Contents

Part I—Preliminary                                                                                                                 2

1............ Short title see Note 1]....................................................................... 2

2............ Commencement [see Note 1].............................................................. 2

4............ Interpretation...................................................................................... 2

4A......... Application of the Criminal Code...................................................... 4

Part II—Acceptance of Christmas Island                                                                  5

5............ Acceptance of Christmas Island......................................................... 5

6............ Transfer of rights, liabilities etc. to Commonwealth.......................... 5

Part III—Laws and Legislative Powers                                                                      7

Division 1—Laws of the Territory                                                                          7

7............ The laws of the Territory................................................................... 7

8............ Operation of existing laws etc............................................................ 7

8A......... Application of Western Australian laws............................................ 8

8B......... Minister must table lists of applied Western Australian Acts........... 8

8C......... House may terminate application of Western Australian Acts in the Territory     9

8D......... Extension of period for giving notice of motion to terminate WA Act 11

8E.......... Application of Commonwealth Acts............................................... 12

8G......... Powers and functions under the applied Western Australian laws.. 12

8H......... Arrangements with the Government of Western Australia.............. 14

8I........... Savings.............................................................................................. 15

Division 2—Legislative Powers of the Governor‑General                      16

9............ Legislative powers of the Governor‑General.................................... 16

10.......... Tabling of Ordinances in Parliament................................................. 16

10A....... Ordinance not to be re‑made while required to be tabled................. 17

10B....... Ordinance not to be re‑made while subject to disallowance............. 18

10C....... Disallowed ordinance not to be re‑made unless resolution rescinded or House approves      19

10D....... Regulations, rules and by‑laws......................................................... 20

Part IV—The Judicial System                                                                                        21

11.......... Supreme Court.................................................................................. 21

11AAA. Minister may make arrangements with States.................................. 21

11AA.... Supreme Court may sit in a State..................................................... 21

11A....... Registries and Registrars................................................................... 23

12.......... Jurisdiction etc. of the Supreme Court............................................. 23

12A....... Juries outside the Territory.............................................................. 23

12B....... Offences in relation to jurors........................................................... 25

Part IVA—Conferral of Territory Jurisdiction on Western Australian courts etc.                27

14A....... Definitions........................................................................................ 27

14B....... Conferral of jurisdiction on Western Australian courts and court officers              27

14C....... Transfer of Supreme Court jurisdiction............................................ 27

14D....... Transfer of pending proceedings...................................................... 28

14E........ Application of provisions of this Act to courts of Western Australia 29

14F........ Savings—jurisdiction of Supreme Court of the Territory on and after transfer day               30

14G....... Abolition of Supreme Court of the Territory [see Note 2].............. 30

14H....... Transitional provisions after abolition of Supreme Court................ 30

14J........ References to courts of Territory—transitional............................... 31

Part VI—Miscellaneous                                                                                                     32

17.......... Appointment of officers................................................................... 32

18.......... Arrangements in relation to prisoners, mental patients etc.............. 32

18A....... Removal of accused to State to stand trial........................................ 33

18B....... Accused to be conveyed to Court.................................................... 33

18C....... Return of accused to Territory......................................................... 34

18D....... Person deemed to be prisoner under Removal of Prisoners (Territories) Act 1923                34

18E........ Person deemed to be criminal lunatic under Removal of Prisoners (Territories) Act 1923     34

18F........ Repatriation of person tried in a State.............................................. 35

20.......... Grant of pardon, remission etc......................................................... 35

21.......... Exemption from Customs duties of goods produced in the Territory 36

21A....... Disposal of land................................................................................ 36

22.......... Audit................................................................................................. 36

23.......... Regulations....................................................................................... 36

Schedule—Laws continuing in force in the Territory on and after 1 July 1992        38

Notes                                                                                                                                             39

Preamble

WHEREAS Christmas Island (being the island referred to in section 4) is governed and administered as a separate colony in pursuance of the Christmas Island Order in Council, 1957, made by the Queen by virtue and in exercise of the powers conferred upon Her by the Imperial Acts entitled the Straits Settlements (Repeal) Act, 1946, and the British Settlements Acts, 1887 and 1945:

AND WHEREAS by the Christmas Island (Request and Consent) Act 1957 the Parliament of the Commonwealth requested, and consented to, the enactment by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of an Act enabling the Queen to place Christmas Island under the authority of the Commonwealth and making provision for matters incidental to the placing of that Island under that authority:

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Commonwealth has also requested, and consented to, the enactment by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of such an Act:

AND WHEREAS by the Imperial Act entitled the Christmas Island Act, 1958, it is provided that Her Majesty may, by Order in Council, direct that Christmas Island shall, on such date as may be specified in the Order, be placed under the authority of the Commonwealth:

AND WHEREAS by the Constitution it is provided that the Parliament may make laws for the government of any territory placed by the Queen under the authority of and accepted by the Commonwealth:

BE it therefore enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

  

Notes to the Christmas Island Act 1958

Note 1

The Christmas Island Act 1958 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 41, 1958 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2006 (No. 1) (SLI 2006 No. 50). The amendment is incorporated in this compilation.

All relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions prior to 7 July 1997 is not included in this compilation. For subsequent information see Table A.

Table of Acts

Act	Number and year	Date of Assent	Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions
Christmas Island Act 1958	41, 1958	2 Sept 1958	Part I (ss. 1–4): Royal Assent Remainder: 1 Oct 1958 (see Gazette 1958, p. 3185) (a)
Christmas Island Act 1959	9, 1959	23 Apr 1959	14 Jan 1960 (see s. 2 and Gazette 1960, p.47)	—
Christmas Island Act 1963	21, 1963	28 May 1963	25 June 1963	S. 3
Christmas Island Act 1965	131, 1965	18 Dec 1965	14 Feb 1966	—
Statute Law Revision (Decimal Currency) Act 1966	93, 1966	29 Oct 1966	1 Dec 1966	—
Statute Law Revision Act 1973	216, 1973	19 Dec 1973	31 Dec 1973	Ss. 9(1) and 10
Christmas Island Amendment Act 1980	174, 1980	17 Dec 1980	23 Dec 1980 (see Gazette 1980, No. S278)	—
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No. 1) 1982	26, 1982	7 May 1982	Part XII (ss. 76, 77): 4 June 1982 (b)	—
as amended by
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No. 2) 1982	80, 1982	22 Sept 1982	Part LXXI (ss. 262, 263): 4 June 1982 (c)	—
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1983	39, 1983	20 June 1983	S. 3: 18 July 1983 (d)	S. 7(1)
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1984	72, 1984	25 June 1984	S. 3: 23 July 1984 (e)	S. 5(1)
Christmas Island Administration (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1984	120, 1984	18 Oct 1984	Part VIII (ss. 27–31): 1 Oct 1984 Remainder: Royal Assent	—
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1985	65, 1985	5 June 1985	S. 3: 3 July 1985 (f)	—
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 2) 1986	168, 1986	18 Dec 1986	S. 3: Royal Assent (g)	S. 5(3)
Crimes Legislation Amendment Act 1987	120, 1987	16 Dec 1987	Ss. 3–9, 30–46, 48–55 and 59: Royal Assent Ss. 11, 14, 74 and 75: 1 Mar 1989 (see Gazette 1989, No. S54) Ss. 16–18, 69(b) and 70–73: 19 Dec 1988 (see Gazette 1988, No. S384) S. 47: 1 Jan 1990 (see Gazette 1989, No. S359) Ss. 56–58: 16 Dec 1987 (see s. 2(4)) Ss. 60–67: 1 Sept 1988 (see s. 2(5) and Gazette 1988, No. S256) Remainder: 13 Jan 1988	—
Statutory Instruments (Tabling and Disallowance) Legislation Amendment Act 1988	99, 1988	2 Dec 1988	2 Dec 1988	—
Lands Acquisition (Repeal and Consequential Provisions) Act 1989	21, 1989	20 Apr 1989	9 June 1989 (see s. 2 and Gazette 1989, No. S185)	—
Territories Law Reform Act 1992	104, 1992	30 June 1992	Ss. 3–8, 11–18, 20, 23 and 24: 1 July 1992 Ss. 9, 10, 19, 21 and 22: 29 June 1993 (see Gazette 1993, No. S196) Remainder: Royal Assent	—
Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1992	211, 1992	24 Dec 1992	S. 4: (h) Remainder: Royal Assent	—
Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1994	113, 1994	16 Sept 1994	16 Sept 1994	—
Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996	60, 1996	25 Nov 1996	Schedule 19 (item 12): Royal Assent (i)	S. 2(2) and (6) (am. by 77, 1996, Sch. 3 [items 1, 2])
as amended by
Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 1996	77, 1996	19 Dec 1996	Schedule 3 (items 1, 2): (j)	—
Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1997	118, 1997	7 July 1997	Schedule 1 (items 7–13): Royal Assent (k)	Sch. 1 (item 13) [see Table A]
Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Act 1999	146, 1999	11 Nov 1999	Schedule 1 (items 289–291): 5 Dec 1999 (see Gazette 1999, No. S584) (l)	—
Transport and Regional Services Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Act 2001	143, 2001	1 Oct 2001	2 Oct 2001	S. 4 [see Table A]

(a)     By the Christmas Island (Transfer to Australia) Order in Council, 1958 (see Statutory Instruments 1958, Part II, p. 2216) made under the Christmas Island Act, 1958, 1 October 1958 was appointed as the date on which Christmas Island was placed under the authority of Australia.

(b)    The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by Part XII (sections 76 and 77) only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No. 1) 1982, subsection 2(12) of which provides as follows:

               (12)   The remaining provisions of this Act shall come into operation on the twenty‑eighth day after the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

(c)     The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No. 1) 1982 was amended by Part LXXI (sections 262 and 263) only of theStatute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No. 2) 1982, subsection 2(11) of which provides as follows:

               (11)   Parts XLIX and LXXI shall be deemed to have come into operation on 4 June 1982.

(d)     The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by section 3 only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1983, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

                 (1)   Subject to this section, this Act shall come into operation on the twenty‑eighth day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(e)     The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by section 3 only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1984, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

                 (1)   Subject to this section, this Act shall come into operation on the twenty‑eighth day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(f)      The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by section 3 only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1985, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

                 (1)   Subject to this section, this Act shall come into operation on the twenty‑eighth day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(g)     The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by section 3 only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 2) 1986, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

                 (1)   Subject to this section, this Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(h)     Subsection 2(2) of the Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1992 provides as follows:

                 (2)   Section 4 and Schedule 2 commence immediately after the commencement of sections 10 and 19 of the Territories Law Reform Act 1992.

Sections 10 and 19 commenced on 29 June 1993 (see Gazette 1993, No. S196).

(i)      The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by Schedule 19 (item 12) only of the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

                 (1)   Subject to this section, this Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(j)      The Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996 was amended by Schedule 3 (items 1 and 2) of the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 1996, subsection 2(4) of which provides as follows:

                 (4)   The items of Schedule 3 are taken to have commenced immediately after the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996 received the Royal Assent.

The Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996 received the Royal Assent on 25 November 1996.

(k)     The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by Schedule 1 (items 7–13) only of the Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1997, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

                 (1)   Subject to subsections (2), (3) and (4), this Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(l)      The Christmas Island Act 1958 was amended by Schedule 1 (items 289–291) only of the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Act 1999, subsections 2(1) and (2) of which provide as follows:

                 (1)   In this Act, commencing time means the time when the Public Service Act 1999 commences.

                 (2)   Subject to this section, this Act commences at the commencing time.

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted      am. = amended      rep. = repealed    rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected	How affected
Preamble ............................	am. No. 174, 1980
S. 2 ....................................	am. No. 174, 1980; No. 104, 1992
S. 3 ....................................	rep. No. 216, 1973
S. 4 ....................................	am. No. 174, 1980; No. 120, 1984; No. 120, 1987; Nos. 104 and 211, 1992
S. 4A ..................................	ad. No. 143, 2001
S. 6 ....................................	am. No. 174, 1980
Heading to Part III ...............	rs. No. 104, 1992
Div. 1 of Part III ................... (ss. 7, 8)	rep. No. 104, 1992
Div. 1 of Part III ................... (ss. 7, 8, 8A–8I)	ad. No. 104, 1992
S. 7 ....................................	am. No. 174, 1980
	rs. No. 104, 1992
S. 8 ....................................	rs. No. 104, 1992
S. 8A ..................................	ad. No. 104, 1992
	am. No. 211, 1992
Ss. 8B–8E ..........................	ad. No. 104, 1992
Heading to s. 8F .................	am. No. 60, 1996
	rep. SLI 2006 No. 50
S. 8F ..................................	ad. No. 104, 1992
	am. No. 60, 1996
	rep. SLI 2006 No. 50
S. 8G ..................................	ad. No. 104, 1992
	am. No. 211, 1992; No. 113, 1994; No. 146, 1999
Ss. 8H, 8I ...........................	ad. No. 104, 1992
S. 9 ....................................	am. No. 104, 1992
S. 10 ..................................	am. No. 21, 1963; No. 174, 1980; No. 26, 1982 (as am. by No. 80, 1982); No. 39, 1983; No. 72, 1984; No. 168, 1986; No. 99, 1988
Ss. 10A–10C .....................	ad. No. 99, 1988
S. 10D ................................	ad. No. 99, 1988
	am. No. 104, 1992
Ss. 11AAA, 11AA .............	ad. No. 120, 1987
S. 11A ................................	ad. No. 120, 1984
S. 12 ..................................	am. No. 120, 1987
S. 13 ..................................	rep. No. 104, 1992
S. 14 ..................................	rep. No. 211, 1992
S. 12A ................................	ad. No. 120, 1987
S. 12B ................................	ad. No. 120, 1987
	am. No. 143, 2001
Part IVA ............................. (ss. 14A–14D)	ad. No. 104, 1992 rep. No. 104, 1992
Part IVA ............................. (ss. 14A–14J)	ad. No. 104, 1992
Ss. 14A, 14B .....................	ad. No. 104, 1992
	am. No. 211, 1992
	rs. No. 104, 1992
	am. No. 211, 1992
Ss. 14C, 14D ......................	ad. No. 104, 1992
	am. No. 211, 1992
	rs. No. 104, 1992
Heading to s. 14E ...............	am. No. 118, 1997
S. 14E ................................	ad. No. 104, 1992
	am. No. 118, 1997
Ss. 14F–14H ......................	ad. No. 104, 1992
S. 14J .................................	ad. No. 104, 1992
	am. No. 211, 1992
Part V (ss. 15A, 16) ..........	rep. No. 118, 1997
S. 15 ..................................	am. No. 174, 1980
	rep. No. 65, 1985
S. 15A ................................	ad. No. 174, 1980
	am. No. 104, 1992
	rep. No. 118, 1997
S. 16 ..................................	rs. No. 174, 1980
	am. No. 65, 1985; No. 104, 1992
	rep. No. 118, 1997
S. 17 ..................................	am. No. 216, 1973; No. 120, 1984; No. 65, 1985; No. 104, 1992; No. 146, 1999
S. 18 ..................................	am. No. 216, 1973; No. 174, 1980; No. 120, 1984; No. 104, 1992
Ss. 18A–18F ......................	ad. No. 120, 1987
S. 19 ..................................	am. No. 9, 1959; No. 131, 1965; No. 174, 1980; No. 120, 1984
	rep. No. 104, 1992
S. 20 ..................................	am. No. 104, 1992
S. 21A ................................	ad. No. 120, 1984
	am. No. 21, 1989; No. 104, 1992
S. 23 ..................................	am. No. 93, 1966; No. 216, 1973; No. 174, 1980; No. 120, 1987; No. 104, 1992
Schedule ............................	ad. No. 104, 1992

Note 2

S. 14G—The day fixed by Proclamation under section 14G for the abolition of the Supreme Court of Christmas Island is 10 May 2002 (see Gazette 2002, No. GN18).

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1997 (No. 118, 1997)

Schedule 1 

13  Citizenship already acquired under Part V continues despite repeal of Part

People who have become Australian citizens under Part V of the Christmas Island Act 1958 continue to be Australian citizens despite the repeal of that Part (subject to other Commonwealth laws relating to citizenship).

Transport and Regional Services Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Act 2001 (No. 143, 2001)

4  Application of Amendments

             (1)  Each amendment made by this Act applies to acts and omissions that take place after the amendment commences.

             (2)  For the purposes of this section, if an act or omission is alleged to have taken place between 2 dates, one before and one on or after the day on which a particular amendment commences, the act or omission is alleged to have taken place before the amendment commences.