence with which a person has been charged before the commencement of this section.
(
a )by omitting the words “out of the King’s dominions” and inserting in their stead the words “elsewhere than in a Commonwealth country”;(
b )by omitting the words “British ship” and inserting in their stead the words “ship registered in Australia”; and(
c ) by omitting the words “and in the same place, as if the offence had been committed within Australia” and inserting in their stead the words “as if the offence had been committed at the port at which the ship is registered at the time when the offence is committed”.
(2.) The amendments made by the last preceding sub-section do not apply to or in relation to an offence with which a person has been charged before the commencement of this section.
“ (a )a foreign ship has, whether within or without the Commonwealth, caused injury to property belonging to the Queen, the Commonwealth, a State, a Commonwealth country other than Australia, a British subject or a citizen of a Commonwealth country; and”.
“Division 2.—Offences.”.
“389. A person who knowingly—
(
a ) makes a false declaration, false statement or false representation; or(
b ) gives false evidence on oath,
in connexion with an application or proceeding under this Act is guilty of an indictable offence.
“389a.—(1.) A person shall not—
(
a )knowingly make a false representation for the purpose of obtaining a certificate, either for himself or for another person;(
b ) forge or fraudulently alter a certificate;(
c ) fraudulently use a certificate that is forged, altered, cancelled or suspended or to which he is not justly entitled; or(
d )allow a person to use fraudulently a certificate that does not relate to that last-mentioned person.
“(2.) A person who contravenes a provision of the
last preceding sub-section in relation to a certificate referred to in
paragraph (
“(3.) If a Deputy Director or a superintendent has reason to believe that an offence against sub-section (1.) of this section has been committed in relation to a certificate, he may, by notice in writing to the person in possession of the certificate, require the certificate to be delivered to him.
“(4.) A person to whom a notice is given under the last preceding sub-section shall comply with the notice.
Penalty: Twenty-five pounds.
“(5.) Where a certificate has been delivered to a Deputy Director or a superintendent in pursuance of a notice given under sub-section (3.) of this section—
(
a )the Deputy Director or superintendent, as the case may be, may, for the purpose of inquiring into the matter, retain the certificate until the expiration of a period of one month after the certificate was delivered to him; and(
b )if proceedings in respect of an offence against subsection (1.) of this section are pending in relation to the certificate at the expiration of that period, he may retain the certificate until the proceedings are discontinued or finally determined.
“(6.) A superintendent may cancel a certificate
referred to in paragraph (
“(7.) In this section, ‘certificate’ means—
(
a ) a certificate of competency granted under section fifteen of this Act, a permit issued under section eighteen a of this Act, a certificate of service granted undersection eighteen b of this Act, a certificate referred to in section twenty-two or twenty-four of this Act and a certified copy of such a certificate or permit; and
(
b )a certificate issued under section thirty-nine or section one hundred and twenty-one of this Act and a certified copy of such a certificate.”.
“391.—(1.) Where a person has a beneficial interest (including an equitable interest arising under contract or otherwise) in a ship, or a share in a ship, registered in the name of another person as owner, the person so interested is, as well as the registered owner, subject to any pecuniary penalty imposed by this Act on the owner of the ship and proceedings may be taken for the enforcement of the penalty against the registered owner or the person so interested, or both of them, with or without joining them.
“(2.) A person who has an interest in a ship, or a share in a ship, which arose by way of mortgage shall, for the purposes of the last preceding sub-section, be deemed not to have a beneficial interest in the ship or in that share in the ship unless he is in possession of the ship.”.
(2.) The amendment made by the last preceding sub-section does not apply to or in relation to proceedings instituted before the commencement of this section for an offence against section three hundred and ninety-one of the Principal Act.
“Division 3.—Prosecution and Penalties.”.
“(2.) The trial on indictment of an offence against this Act, not being an offence committed within a State, may be held in any State or Territory of the Commonwealth.”.
“393. A person who contravenes or fails to comply with a provision of this Act for a contravention or breach of which
a penalty is not expressly provided is guilty of an offence against this Act punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding Twenty pounds.”.
(2.) The repeal effected by the last preceding sub-section does not apply in relation to a proceeding in respect of a cause of complaint that arose before the commencement of this section.
“Division 4.—Evidence and Service.”.
(
a )by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “the King’s dominions, or any British consul elsewhere” and inserting in their stead the words “a Commonwealth country, or before a consul of a Commonwealth country”; and(
b )by omitting from sub-section (2.) the words “or magistrate” and inserting in their stead the words “,magistrate or consul”.
“Division 5.—Proceedings against the Crown.
“405a.—(1.) Nothing in this Act—
(
a ) authorizes proceedingsin rem in respect of a claim against the Commonwealth or a State or the arrest, detention or sale of a Government ship or of cargo or other property belonging to the Commonwealth or a State; or(
b )gives to any person a lien on a Government ship or cargo or other property belonging to the Commonwealth or a State.
“(2.) Where
proceedings
order,
upon such terms as it thinks fit, that the proceedings shall be treated as if
they were
“410.—(1.) The master of a ship which is—
(
a ) registered in Australia;(
b ) engaged in the coasting trade; or(
c ) regularly employed in trading to and from ports in Australia and owned by a person, firm or company resident, or having his or its principal place of business, in Australia,
shall keep on board the ship a copy of this Act.
“(2.) In the last preceding sub-section, ‘this Act’ does not include the regulations other than regulations made by virtue of sub-section (1.) of section two hundred and fifty-eight of this Act and such other regulations as are prescribed.”.
(
a )by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “Fifty pounds” and inserting in their stead the words “One hundred pounds”; and(
b )by omitting from sub-section (2.) the words “Twenty pounds” and inserting in their stead the words “Fifty pounds”.
“410b.—(1.) A pilot who has the conduct of a ship is subject to the authority of the master of the ship and the master is not relieved from responsibility for the conduct and navigation of the ship by reason only of the ship being under pilotage.
“(2.) Notwithstanding anything contained in an Act or State Act, the owner or master of a ship navigating under circumstances in which pilotage is compulsory under a law of a State or Territory of the Commonwealth is answerable for any loss or damage caused by the ship, or by a fault of the navigation of the ship, in the same manner as he would if pilotage were not compulsory.”.
“(1.) Where, under this Act, a ship is to be or may be detained, a Deputy Director, a superintendent or an officer of Customs may detain the ship.”.
(2.) The amendment made by the last preceding sub-section does not apply in relation to a ship under detention by virtue of section four hundred and fourteen of the Principal Act at the commencement of this section.
“417.—(1.) Where, to the knowledge of the master of a ship registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade—
(
a )a member of the crew of the ship, or a passenger or any other person carried on the ship, marries, gives birth to a child, dies or disappears; or(
b )a member of the crew of the ship suffers a hurt or injury, or contracts an illness, which incapacitates him from the performance of his duty,
the master shall—
(
c ) record the occurrence in the official log-book of the ship together with such particulars with respect to the occurrence as are prescribed; and(
d )as soon as practicable, furnish to a proper authority at a port a report in writing of the occurrence in accordance with the prescribed form.
Penalty: Fifty pounds.
“(2.) Where, to the knowledge of the master of a British ship not registered in Australia or engaged in the coasting trade, being a ship which is carrying passengers to a port in Australia, a person, other than a member of the crew of the ship, marries, gives birth to a child, dies or disappears, the master shall—
(
a )record the occurrence in the official log-book of the ship together with such particulars with respect to the occurrence as are prescribed; and(
b )as soon as practicable, furnish to a superintendent a report in writing of the occurrence in accordance with the prescribed form.
Penalty: Fifty pounds.
“(3.) Where the death, disappearance or illness of, or a hurt or injury to, a person is reported to a superintendent or other proper authority under this section, the superintendent or proper authority, or such other official as the Director approves, may, unless the Director otherwise directs, inquire into the occurrence.
“(4.) A person who inquires into an occurrence under the last preceding sub-section shall enter in the official log-book of the ship in relation to which the occurrence occurred particulars of the result of the inquiry and furnish a copy of the entry to the Director.”.
“(1.) A security required or authorized to be given under this Act shall be given in a manner and form approved by a Deputy Director and may, subject to that approval, be by bond, guarantee, cash deposit or any other method, or by two or more different methods.”.
“420.—(1.) The Minister may cancel or suspend a certificate of competency granted under this Act if the holder of the certificate has been convicted of an offence in a Commonwealth country.
“(2.) The Minister may cancel or suspend, in so far as concerns its validity in Australia, a certificate referred to in section twenty-two of this Act if the holder of the certificate has been convicted of an indictable offence in a Commonwealth country.
“(3.) If, under the last preceding sub-section, the Minister cancels or suspends a certificate granted under the law of a Commonwealth country other than Australia, the Minister shall cause the Government of that Commonwealth country to be informed that the certificate has been cancelled or suspended and of the reasons for the cancellation or suspension.
“(4.) Where the Minister cancels or suspends the certificate of an officer under this section, the Minister may, by notice in writing served upon the officer, require the officer to deliver the certificate to the Minister or such other person as is specified in the notice within such period as is so specified.
“(5.) A person upon whom a notice is served under the last preceding sub-section shall, unless it is impracticable so to do, comply with the notice.
Penalty: One hundred pounds.
“(6.) The suspension of the certificate of an officer under this section may be revoked by the Minister at any time.
“(7.) If, under the last preceding sub-section, the Minister revokes the suspension of a certificate granted under the law of a Commonwealth country other than Australia, the Minister shall cause the Government of that Commonwealth country to be informed of the revocation.
“(8.) In this section,’ certificate of competency granted under this Act’ means a certificate of competency granted under section fifteen of this Act, and includes a certificate of service granted under section eighteen b of this Act and a certificate referred to in section twenty-four of this Act.”.
“424.—(1.) There shall be a Marine Council.
“(2.) The Marine Council shall consist of—
(
a ) the Director;(
b ) four members representative of shipowners;(
c ) one member representative of deck officers;(
d ) one member representative of engine-room officers; and(
e ) two members representative of seamen other than officers.
“(3.) The members of the Marine Council, other than the Director, shall be appointed by, and hold office during the pleasure of, the Minister.
“(4.) The Director shall be Chairman of the Marine Council but, at a meeting of the Council from which the Chairman is absent, another member appointed by the members present at the meeting shall preside.
“(5.) The Marine Council shall inquire into and report to the Minister upon any matter arising out of or relating to this Act which the Minister refers to the Council for advice.
“(6.) Regulations shall not be made for the purposes of sub-section (2.) of section fourteen, sub-section (2.) of section forty-three or section one hundred and seventeen of this Act unless the Minister has first obtained from the Marine Council a report on the proposed regulations.
“(7.) The Minister may, for the purpose of obtaining advice on any particular matter arising out of or in relation to this Act, appoint persons to constitute a committee of advice.
“(8.) The members of a committee of advice—
(
a )shall, so far as practicable, include a representative or representatives of persons interested in the matter in respect of which the committee is constituted; and(
b )if the Minister considers it necessary, may include persons having special knowledge of the matter.
“(9.) The regulations may make provision for and in relation to—
(
a ) the constitution of committees of advice appointed under this section;(
b )the number of members of the Marine Council or of such a committee to constitute a quorum;(
c )the manner in which the Marine Council or such a committee may exercise its powers and functions;(
d )the manner in which the business and meetings of the Marine Council or of such a committee shall be conducted; and(
e )the payment of fees, allowances and expenses to members of, and witnesses appearing before, the Marine Council or such a committee.”.
“ (f )the remuneration of Medical Inspectors of Seamen;
“ (g )the issue of certificates as to the service at sea of seamen;”.
(
a )by omitting from the column headed “First Mate” in the table setting out the scale of deck officers the letter“ (b )”(wherever occurring);(
b ) by omitting from the foot of that table the words—
“ (b )Holder of a second mate’s foreign-going certificate may ship as first mate of a limited coast-trade ship, or as mate of a river and bay ship (see section 15 (3.)).”; and(
c ) by omitting all the words from and including the words “N.H.P. (nominal horse-power) to be calculated as follows:—” to the end of the Schedule and inserting in their stead the words—“For thepurposes of this Schedule, nominal horse-power (in this Schedule referred to as ‘N.H.P.’) shall be calculated—
(
a )in the case of a reciprocating steam engine, by dividing the sum of the squares of the diameters in inches of all the engine-room steam cylinders by 30;(
b )in the case of a rotary engine, by multiplying the grate area in square feet by 1½; and(
c ) in the case of any other engine, as prescribed.”.
(
a )by inserting after the word “coal” (first occurring) the words “and not equipped with mechanical stokers”;(
b ) by omitting the words“ (Passenger Steam-ships carrying not more than Ten Passengers, and Cargo Steamships. )” and inserting in their stead the words“ (Steam-ships carrying no Passengers or not more than Twelve Passengers. )”; and(
c ) by omitting the words “(Passenger Steam-ships carrying more than Ten passengers. )” and inserting in their stead the words “(Steam-ships carrying more than Twelve Passengers. )”.
0
0
0