Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS (NOTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2006 (NO. 2) (SLI NO 155 OF 2006)

Explanatory STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 155

 

Minute No. 17 of 2006 - Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing

 

Subject -     Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989

 

                   Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 2)

 

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

 

The object of the Act is to provide for a national system of notification and assessment of industrial chemicals for the purposes of aiding in the protection of the Australian people and the environment; providing information and making recommendations about industrial chemicals to Commonwealth, State and Territory bodies; giving effect to Australia's obligations under international agreements; and collecting statistics in relation to these chemicals.

 

Subsection 110(1) of the Act provides, in part, that the regulations may prescribe fees for specified services.  Specifically, paragraphs 110(1)(ua) and 110(1)(ub) specify that the regulations may prescribe registration and renewal fees. Subsections 110(2) to (6) set out details for when fees are due, the payment schedules and other arrangements. The fees for services defined in section 110 are prescribed in the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990.

 

The Regulations increase registration charges, which are one component of the overall fees and charges structure for the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS), for 2006-07. Registration charges only apply to those importers or manufacturers whose value of relevant chemicals exceeds $500,000 in a registrable year.  

 

NICNAS registration charges are increased by 3.9% (rounded to the nearest dollar) commencing 1 July 2006.  This increase is consistent with the increase in other NICNAS fees and new chemical charges for 2006-07 approved by the Executive Council on 13 April 2006.  The last increases to NICNAS registration charges were made on 1 July 2004 and the proposed increase would enable the NICNAS to continue to meet the Government's requirement that it operate on a full cost-recovery basis. 

 

All increases in NICNAS fees and charges, including CPI/WCI indexation, are agreed in consultation with NICNAS's Industry Government Consultative Committee (IGCC).  The IGCC supports the proposed 3.9% increase.

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

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

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003

 

The Regulations commence on 1 July 2006.

 

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


ATTACHMENT  

 

Details of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 2)

 

Regulation 1 provides for the Regulations to be referred to as the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 2).

 

Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence on 1 July 2006.

 

Regulation 3 provides for Schedule 1 to amend the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990 (the Principal Regulations).

 

Schedule 1 -- Amendments

The amendments relate to NICNAS registration charges and are only applicable to those importers and manufacturers whose value of relevant industrial chemicals exceeds $500,000 in any registrable year.  The registration charge has two tiers for cost recovery arrangements consistent with the cost recovery policy of user pays.  The first is referred to as Tier 2 and relates to an annual import or manufacture value of $500,000 to $4,999,999.  The second is referred to as Tier 3 and relates to all values above $5,000,000.  The NICNAS registration cycle is from 1 September of one year to 31 August the next year. 

 

Item [1]

This item amends subregulation 11AB(1) of the Principal Regulations to increase the registration charge by 3.9% (rounded to the nearest dollar) to $1099 for Tier 2.  This amount would apply in relation to a registration year that begins on or after 1 September 2006. 

 

Item [2]

This item amends subregulation 11AB(2) of the Principal Regulations to increase the registration charge by 3.9% (rounded to the nearest dollar) to $8186 for Tier 3.  This amount would apply in relation to a registration year that begins on or after 1 September 2006. 

 

Item [3]

This item amends the note to regulation 11AB of the Principal Regulations to specify the date on which the new registration charges come into effect, namely at the commencement of the next NICNAS registration cycle.  Therefore, the registration charges introduced through proposed items [1] and [2] above would apply in relation to the registration year that begins on or after 1 September 2006.

 

The previous charge, of $1058 for Tier 2 and $7879 for Tier 3, continues to apply in relation to the registration year that began on 1 September 2005.  These charges remained unchanged from the registration year that began on 1 September 2004. 

 

 

 

 


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