On 1 September 2025, administrative functions relating to the collection of State mining and petroleum royalties were transferred from the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE) to the Department of Treasury and Finance, RevenueWA.
The Mining Amendment (Transfer of Royalty Administration) Act 2025 (Royalty Transfer Act) amended the Mining Act 1978 (Mining Act) and the Taxation Administration Act 2003 (TAA) to effect the transfer of mineral royalties collection and administration functions to RevenueWA.
The Royalty Transfer Act inserted new Part 5A into the Mining Act, containing the provisions relating to royalty administration and collection. Administration of the new Part was committed to the Minister for Finance, who has delegated certain functions to the Commissioner of State Revenue (Commissioner). Administration of the other Parts of the Mining Act remains with the Minister for Mines and Petroleum.
The amendments to the TAA confer functions relating to the collection and administration of mining royalties under the State Agreement Acts on the Commissioner. They do not vary the substantive provisions of the State Agreements, treat State Agreement Acts as taxation Acts or convert royalties into taxes under the TAA.
The Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act 1967 and the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 and related regulations have not been amended except as outlined below. The Minister for Mines and Petroleum has delegated petroleum royalty collection and administration functions to RevenueWA officers.
The information provided in this circular is not an exhaustive explanation of the Royalty Transfer Act, Royalties Regulations or the Amendment Regulations. For full details, please refer to the Acts and regulations available on the WA Legislation website.
Mining (Royalties) Regulations
Show moreThe Mining (Royalties) Regulations 2025 (Royalties Regulations) have been made to support the amendments to the Mining Act and to transfer the mineral royalties administration function from DMPE to RevenueWA.
The Royalties Regulations are based on the previous royalties-related regulations in Part V, Division 5 of the Mining Regulations 1981 (previous regulations). The Royalty Transfer Act and the Royalties Regulations aimed to achieve a like-for-like transfer of the royalty administration and collection functions for Mining Act royalties. This means the Royalties Regulations do not change the substance or policy of the royalties regime that existed under the previous regulations. No changes have been made to the royalty rates, which are the same as the rates under the previous regulations.
The Royalties Regulations modernise the language of the previous regulations. As these are new regulations, they have been drafted in accordance with Parliamentary Counsel’s current drafting practices, which has led to a restructuring of the regulations. Outdated and irrelevant references have also been updated.
The table in Annexure A explains the purpose of each new Royalties Regulation and lists the equivalent previous regulation. The table also explains the differences between the new Royalties Regulations and the previous regulations. Open the document linked below to see Annexure A.
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Transfer of Royalty Administration) Regulations
Show moreThe previous regulations have been deleted from the Mining Regulations by the Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Transfer of Royalty Administration) Regulations 2025 (Amendment Regulations).
The Amendment Regulations made consequential amendments to the Mining Regulations to support the Royalty Transfer Act and Royalties Regulations, including:
deleting provisions which have been relocated to the Royalties Regulations
clarifying that the Royalties Regulations provide for the process for lodging certain documents and providing notices relating to royalties and
ensuring confidential information relating to royalties is released in accordance with the Mining Act and the Royalties Regulations.
The Amendment Regulations also amended the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2025 and the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2015 to authorise the disclosure of documentary information to RevenueWA officers for the purposes of administering and collecting petroleum royalties.
Print this page
