Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FEDERAL MAGISTRATES REGULATIONS 2000 2000 NO. 102

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 2000 NO. 102

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Federal Magistrates Act 1999

Federal Magistrates Regulations 2000

Subsection 120(1) of the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the Governor-General to make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Subsection 120(3) of the Act states that the regulations may make provision for or in relation

to:

(a) fees to be paid in respect of proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court and/or in

respect to the service or the execution of process in the Federal Magistrates Court by officers of the Federal Magistrates Service;

(b) exemptions from those fees;

(c) the waiver, remission or refund of those fees.

The purpose of the Federal Magistrates Fees Regulations 2000 (the Regulations) is to prescribe the fees to be paid in respect of proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court, the service and the execution of process of the Federal Magistrates Court by officers of the Federal Magistrates Court, exemptions from those fees and the waiver, remission or refund of those fees, and to provide a mechanism for biennial fee increases.

Similar fee regimes exist under for Family Court proceedings under the Family Law Regulations 1984 and for Federal Court proceedings under the Federal Court of Australia Regulations 1978. Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment. The Regulations commence on 22 June 2000.

Attachment

Federal Magistrates Regulations 2000

Regulations 1, 2 and 3 provide the name of the regulations, their commencement date and definitions respectively.

Regulation 4 provides that the fees specified in Schedule 1 are payable for an action of the Federal Magistrates Court or an officer or other person acting on behalf of the Federal Magistrates Court.

Regulation 5 prescribes when fees must be paid.

Regulation 6 makes clear that, unless otherwise ordered, the person for whom the particular service is provided or document is filed is liable to pay the relevant fee, and that an applicant is liable to pay a mediation fee.

Regulation 7 specifies the circumstances in which fees are not payable.

Regulation 8 provides categories of person who are exempt from paying fees, namely, those who have been granted legal aid, holders of various social security concession cards, prison inmates, children and recipients of various social security benefits.

Regulation 9 empowers a Registrar or other authorised officers (defined in regulation 3) to waive the payment of fees on the grounds of financial hardship.

Regulation 10 empowers a Registrar or other authorised officer to defer the payment of fees on the grounds of urgency.

Regulation 11 provides that a document must not be filed or a service provided unless the relevant fee is paid, waived or deferred, and allows the Court, a Federal Magistrate or a Registrar to order that proceedings are not to take place and to vacate a hearing date if a setting down fee is not paid or waived.

Regulation 12 enables refunds of fees to be given in certain circumstances.

Regulation 13 allows the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to review a decision regarding the waiver of fees.

Regulations 14 and 15 provide for the increase of fees, on each biennial anniversary of 1 July 2000, based on increases in the consumer price index.

Schedule 1 sets out the actual fees payable for filing documents, the setting down for final hearing of an application, mediation by a court officer and the service and execution of process. Some fees will not apply to certain proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975, the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986.


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