Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FISHING LEVY AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1999 (NO. 1) 1999 NO. 59

STATUTORY RULES 1999 No. 59

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Fishing Levy Act 1991

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Fishing Levy Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 1)

Section 8 of the Fishing Levy Act 1991 (the Levy Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of section 6 of the Levy Act.

Section 5 of the Levy Act imposes levy in respect of a fishing concession. Section 6 of the Levy Act provides that the amount of levy imposed on the fishing concession is the amount prescribed by regulations.

Section. 168 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of the Management Act. Section 110 of the Management Act provides that the levy imposed by the Levy Act is due and payable at a time or times ascertained in accordance with the regulations made under the Management Act. The Amendment Regulations, like the Principal Regulations, are made under both the Levy Act and the Management Act.

"Fishing Concession" is defined under the Levy Act and the Management Act to mean, among other things, a fishing permit.

The Fishing Levy Amendment Regulations 1999 amend the Fishing Levy Regulations (the Principal Regulations) by inserting provisions which set the amounts of levy payable on fishing concessions that relate to the South East Non-Trawl Fishery (SENTF) for the 1998/99 financial year. The Regulations also set the date when those amounts of levy are due and payable.

The Principal Regulations were drafted without a Part 1,1, which was specifically set aside to allow for the insertion of provisions in relation to the SENTF.

In accordance with government policy AFMA recovers from the holders of fishing concessions (operators) in each fishery:

*       the costs of management attributable to the operator's activities, such as surveillance costs and costs of running the Management Advisory Committee (MAC), (other costs, such as the costs of prosecutions are funded by the Commonwealth); and

*       the fishing industry's contribution to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, to fund research in each fishery. This contribution is known as the research component and is recovered equally from each of the holders of fishing concessions in the fishery and is calculated to be up to 0.25 per cent of the Gross Value of Product of the fishery.

AFMA recovers the management costs and the research component in the form of a levy paid to the Commonwealth under the Levy Act and the Management Act which is then paid on to AFMA under arrangements provided for in the Fisheries Administration Act 1991.

The budgets on which the rates of levy for the SENTF were based were prepared in consultation with the Management Advisory Committee established by AFMA for the fishery.

These budgets have all been approved by AFMA's Board.

The SENTF is managed by means of quota units, each of which allows the holder of the units to take a particular quantity (by weight) of one of the 3 species of fish (quota species) that are subject to quota restrictions in the fishery. AFMA sets the weight of fish that can be taken under a quota unit.

The levy that is payable for 1998199 is calculated by adding two amounts. The first amount is a fixed amount which consists of management costs and research costs components. The second amount is calculated by multiplying the number of permanent units of quota shown in Attachment B on a fishing permit in force at 16 April 1999 (the time of levying), by the rate for the relevant quota species stated in the Regulations.

Details of the Regulations, which commence on gazettal, are set out below:

Regulation 1 provides for the Regulations to be cited as the Fishing Levy Amendment Regulations 1999.

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the principal Regulations.

Schedule 1 Item 1 provides that a Part 11 be inserted after Part 10 in the principal Regulations, and sets out the details of Part 11 in terms of definitions, amounts of levy and when levy must be paid.

Schedule 1 Item 2 provides for the omission of the Note before Regulation 12.1 in the principal Regulations which indicated that Part 11 had been reserved for future use.