Emergency Management Amendment Ordinances

As some community members may be aware, Ordinances are made to account for the unique legal and administrative arrangements of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, to address matters not dealt with by applied Western Australian laws, and to implement Australian Government processes and procedures.

The Department had identified a lack of clarity regarding the practical application of the Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands Emergency Management Ordinances, and as a result, on 22 December 2017 the Christmas Island Emergency Management Amendment Ordinance 2017 and Cocos (Keeling} Islands Emergency Management Amendment Ordinance 2017 came into effect.

The amending Ordinances distinguish between an ‘emergency’ and a ‘state of emergency’, and now clearly define the roles of the Territory Controller and the Administrator of the Territory and when their powers may be exercised.

All Ordinances are available on the Federal Register of Legislation website at legislation.gov.au.

Jadranka Matijas
General Manager A/g
Indian Ocean Territories Branch