A significant port management bill has been introduced to the Victorian State Parliament and appears to be proceeding at speed through the State Parliament.
The “Roads and Ports Legislation Amendment (Road Safety and Other Matters) Bill 2025” was introduced earlier this week on Tuesday 13 May by the Hon Melissa Horne MP, Minister for Ports and Freight since December 2018, the bill had its “second reading moved” on the following day, 14 May. This usually means that the Minister has made a second reading speech (which is the speech in which a Minister will explain the purpose of, and justification for, a new bill) and the debate has been moved to a future day.
At the time of writing, Shipping Australia has only superficially skimmed over the proposed new laws but it seems that the bill, if passed, could be fairly significant for the operation of ports in Victoria. There is, for instance, a provision enabling a port manager to act as a harbour master if there is no harbour master.
Some key points include (but are not limited to):
- Appointment of port managers
- Port managers may provide services outside local port; an expansion of the functions of port managers
- Authority for the imposition of financial charges
- Port manager may act as harbour master if there is no harbour master
- Further provision for the management of abandoned things in ports
- The establishment of a scheme for the licensing of mooring service providers
- mooring means the process of securing a vessel to a berth by attaching the mooring lines of the vessel to the mooring infrastructure of a berth
- mooring service means the service of mooring and unmooring vessels
- it will be an offence to provide a mooring service without being a licence holder)
- a mooring service licence will be subject to any conditions that Ports Victoria thinks fit
- changes to marine pollution law, which includes
- an expansion of who may be considered to be a heath professional,
- new rules to align maximum liability limits for marine pollution incidents along with other marine liability matters
- an expansion application of the Pollution Act 1988 where oil enters State Waters from outside the state;
- and more.
Shipping Australia is not aware of any extensive industry consultation being carried out prior to the introduction of the legislation, nor does the Bill’s home page refer to any consultation.
We are not aware that there is any period for providing comments to any government body prior to the legislation entering into force other than the normal Parliamentary procedures.
Shipping Australia will more carefully consider the Bill and will revert further.
The text of, and the Explanatory Memorandum for, the new bill can be found here.
