Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Fisheries Management Regulations) Certificate 2018

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F2018L01217 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

 Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Fisheries Management Regulations) Certificate 2018

 EXPLANATORY STATEMENT 

Issued by the Attorney‑General in compliance with

section 15G of the Legislation Act 2003

 

INTRODUCTION

This certificate was made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 (Legislation Act) and is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act.

A certificate issued by the Attorney-General under subsection 51(1) of the Legislation Act is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19). As such, a statement of compatibility with human rights is not required (Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, section 9).

OUTLINE

The purpose of the sunsetting provisions of the Legislation Act is to ensure that legislative instruments are kept up to date and only remain in force for so long as they are needed.

Paragraph 51(1)(c) enables the Attorney-General to issue a certificate to defer the sunsetting day for an instrument for a period of either six or 12 months. The instrument will then cease to be in force on the day specified in the certificate instead of the scheduled sunsetting day.

This allows instruments to continue to be in force for a further but limited period of time when they would otherwise sunset. This removes the administrative burden of remaking instruments which would have a limited duration prior to their repeal and potential replacement, or where circumstances prevent the making of replacement instruments prior to the sunsetting day.

PROCESS BEFORE CERTIFICATE WAS MADE

Regulatory impact analysis

Certificates of deferral of sunsetting are machinery of government instruments, and are therefore not subject to the regulatory impact assessment requirements set out by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The OBPR reference for this standing exemption is ID19633.

Consultation before making

Before this certificate was issued, the Attorney‑General considered the general obligation to consult imposed by section 17 of the Legislation Act. Consultation involved the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources advising the Attorney-General of the reasons in support of issuing the certificate. The Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources is responsible for administering the Fisheries Management Act 1991, the enabling legislation under which the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992 (Fisheries Management Regulations) were made. As such, the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources is the relevant rule-maker for the purposes of section 6 of the Legislation Act. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) was also consulted. The certificate is consistent with the policy intent of the sunsetting arrangements and does not significantly alter existing arrangements. Accordingly, further consultation was unnecessary.

Statutory preconditions relevant to this certificate

If the Attorney-General is satisfied that the statutory conditions in section 51 of the Legislation Act are met, an instrument’s sunsetting day can be deferred for either six or 12 months by means of a certificate made under that section. In terms of process, the Legislation Act requires:

a)       the responsible rule-maker to apply to the Attorney-General in writing

b)       the Attorney-General to be satisfied that:

i)            the instrument would (apart from the operation of the sunsetting provisions) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after its sunsetting day, or

ii)            the proposed replacement instrument will not be able to be completed before the sunsetting day for reasons that the rule maker could not have foreseen and avoided, or

iii)            the dissolution or expiration of the House of Representatives or the prorogation of the Parliament renders it inappropriate to make a replacement instrument before a new government is formed, and

c)       the Attorney-General to issue a certificate that includes a statement of reasons for the issue of the certificate.

On the basis of the information contained in the statement of reasons included in the certificate, the Attorney‑General is satisfied that the criterion in subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act is met.

The certificate issued by the Attorney‑General must be laid before each House of the Parliament no later than six sitting days after it is made. It is a legislative instrument and must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, but is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19).

More information

Further detail on the provisions of the certificate is provided in Attachment A.

The instrument which is the subject of this certificate, and which will now sunset at a later day as specified in this certificate, is available on the Federal Register of Legislationhttp://www.comlaw.gov.au.

Further information may be requested from the Attorney-General’s Department about the operation of this certificate, and from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources about the instrument to which this certificate applies.


ATTACHMENT A

NOTES ON THE CERTIFICATE           

Section 1 Name

This section provides that the certificate is named the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Fisheries Management Regulations) Certificate 2018. The certificate may be cited by that name.

Section 2  Commencement

This section provides for the certificate to commence on the day after it is registered.

Section 3 Authority

This section provides that the certificate is made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003. 

Section 4 Definitions

This section defines, for the purposes of this certificate:

  • ‘AFMA’ to mean the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
  • ‘Department’ to mean the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
  • ‘Fisheries Administration Regulations’ to mean the Fisheries Administration Regulations 1992 (FRL reference F2006C00570)
  • ‘Fisheries Management Act’ to mean the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (FRL reference C2017C00363)
  • ‘Fisheries Management Regulations’ to mean the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992 (FRL reference F2017C00241)
  • ‘Legislation Act’ to mean the Legislation Act 2003 (FRL reference C2017C00300), and
  • ‘Southern Bluefin Tuna Regulations’ to mean the Fisheries Management (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations 1995 (FRL reference F2015C00235).

Section 5  Statement of reasons for issue of certificate

This section provides the statement of reasons as required by paragraph 51(2)(a) of the Legislation Act.

The statement of reasons explains why the Attorney-General is satisfied that the criterion set out in subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act has been met, namely that the Fisheries Management Regulations would (apart from the operation of the sunsetting provisions) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after its sunsetting day.

Section 6 Deferral of sunsetting of the Regulations

This section provides that the Fisheries Management Regulations, for which the sunsetting day is 1 October 2018, are taken to cease to be in force under section 51 of the Legislation Act on 1 October 2019.

Section 7 Repeal of this instrument

This section provides that the certificate is repealed at the start of 2 October 2019.

Overview

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Fisheries Management Regulations) Certificate 2018 was introduced to defer the sunsetting of the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992, which were set to cease on 1 October 2018. The Certificate was issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2003 and provides for a one-year deferral of the sunsetting period. The purpose of this deferral is to alleviate the administrative burden associated with the need to remake regulations that would otherwise expire before their intended replacement could be established. This measure ensures the continuity of regulations governing fisheries management in Australia. The certificate was made by the Attorney-General and is not subject to disallowance, as it falls under a standing exemption outlined in the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015. The certificate must be laid before each House of the Parliament within six sitting days of its issuance and is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Scope and Application

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Fisheries Management Regulations) Certificate 2018, issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2003, pertains to the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992, which were originally set to sunset on 1 October 2018. The certificate, issued by the Attorney-General, defers the sunsetting of these regulations for an additional period of twelve months, meaning they will now cease to be in force on 1 October 2019. The Act applies to the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992 and is administered by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, with consultation involving the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. The certificate does not require a statement of compatibility with human rights and is not subject to disallowance. It is a legislative instrument that must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation and laid before each House of the Parliament within six sitting days of its issuance. The scope of the certificate is limited to the deferral of the sunsetting of the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992, which are Commonwealth regulations governing fisheries management across Australia. The deferral is made possible under section 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act, which allows for the extension of the life of legislative instruments that would otherwise cease to be in force within twelve months. The certificate's jurisdictional reach is national, impacting the management of fisheries throughout Australia. The certificate does not exempt or exclude any specific conduct, entity, or transaction from its purview, but rather extends the application of the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992 for a specified period. The deferral is not subject to further extension through subordinate instruments, as it is explicitly limited to a twelve-month period.

Key Provisions

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Fisheries Management Regulations) Certificate 2018 primarily operates to extend the sunset date for the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992 (section 6). This means that the regulations, which were originally set to cease on 1 October 2018, will now be in effect until 1 October 2019. This extension is a result of the Attorney-General issuing a certificate under section 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003, thereby deferring the sunset date for a period of 12 months (section 6). The certificate also contains definitions for key terms such as "AFMA," "Department," and "Fisheries Management Regulations" (section 4), and it outlines the reasons for the issuance of the certificate (section 5). The obligations imposed by this Act primarily concern the responsible rule-maker, which in this case is the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. This rule-maker must apply to the Attorney-General in writing if they wish to defer the sunsetting of an instrument (section 51(1)(a) of the Legislation Act). The Attorney-General, on the other hand, must be satisfied that certain statutory conditions are met before issuing the certificate. These conditions include ensuring that the instrument would likely cease to be in force within 12 months after its sunsetting day or that a replacement instrument cannot be completed before the sunsetting day for unforeseen reasons (section 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act). The Attorney-General must also provide a statement of reasons for the issuance of the certificate (section 51(2)(a) of the Legislation Act). There are no specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences outlined in this Act for breaching its provisions. However, the Act does note that a certificate issued by the Attorney-General under subsection 51(1) of the Legislation Act is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19). This means that once the certificate is issued and registered, the extended sunset date for the Fisheries Management Regulations becomes legally binding. Failure to comply with the provisions of the certificate could potentially lead to legal challenges or other consequences, though these are not explicitly detailed in the Act itself.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.