SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973
SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - TABLE OF PROVISIONS
SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 TABLE OF PROVISIONS PART I-PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title 2. Commencement 3. Interpretation 4. Extension to Territories PART II-SOVEREIGNTY AND SOVEREIGN RIGHTS Division 1-The Territorial Sea 5. Definition 6. Sovereignty in respect of territorial sea 7. Limits of territorial sea 8. Declaration of historic bays and historic waters 9. Charts of limits of territorial sea 10. Sovereignty in respect of internal waters Division 2-The Continental Shelf 11. Sovereign rights in respect of continental shelf 12. Limits of continental shelf 13. Charts of limits of continental shelf Division 3-Savings 14. Part II does not affect waters, &c., within State limits 15. Certain property not vested in Commonwealth 16. Saving of other laws SCHEDULE 1 Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone SCHEDULE 2 Convention on the Continental Shelf SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - PREAMBLE
SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 An Act relating to Sovereignty in respect of certain Waters of the Sea and in respect of the Airspace over, and the Sea-bed and Subsoil beneath, those Waters and to Sovereign Rights in respect of the Continental Shelf and relating also to the Recovery of Minerals, other than Petroleum, from the Sea-bed and Subsoil beneath those Waters and from the Continental Shelf. Preamble. WHEREAS a belt of sea adjacent to the coast of Australia, known as the territorial sea, and the airspace over the territorial sea and the bed and subsoil of the territorial sea, are within the sovereignty of Australia: AND WHEREAS Australia is a party to the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone a copy of which in the English language is set out in Schedule 1: AND WHEREAS Australia as a coastal state has sovereign rights in respect of the continental shelf (that is to say, the sea-bed and subsoil of certain submarine areas adjacent to its coast but outside the area of the territorial sea) for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources: AND WHEREAS Australia is a party to the Convention on the Continental Shelf a copy of which in the English language is set out in Schedule 2: BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia, as follows:- SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 1. Short title.
PART I-PRELIMINARY 1. This Act may be cited as the SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973.* SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 2. Commencement.
2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.* SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 3. Interpretation.

Back to Top
3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears- ''Australia'' includes the Territories to which this Act extends; ''continental shelf'' has the same meaning as in the Convention on the Continental Shelf. (2) In this Act, including section 6, a reference to the territorial sea of Australia is a reference to that territorial sea so far as it extends from time to time. (3) In this Act, including section 11, a reference to the continental shelf of Australia is a reference to that continental shelf so far as it extends from time to time. (4) Where a Proclamation is in force under section 7, the territorial sea of Australia shall, for all purposes of this Act, be taken to extend to the limits declared by that Proclamation. (5) Where a Proclamation is in force under section 12, the continental shelf of Australia shall, for all purposes of this Act, be taken to extend to the limits declared by that Proclamation. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 4. Extension to Territories.
4. This Act extends to all the Territories, other than the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 5. Definition.
PART II-SOVEREIGNTY AND SOVEREIGN RIGHTS Division 1-The Territorial Sea 5. In this Division, ''the territorial sea'' means the territorial sea of Australia. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 6. Sovereignty in respect of territorial sea.
6. It is by this Act declared and enacted that the sovereignty in respect of the territorial sea, and in respect of the airspace over it and in respect of its bed and subsoil, is vested in and exercisable by the Crown in right of the Commonwealth. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 7. Limits of territorial sea.
7. (1) The Governor-General may, from time to time, by Proclamation, declare, not inconsistently with Section II of Part I of the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, the limits of the whole or of any part of the territorial sea. (2) For the purposes of such a Proclamation, the Governor-General may, in particular, determine either or both of the following:- (a) the breadth of the territorial sea; (b) the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea, or of any part of the territorial sea, is to be measured. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 8. Declaration of historic bays and historic waters.
8. Where the Governor-General is satisfied- (a) that a bay is an historic bay, he may, by Proclamation, declare that bay to be an historic bay and shall, by the same or another Proclamation, define the sea-ward limits of that bay; or (b) that waters are historic waters, he may, by Proclamation, declare those waters to be historic waters and shall, by the same or another Proclamation, define the limits of those waters. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 9. Charts of limits of territorial sea.
9. (1) The Minister may cause to be prepared and issued such charts as he thinks fit showing any matter relating to the limits of the territorial sea. (2) In particular, the Minister may cause to be prepared and issued large-scale charts showing the low-water line along the coast and may cause to be shown on such a chart any other matter referred to in sub-section (1). (3) The mere production of a copy of a paper purporting to be certified by the Minister to be a true copy of a chart prepared under this section is prima facie evidence of any matter shown on the chart relating to the limits of the territorial sea. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 10. Sovereignty in respect of internal waters.
10. It is by this Act declared and enacted that the sovereignty in respect of the internal waters of Australia (that is to say, any waters of the sea on the landward side of the baseline of the territorial sea) so far as they extend from time to time, and in respect of the airspace over those waters and in respect of the sea-bed and subsoil beneath those waters, is vested in and exercisable by the Crown in right of the Commonwealth. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 11. Sovereign rights in respect of continental shelf.
Back to Top
Division 2-The Continental Shelf 11. It is by this Act 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. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 12. Limits of continental shelf.
12. The Governor-General may, from time to time by Proclamation, declare, not inconsistently with the Convention on the Continental Shelf or any relevant international agreement to which Australia is a party, the limits of the whole or any part of the continental shelf of Australia. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 13. Charts of limits of continental shelf.
13. (1) The Minister may cause to be prepared and issued such charts as he thinks fit showing any matter relating to the limits of the continental shelf of Australia. (2) The mere production of a copy of a paper purporting to be certified by the Minister to be a true copy of a chart prepared under this section is prima facie evidence of any matter shown on the chart relating to the limits of the continental shelf of Australia. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 14. Part II does not affect waters, &c., within State limits.
Division 3-Savings 14. Nothing in this Part affects sovereignty or sovereign rights in respect of any waters of the sea that are waters of or within any bay, gulf, estuary, river, creek, inlet, port or harbour and- (a) were, on 1st January, 1901, within the limits of a State;and (b) remain within the limits of the State, or in respect of the airspace over, or in respect of the sea-bed or subsoil beneath, any such waters. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 15. Certain property not vested in Commonwealth.
15. Nothing in this Part shall be taken to vest in the Crown in right of the Commonwealth any wharf, jetty, pier, breakwater, building, platform, pipeline, lighthouse, beacon, navigational aid, buoy, cable or other structure or works. SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SECT. 16. Saving of other laws.
16. The preceding provisions of this Part- (a) do not limit or exclude the operation of any law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory in force at the date of commencement of this Act or coming into force after that date; and (b) do not limit or exclude the operation of any law of a State in force at the date of commencement of this Act or coming into force after that date, except in so far as the law is expressed to vest or make exercisable any sovereignty or sovereign rights otherwise than as provided by the preceding provisions of this Part. ----------- SEAS AND SUBMERGED LANDS ACT 1973 No. 161, 1973 - SCHEDULE 1
SCHEDULE 1 Preamble CONVENTION ON THE TERRITORIAL SEA AND THE CONTIGUOUS ZONE The States Parties to this Convention Have agreed as follows: PART I TERRITORIAL SEA Section I. General ARTICLE 1 1. The sovereignty of a State extends, beyond its land territory and its internal waters, to a belt of sea adjacent to its coast, described as the territorial sea. 2. This sovereignty is exercised subject to the provisions of these articles and to other rules of international law. ARTICLE 2 The sovereignty of a coastal State extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as to its bed and subsoil.
Back to Top
Section II. Limits of the territorial sea ARTICLE 3 Except where otherwise provided in these articles, the normal baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the low-water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal State. ARTICLE 4 1. In localities where the coast line is deeply indented and cut into, or if there is a fringe of islands along the coast in its immediate vicinity, the method of straight baselines joining appropriate points may be employed in drawing the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. 2. The drawing of such baselines must not depart to any appreciable extent from the general direction of the coast, and the sea areas lying within the lines must be sufficiently closely linked to the land domain to be subject to the re'gime of internal waters. 3. Baselines shall not be drawn to and from low-tide elevations, unless lighthouses or similar installations which are permanently above sea level have been built on them. 4. Where the method of straight baselines is applicable under the provisions of paragraph 1, account may be taken, in determining particular baselines, of economic interests peculiar to the region concerned, the reality and the importance of which are clearly evidenced by a long usage. 5. The system of straight baselines may not be applied by a State in such a manner as to cut off from the high seas the territorial sea of another State. 6. The coastal State must clearly indicate straight baselines on charts, to which due publicity must be given. ARTICLE 5 1. Waters on the landward side of the baseline of the territorial sea form part of the internal waters of the State. 2. Where the establishment of a straight baseline in accordance with article 4 has the effect of enclosing as internal waters areas which previously had been considered as part of the territorial sea or of the high seas, a right of innocent passage, as provided in articles 14 to 23, shall exist in those waters. ARTICLE 6 The outer limit of the territorial sea is the line every point of which is at a distance from the nearest point of the baseline equal to the breadth of the territorial sea. ARTICLE 7 1. This article relates only to bays the coasts of which belong to a single State. 2. For the purpose of these articles, a bay is a well-marked indentation whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain landlocked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indentation shall not, however, be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large as, or larger than, that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation. 3. For the purpose of measurement, the area of an indentation is that lying between the low-water mark around the shore of the indentation and a line joining the low-water marks of its natural entrance points. Where, because of the presence of islands, an indentation has more than one mouth, the semi-circle shall be drawn on a line as long as the sum total of the lengths of the lines across the different mouths. Islands within an indentation shall be included as if they were part of the water areas of the indentation. 4. If the distance between the low-water marks of the natural entrance points of a bay does not exceed twenty-four miles, a closing line may be drawn between these two low-water marks, and the waters enclosed thereby shall be considered as internal waters.
Back to Top
5. Where the distance between the low-water marks of the natural entrance points of a bay exceeds twenty-four miles, a straight baseline of twenty-four miles shall be drawn within the bay in such a manner as to enclose the maximum area of water that is possible with a line of that length. 6. The foregoing provisions shall not apply to so-called ''historic'' bays, or in any case where the straight baseline system provided for in article 4 is applied. ARTICLE 8 For the purpose of delimiting the territorial sea, the outermost permanent harbour works which form an integral part of the harbour system shall be regarded as forming part of the coast. ARTICLE 9 Roadsteads which are normally used for the loading, unloading and anchoring of ships, and which would otherwise be situated wholly or partly outside the outer limit of the territorial sea, are included in the territorial sea. The coastal State must clearly demarcate such roadsteads and indicate them on charts together with their boundaries, to which due publicity must be given. ARTICLE 10 1. An island is a naturally-formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high-tide. 2. The territorial sea of an island is measured in accordance with the provisions of these articles. ARTICLE 11 1. A low-tide elevation is a naturally-formed area of land which is surrounded by and above water at low-tide but submerged at high tide. Where a low-tide elevation is situated wholly or partly at a distance not exceeding the breadth of the territorial sea from the mainland or an island, the low-water line on that elevation may be used as the baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea. 2. Where a low-tide elevation is wholly situated at a distance exceeding the breadth of the territorial sea from the mainland or an island, it has no territorial sea of its own. ARTICLE 12 1. Where the coasts of two States are opposite or adjacent to each other, neither of the two States is entitled, failing agreement between them to the contrary, to extend its territorial sea beyond the median line every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points on the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial seas of each of the two States is measured. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply, however, where it is necessary by reason of historic title or other special circumstances to delimit the territorial seas of the two States in a way which is at variance with this provision. 2. The line of delimitation between the territorial seas of two States lying opposite to each other or adjacent to each other shall be marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal States. ARTICLE 13 If a river flows directly into the sea, the baseline shall be a straight line across the mouth of the river between points on the low-tide line of its banks. Section III. Right of innocent passage Sub-section A. Rules applicable to all ships ARTICLE 14 1. Subject to the provisions of these articles, ships of all States, whether coastal or not, shall enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. 2. Passage means navigation through the territorial sea for the purpose either of traversing that sea without entering internal waters, or of proceeding to internal waters, or of making for the high seas from internal waters.
Back to Top
3. Passage includes stopping and anchoring, but only in so far as the same are incidental to ordinary navigation or are rendered necessary by force majeure or by distress. 4. Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State. Such passage shall take place in conformity with these articles and with other rules of international law. 5. Passage of foreign fishing vessels shall not be considered innocent if they do not observe such laws and regulations as the coastal State may make and publish in order to prevent these vessels from fishing in the territorial sea. 6. Submarines are required to navigate on the surface and to show their flag. ARTICLE 15 1. The coastal State must not hamper innocent passage through the territorial sea. 2. The coastal State is required to give appropriate publicity to any dangers to navigation, of which it has knowledge, within its territorial sea. ARTICLE 16