Biosecurity Act 2015

Ballast water discharged from a tank on a vessel has been managed for discharge if:

at least the proportion (by volume), prescribed by the determination under section 308A, of the ballast water in the tank immediately before the discharge had been taken up in an acceptable ballast water exchange; and

at the time the ballast water is discharged, the vessel has appropriate ballast water records; and

the vessel is not specified by the determination to be excluded from the operation of this section.

For when a vessel has appropriate ballast water records, see section 295.

For tank, see section 9.

The determination under section 308A may prescribe a method for working out whether, for the purposes of subsection (1), the prescribed proportion of the ballast water in the tank of a vessel has been taken up.

A ballast water exchange is an acceptable ballast water exchange if it is conducted:

in an area prescribed, or an area meeting requirements prescribed, by the determination under section 308A to be an acceptable location for ballast water exchange; and

in accordance with the requirements (if any) prescribed by the determination.

A person does not commit an offence under section 270 for discharging ballast water as part of an acceptable ballast water exchange, even if that ballast water has not been managed for discharge (see section 276).