Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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STEVEDORING INDUSTRY LEVY COLLECTION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 289

Statutory Rules 1994 No. 289

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations

Stevedoring Industry Levy Collection Act 1977

Stevedoring Industry Levy Collection Regulations (Amendment)

The Stevedoring Industry Levy Collection Act 1977 (the Act) is one of four pieces of stevedoring legislation which have been amended by the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Act 1994 (the Amendment Act). The stevedoring legislation establishes and provides for the collection of special levies for the purpose of funding the Stevedoring Industry Finance Committee (the Committee) in meeting its obligations.

The amendments to the stevedoring legislation give effect to recommendations made by the Waterfront Industry Reform Authority and by the Committee, arising from the Government's waterfront reform program, so far as the recommendations relate to levy collection.

As a result of these amendments changes were required to the Stevedoring Industry Levy Collection Regulations (the Regulations) and to two other sets of stevedoring regulations.

The Act is the main instrument for ensuring proper collection of levies.

Section 11 of the Act provides in part that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters to facilitate the collection or recovery of amounts of levy or an amount payable under section 7 of the Act.

Section 7 of the Act makes provision for an amount payable by an employer as a penalty, where the employer has not discharged a liability to pay an amount of levy.

Subsection (3)(1) of the Act defined "Division A waterside worker" and "Division B waterside worker". The distinction between the groups is obsolete and the definitions were replaced, by sections 32 and 33 of the Amendment Act, by a classification and definition of "stevedoring employee".

Regulation 3 of the Regulations prescribed classes of workers for the purposes of the definition of "Division B waterside workers". The regulation was no longer required.

Regulation 5 and regulation 6 of the Regulations specified certain information in relation to loading or unloading of cargo, that a ship's agent must provide to an employer. Subregulation 5(1) provides in part for a prescribed form, (Form 1 contained in the Schedule to the Regulations) to be used by a ship's agent as a statement of this information. The contents of these regulations have been transferred to the Act by section 36 of the Amendment Act and, accordingly the two regulations and Form 1 in the Schedule to the Regulations have been deleted.

Regulation 11 requires an employer to keep full records relating to the employment of waterside workers. Regulation 12 of the Regulations requires an employer to provide employment information to a prescribed person. A penalty is imposed, in each case, on an employer for not complying with these requirements. The penalties, in each case, was expressed in monetary amounts.

The penalties are now expressed in penalty units, in each case.

Amending regulation 3.1 has omitted the definition of "Division B waterside worker" from subregulation 3(1) of the Regulations.

Amending regulation 4.1 has omitted a cross-reference, in regulation 4 of the Regulations, to "subregulation 5(1)" .

Amending regulation 5.1 and regulation 6.1 have omitted regulation 5 and regulation 6 from the Regulations, as the contents of the two regulations have been inserted into the Act by the Amending Act.

Amending subregulation 7.1 and subregulation 8.1 have replaced the existing penalties prescribed in regulation 11 and subregulation 12(1) respectively, of the Regulations, which were expressed as monetary amounts, with the same level of penalties expressed in penalty units.

Amending regulation 9.1, has omitted Form 1 from the Schedule to the Regulations, consequential upon the deletion of regulation 5 from the Regulations.