✦ Plain-English Summary

Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty Consequential Amendments Bill 2019

What it does

Australia and Timor-Leste settled a long-running dispute over sea borders and underwater oil/gas fields in the Timor Sea. This bill updates Australian laws to match the new treaty agreement, changing which areas fall under Australian jurisdiction and which fall under Timor-Leste's. It touches dozens of existing laws covering everything from shipping and customs to environmental protection and energy regulation.

Why it matters

This resolves decades of tension with our nearest neighbour and clarifies who has legal authority over valuable offshore resources. It affects shipping routes, fishing rights, oil and gas operations, and which country's environmental laws apply in different parts of the sea.

Key details

• The changes only kick in once the new treaty officially comes into force (not all at once when this bill passes)
• A second batch of changes apply separately when the Greater Sunrise oil field production agreement starts operating
• The bill rewrites rules in 25 different Australian laws—from the Migration Act to the Offshore Petroleum Act—so courts, businesses, and regulators know which version applies in the new maritime boundaries

Official Description

Introduced with the Passenger Movement Charge Amendment (Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty) Bill 2019 to partially implement the Treaty Between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Establishing Their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea (New York, 6 March 2018), the bill amends 25 Acts to: permanently delimit the continental shelf boundary and the exclusive economic zone boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste; allow for a future adjustment of the lateral continental shelf boundaries subject to specific conditions being met; and establish the Greater Sunrise Special Regime in the Special Regime Area.

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

No votes yet.

No votes were recorded for this bill.