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TELEVISION LICENCE FEES REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1996 NO. 323
EXPLANATORY STATEMENTSTATUTORY RULES 1996 No. 323
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Communications and the Arts
Television Licence Fees Act 1964
Television Licence Fees Regulations (Amendment)
Section 8 of the Television Licence Fees Act 1964 (the Licence Fees Act) provides for the making of regulations for the purposes of the Act.
The Television Licence Fees Regulations 1990 (the Regulations) provide rebates for licence fees payable under the Licence Fees Act.
Rebates are provided under alternative rebate schemes (Rebate Scheme A or Rebate Scheme B) to regional commercial television licensees who have incurred expenditure in providing their services to extended ("aggregated") licence areas in accordance with relevant provisions in the former Broadcasting Act 1942 (the former Act). The Regulations include special provisions to ensure that eligibility for licence fee rebates is not lost where regional commercial television licences, which were subject to a licence area aggregation direction by the Minister, were subsequently consolidated into a single new licence.
Further details on the licence area aggregation provisions in the former Act and the intended operation of Rebate Scheme A and Rebate Scheme B are provided in the introductory paragraphs to the Notes on Clauses at Attachment A to this Statement.
The Television Licence Fees Regulations (Amendment) (the Amending Regulations) correct technical defects in the operation of the Regulations. In summary, the Amending Regulations:
(a) update the terminology used in the Regulations to reflect that the due date for payment of commercial television licence fees was changed in 1992 from the "anniversary of the date of commencement" of individual licences to a common due date of 31 December- in each year (Parts 2 and 3 of the Amending Regulations).
(b) ensure that the 6 year period of entitlement under Rebate Scheme B runs from the date that the licence was subject to an "aggregation" direction by the Minister under the former Act, not from the date of commencement of the licence (Part 3 of the Amending Regulations); and
(c) remove anomalies in the operation of the "consolidated licence" provisions by providing that:
(i) no rebates may be claimed by the holder of a consolidated licence tinder Rebate Scheme A or Rebate Scheme B on a due day for payment of licence fees unless the holder of a former licence that was first subject to a licence area aggregation direction would have been eligible for a rebate on that day if the former licence had not been revoked; and
(ii) the 6 year period of entitlement under Rebate Scheme B is not "retriggered" by the grant of a consolidated licence (Part 4 of the Amending Regulations).
Further details on the operation of the Amending Regulations are set out in the Notes on Clauses at Attachment A to this Statement.
Commencement
Part 1 and Part 4 come into effect on the date of gazettal.
Part 2 is taken to have come into effect from 25 January 1990, the date of commencement of the Rebate Scheme A provisions (see explanatory notes on Clause 1).
Part 3 is taken to have come into effect from 1 January 1991, the date of commencement of the Rebate Scheme 13 provisions (see explanatory notes on Clause 1).
The retrospective operation of the amendments in Part 2 and Part 3 ensures the validity of rebates already paid to licensees and does not adversely affect the interests of any person other than the Commonwealth. The amendments in Parts 2 and 3 also have continuing operation, to ensure that eligible licensees can be provided with rebates in accordance with the original policy objectives of the rebate schemes.
ATTACHMENT A
Television Licence Act 1964
Television Licence Fees Regulations (Amendment)
NOTES ON CLAUSES
The Television Licence Fees Act 1964 (the Licence Fees Act) applies to commercial television licences issued under the former Broadcasting Act 1942 (the former Act) and now held under the Broadcasting Act 1992 (see definition of licence, in section 4 of the Licence Fees Act).
The Television Licence Fee Regulations (the Regulations) provide for the payment of licence fee rebates to regional commercial television broadcasting licensees involved in the delivery of commercial television services within "aggregated" television markets, in accordance with the equalisation" provisions in the former Act.
Section 94S of the former Act enabled the Minister to issue a direction to relevant licences which expanded their licence areas to cover an "aggregated" regional television market & consisting of' the combined licence areas of 3 or more regional commercial television licences). To assist in the aggregation process, section 94ZC of the former Act enabled (lie Minister, upon application from eligible licensees, to direct the former Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (ART) to revoke two or more existing licences and to grant a new "consolidated" licence in substitution for those former licences.
The process of licence consolidation could occur either before or after the issue by the Minister of licence area aggregation directions under section 94S of the former Act. On the other hand, unlike the process of licence consolidation, aggregation of licence area directions issued under section 94S of the former Act did not result in the grant of new licences.
The original licence fee. rebate scheme (Rebate Scheme A) formed part of the Regulations that were introduced in 1990. That scheme provided for licence fee rebates to be paid over a 4 year period as a proportion of total fees payable by an eligible licensee, in accordance with a sliding percentage scale (ie a 100% rebate in the first year, 75% rebate in the second year, 50% rebate in the third year and 25% rebate in the fourth year.) The standard Rebate Scheme A provisions are in Regulation 3.
Rebate Scheme 11 was introduced in 1991 to provide relatively greater assistance to regional licensees with lower gross earnings. Scheme B was intended to provide a 100% rebate over a 6 year period following licence area aggregation. The maximum rebate is 1.6 million per annum ($0.8 million in the case of Tasmanian licensees) but there is provision for the carry over of "unused credits" beyond the 6 year period.
Rebates for a period may be payable under either Rebate Scheme A or Rebate Scheme 11, but not both (subregulation 2A(2)). Rebate Scheme A will only apply to a licensee in any particular year if the amount of rebate under that Scheme is greater than the amount to which the licensee would be entitled under Rebate Scheme B (subregulation 2(3)).
The Regulations also include provisions to cover the situation where licence area aggregation preceded the grant of a consolidated licence in substitution for two or more former licences, The consolidated licence provisions for Rebate Scheme A (Regulation 4) and Rebate Scheme B (Regulation 6) ensure that rebate entitlements available to former licensees are not extinguished by the grant of the new consolidated licence.
On 31 December 1992, section 4 of the Licence Fees Act was amended to provide that licence fees are due and payable on 31 December in each year. Prior to that date, licence fees were payable on the anniversary of the date of commencement of the licence. However, the Regulations were not amended to reflect this change to the "due date" for payment of licence fees. The Regulations therefore contain obsolete references to the "anniversary of the date of commencement" of the licence, which are predicated on the basis that this is the date for payment of licence fees.
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
Clause 1. Commencement
The effect of Clause 1 is that:
(a) the amendments of Rebate Scheme A in Part 2 are taken to have come into effect from 25 January 1990, the date of commencement of that Scheme in the original Regulations;
(b) the amendments of Rebate Scheme B in Part 3 are taken to have come into effect from 1 January 1991, the date of commencement of that Scheme; and
(c) the amendments in Part 4 come into effect from the date of gazettal.
In relation to subparagraph (b) above, Clause 7.1 also provides for the application of Part 3 from 1 January 1990 to fees payable by licensees in Approved Market C (see explanatory notes on Clause 7).
There is no specific commencement date in Clause 1 in relation to the amendments referred to at subparagraph (c) above. However, subsection 48(1) or the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (the Acts Interpretation Act) provides that, unless regulations express a contrary intention or specify a particular date for commencement, they take effect from the date of notification.
Subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act provides that provisions of regulations have no effect if they would otherwise operate from a date prior to the date of notification in the Gazette and would adversely affect the rights or liabilities of persons other than the Commonwealth. As outlined in the explanatory notes on Pans 2 and 3, the retrospective operation of the amendments in those Parts will only have the effect of validating rebates already paid to commercial television licensees in accordance with the original policy objectives of the licence fee rebate schemes. Correction of these technical defects in the existing Regulations will also allow eligible licensees to continue to claim licensee fee rebates in future years.
As outlined in the explanatory notes on Part 4, the amendments in that Part are prospective in their operation and are intended to remedy defects in the Regulations which enable licensees in certain circumstances to claim rebates beyond the originally intended periods of entitlement.
Clause 2. Amendment
Clause 2 is a formal provision which provides for the Television Licences Fees Regulations (the Regulations) to be amended as set out in these amending Regulations.
PART 2 - RETROSPECTIVE AMENDMENTS ABOUT DUE, DAY FOR REBATE SCHEME A
The amendments in this Part remove obsolete references to the "anniversary of the commencement of a licence" that are contained in the Rebate Scheme A provisions in Regulations 3 and 4.
Clause 1 provides that Part 2 of these Regulations is taken to have come into effect on 25 January 1990, the date of commencement of Rebate Scheme A. The amendments in this Part have retrospective operation because they are intended to validate rebates already paid to licensees under Rebate Scheme A, by correcting technical defects in the operation of the provisions.
Clause 3. Regulation 2 (Interpretation)
Clause 3 amends subregulation 2(1) to remove obsolete definitions and to insert new definitions, as a consequence of the amendments to the Rebate Scheme A provisions in Regulations 3 and 4 (see explanatory notes on Clauses 5 and 6).
In particular, Clause 3.2 defines the "due day" for a licence to mean the day on which a fee is payable for the licence under subsection 6(2) of the Licence Fees Act. In the case of a former licence that is related to a consolidated licence, the "due day" is defined as the day on which a fee would have been payable under that Act in respect of the former licence if immediately prior to the grant of the consolidated licence, the former licence had not been revoked. Use of the legislative concept of the "due day" for payment of licence fees enables relevant provisions in Regulations 3 and 4 to apply regardless of whether in any particular year licence fees were payable on the "anniversary" of the grant of the licence (the date for payment of licence fees until the Licence Fees Act was amended in 1992), or 31 December in the particular year (the current date for payment of licence fees),
Clause 4. New regulation 2AA
Clause 4.1 inserts new definitions of the terms "consolidated licence", "former licence" and "former licensee", as a consequence of the amendments of the Rebate Scheme A provisions in regulations 3 and 4 (see explanatory notes on Clauses 5 and 6),
Clause 5. Regulation 3 (Rebate Scheme A)
The Rebate Scheme A provisions in Regulation 3 enable a licensee, which has been issued a licence area aggregation direction under section 94S of the former Act, to claim rebates in the first four years following the date of that licence direction. Rebates are payable in accordance with a sliding percentage scale (ie 100% of fees payable in the first year after licence area aggregation, 75% in the second year, 50% in the third year, 25% in tile fourth year and no rebate thereafter).
Clause 5 amends paragraphs 3(3)(a)-(d) to replace obsolete references to fees payable on the "anniversary of the date of commencement of the licence" with references to the "due day" for payment of licence fees.
Clause 6. Regulation 4 (Rebate Scheme A - certain consolidated licences)
Regulation 4 is intended to cover the situation where a licence area aggregation direction under section 94S of the former Act preceded the grant of a "consolidated" licence in substitution for two or more former licences under section 94ZC of the former Act. In this situation, it was intended that the holder of a consolidated licence be able to claim a rebate under Regulation 4 if a former licensee in relation to the consolidated licence would have been able to claim a rebate on the due day for payment of licence fees.
The terms "consolidated licence", "former licence" and "former licensee" are defined, in Clause 4. The definition of "former licence" expressly includes a former licence that is itself a consolidated licence. The widened definition of "former licence" makes it clear that Regulation 4 can apply where there has been a two stage process of licence consolidation involving:
(a) the grant of the first consolidated licence (C1) in substitution for a former licence that was involved in licence area aggregation (the original former licence), and
(b) the subsequent revocation of C1 and one or more other former licences, together with the grant of a new consolidated licence (C2)).
The widened definition of former licence makes it clear that in the above situation the licensee of C2 is able to claim a rebate under Regulation 4 if the original former licensee referred to in (a) above would have been entitled to a rebate under the standard Rebate Scheme A provisions in Regulation 3.
Clause 6.1 amends paragraph 4(1)(b), to substitute a reference to "the first due day after the grant of the consolidated licence" for the existing reference to the term "relevant anniversary" (the definition of this term is deleted by Clause 3.1),
The effect of this amendment is to replace obsolete provisions relating to the "anniversary" of the commencement of a licence with references to the due date for payment of licence fees. The amendment will not change the substantive operation of existing paragraph 4(1)(b), ie that one of the tests for entitlement to a rebate of licence fees is whether a former licensee would have been eligible for a rebate of fees on the first due day for payment of licence fees that would have occurred after the grant of the consolidated licence in substitution for the former licence, if the former licence had not been revoked,
Clause 6.2 amends Regulation 4 by deleting existing subregulations 4(2) and (3) and introducing new subregulations 4(2) - (4).
New subregulation 4(2) has the same effect as existing subregulation 4(2), but has been redrafted to remove obsolete references to the entitlement of a former licensee to a rebate on the "relevant anniversary". The provisions will continue to provide a mechanism for determining the amount of rebate to which the holder of a consolidated licence is entitled, in the situation where two or more former licensees would have been entitled to a rebate of fees on the first due date after commencement of the consolidated licence. In this case, the amount of rebate is to be worked out so that the holder of the consolidated licence is entitled to the same proportion of rebate that would have applied under Regulation 3 to the former licensee in relation to which a licence area aggregation direction was first issued by the Minister under section 94S of the former Act.
Existing subregulation 4(3) provides a complex formula for determining the amount of rebate to which the holder of a consolidated licence is entitled, based on the number of "anniversaries" of commencement of the consolidated licence that have occurred since the grant of the consolidated licence and the number of "annivarsaries" of commencement of the former licence that have occurred since the licence area aggregation direction was issued under section 94S of the former Act. The effect of this formula is that the holder or the consolidated licence is entitled to the same percentage rebate to which the former licensee would have been entitled if the former licence had not been revoked.
In amending Regulations 3 and 4 to insert references to the "due date" for payment of licence fees (rather than the anniversary of the date of commencement of the licence) the opportunity has been taken to simplify the operation of subregulation 4(3). New subregulations 4(3) and (4) therefore provide that the amount of rebate to which the holder of a consolidated licence is entitled is the relevant percentage that would have applied to the former licensee under subregulation 3(3) if the former licence had not been revoked.
PART 3 - RETROSPECTIVE AMENDMENTS ABOUT DUE DAY FOR REBATE SCHEME B
Part 3 of these amending Regulations amends the Rebate Scheme B provisions:
(a) in Regulations 5 and 6, to replace obsolete references to the anniversary of commencement of a licence with references to the "due day" for payment of licence fees; and
(b) in Regulation 5, to correct technical defects in the existing provisions which have the unintended effect that the 6 year period of entitlement to rebates runs from the date of grant of the original licence, rather than from the date of licence area aggregation.
Clause 1 provides that Part 3 is taken to have commenced operation on 1 January 1991 (ie the date of commencement of the Television Licence Fees Regulations (Amendment) S R 7911991 (the 1991 Amending Regulations) that introduced the Rebate Scheme B provisions).
The amendments in this Part operate in conjunction with the "due day" definition inserted in subregulation 2(1) by Clause 3 in Part 2. The application of that definition to the Rebate Scheme B provisions in Regulations 5 and 6 enables those provisions to apply regardless of whether, in any particular year, licence fees were payable on the anniversary of the date of commencement of the licence (the date for payment of licence fees until 1992 amendments to the Licence Fees Act) or on 31 December (the current date for payment of licence fees under the Licence Fees Act).
Retrospective operation of the amendments referred to at (b) above will validate licence fee rebates already paid to licensees, notwithstanding the technical defect in Regulation 5, which meant that many licensees were ineligible for a rebate under Rebate Scheme B, because their licences were granted more than six years before the date when rebates were claimed.
Clause 7. Application of Part to Certain fees
Subregulation 3(2) of the 1991 Amending Regulations provided that the Rebate Scheme B provisions were taken to apply to licence fees payable on or after 1 January 1990 by licensees who held licences in Approved Market C, being an approved market published by the Minister tinder section 94E of the former Act and consisting of a proposed aggregated licence area for particular licences in southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
Clause 7 provides that the amendments to the Rebate Scheme B provisions in Part 3 of these amending Regulations are taken to have applied to fees payable on or after 1 January 1990 by licences in Approved Market C. The effect of Clause 7 is to validate rebates provided to licensees in Approved Market C' on or after 1 January 1990, thereby ensuring the effective operation of subregulation 3(2) of the 1991 Amending Regulations.
Clause 8. Regulation 5 (Rebate Scheme 11)
Rebate Scheme B was introduced in 191) 1 to provide relatively greater assistance to regional 1 licensees with lower gross earnings- Scheme B was intended to provide a 100% rebate over a 6 year period following licence area aggregation - capped at $1.6 million per annum ($0.8 million for Tasmanian licensees) - but with provision for the carry over of "unused credits" beyond the 6 year period.
Regulation 5 sets out the conditions for entitlement and the amount of rebate payable under Rebate Scheme B. The main conditions of entitlement under Regulation 5 are that the Minister has issued a licence area aggregation direction in relation to the licence under section 94S of the former Act (subregulation 5(1)) and that the date on which the fee for the year is payable is earlier than the seventh "anniversary" of the date of commencement of the licence (subregulations 5(3) and 5(4)).
Clause 8.1 amends subregulations 5(3) and 5(4) to substitute "relevant due day" for existing references in those subregulations to "anniversary of the date of commencement of".
Clause 8.2 defines "relevant due day" as the due day (for payment of licence fees) that happens after the issue of the licence area aggregation direction under section 94S of the former Act in relation to the licence.
The amendments to Regulation 5 remove obsolete references to the "anniversary of the (late (if commencement of the licence" and also remove a technical defect in the existing provisions which links rebate entitlement to the number of years since the grant of the particular licence. This latter defect is corrected by providing that entitlement to a rebate is measured by the number of licence fee periods since the date of licence area aggregation.
The combined effect of Clauses 8.1 and 8.2 is that licence fee rebates are available under Rebate Scheme B if the conditions in existing subregulation 5(1) are met and the due date for payment or licence fees is earlier than the seventh due date for payment of licence fees is earlier the date of the licence area aggregation direction in respect of the licence.
Clause 9. Regulation 6 (Rebate Scheme B - certain consolidated licences)
Regulation 6 applies to the holder of a consolidated licence who is not eligible for a rebate under the standard Rebate Scheme B provisions in Regulation 5, because the consolidated licence was not subject to a licence area aggregation direction under section 94S of the former Act The regulation provides that the holder of a consolidated licence may claim a rebate under Rebate Scheme B if the former licensee that is related to the consolidated licence was subject to a licence area aggregation direction and would have been eligible for a rebate on the relevant anniversary of the former licence. (The term "relevant anniversary" is defined in subregulation 2(1) as the anniversary of the date of commencement of the former licence that would have occurred in the year after the former licence was revoked as part of the licence consolidation process.)
The amendments made by Clause 9 replace obsolete references to the "anniversary of the date of commencement of a licence" with references to the "due date" for payment of licence fees.
Clause 9.1 amends existing paragraph 6(1)(b). The amendment substitutes reference to "the first due day after the grant of the consolidated licence" for the existing reference to the term "relevant anniversary" (the definition of this term is deleted by Clause 3.1).
The amendment in Clause 9.1 preserves the substantive operation of existing paragraph 6(1)(b) and the associated definition of "relevant anniversary" in existing subregulation 2(1) (ie that one of the conditions of entitlement to a rebate of licence fees under Rebate of Scheme B is whether a former licensee would have been eligible for a rebate of fees on the first due day for payment of licence fees that would have occurred after the grant of the consolidated licence in substitution for the former licence, if the former licence had not been revoked).
Existing subregulation 6(2) provides a mechanism for determining the amount of rebate to which the holder of a consolidated licence is entitled, where one or more former licensees would have been entitled under subregulation 6(1) to a rebate of fees on its "relevant anniversary".
Clause 9.2 omits existing subregulation 6(2) and substitutes new subregulation 6(2). The new subregulation removes the "relevant anniversary" concept but preserves the substantive operation of the existing provisions (ie the amount of rebate to which the holder (if a consolidated licence is entitled will be worked out as if the reference to a "former licensee" in subparagraph 6(1)(b) was a reference to the former licensee in relation to which a licence area aggregation direction was first issued by the Minister under section 94S of the former Act).
Existing subregulations 6(3) and (4) enable rebates to be provided to a licensee which otherwise meets the entitlement conditions in subregulation 6(1), where the date on which a fee is payable is on or before the Sixth "anniversary of the date of commencement of the consolidated licence".
The effect of Clauses 9.3 - 9.5 is to replace obsolete references in existing subregulations 6(3) and (4) to the anniversary of the date of commencement of the consolidated licence with references to the "relevant due day" after commencement of the consolidated licence. The amendment preserves the substantive operation of the existing provisions (ie the holder of a consolidated licence is able to obtain rebates in the first 6 years after grant of, the consolidated licence, if the licensee meets the conditions of entitlement set out in subregulation 6(1)).
Clause 10. Regulation 7 (Working out unused credit amounts - Rebate Scheme B)
Regulation 7 provides a mechanism whereby "unused credits" may be carried over under Rebate Scheme B from one licence fee period to the next. If the amount of the standard ate is more than the amount of fees payable, the difference between those amounts is an unused credit which is carried over and applied to licence fees payable in the next year.
Clause 10 makes consequential amendments to Regulation 7 to replace existing references to the "anniversary of the date of commencement of" the licence with references to the "relevant due day" for payment of licence fees.
In the case where the licensee is claiming rebates under the standard Rebate Scheme B provisions in Regulation 5, the expression "relevant due day" is given the same meaning as in new subregulation 5(6) (see explanatory notes on clause 8.2).
In the case where the licensee is claiming rebates under the consolidated licence Rebate Scheme B provisions in Regulation 6, the expression "relevant due day" is given the same meaning as in new subregulation 6(5) (see explanatory notes on clause 9.5).
PART 4 - AMENDMENTS COMMENCING ON NOTIFICATION
Part 4 of the Amending Regulations amends the consolidated licence provisions:
(a) for Rebate Scheme A (Regulation 4) and Rebate Scheme B (Regulation 6), so that no rebate may be clarified by the holder of a consolidated licence on a due day for payment of licence fees unless the holder of a former licence, that was first subject to a licence area direction under section 94S of the former Act, would have been eligible for a rebate (in that day if the former licence had not been revoked., and
(b) Rebate Scheme B (Regulation 6), so that the 6 year period of entitlement under that Scheme is not "re-triggered" by the grant of a consolidated licence.
Part 4 also makes normal and consequential amendments to Regulations 2, 3 and 7.
The amendments in Part 4 commence from the date of Gazettal (sec explanatory notes on Clause 1). The amendments operate on the basis that the Regulations have already been amended it) incorporate the retrospective amendments in Part 2 and Part 3.
Clause 11. Regulation 2 (Interpretation)
Clause 11 makes formal amendments to Regulation 2. The amendments are included in this Part, rather than in Part 2 or Part 3, because they amend provisions in the Regulations that were inserted after the original commencement of Rebate Scheme A and Rebate Scheme 13.
Clauses 11.1 and 11.2 correct a typographical error in the definition in the Regulations of "the Act" (ie, (the Licence Fees Act).
Clause 11.3 amends the definition of "relevant authority" in subregulation 2(1) to refer to new regulation 2AB (see explanatory notes on Clause 12).
Clause 11.4 deletes:
(a) subregulation 2(2) (which defines the term "commencement" of a licence or former licence) - this definition is obsolete, because of the "due date" amendments made by the Amending Regulations, and
(b) subregulation 2(3) - the provisions in this subregulation have been re-located in new regulation 2AB (see explanatory notes on Clause 12).
Clause 12. New Regulation 2AD - Specification for definition of "relevant authority"
Clause 12 is a formal amendment, to relocate as new Regulation 2AB the existing provisions in subregulation 2(3) which enable the Minister to specify a Commonwealth agency or authority other than the Australian Broadcasting Authority as a relevant authority for the collection of licence fees.
Clause 13. Regulation 3 (Rebate Scheme A)
The Rebate Scheme A provisions in Regulation 3 enable a licensee who has been issued a licence area aggregation direction under section 94S of the former Act to claim rebates in the first four years following the date of that licence direction. Rebates arc payable in accordance with a sliding percentage scale (ie 100% of fees payable in the first year after licence area aggregation, 75% 'In the second year, 50% in the third year, 25% in the fourth year and no rebate thereafter).
Clause 13.1 deletes existing paragraphs 3(1)(c) and (2)(c) of the Regulations and substitutes new paragraphs. The new provisions make it clear that entitlement to a rebate of licence fees under Rebate Scheme A depends on whether more than 4 years have elapsed since tile relevant licence area aggregation direction was issued under section 94S of the former Act (and is not related to the number of years that the licence has been in force).
Clause 1.32 omits subregulation 3(3) and inserts new subregulations 3(3) and 3(4). These are formal amendments to the sliding scale of licence fee rebates in existing subregulation 3(3). The effect of the sliding scale remains the same, ie a 100% rebate of fees in the first year after licence area aggregation, 75% in the second year, 50% in the third year, 25% in the fourth year and no rebate thereafter. The definition of "relevant due day" in new subregulation 3(4) retains the substance of existing subparagraph 3(3)(a).
Clause 14. Regulation 4 - (Rebate Scheme A - certain consolidated licences)
Regulation 4 is intended to enable the holder of a consolidated licence (ie a licence granted by the ABT as it result of a direction by the Minister under section 94ZC of the former Act, ill substitution for two or more former licences) to obtain a rebate of licence fees where it former licensee in relation to the consolidated licence would otherwise have been entitled to it rebate (ie because the former licence was subject to the licence area aggregation direction by the Minister tinder section 945 of the former Act).
The existing provisions in Regulation 4 have the unintended effect of enabling the holder of a consolidated licence to obtain a rebate where two or more former licensees were involved in licence area aggregation at different times and licence fee rebates have already been paid under Rebate Scheme A (In respect of one of those former licences and/or the consolidated licence) for the maximum 4 year period allowed under the standard Rebate Scheme A provisions in Regulation 3.
Clause 14.1 is a formal amendment to the chapcau to the subregulation which is consequential on the amendment in Clause 14.3.
Clause 14.2 amends paragraph 4(1)(b) so that the entitlement of the holder of a consolidated licence to a rebate under Regulation 4 depends, not on whether a former licensee would have been eligible for a rebate under Rebate Scheme A on the first due day after grant of the consolidated licence, but on whether a former licensee would have been entitled to such a rebate on the "relevant due day" when the rebate is claimed by the holder (if the consolidated licence. Because rebates may only be paid for a 4 year period under the standard Rebate Scheme A provisions in Regulation 3, this amendment effectively ensures that no rebate may be claimed by the holder of a consolidated licence, if more than four yours have elapsed since a licence area direction was issued in respect of one or more of the former licences.
Clause 14.3 introduces a new subregulation 4(2) which confirms that the holder of a consolidated licence is not entitled to a rebate of fees under Regulation 4 if the licensee is entitled it) a rebate of fees under the standard Rebate Scheme A provisions in Regulation 3. This is consistent with the existing preface to subregulations 4(1)(a) (see Clause 14.1).
Clause 14.4 inserts new subregulations 4(5) - (7) to cover the situation where two or more former licensees were issued with licence area aggregation directions on different days.
New subregulation 4(5) makes it clear that, if two or. more former licensees would have been eligible for a rebate on I lie relevant due day, the percentage rebate to which the holder of the consolidated licence is entitled is the lowest of the percentage rebates to which any one of those former licensees would have been entitled on the due day. In other words, the holder of the consolidated licence is entitled to the proportional rebate that would have applied to the former licensee first involved in licence area aggregation.)
New subregulations 4(6) and (7) cover the situation where two or more former licensees in relation to a consolidated licence were issued with licence area directions by the Minister on different days and one of those former licensees would no longer have been entitled to a rebate under Regulation 3. In this situation, the holder of the consolidated licence is not eligible for a rebate, because the maximum 4 year period for rebates under Rebate Scheme A would, on the relevant due day, no longer have been available to the former licensee first involved in licence area aggregation.
Clause 15. Regulation 6 (Rebate Scheme B - certain consolidated licences)
Regulation 6 provides for the payment of rebates in specified circumstances to the holder of a consolidated licence. Regulation 6 was intended to enable the holder of a consolidated licence to claim a rebate. under Rebate Scheme B, where the licensee was not entitled to a rebate under Regulation 5, but a former licensee would have been entitled to a rebate, if it were not for the grant of the consolidated licence.
Existing Regulation 6 has the following unintended effects:
* it allows a "re-triggering" of the 6 year period of entitlement under Rebate Scheme B upon the grant of a consolidated licence (regardless of the number of years in which rebates have already been claimed by a former licensee under the standard Rebate Scheme B provisions in Regulation 5); and
* it allows the holder of a consolidated licence to obtain a rebate where 2 or more former licensees were involved in licence area aggregation at different times and licence fee rebates have already been paid under Rebate Scheme B (in respect of one of those former licences and/or the consolidated licence) for the maximum 6 year period allowed under the standard Rebate Scheme B provisions in Regulation 5.
Clause 15.1 is a formal amendment which omits words from the preface to subregulation 6(1)(a). This amendment is consequential on the amendment made by new subregulation 6(2) (see explanatory notes on Clause 15.3).
Clause 15.2 omits existing paragraph 6(1)(b) and inserts a new paragraph 6(1)(b). The effect of the amendment is that the entitlement of the holder of a consolidated licence to a rebate under Regulation 6 depends, not on whether a former licensee would have been eligible for a rebate under Rebate Scheme B on the first due day after the grant of the consolidated licence, but on whether. a former licensee would have been entitled to such a rebate on the "relevant due day" when the rebate is claimed by the holder of the consolidated licence. Subject to unused credits (see Regulation 7), rebates may only be paid for a 6 year period under the standard Rebate Scheme B provisions in Regulation 5 The effect of a new paragraph 6(1)(h) is therefore to ensure that no rebates may be claimed by the holder of a consolidated licence if more than 6 years have elapsed since a licence area direction was issued in respect of one or more of the former licences (unless there are unused credits).
Clause 15.3 is a formal amendment which inserts new subregulation 6(2).
New subregulation 6(2) makes it clear that the holder of a consolidated licence may not obtain a rebate tinder Rebate Scheme B if that licensee:
(a) is entitled to a rebate under regulation 5 (this is the effect of existing subregulation 6(1)), or
(b) is prevented from obtaining a rebate under subregulation 6(4) (see explanatory notes on Clause 15.4).
Subregulation 6(5), as inserted by Clause 9.5, updates the terminology of existing subregulation 6(4) to incorporate the "due date" concept, but does not remove the anomaly in the operation of that subregulation which allows the 6 year period of entitlement to rebates under Rebate Scheme B to be "re-triggered" by the grant of a consolidated licence in substitution for one or more former licences that were subject to a licence area aggregation direction.
Clause 15.4 deletes subregulation 6(5), as inserted by Clause 9.5, and substitutes a new definition of "relevant due day". The effect of new subregulation 6(5) is to ensure that the holder of a consolidated licence is not eligible for a rebate in respect of fees payable on the seventh or later due date following the date of licence area aggregation in respect of a former licence. This ensures that the holder of the consolidated licence is only entitled to the residual period of rebate entitlement that would have been available to the former licensee, and that entitlement under Rebate Scheme 11 is not "re-triggered" by the grant of it consolidated licence
Clause 15.5 inserts new subregulations 6(7) and (8).
New subregulations 6(7) and (8) ensure that, if there are 2 or more former licences in relation to the consolidated licence and licence area aggregation directions were issued in respect of those former licences on different days, the condition in paragraph 6(1)(b), that a former licensee would have been eligible for a rebate on the due day if the former licence had not been revoked, applies in respect of the former licensee who was first involved in licence area aggregation.
Clause 16. Regulation 7 (Working out unused credit amounts - Rebate Scheme B)
Regulation 7 provides a mechanism whereby "unused credits" may be carried over under Rebate Scheme B from one licence fee period to the next. If the amount of the standard maximum annual rebate is more than the amount of fees payable, the difference between those amounts is an unused credit which can he carried over and applied to licence fees payable in the next year.
Clause 16 amends the terminology in Regulation 7 to reflect the "due date" amendments made to the Rebate Scheme B provisions in Regulations 5 and 6.
Clause 16.1 omits existing paragraph 7(3)(a) and inserts a new paragraph 7(3)(a) which refers to fees payable on a "second or later relevant due day" for a licence, to make it clear that unused credits could only come into operation in the second year of entitlement to rebates.
Clause 16.2 omits existing subregulation 7(4) and inserts a new paragraph 7(4) to reflect the "relevant due day" concept introduced in Regulations 5 and 6 (see explanatory notes on Clauses 14 and 15).
Clause 16.3 omits the definition of "relevant due day" in subregulation 7(5), as inserted by Clause 10.3 and inserts a new definition of this expression. This amendment is consequential on the definition of this expression which is inserted by Clause 15.4.