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This Act may be cited as the Admiralty Act 1988.
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Australia, when used in a geographical sense, includes each external Territory.
Civil Liability Convention has the same meaning as the Convention has in the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Act 1981.
coastal sea of Australia means:
the territorial sea of Australia; and
the sea on the landward side of the territorial sea of Australia and not within the limits of a State or Territory.
commencement, in relation to a proceeding, has the meaning given by subsection (2).
costs and expenses, in relation to the Marshal, has the meaning given by subsection (5).
entering appearance has the meaning given by subsection (4).
Federal Court means the Federal Court of Australia.
foreign ship means a ship that is not registered, and is not permitted to be registered, under the Shipping Registration Act 1981.
freight includes passage money and hire.
goods, in relation to a ship, has the meaning given by subsection (3).
hovercraft means an air‑cushion vehicle, or a similar vehicle, used wholly or principally in navigation by water.
initiating process includes a third party notice.
inland waters means waters within Australia other than waters of the sea.
inland waterways vessel means a vessel used or intended to be used wholly on inland waters.
Liability Convention means:
the Civil Liability Convention;
the Limitation Convention; or
any other international convention that is in force in relation to Australia and makes provision with respect to the limitation of liability in relation to maritime claims.
Limitation Convention has the meaning given to the expression Convention by subsection 3(1) of the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Act 1989.
limitation proceeding means a proceeding under:
section 25 of this Act;
section 9 of the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Act 1989; or
section 10 of the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Act 1981.
maritime claim, general maritime claim and proprietary maritime claim have the meanings given by section 4.
master, in relation to a ship, means a person who has command or charge of the ship.
member of the crew, in relation to a ship, means a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board the ship on the business of the ship, other than:
the master of the ship;
a person who has the conduct of the ship as the pilot of the ship; or
a person temporarily employed on the ship in port.
mortgage, in relation to a ship or a share in a ship, includes a hypothecation or pledge of, and a charge on, the ship or share, whether at law or in equity and whether arising under the law in force in a part of Australia or elsewhere.
off‑shore industry fixed structure means a structure (including a pipeline) that:
is fixed to the seabed and is not able to move or be moved as a structure from one place to another; and
is used or intended for use wholly or primarily in, or in any operations or activities associated with or incidental to, exploring or exploiting the mineral and other non‑living resources of:
the continental shelf of Australia; or
the seabed of the coastal sea of Australia or the subsoil of that seabed.
off‑shore industry mobile unit means:
a vessel, or a structure other than a vessel that is able to float or be floated and to move or be moved as a structure from one place to another, that is used or intended for use wholly or primarily in, or in any operations or activities associated with or incidental to, exploring or exploiting the mineral and other non‑living resources of:
the continental shelf of Australia; or
the seabed of the coastal sea of Australia or the subsoil of that seabed;
by drilling, or by obtaining substantial quantities of material from, the seabed or its subsoil, with equipment that is on or forms part of the vessel or structure; or
a barge or similar vessel fitted with living quarters for more than 12 persons and used or intended for use wholly or primarily in connection with the construction, maintenance or repair of off‑shore industry fixed structures.
relevant person, in relation to a maritime claim, means a person who would be liable on the claim in a proceeding commenced as an action in personam.
sea includes all waters within the ebb and flow of the tide.
ship means a vessel of any kind used or constructed for use in navigation by water, however it is propelled or moved, and includes:
a barge, lighter or other floating vessel;
a hovercraft;
an off‑shore industry mobile unit; and
a vessel that has sunk or is stranded and the remains of such a vessel;
but does not include:
a seaplane;
an inland waterways vessel; or
a vessel under construction that has not been launched.
surrogate ship has the meaning given by subsection (6).
this Act includes the regulations and the Rules made under this Act.
A reference in this Act to the time when a proceeding is commenced is a reference to the time when the initiating process in relation to the proceeding is filed in, or issued by, a court.
A reference in this Act to goods, in relation to a ship, includes a reference to the baggage and other possessions of a person who is on the ship, being baggage and possessions that are being carried or are to be carried on the ship.
A reference in this Act to the entering of appearance includes a reference to any similar procedure.
A reference in this Act to the costs and expenses of the Marshal includes a reference to the amounts payable to a person acting in accordance with the Rules as a Marshal of a court.
For the purposes of this Act, where:
a proceeding on a maritime claim may be commenced against a ship under a provision of this Act (other than section 19); and
under section 19, a proceeding on the claim may be commenced against some other ship;
the other ship is, in relation to the claim, a surrogate ship.
A reference in this Act to a maritime claim is a reference to a proprietary maritime claim or a general maritime claim.
A reference in this Act to a proprietary maritime claim is a reference to:
a claim relating to:
possession of a ship;
title to, or ownership of, a ship or a share in a ship;
a mortgage of a ship or of a share in a ship; or
a mortgage of a ship’s freight;
a claim between co‑owners of a ship relating to the possession, ownership, operation or earnings of the ship;
a claim for the satisfaction or enforcement of a judgment given by a court (including a court of a foreign country) against a ship or other property in a proceeding in rem in the nature of a proceeding in Admiralty; or
a claim for interest in respect of a claim referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).
A reference in this Act to a general maritime claim is a reference to:
a claim for damage done by a ship (whether by collision or otherwise); or
a claim in respect of the liability of the owner of a ship arising under Part II or IV of the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability) Act 1981 or under a law of a State or Territory that makes provision as mentioned in subsection 7(1) of that Act; or
a claim under:
the applied provisions (within the meaning of the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage) Act 2008); or
a law of a State or Territory of a kind referred to in subsection 10(1) of that Act; or
a claim for loss of life, or for personal injury, sustained in consequence of a defect in a ship or in the apparel or equipment of a ship; or
a claim (including a claim for loss of life or personal injury) arising out of an act or omission of:
the owner or charterer of a ship;
a person in possession or control of a ship; or
a person for whose wrongful acts or omissions the owner, charterer or person in possession or control of a ship is liable;
being an act or omission in the navigation or management of the ship, including an act or omission in connection with:
the loading of goods on to, or the unloading of goods from, the ship;
the embarkation of persons on to, or the disembarkation of persons from, the ship; and
the carriage of goods or persons on the ship; or
a claim for loss of, or damage to, goods carried by a ship; or
a claim arising out of an agreement that relates to the carriage of goods or persons by a ship or to the use or hire of a ship, whether by charterparty or otherwise; or
a claim relating to salvage (including life salvage and salvage of cargo or wreck found on land); or
a claim in respect of general average; or
a claim in respect of towage of a ship; or
a claim in respect of pilotage of a ship; or
a claim in respect of goods, materials or services (including stevedoring and lighterage services) supplied or to be supplied to a ship for its operation or maintenance; or
a claim in respect of the construction of a ship (including such a claim relating to a vessel before it was launched); or
a claim in respect of the alteration, repair or equipping of a ship; or
a claim in respect of a liability for port, harbour, canal or light tolls, charges or dues, or tolls, charges or dues of a similar kind, in relation to a ship; or
a claim in respect of a levy in relation to a ship, including a shipping levy imposed by the Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981, being a levy in relation to which a power to detain the ship is conferred by a law in force in Australia or in a part of Australia; or
a claim by a master, shipper, charterer or agent in respect of disbursements on account of a ship; or
a claim for an insurance premium, or for a mutual insurance call, in relation to a ship; or
a claim by a master, or a member of the crew, of a ship for:
wages; or
an amount that a person, as employer, is under an obligation to pay to a person as employee, whether the obligation arose out of the contract of employment or by operation of law, including the operation of the law of a foreign country; or
a claim for the enforcement of, or a claim arising out of, an arbitral award (including a foreign award within the meaning of the International Arbitration Act 1974) made in respect of a proprietary maritime claim or a claim referred to in one of the preceding paragraphs; or
a claim for interest in respect of a claim referred to in one of the preceding paragraphs.
Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, this Act applies in relation to:
all ships, irrespective of the places of residence or domicile of their owners; and
all maritime claims, wherever arising.
This Act does not apply in relation to a proceeding commenced before the commencement of this Act.
This Act does not apply in relation to a cause of action that arose:
in respect of an inland waterways vessel; or
in respect of the use or intended use of a ship on inland waters.
Paragraph (3)(b) does not have effect in relation to a cause of action if, at the time when the cause of action arose, the ship concerned was a foreign ship.
The provisions of this Act (other than section 34) do not have effect to create:
a new maritime lien or other charge; or
a cause of action that would not have existed if this Act had not been passed.
This Act extends to each external Territory.
This Act binds the Crown in all its capacities.
This Act does not authorise:
a proceeding to be commenced as an action in rem against a government ship or government property; or
the arrest, detention or sale of a government ship or government property.
Where a proceeding has been commenced as an action in rem against a government ship or government property, the court may, if it is satisfied that the proceeding was so commenced in the reasonable belief that the ship was not a government ship, or the property was not government property:
order that the proceeding be treated as though it were a proceeding commenced as an action in personam on the claim against a person specified as defendant in the order; and
make such consequential orders as are necessary.
In this section:
government means the Commonwealth, a State or the Northern Territory.
government property means cargo or other property that belongs to a government, but does not include cargo or other property that belongs to a trading corporation that is an agency of a government.
government ship means a ship that belongs, or is for the time being demised or sub‑demised, to a government (including such a ship used by or in connection with a part of the Defence Force), but does not include a ship that belongs, or is for the time being demised or sub‑demised, to a trading corporation that is an agency of a government.
Jurisdiction is conferred on the Federal Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) and on the courts of the Territories, and the courts of the States are invested with federal jurisdiction, in respect of proceedings commenced as actions in personam:
on a maritime claim; or
on a claim for damage done to a ship.
Subsection (1) does not confer on a court other than the Federal Court or a Supreme Court of a Territory, or invest a court of a State other than the Supreme Court of a State with, jurisdiction in respect of limitation proceedings.
Jurisdiction is conferred on the Federal Court and on the Supreme Courts of the Territories, and the Supreme Courts of the States are invested with federal jurisdiction, in respect of proceedings that may, under this Act, be commenced as actions in rem.
The Governor‑General may by Proclamation declare a court of a State or of a Territory to be a court to which this section applies.
Subject to any condition or limitation (whether as to locality, subject‑matter or otherwise) specified in the Proclamation, a court of a State to which this section applies is invested with federal jurisdiction, and jurisdiction is conferred on a court of a Territory to which this section applies, in respect of proceedings that may, under this Act, be commenced as actions in rem.
Where a Proclamation has been varied or rescinded, the variation or rescission does not deprive a court of jurisdiction to hear and determine a proceeding that was pending in the court at the time of the variation or rescission.
The jurisdiction that a court has under this Act extends to jurisdiction in respect of a matter of Admiralty and maritime jurisdiction not otherwise within its jurisdiction that is associated with a matter in which the jurisdiction of the court under this Act is invoked.