Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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MARINE NAVIGATION (REGULATORY FUNCTIONS) LEVY AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2004 (NO. 1) 2004 NO. 136

The Marine Navigation (Regulatory Functions) Levy is imposed on trading ships using Australian ports to recover the costs of ship safety and regulatory functions provided on behalf of the Australian Government by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (the Authority).

Subsection 8(1) of the Marine Navigation (Regulatory Functions) Levy Act 1991 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of subsection 7(2) of the Act. Subsection 7(2) provides the amount of levy to be paid, calculated on the ship's tonnage, which may be varied by regulation.

Regulation 4 of the Marine Navigation (Regulatory Functions) Levy Regulations 1992 prescribes the following levy rates:

(a) 20.5 cents for each of the first 5,000 tons of the ship's tonnage (paragraph 7(2)(a) of the Act);

(b) 20 cents for each ton by which the ship's tonnage is more than 5,000 tons but not more than 20,000 tons (paragraph 7(2)(b) of the Act);

(c) 17 cents for each ton by which the ship's tonnage is more than 20,000 tons but not more than 50,000 tons (paragraph 7(2)(c) of the Act);

(d) 15.5 cents for each ton by which the ship's tonnage is more than 50,000 tons (paragraph 7(2)(d) of the Act).

The purpose of the regulations is to amend the Marine Navigation (Regulatory Functions) Levy Regulations to decrease the rates of levy prescribed in Regulation 4(a) and (b). The adjustment is primarily a consequence of the forecast of increased shipping activity in Australian waters mainly from higher commodity exports over the next two financial years, which will result in levy revenue growth. Efficiency gains in the delivery of the Authority's ship safety and regulatory functions also will contribute to reduced levy demand.

Subsection 8(2) of the Act provides that the regulations must not prescribe an amount for the purposes of paragraph 7(2)(a), (b), (c) or (d) that increases the amount applicable under that paragraph by more than 15% in any period of 12 consecutive months.

The regulations provide for a reduction of 15% in the Marine Navigation (Regulatory Functions) Levy collected from trading ships using Australian ports.

Details of the regulations are:

Regulation 1 provides that the regulations are named the Marine Navigation (Regulatory Functions) Levy Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 1).

Regulation 2 provides that the regulations commence on 1 July 2004.

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Marine Navigation (Regulatory Functions) Levy Regulations 1992.

Schedule 1 provides for the amounts of levy in Regulation 4 to be as follows:

•       for paragraph 7(2)(a) of the Act from 20.5 cents to 17 cents

•       for paragraph 7(2)(b) of the Act from 20 cents to 17.1 cents