Commonwealth Numbered Acts

OFFSHORE MINERALS ACT 1994 No. 28, 1994 - SECT 3

3.(1) The Commonwealth and the States have agreed that:

   (a)  Commonwealth offshore mining legislation should be limited to the area
        that is outside State coastal waters; and

   (b)  the States should share, in the manner provided by this Act, in the
        administration of the Commonwealth offshore mining legislation; and

   (c)  State offshore mining legislation should apply to State coastal waters
        beyond the baseline for the territorial sea (that is, the first 3
        nautical miles of the territorial sea); and

   (d)  the Commonwealth and the States should try to maintain, as far as
        practicable, common principles, rules and practices in regulating and
        controlling offshore mining beyond the baseline of Australia's
        territorial sea. Note: So far as the agreement relates to petroleum,
        it is reflected in Commonwealth legislation by the Petroleum
        (Submerged Lands) Act 1967.

(2) Other Acts that provide background to the agreement (commonly referred
to as the "Offshore Constitutional Settlement") are:

   (a)  the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973; and

   (b)  the Coastal Waters (State Powers) Act 1980; and

   (c)  the Coastal Waters (State Title) Act 1980; and

   (d)  the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967; and

   (e)  the Coastal Waters (Northern Territory Powers) Act 1980; and

   (f)  the Coastal Waters (Northern Territory Title) Act 1980. Note 1: The
        Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973: - declared and enacted that the
        sovereignty in respect of the territorial sea and the associated
        airspace, seabed and subsoil is vested in and exercisable by the Crown
        in right of the Commonwealth; - gave the Governor-General power to
        declare, by Proclamation, the limits of the territorial sea; -
        declared and enacted that the sovereignty in respect of waters of the
        sea that are on the landward side of the baseline of the territorial
        sea (but not within the limits of a State) and in respect of the
        associated airspace, seabed and subsoil is vested in and exercisable
        by the Crown in right of the Commonwealth; - declared and enacted that
        the sovereign rights of Australia as a coastal State in respect of the
        Continental Shelf of Australia (for the purpose of exploring it and
        exploiting its natural resources) are vested in and exercisable by the
        Crown in right of the Commonwealth; - gave the Governor-General power
        to declare, by Proclamation, the limits of the Continental Shelf of
        Australia. Note 2: The Coastal Waters (State Powers) Act 1980 was
        enacted following a request from the Parliaments of all the States
        under paragraph 51 (xxxviii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth
        and provided that the legislative powers exercisable under the
        Constitution of each State extended to the making of certain laws that
        would operate offshore. Note 3: The Coastal Waters (State Title) Act
        1980 vested in each State certain property rights in the seabed
        beneath the coastal waters of the State. Note 4: The Petroleum
        (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 makes provision, based on the agreement
        referred to in subsection (1), for the licensing regime that applies
        to the exploration for and recovery of petroleum in offshore areas.
        Note 5: The Coastal Waters (Northern Territory Powers) Act 1980 makes
        similar provision to the State Powers Act in relation to the Northern
        Territory. Note 6: The
        Coastal Waters (Northern Territory Title) Act 1980 makes similar
        provision to the State Title Act in relation to the Northern
        Territory.