Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS (NOTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT) AMENDMENT (REGISTRATION CHARGES) REGULATION 2015 (SLI NO 132 OF 2015)

Explanatory STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument No. 132, 2015

 

Subject - Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989

 

Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment (Registration Charges) Regulation 2015

 

The purpose of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment (Registration Charges) Regulation 2015 (the Regulation) is to give effect to increases in NICNAS registration charges for certain classes of introducers of industrial chemicals for 2015-16.

 

The Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 (the Act) establishes the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS), being a national system of notification and assessment of industrial chemicals for the protection of human health and the environment to deliver the safe and sustainable use of chemicals.

 

Section 111 of the Act provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, 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. 

 

Current government policy is that the costs of NICNAS activities are fully recovered from the regulated industry through fees and charges. 

 

Section 80S of the Act provides for the imposition of a registration charge on manufacturers and importers of industrial chemicals.  The charge is used to fund the cost of all NICNAS regulatory activities except fee-for-service activities. The charge payable is calculated according to section 80T of the Act and is based on the value of the relevant industrial chemicals being introduced with the amount to be prescribed by regulation. The Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990 (the Regulations) provides for fees, charges and penalties to be listed in Schedule 2 of the Regulations (regulation 13).  

 

In the 2015-16 Budget, the Government announced a decision to implement reforms to NICNAS, with the cost of implementing such reforms to be recovered from the regulated industry. The Regulation enacts this decision through existing cost recovery arrangements by increasing NICNAS registration charges. All importers and manufacturers of industrial chemicals for commercial purposes are required to register with NICNAS.  Registration requires the payment of an administrative fee, and for introducers of relevant industrial chemicals at a threshold value of $100,000 or above, a registration charge depending on the value of industrial chemicals introduced.

 

The Regulation increases registration charges by approximately 25 per cent per registrant in 2015-16 for companies that introduce relevant industrial chemicals at the threshold value of $100,000 or above. Introducers of relevant industrial chemicals below the $100,000 threshold (approximately 51% of registrants) do not pay a registration charge and are not affected by the proposed Regulation.

 

Details of the regulation are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the proposed regulation may be exercised.

 

The amendment Regulation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 and commenced on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.  

 

 

 

Authority:  Section 111 of the Industrial
                  Chemicals (Notification and
                   Assessment) Act 1989

 

 

 

CONSULTATION

Current government policy is that the costs of NICNAS activities are fully recovered from the regulated industry through fees and charges. The increase in registration charges is consequential to the government approved reforms. The Australian Government has decided that the cost of implementation of reforms will be recovered from industry in line with the Cost Recovery Guidelines (July 2014).

 

A regulation impact statement (RIS) has been prepared for the overall reforms, which estimates savings to business from the NICNAS reforms of $22.7m per year.  The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) determined that the RIS meets best practice consistent with the Australian Government Guide to Regulation (OBPR Ref: 17496).

 

Whilst the government had decided that the cost of implementing the reforms would be recovered from industry, the precise cost recovery mechanism was the subject of a discussion paper released by NICNAS on 26 May 2015 seeking stakeholder comment on options for funding the reforms.  The increases in registration charges reflect the outcome of this consultation.

 

As a RIS was prepared for the overall reforms, no further regulatory impact analysis was undertaken on measures to finance the implementation of the reforms.

 

 

 


ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment (Registration Charges) Regulation 2015

 

Section 1 - Name of regulation

 

This section provides for the regulation to be referred to as the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment (Registration Charges) Regulation 2015.

 

Section 2 - Commencement

 

This section provides for the regulation to commence on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

Section 3 - Authority

 

This section provides that the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment (Registration Charges) Regulation 2015 is made under the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989.

 

Section 4 - Schedule

 

This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

 

Schedule 1 - Amendments

 

Amendments to Schedule 2 of the Regulations

 

Item 1 amends item 21 in the table in Schedule 2 of the regulations, to increase the registration charge for introducers of relevant industrial chemicals to a value equal to or exceeding $100,000 but less than $500,000 in a registration year, from $267.00 to $367.00.

 

Item 2 amends item 22 in the table in Schedule 2 of the regulations, to increase the registration charge for introducers of relevant industrial chemicals to a value equal to or exceeding $500,000 but less than $5,000,000 in a registration year, from $1,842.00 to $2,342.00.

 

Item 3 amends item 23 in the table in Schedule 2 of the regulations, to increase the registration charge for introducers of relevant industrial chemicals to a value equal to or exceeding $5,000,000 in a registration year, from $19,662.00 to $24,662.00.

 

 


 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

 

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment (Registration Charges) Regulation 2015

 

This regulation is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

 

Overview of the regulation

 

The Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990 (the Regulations) require minor amendments relating to changes in registration charges for introducers of relevant industrial chemicals, in order to fund the implementation of reforms, which it is estimated will result in savings to business of $22.7m per year. The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) administers the Regulations and the government has decided that the cost of the reforms will be recovered from the regulated industry.

 

The changes give effect to increases in NICNAS registration charges for certain classes of introducers of industrial chemicals for 2015-16.

 

The increase in registration charges is consequential to government approved reforms, and the majority of implementation costs will be recovered after the regulatory burden has been reduced. Businesses already pay annual registration charges, so there is no additional regulatory burden on stakeholders from this regulatory change. 

 

Human rights implications

These amendments will not make any substantive changes and are consequential with the outcome of a public review of NICNAS.

 

The amendment regulation does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

The amendment regulation is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

Senator The Honourable Fiona Nash Assistant Minister for Health

 

 


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