Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Historic Shipwrecks Regulations) Certificate 2017

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F2017L00472 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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 Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Historic Shipwrecks Regulations) Certificate 2017

 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 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. 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.

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 Minister for the Environment and Energy advising the Attorney‑General of the reasons in support of issuing the Certificate. 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 the instrument meets the statutory conditions, and

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

The certificate issued by the Attorney‑General must be laid before each House of 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

The detail 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 about the operation of this instrument may also be requested from the Department of the Environment and Energy.


ATTACHMENT A

NOTES ON THE CERTIFICATE           

Section 1 Name

This section provides that the Certificate is named the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Historic Shipwrecks Regulations) Certificate 2017. 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, ‘Historic Shipwrecks Act’ to mean the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976, ‘Historic Shipwrecks Regulations’ to mean the Historic Shipwrecks Regulations 1978 and ‘Legislation Act’ to mean the Legislation Act 2003.  

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 Act.

The statement of reasons explains the reasons for which the Attorney-General is satisfied that the Historic Shipwrecks Regulations would (apart from the operation of Part 4 of Chapter 3 of the Act) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after its sunsetting day, as required by subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Act.

Section 6 Deferral of sunsetting of the Historic Shipwrecks Regulations

This section provides that the Historic Shipwrecks Regulations, for which the sunsetting day is 1 October 2017, are taken to cease to be in force under section 51 of the Act on 1 October 2018.

Section 7 Repeal of this instrument

This section provides that the Certificate is repealed at the start of 2 October 2018.

Overview

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Historic Shipwrecks Regulations) Certificate 2017 was introduced to address the issue of sunsetting legislative instruments, which, as per the Legislation Act 2003, should remain in force only for as long as they are needed. The certificate was issued by the Attorney-General under the authority of paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003. The primary objective of this legislative instrument is to ensure that the Historic Shipwrecks Regulations 1978 continue to be in effect for a further period of 12 months beyond their original sunsetting date of 1 October 2017, thereby extending their operation until 1 October 2018. This deferral alleviates the administrative burden of remaking these regulations before their replacement, allowing for a more streamlined and efficient legislative process.

Scope and Application

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Historic Shipwrecks Regulations) Certificate 2017 applies to the Historic Shipwrecks Regulations 1978, deferring their sunsetting day to provide continuity in the management of historic shipwrecks. This legislative instrument is issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2003 and is effective for the Commonwealth of Australia. The certificate does not apply to any other regulations or legislative instruments, focusing solely on the specified Historic Shipwrecks Regulations. The deferral extends the operational period of these regulations for an additional twelve months, thereby avoiding the administrative burden of remaking these regulations prior to their eventual repeal and replacement. This certificate does not introduce any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds beyond the parameters set by the Legislation Act. The Attorney-General issued the certificate after considering the statutory conditions and the advice from the Minister for the Environment and Energy, ensuring the deferral aligns with the policy intent of the sunsetting arrangements.

Key Provisions

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Historic Shipwrecks Regulations) Certificate 2017 (referred to as the Certificate) enables the Attorney-General to defer the sunsetting of the Historic Shipwrecks Regulations 1978 (the Regulations) for a period of 12 months. This is done under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Act). The Regulations, which were set to sunset on 1 October 2017, will now sunset on 1 October 2018 (Section 6). The Certificate must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation and laid before each House of Parliament within six sitting days of its creation (Section 2 and Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19). The Act imposes several obligations and requirements on the parties involved. Firstly, the responsible rule maker must apply to the Attorney-General in writing to defer the sunsetting of the Regulations (Section 51(1)(a) of the Act). Secondly, the Attorney-General must be satisfied that the statutory conditions in Section 51 of the Act are met before issuing the Certificate (Section 51(1)(b) of the Act). Finally, the Attorney-General must issue a Certificate that includes a statement of reasons for its issue, as provided in Section 5 of the Certificate (Section 51(2)(a) of the Act). There are no explicit offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach outlined in the Certificate. However, the Act does provide for potential consequences for failure to comply with its provisions. For example, failure to register the Certificate on the Federal Register of Legislation could result in it being invalid and ineffective (Legislation Act 2003, Section 53). Additionally, failure to lay the Certificate before each House of Parliament within the required timeframe could result in it being invalid and ineffective (Legislation Act 2003, Section 54). It is important to note that the maximum penalties for these potential consequences are not specified in the Certificate or the Act.

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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.