Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 411

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 411

Issued by the authority of the Minister for the Environment, Sport and Territories

National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975

National Parks and Wildlife Regulations (Amendment)

The purpose of these Regulations is to amend the National Parks and Wildlife Regulations (the Principal Regulations), which are in force under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 (the Act).

Sections 69 and 71 of the Act provide for the making of regulations by the Governor-General Under subsection 69(1), regulations may be made for and in relation to giving effect to an agreement specified in the Schedule to the Act, and under subsection 71(1), regulations may be made prescribing an 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 Principal Regulations came into force in 1977 and have been amended on several occasions in the past, most recently in October 1992, by Statutory Rules 1992 No. 319.

These new amendments to the Principal Regulations have two major functions:

•       to implement recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances (the Committee) concerning the amendments made in October 1992; and

•       to make provision for collection and enforcement of parking fees in parks and reserves declared under the Act.

Implementation of the Committee's Recommendations

The Committee raised concerns about three aspects of the amendments made in October 1992, namely:

•       their complexity as a result of the fact that cross-references to individual regulations were not easy to comprehend;

•       the insufficient time provided for an owner to claim an animal which had been impounded after being found straying in a park or reserve; and

•       the lack of Parliamentary oversight of declarations made by the Minister and the Director of National Parks and Wildlife (the Director), respectively, under regulations 48 and 58.

Those concerns of the Committee are addressed by the amendments contained in regulations 2, 4, 5 and 6, as discussed below.

Regulation 2 provides new wording for regulation 3 (Application of these Regulations in certain circumstances) of the Principal Regulations, in order to make subregulations 3(1), (2) and (3) more readily comprehensible, without altering their meaning. The three subregulations contain lists of provisions that are specified to be not applicable to a certain place or to certain persons. The replacement wording identifies each of those provisions by the tide of the regulation, subregulation or paragraph, as well as by the number.

Regulation 4 provides new wording for paragraph (3)(b) and subregulation (7) of regulation 22 (Impounding of animal) of the Principal Regulations in order to provide more time for the owner to claim an animal which has been impounded after being found straying in a park or reserve. The new wording provides that the period of seven days allowed for the owner of an impounded animal to claim it no longer begins on the day of impoundment, as is specified in the Principal Regulations, but on the day that the owner is informed, where that has been possible, or on the clay that an advertisement is published in a local newspaper. An advertisement must be published if it is not possible to identify and inform the owner directly.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 48 (Animals and plants may be declared to be unprotected) of the Principal Regulations by adding subregulations (7), (8) and (9) in order to provide for Parliamentary oversight of a declaration made by the Minister concerning the protected status of an animal or plant, or an act done to a protected animal or plant, and to make provision for publication of the declaration in the Gazette. New subregulation 48(7) provides that, subject to new subregulations 48(8) and (9), such a declaration is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (the Acts Interpretation Act). New subregulation 48(8) provides that paragraph 48(1)(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act does not apply to a declaration, in order to ensure that the full text of a declaration will be published in the Gazette, as is required by subregulations 48(1) and 48(2) of the Principal Regulations. New subregulation 48(9) provides that the Acts Interpretation Act applies to a declaration as if a reference to a notification were a reference to publication in the Gazette. This ensures that a declaration takes effect when it is published in the Gazette, and not before.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 58 (Approved management programs) of the Principal Regulations by adding subregulations (7), (8) and (9) in order to provide for Parliamentary oversight of a declaration made by the Director that a program for the management of wildlife is an approved management program, and to make provision for publication of the declaration in the Gazette. New subregulation 58(7) provides that, subject to new subregulations 58(8) and (9), such a declaration is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act New subregulation 58(8) provides that paragraph 48(1)(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act does not apply to a declaration, in order to ensure that the fill text of a declaration will be published in the Gazette, as is required by subregulation 58(1) of the Principal Regulations. New subregulation 58(9) provides that the Acts Interpretation Act applies to a declaration as if a reference to a notification were a reference to publication in the Gazette. This ensures that a declaration takes effect when it is published in the Gazette, and not before.

Parking Fees in Parks and Reserves

The amendments make provision for the collection and enforcement of parking fees in parks and reserves by establishing, in regulations 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, a system involving parking permits and parking vouchers, as discussed below. The amendments do not impose parking fees. The imposition of parking fees is subject to subsection 17(1A) of the Act, which provides, inter alia, that the Director may determine and impose charges for parking of vehicles in parks and reserves, subject to the approval of the Minister.

Regulation 2 amends subregulations (1) and (2) of regulation 3 (Application of these Regulations in certain circumstances) of the Principal Regulations by adding Part 6 (Parking and mooring -enforcement) to the lists of provisions to which they refer. This means that the new provisions relating to the collection and enforcement of parking fees do not apply in the township of Jabiru (in Kakadu National Park), nor to the Director or a ranger warden acting in the performance of his or her duties, nor to an approved person (as defined in the Principal Regulations).

Regulation 3 amends regulation 9 (Payment of charges) of the Principal Regulations by adding wording to paragraph (1)(a) in order to ensure that parking fees must be paid at or before the time of parking. This is achieved by amending paragraph 9(1)(a) to remove the parking of vehicles from the fist of activities to which it relates. This means that the 14 day period allowed before a charge must be paid does not apply in the case of a charge made for the parking of a vehicle in a park or reserve. Therefore, the parking fee must be paid either before the vehicle is parked or at the time that it is parked.

Regulation 7 changes the heading of Part 6 of the Principal Regulations from "Miscellaneous" to "Parking and Mooring: Enforcement". This allows for the insertion into the Principal Regulations of new regulations 64A, 65A, 65B, 65C, 65D, 65E, 65F, 65G and 65H concerning the payment of parking fees and for their co-location with the provisions, already contained in regulation 65, concerning daily offences in respect of the parking of vehicles or the mooring of vessels.

Regulation 8 inserts new regulation 64A (Interpretation) before regulation 65 in Part 6 of the Principal Regulations. The new regulation 64A provides definitions of four terms used in Part 6, namely, "determined fee", "parking permit", "parking voucher" and "voucher machine".

Regulation 9 provides a new title for regulation 65 (Daily offence - parking or mooring) of the Principal Regulations, namely, "Offences - parking and mooring", and amends regulation 65 to ensure that certain new provisions are not classed as daily offences, subject to a fine in respect of each day or part of a day during which the offence continues. This is achieved by specifying that the following provisions are excluded from the effect of regulation 65: subregulations 65D(1) and (2) (Parking permits and parking vouchers), regulation 65E (Interference with parking permits or parking vouchers), subregulations 65F(1) and (2) (Abuse of voucher machines), and regulations 65G (Unauthorised installation of voucher machines) and 65H (Unauthorised interference with voucher machines).

Regulation 10 inserts new regulations 65A, 65B, 65C, 65D, 65E, 65F, 65G and 65H after regulation 65 in Part 6 of the Principal Regulations, and also inserts a new heading to create a new Part 7 in the Principal Regulations.

The eight new regulations relate to the collection of fees for the parking of vehicles in parking areas, using a system of parking permits and parking vouchers. It should be noted that the term "parking area" is, defined in regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations as a part of a park or reserve designated by signs in accordance with paragraph 41(1)(c) of the Principal Regulations as a part within which the parking of vehicles is permitted.

New regulation 65A (Parking permits) provides that the Director may issue a parking permit which authorises the parking of a vehicle in a specified parking area for a specified time, and that the parking permit takes effect only if it is fixed to a vehicle in accordance with provisions contained in new subregulation 65D(3). It also provides that a person may surrender a parking permit by removing it from the vehicle.

New regulation 65B (Voucher machines and parking vouchers) provides that the Director may authorise in writing the installation of a voucher machine, and that, on payment of the determined fee, a parking voucher issued from a voucher machine authorises the parking of a vehicle in the parking area in which the voucher machine is installed. It further provides that, unless the contrary is established, a voucher machine purporting to be a voucher machine installed with the authority of the Director is taken to have been installed in accordance with this regulation.

New regulation 65C (Parking fees) requires the Director to adjust a voucher machine so that, after payment of the determined fee by a method described on the machine, a parking voucher is issued from the machine.

New regulation 65D (Parking permits and parking vouchers) creates offences in subregulations (1) and (2) in relation to the parking of a vehicle in a parking area in which a voucher machine is installed. It is an offence to park a vehicle in such a parking area unless the parking is authorised either by a parking permit that is attached to the vehicle or by a parking voucher issued from that voucher machine and displayed on the vehicle. It is also an offence to park a vehicle after the end of the period for which parking is authorised either by a parking permit or a parking voucher. The penalty for either offence is 2 penalty units.

It also specifies, in subregulations (3) and (4), the manner in which a parking permit must be attached to a vehicle, or a parking voucher must be displayed on a vehicle, in order to avoid an offence under subregulations (1) and (2).

It provides further, in subregulation (5), that a person has not contravened its provisions if the person has fixed a parking permit or displayed a parking voucher in accordance with subregulation (3) or (4) and taken reasonable steps to ensure that the permit or voucher remains in place.

It also provides, in subregulation (6), that it is a defence to proceedings for an offence concerning the use of a parking permit or a parking voucher if the defendant proves that he or she stopped the vehicle to set down a passenger or a passenger's luggage or to permit a person to enter the vehicle or load on the vehicle a person's luggage or other goods, and the period for which the vehicle stopped was no longer than was reasonable.

New regulation 65E (Interference with parking permits or parking vouchers) prohibits a person from interfering with, or removing, a parking permit or a parking voucher on a vehicle parked in a parking area. The penalty is 2 penalty units. Exemptions are provided in the case of. a person who is the owner of the vehicle; a person to whom the permit was issued or by whom the voucher was obtained; a person on behalf of whom the permit was issued or the voucher obtained., or a person who is acting with the authority of the owner of the vehicle or of the person to whom the permit was issued or by whom the voucher was obtained.

New regulation 65F (Abuse of voucher machines) prohibits a person from operating a voucher machine except in accordance with instructions shown on the machine, inserting in a voucher machine anything except a coin or coins of the denominations specified on the voucher machine, or inserting a bent or damaged coin in a voucher machine. It also prohibits a person from parking in a parking area in which a voucher machine is installed after the end of the period in which the parking of the vehicle is authorised either by a parking permit or by a parking voucher. The penalty for an offence is 2 penalty units.

New regulation 65G (Unauthorised installation of voucher machines) prohibits a person, without the authority of the Director, from installing in or near a parking area a device that is likely to be mistaken for a voucher machine, or from attaching or affixing anything to a voucher machine or standing anything against a voucher machine. The penalty is 2 penalty units.

New regulation 65H (Unauthorised interference with voucher machines) prohibits a person, without the authority of the Director, from removing, moving, damaging, defacing, painting, obscuring, writing on, or otherwise interfering with, a voucher machine. The penalty is 2 penalty units.

The new heading, "Part 7 - Miscellaneous", is inserted after new regulation 65H and before regulation 66 of the Principal Regulations. This creates a new Part 7 in the Principal Regulations which contains all of the provisions from regulation 66 to regulation 77, which were previously in Part 6.

Regulation 11 adds the new offences relating to parking of vehicles to the list of "prescribed offences" contained in subregulation (1) of regulation 66 (Infringement notices) of the Principal Regulations. Regulation 66 of the Principal Regulations provides that where a "prescribed offence" is believed to have been committed an infringement notice may be served, with a penalty of $50. If the penalty is paid within the specified time period, the liability of a person in respect of the offence is discharged and no further proceedings may be taken. "Prescribed offences" are listed in subregulation (1).

The new prescribed offences, added by this amendment, comprise offences against: subregulation 65D(1) or (2) (Parking permits and parking vouchers); regulation 65E (Interference with parking permits or parking vouchers); subregulation 65F(1) or (2) (Abuse of voucher machines); regulation 65G (Unauthorised installation of voucher machines); or regulation 65H (Unauthorised interference with voucher machines).