Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT CHARGE AMENDMENT (2016 MEASURES NO. 1) REGULATION 2016 (F2016L00511)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Regulation 2016

Issued by Authority of the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport

Subject -          Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985

                        Interstate Road Transport Charge Regulations 2009

The Interstate Road Transport Act 1985 and Interstate Road Transport Regulations 1986 provide for the registration of vehicles under the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme (FIRS).  The Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985 and the Interstate Road Transport Charge Regulations 2009 (the Principal Regulations) provide for the registration charges for those vehicles.

FIRS is a voluntary national registration scheme for heavy vehicles engaged solely in interstate trade.  The states and territories administer FIRS on behalf of the Australian Government.  All revenue from the charges for FIRS vehicles is distributed to the states and territories according to a distribution formula tied to road use in each jurisdiction.

Section 7 of the Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985 provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of section 5 of the Act.  Section 5(3) provides that the amount of charge is the amount calculated in accordance with regulations made by the Governor-General under section 7.

The Interstate Road Transport Charge Regulations 2009 (the Principal Regulations) provide for the calculation of heavy vehicle registration charges for FIRS vehicles.  The Regulation amends the Principal Regulations to introduce a new method for calculating charges for vehicles registered in the 2016-17 financial year.

The new method of calculating charges for vehicles registered under FIRS consists of a road component and a regulatory component.  The road component is designed to recover expenditure relating to roads that can be attributed to the use of heavy vehicles either generally or particularly.  The regulatory component is designed to recover expenditure related to the regulation of heavy vehicles.  The regulatory component will be paid to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator by the states and territories.

These amendments are in accordance with the 2014 Heavy Vehicle Charges Determination (2014 Determination).  Through the Transport and Infrastructure Council, transport Ministers agreed that the 2014 Determination would come into effect from 1 July 2016.  The 2014 Determination revises national charges for heavy vehicles and trailers.  These changes must be applied to the charges for vehicles registered under FIRS.

The 2014 Determination was developed by the National Transport Commission and agreed by the Transport and Infrastructure Council.  A Council of Australian Governments Regulation Impact Statement was completed by the National Transport Commission and approved by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR# 16170) as part of the development of the 2014 Determination.

An extensive public consultation process was undertaken on the 2014 Determination.  This process involved written submissions, provision of industry briefings and a series of focus group consultations with industry, state and territory governments, peak industry associations and freight customers.  As a result of the consultations, the National Transport Commission made a number of changes to its recommendations, which were discussed with industry and governments.

Details of the Regulation are set out in the Attachment.

The Regulation is a disallowable legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

The Regulation commences on 1 July 2016 to align with the national system of heavy vehicle registration charges.

ATTACHMENT

Details of the proposed Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Regulation 2016

Section 1 - Name of Regulation

This section provides that the title of the Regulation is the Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Regulation 2016.

Section 2 - Commencement

This section provides for the Regulation to commence on 1 July 2016.

Section 3 - Authority

This section provides that the Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Regulation 2016 is made under the Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985.

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

Item [1] -regulation 7B

The heading of regulation 7B is repealed and replaced with:

7B  Registration charges--2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 financial years

Item [2] - regulation 7B

The previous regulation 7B set out the method for calculating the amount of charge for the registration of a vehicle for any financial year after 30 June 2013.  This item amends regulation 7B to apply the regulation to a full year of registration that begins during the 2013-14, 2014-15 or the 2015-16 financial year.

Item [3] - after regulation 7B

A new regulation 7C is inserted after regulation 7B.  Regulation 7C sets out the amount of charge for the registration of a vehicle for a full year of registration that begins on 1 July 2016 and throughout the 2016-17 financial year.  The formula for calculating the charge is:

Road component plus Regulatory component

Regulation 7C sets out of the definitions of both road component and regulatory component.  The road component is designed to recover expenditure relating to roads that can be attributed to the use of heavy vehicles either generally or particularly.  The regulatory component is designed to recover expenditure related to the regulation of heavy vehicles, and paid to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

The tables contained in subregulation 7C(2) to (4) set out the amounts of the road component for load carrying vehicles, trailers and buses.  The tables contained in subregulation 7C(5) to (7) set out the amounts of the regulatory component for load carrying vehicles, trailers and buses.