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INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS (NOTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1999 (NO. 1) 1999 NO. 224

Statutory Rules 1999 No. 224

(Issued by the authority of the Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business)

Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989

Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 1)

Authority

Section 111 of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing (inter alia) 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.

Purpose

The purpose of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations is to amend the Principal Regulations to make changes to fees for secondary notification assessments, including lowering some fees and allowing others to be waived.

Context

The Act requires introducers of chemicals to make a 'secondary notification' of a chemical that has already been assessed if there is a change in circumstances as set out in s.64 (eg the function or the use of the chemical has changed). At present there is only one fee for all assessments following a secondary notification, no matter what chemical is being notified. That fee is contained in Schedule 2 of the Regulations, and is currently set at $6,480.

The Regulations establish a 3 tiered fee structure for assessments following a secondary notification. Assessment of new chemicals remains at $6,480, except for synthetic polymers of low concern (PLCs), for which a new fee of $2,800 applies. The assessment fee following the secondary notification of an existing chemical is set at zero. 'Existing chemical' refers to any chemical that is already listed in the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances.

The fee for an original assessment of a PLC was only $3,300, but by an apparent oversight, the fee for a secondary notification assessment remained at $6,480. The new fee structure sets the assessment fee following a secondary notification of a PLC at a level slightly lower than the original assessment.

In the case of existing chemicals, it is consistent with Government policy not to charge fees for secondary notification assessment of such chemicals. Following the passage of amendments to the Act in 1997, funding for assessment of existing chemicals was achieved through a company registration scheme, under which an annual fee is paid to register, and fees for specific applications for existing chemicals were abolished. However, by an apparent oversight, fees for secondary notification assessment of existing chemicals were retained. The new fee structure removes fees following secondary notification of existing chemicals and thus corrects an anomaly.

Other amendments allow the Director of Chemicals Notification and Assessment to waive or remit fees for secondary notification of existing chemicals that have already been paid or were payable before the commencement of the new fee structure. There are a small number of cases of secondary notification of existing chemicals where it is considered that fees should be waived or remitted, given the policy intent of the amendments to the Act in 1997. In this regard, an amendment has been made under s. 110(5) of the Act, under which regulations may be made enabling the Director to waive or remit fees.

Application

Item 2 of Schedule 1 inserts a new subregulation 13(4) establishing a new fee structure for secondary notification assessments. Item 3 inserts a new subregulation 15(6) allowing the Director to remit fees. for secondary notification of existing chemicals that have already been paid. Item 4 inserts a new regulation 16A to allow waiver of fees that would otherwise be payable for a secondary notification of an existing chemical.

Details of the Regulations are in the attachment.

The Regulations commence on gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS (NOTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1999 (No. 1)

Regulation 1

Regulation 1 sets out the name of the regulations.

Regulation 2

Regulation 2 provides for the commencement of the regulations on gazettal.

Regulation 3

Regulation 3 is a formal provision, providing that the Industrial Chemical (Notification and Assessment) Regulations (the Regulations) are amended as set out by Schedule 1 to the regulations.

Schedule 1 - Amendments of Industrial Chemical (Notification and Assessment) Regulations

Item 1

Item 1 of Schedule 1 amends the Regulations by substituting a new name of the Regulations. The name becomes the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990, in line with current naming practice.

Item 2

Item 2 of Schedule 1 inserts a new subregulation 13(4) establishing a new fee structure for secondary notification assessments. The fees are as follows:

*       the fee for secondary notification of a chemical listed on the Inventory (existing chemical) is set at zero (paragraph (c));

*       the fee following secondary notification of a new chemical that is a synthetic polymer of low concern is set at $2,800 (paragraph (b));

*       the fee for other cases of secondary notification is set at $6,480 (paragraph (a)).

Item 3

Item 3 inserts a new subregulation 15(6) allowing the Director to remit fees for secondary notification of existing chemicals, in whole or in part, paid before the commencement of the subregulation.

Item 4

Item 4 inserts a new regulation 16A to allow the Director to waive fees that would otherwise be payable for a secondary notification of an existing chemical.

Item 5

Item 5 omits the existing fee for a secondary notification assessment contained in Schedule 2, item 14 of the Regulations.