NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ACT 2004

South Australian Repealed Acts

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This legislation has been repealed.

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ACT 2004 - SECT 3

3—Interpretation

(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

"animal" means a live vertebrate or invertebrate animal and includes the eggs or semen of such an animal, but does not include any animal of a class excluded from the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

"animal-proof fence" means a fence that complies with the prescribed requirements for an animal-proof fence;

"annual value" means annual value as defined in the Valuation of Land Act 1971 ;

"approved account" means an account designated by the Minister as an approved account for the purposes of this Act, or a specified provision of this Act;

"authorised officer" means a person appointed to be a State authorised officer or a regional authorised officer under Chapter 3 Part 6 ;

"biological diversity" or "biodiversity" means the variety of life forms represented by plants, animals and other organisms and micro-organisms, the genes that they contain, and the ecosystems and ecosystem processes of which they form a part;

"business day" means any day except—

(a) a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday; or

(b) a day which falls between 25 December and 1 January in the following year;

"capital value" means capital value as defined in the Valuation of Land Act 1971 ;

"channel" includes—

(a) a drain, gutter or pipe;

(b) part of a channel;

"Chief Officer" means the Chief Officer under Chapter 3 Part 5 (and includes a person acting in that office from time to time);

"commercial forest" means a forest plantation where the forest vegetation is grown or maintained so that it can be harvested or used for commercial purposes (including through the commercial exploitation of the carbon absorption capacity of the forest vegetation);

"constituent council" means—

(a) in relation to a regional NRM board, or the region of a regional NRM board, a council whose area, or part of whose area, comprises or is included in the region of the regional NRM board;

(b) in relation to an NRM group, or the area of an NRM group, a council whose area, or part of whose area, comprises or is included in the area of the NRM group;

"construct" includes erect, alter, reduce, enlarge, repair or excavate;

"consumptive pool" means the water that will from time to time be taken to constitute the resource within a particular part of a prescribed water resource for the purposes of Chapter 7 , as determined—

(a) by or under a water allocation plan for that water resource; or

(b) in prescribed circumstances—by the Minister;

"control" means—

(a) in relation to a particular class of animals, any of the following:

(i) destroy the animals and their warrens, burrows, nests or harbours (whether occupied or not);

(ii) reduce the extent to which land is inhabited or subject to infestation by the animals;

(iii) undertake any other prescribed action,

as far as is reasonably achievable;

(b) in relation to a particular class of plants, any of the following:

(i) destroy the plants;

(ii) reduce and inhibit the propagation of the plants;

(iii) prevent the spread of the plants;

(iv) undertake any other prescribed action,

as far as is reasonably achievable;

"council" means a council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1999 ;

"council subsidiary" means a subsidiary established under Schedule 2 of the Local Government Act 1999 ;

"CPI" means the Consumer Price Index (All groups index for Adelaide);

"declared forestry area" means a declared forestry area under section 169B ;

"delivery capacity entitlement" means a delivery capacity entitlement issued under Chapter 7 Part 3 Division 5 ;

"Department" means the administrative unit designated from time to time by the Minister by notice in the Gazette as being the Department primarily responsible for assisting the Minister in the administration of this Act;

"designated commercial forest" means a commercial forest within a declared forestry area;

"designated Minister"—see subsection (9) ;

"dingo" includes an animal that is a cross of a dingo;

"dog fence" means the fence established under the Dog Fence Act 1946 ;

"domestic activity" means an activity undertaken for a domestic purpose;

"domestic partner" means a person who is a domestic partner within the meaning of the Family Relationships Act 1975 , whether declared as such under that Act or not;

"domestic purpose" in relation to the taking of water does not include—

(a) taking water for the purpose of watering or irrigating land, other than land used solely in connection with a dwelling; or

(ab) without limiting paragraph (a) —taking water for the purpose of watering or irrigating more than 0.4 of a hectare of land; or

(b) taking water to be used in carrying on a business (except for the personal use of persons employed in the business);

"domestic wastewater" means—

(a) water used in the disposal of human waste; and

(b) water used for personal washing; and

(d) water used in a swimming pool;

"to drill" in relation to a well means to drill the well or to excavate the well in any other manner and includes to deepen or widen an existing well;

"ecosystem" means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit;

"effluent" means domestic wastewater or industrial wastewater;

"employing authority" means—

(a) unless paragraph (b) applies—the Chief Executive of the Department;

(b) if the Governor thinks fit, a person, or a person holding or acting in an office or position, designated by proclamation made for the purposes of this definition;

"ERD Court" means the Environment, Resources and Development Court established under the Environment, Resources and Development Court Act 1993 ;

"estuary" means a partially enclosed coastal body of water that is permanently, periodically, intermittently or occasionally open to the sea within which there is a measurable variation in salinity due to the mixture of seawater with water derived from or under the land;

"floodplain" means any area of land adjacent to a watercourse, lake or estuary that is periodically inundated with water and includes any other area designated as a floodplain—

(a) by an NRM plan; or

(b) by a Development Plan under the Development Act 1993 ;

"forest vegetation" means trees and other forms of forest vegetation including—

(a) roots or other parts of the trees or other forest vegetation that lie beneath the soil; and

(b) leaves, branches or other parts or products of trees or other forest vegetation;

"forest water licence" means a licence granted by the Minister under Chapter 7 Part 5A ;

"general rate" means a general rate under section 152 of the Local Government Act 1999 ;

"general statutory duty" means the duty under Chapter 2 Part 2 ;

"industrial wastewater" means water (not being domestic wastewater) that has been used in the course of carrying on a business (including water used in the watering or irrigation of plants) that has been allowed to run to waste or has been disposed of or has been collected for disposal;

"infrastructure" includes—

(a) artificial lakes;

(b) dams or reservoirs;

(d) bridges and culverts;

(e) buildings or structures;

(f) roads;

(g) pipes, machinery or other plant or equipment;

(h) any device;

(i) any item or thing used in connection with—

(i) testing, monitoring, protecting, enhancing or re-establishing any natural resource, or any aspect of a natural resource;

(ii) any other program or initiative associated with the management of a natural resource;

(j) other items brought within the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

"intensive farming" means a method of keeping animals in the course of carrying on the business of primary production in which the animals are usually confined to a small space or area and usually fed by hand or by a mechanical means;

"Interstate Water Entitlements Transfer Scheme" or "IWETS" means—

(a) a scheme for the transfer of entitlements between 2 or more States under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement; or

(b) an agreement between South Australia and 1 or more other States or a Territory entered into under Chapter 7 Part 3 Division 6 ;

"keep in captivity"—an animal is kept in captivity if it is held in a building or enclosure with security measures designed to ensure that the animal cannot escape (other than in circumstances that cannot be reasonably foreseen and guarded against);

"lake" means a natural lake, pond, lagoon, wetland or spring (whether modified or not) and includes—

(a) part of a lake; or

(b) a body of water designated as a lake—

(i) by an NRM plan; or

(ii) by a Development Plan under the Development Act 1993 ;

"land" means, according to the context—

(a) land as a physical entity, including land under water; or

(b) any legal estate or interest in, or right in respect of, land,

and includes any building or structure fixed to land;

"LGA" means the Local Government Association of South Australia;

"licensed well driller" means a person who holds a licence under Chapter 7 to drill wells;

"management agreement" means an agreement under Chapter 11 ;

"Mining Act" means any of the following:

(a) the Mining Act 1971 , the Opal Mining Act 1995 , the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 or the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 ;

(b) the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Act 1975 , the Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) Act 1982 or the Stony Point (Liquids Project) Ratification Act 1981 ;

(c) any other Act relating to the production, recovery, management, conveyance or delivery of minerals brought within the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

"Mount Lofty Ranges Watershed" means the area prescribed by regulation for the purposes of this definition;

"Murray-Darling Basin" has the same meaning as in the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth;

"Murray-Darling Basin Agreement" means the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, a copy of which is set out in Schedule 1 of the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth, as in force from time to time;

"native animal" means a protected animal within the meaning of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 and any species included in Schedule 10 of that Act, but does not include a dingo or any other animal of a class excluded from the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

"native vegetation" has the same meaning as in the Native Vegetation Act 1991 ;

"natural resources" includes—

(a) soil;

(b) water resources;

(d) native vegetation, native animals and other native organisms;

(e) ecosystems;

"NRM authority" means a regional NRM board or an NRM group;

"NRM Fund" means the Natural Resources Management Fund established under Chapter 5 Part 2 Division 1 ;

"NRM group" means a body established under Chapter 3 Part 4 and includes a body appointed under that Part to be an NRM group under this Act;

"NRM plan" means a plan under Chapter 4 ;

"NRM region" or "region" means a Natural Resources Management Region established under Chapter 3 Part 3 Division 1 ;

"NRM Register" means the register established under section 226 ;

"NRM water levy" means—

(a) a water levy; or

(b) a special purpose water levy;

"occupier" of land means a person who has, or is entitled to, possession or control of the land (other than a mortgagee in possession unless the mortgagee has assumed active management of the land), or who is entitled to use the land as the holder of native title in the land;

"OC-NRM levy" means a levy declared under section 97 ;

"owner" of land means—

(a) if the land is unalienated from the Crown—the Crown; or

(b) if the land is alienated from the Crown by grant in fee simple—the owner (at law or in equity) of the estate in fee simple; or

(c) if the land is held from the Crown by lease or licence—the lessee or licensee, or a person who has entered into an agreement to acquire the interest of the lessee or licensee; or

(d) if the land is held from the Crown under an agreement to purchase—the person who has the right to purchase; or

(e) a person who holds native title in the land; or

(f) a person who has arrogated to himself or herself (lawfully or unlawfully) the rights of an owner of the land,

and includes an occupier of the land and any other person of a prescribed class included within the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

"pastoral land" means land of the Crown that is subject to a pastoral lease;

"peak body" means—

(a) the LGA; and

(b) Primary Producers SA Incorporated; and

"plant" means vegetation of any species and includes the seeds and any part of any such vegetation, or any other form of plant material, but does not include any vegetation or material excluded from the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

"prescribed lake" means a lake declared to be a prescribed lake under section 125 ;

"prescribed watercourse" means a watercourse declared to be a prescribed watercourse under section 125 ;

"prescribed water resource" includes underground water to which access is obtained by prescribed wells;

"prescribed well" means a well declared to be a prescribed well under section 125 ;

"private land" means land that is not—

(a) dedicated land within the meaning of the Crown Land Management Act 2009 ; or

(b) unalienated land of the Crown; or

(d) vested in or under the care, control or management of a council;

"public authority" means—

(a) a Minister; or

(b) an agency or instrumentality of the Crown; or

"record" means—

(a) a documentary record; or

(b) a record made by an electronic, electro-magnetic, photographic or optical process; or

"regional authorised officer" means a person appointed as a regional authorised officer under Chapter 3 Part 6 ;

"regional local government association" means a regional association established by the local government sector (whether under section 43 of the Local Government Act 1999 or under the Associations Incorporation Act 1985 , or in some other manner recognised by the regulations for the purposes of this definition);

"regional NRM board" means a body established under Chapter 3 Part 3 and includes a body appointed under that Part to be a regional NRM board under this Act;

"regional NRM levy" means a levy imposed by a council under section 95 ;

"regional NRM plan" means a plan prepared by a regional NRM board under Chapter 4 Part 2 ;

"repealed Act" means an Act repealed under Schedule 4 Part 17 ;

"River Murray" has the same meaning as in the River Murray Act 2003 ;

"River Murray Protection Area" means a River Murray Protection Area under the River Murray Act 2003 ;

"road reserve" means land set aside for the purposes of a public road, whether or not it is being used for that purpose;

"SA Water" means the South Australian Water Corporation;

"Schedule 3A entitlement" means—

(a) a water licence; or

(b) a water access entitlement (or part of a water access entitlement); or

(ba) a forest water licence; or

(d) a delivery capacity entitlement;

"security interest" means a mortgage or charge over, or other arrangement of a kind prescribed by the regulations in respect of, a water management authorisation or a forest water licence that secures the payment of a debt or the performance of some other obligation under a contract or other legally enforceable arrangement;

"sell" includes—

(a) barter, offer or attempt to sell;

(b) receive for sale;

(d) cause or permit to be sold or offered for sale;

(e) send, forward or deliver for sale;

(f) dispose of by any method for valuable consideration;

(g) dispose of to an agent for sale on consignment;

(h) sell for the purposes of resale;

"site use approval" means a site use approval issued under Chapter 7 Part 3 Division 4 ;

"site value" means site value as defined in the Valuation of Land Act 1971 ;

"special purpose water levy" means a levy declared under section 103 ;

"spouse"—a person is the spouse of another if they are legally married;

"State" includes any part of the sea—

(a) that is within the limits of the State; or

(b) that is from time to time included in the coastal waters of the State by virtue of the Coastal Waters (State Powers) Act 1980 of the Commonwealth;

"State authorised officer" means a person appointed as a State authorised officer under Chapter 3 Part 6 ;

"State NRM Plan" means the plan prepared under Chapter 4 Part 1 ;

"stormwater infrastructure" means infrastructure established for the purposes of stormwater management;

"surface water" means—

(a) water flowing over land (except in a watercourse)—

(i) after having fallen as rain or hail or having precipitated in any other manner; or

(ii) after rising to the surface naturally from underground;

(b) water of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) that has been collected in a dam or reservoir;

(d) water in a watercourse if the watercourse, or a particular part of a watercourse, is declared by proclamation under subsection (13) to constitute surface water for the purposes of this Act;

"surface water prescribed area" means a part of the State declared to be a surface water prescribed area under section 125 (including, if relevant, any stormwater infrastructure within that area);

"to take" water from a water resource includes—

(a) to take water by pumping or syphoning the water;

(b) to stop, impede or divert the flow of water over land (whether in a watercourse or not) for the purpose of collecting the water;

(ba) to stop, impede or direct the flow of water in any stormwater infrastructure for the purpose of collecting the water, or to extract any water from stormwater infrastructure;

(d) to release water from a lake;

(e) to permit water to flow under natural pressure from a well;

(f) to permit stock to drink from a watercourse, a natural or artificial lake, a dam or reservoir;

(g) to cause, permit or suffer any activity referred to in a preceding paragraph;

"underground water" means—

(a) water occurring naturally below ground level;

(b) water pumped, diverted or released into a well for storage underground;

"vehicle" includes any—

(a) vessel or craft;

(b) plant or equipment designed to be moved or operated by a driver;

"water access entitlement"—see section 146(2) ;

"water allocation"—

(a) in respect of a water licence, means an allocation of water under the terms of the licence in accordance with Chapter 7 Part 3 Division 2 and includes, if the context so requires, a component or part of such an allocation, or the water available in connection with the entitlement;

(ab) in respect of an Interstate Water Entitlements Transfer Scheme, means an allocation of water under the terms of that scheme and the provisions of Chapter 7 Part 3 Division 2 and includes, if the context so requires, a component or part of such an allocation, or the water available in connection with the entitlement;

(b) in respect of water taken pursuant to an authorisation under section 128 means the maximum quantity of water that can be taken and used pursuant to the authorisation;

"water allocation plan" means a water allocation plan prepared by a regional NRM board under Chapter 4 Part 2 ;

"watercourse" means a river, creek or other natural watercourse (whether modified or not) in which water is contained or flows whether permanently or from time to time and includes—

(a) a dam or reservoir that collects water flowing in a watercourse;

(b) a lake through which water flows;

(c) a channel (but not a channel declared by regulation to be excluded from the ambit of this definition) into which the water of a watercourse has been diverted;

(d) part of a watercourse;

(e) an estuary through which water flows;

(f) any other natural resource, or class of natural resource, designated as a watercourse for the purposes of this Act by an NRM plan;

"water levy" means a levy declared under section 101 ;

"water licence" means a licence granted by the Minister under section 146 ;

"water management authorisation" means—

(a) a water licence; or

(b) a water allocation; or

(d) a water resource works approval; or

(e) a delivery capacity entitlement;

"The Water Register"—see section 226(1a) and (1b) ;

"water resource" means a watercourse or lake, surface water, underground water, stormwater (to the extent that it is not within a preceding item) and effluent;

"water resource works approval" means a water resource works approval issued under Chapter 7 Part 3 Division 3 ;

"well" means—

(a) an opening in the ground excavated for the purpose of obtaining access to underground water;

(b) an opening in the ground excavated for some other purpose but that gives access to underground water;

"wetland" means an area that comprises land that is permanently or periodically inundated with water (whether through a natural or artificial process) where the water may be static or flowing and may range from fresh water to saline water and where the inundation with water influences the biota or ecological processes (whether permanently or from time to time) and includes any other area designated as a wetland—

(a) by an NRM plan; or

(b) by a Development Plan under the Development Act 1993 ,

but does not include—

(c) a dam or reservoir that has been constructed by a person wholly or predominantly for the provision of water for primary production or human consumption; or

(d) an area within an estuary or within any part of the sea; or

(e) an area excluded from the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

"works" means—

(a) dams or reservoirs;

(b) wells or channels;

(d) drains, machinery or other plant or equipment;

(e) other forms of structures or apparatus;

(f) other items brought within the ambit of this definition by the regulations,

whether on, above or under land, but does not include any items excluded from the ambit of this definition by the regulations.

(2) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) a reference to land in the context of the physical entity includes all aspects of land, including the soil, organisms and other components and ecosystems that contribute to the physical state and environmental, social and economic value of land;

(b) a reference to a water resource includes all aspects of a water resource, including the water, organisms and other components and ecosystems that contribute to the physical state and environmental, social and economic value of a water resource.

(3) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) a reference to a watercourse is a reference to either—

(i) the bed and banks of the watercourse (as they may exist from time to time); or

(ii) the water for the time being within the bed and banks of the watercourse (as they may exist from time to time),

or both, depending on the context;

(b) a reference to a lake is a reference to either—

(i) the bed, banks and shores of the lake (as they may exist from time to time); or

(ii) the water for the time being held by the bed, banks and shores of the lake (as they may exist from time to time),

or both, depending on the context.

(4) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to an estuary may include, according to the context, a reference to—

(a) any ecosystem processes or biodiversity associated with an estuary;

(b) estuarine habitats adjacent to an estuary.

(5) A reference in this Act to varying a water management authorisation (in any of its forms) includes a reference to varying the conditions attached to the particular water management authorisation.

(6) The conditions of an authorisation or permit under this Act may be varied by the addition, substitution or deletion of 1 or more conditions.

(7) For the purposes of this Act, native vegetation is cleared (or would be cleared) if the relevant activity constitutes (or would constitute) clearance of the native vegetation under the Native Vegetation Act 1991 .

(8) A regulation, NRM plan or Development Plan may make a designation for the purposes of a definition under this section by the use of a map or maps prescribed by the regulation or included in the plan (as the case may be).

(9) For the purposes of this Act, a "designated Minister" is a Minister who is primarily responsible for any of the following:

(a) regional affairs;

(b) primary industries;

(d) mineral resources;

(e) local government;

(f) urban or regional planning;

(g) aboriginal affairs;

(h) economic development;

(i) tourism;

(j) the River Murray,

as designated by the Premier from time to time for the purposes of this provision.

(10) For the purposes of this Act, a person is an "associate" of another if—

(a) they are partners; or

(b) one is a spouse, domestic partner, parent or child of another; or

(c) they are both trustees or beneficiaries of the same trust, or one is a trustee and the other is a beneficiary of the same trust; or

(d) one is a body corporate or other entity (whether inside or outside Australia) and the other is a director or member of the governing body of the body corporate or other entity; or

(e) one is a body corporate or other entity (whether inside or outside Australia) and the other is a person who has a legal or equitable interest in 5 per cent or more of the share capital of the body corporate or other entity; or

(f) they are related bodies corporate within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth; or

(g) a chain of relationships can be traced between them under any one or more of the above paragraphs.

(11) For the purposes of subsection (10) , a "beneficiary" of a trust includes an object of a discretionary trust.

(12) The Governor may, from time to time as the Governor thinks fit, vary or revoke a proclamation made for the purposes of the definition of "employing authority", or make a new proclamation for the purposes of that definition.

(13) The Governor may—

(a) by proclamation, declare a watercourse, or a part of a watercourse, to constitute surface water for the purposes of this Act;

(b) by subsequent proclamation or proclamations, vary or revoke a proclamation under paragraph (a) .

(14) A proclamation under subsection (13) will have effect according to its terms.

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