Explanatory STATEMENT

 

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 139

 

Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989

 

Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

 

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 Act provides 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; collecting statistics in relation to these chemicals and setting and enforcing national standards for cosmetics introduced into Australia.

 

Subsection 110(1) of the Act provides that the regulations may prescribe fees for specified services. Subsections 110(2) to 110(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 purpose of the Regulations is to increase New Chemical fees and charges (only) for the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) for 2009-10. In general, a new industrial chemical is a chemical that is being introduced into Australia for the first time. It is defined as an industrial chemical that is not listed on the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances, or it is a listed chemical subject to a condition of use. The adequacy of cost recovery aspects of NICNAS are reviewed annually using an industry/government agreed activity based costing model. Based on the anticipated end of year financial position, other NICNAS registration fees and charges will remain unchanged from 2008-09.

 

Consistent with the Government’s cost recovery policy, NICNAS operates on a fee for service basis for the assessment of New Chemicals and applies a levy (NICNAS Registration) across the broader base of industry to fund all other programs such as compliance activities and the assessment of existing chemicals. Without sufficient funding, including adequate operational reserves, NICNAS is unable to satisfactorily discharge its mandatory obligations under the Act.

 

Existing NICNAS New Chemicals fees and charges will be increased by the CPI/WCI indexation of 4.15 per cent (rounded to the nearest dollar) commencing 1 July 2009. The last increases to NICNAS fees and charges were made with effect from 1 July 2008.

 

Full cost recovery of all National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme's (NICNAS) activities is consistent with Government policy for chemicals management in Australia. NICNAS operates on a fee for service for New Chemicals assessments and applies an annual levy (NICNAS Registration) across the broader base of industry to fund all other programs such as compliance activities and the assessment of existing chemicals.

 

The Minister has appointed the NICNAS Industry Government Consultative Committee (IGCC), with membership drawn from peak industry associations, to review the utilisation of resources against NICNAS objectives. While the IGCC has agreed in principle for the application of annual adjustments to NICNAS fees and charges, this is not automatic, but is considered in the context of each year’s revenue, expenditure, performance and efficiencies achieved in the operations of the Scheme, using an industry/government agreed activity based costing model.

 

The fee increase was arrived at by agreement with the NICNAS’s Industry Government Consultative Committee.

 

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 2009.

 

 

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

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

 

Regulation 1 provides for the Regulations to be referred to as the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1).

 

Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence on 1 July 2009.

 

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

 

Schedule 1 - Amendments

 

Item [1]

These fees relate to New Chemical certificate assessment categories.

This item amends regulation 13 of the Principal Regulations to increase the fees by

4.15 per cent (rounded to the nearest dollar).

 

Item [2]

This item substitutes Schedule 2 in the Principal Regulations to increase the New Chemical assessment fees and charges in the Schedule by 4.15 per cent (rounded to the nearest dollar).

 

Fees and charges specified in the Schedule that relate to the following NICNAS Registration activities remain unchanged:

·        administrative fees for new NICNAS Registrations (paragraph 110(1)(ua)); and

·        administrative fees for NICNAS Registration renewals and late renewals (paragraph 110(1)(ub)).