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2008
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HORSE DISEASE RESPONSE LEVY (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL 2008
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by Authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry,
The Hon Tony Burke MP)
HORSE DISEASE RESPONSE LEVY (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL 2008
GENERAL OUTLINE
The Horse Disease Response Levy (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008 amends
the Australian Animal Health Council (Live-stock Industries) Funding Act
1996 to enable horse disease response levies to be appropriated to the
Australian Animal Health Council (AAHC), also known as Animal Health
Australia (AHA), to be used to repay the Commonwealth for underwriting the
horse industry's share of the costs of responding to emergency horse
diseases. The Bill also provides a mechanism for any excess horse disease
response levies that are collected to be appropriated to relevant horse
industry research and development bodies for research and development
activities or the promotion or maintenance of the health of horses.
The Commonwealth became a party to the Emergency Animal Disease Response
Agreement (EADRA) in March 2002. The EADRA provides for industry repaying
any amounts paid for by the Commonwealth on behalf of industry under the
agreement, via a statutory levy. To do this a new horse disease response
levy will be imposed on the industry under the new Horse Disease Response
Levy Act.
Under the terms of the EADRA, the AAHC co-ordinates, collates and maintains
financial information in respect of any animal disease emergency. Livestock
industries agreed that the AAHC will receive and disburse levy funds to be
used to repay the Commonwealth for the costs underwritten by the
Commonwealth on behalf of industry. Several payments of the horse disease
response levy may be made to the AAHC in any period. The horse industry
will be advised of total debt to the Commonwealth by the AAHC and repayment
arrangements will be implemented in accordance with Schedule 7 of the
EADRA. Once the size of the debt is known, the horse disease response levy
will be activated with all levy funds initially flowing to the Consolidated
Revenue Fund and subsequently disbursed to the AAHC. The AAHC will manage
the horse disease response levy funds on behalf of the industry in order to
repay debt to the Commonwealth.
To allow the repayment arrangements via a levy to come into law, it is
necessary to amend the Australian Animal Health Council (Live-stock
Industries) Funding Act 1996.
These arrangements are similar to those applying to other industries party
to the EADRA.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
There are no direct financial implications for the Commonwealth as the
intention of the Bill is to facilitate the disbursement of the levy to
Animal Health Australia. However, indirectly the arrangements will allow
the repayment of monies to the Commonwealth expended on behalf of the horse
industry under agreed cost sharing arrangements for responses to emergency
horse diseases. There is no impact on Commonwealth contributions to
industry research and development as a consequence of these arrangements.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1: Short title
This clause provides for the Act to be called the Horse Disease Response
Levy (Consequential Amendments) Act 2008.
Clause 2: Commencement
This clause provides for the Act to come into effect on the day after it
receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3: Schedule(s)
This clause specifies that amendments will be made to the Act or Acts
mentioned in the schedule which is provided. In this case amendments will
be made to the Australian Animal Health Council (Live-stock Industries)
Funding Act 1996.
Schedule 1: Amendments to the Australian Animal Health Council (Live-
stock Industries) Funding Act 1996
Items 1 & 2 Definitions
This item provides for a reference to the definitions used in the Horse
Disease Response Levy Act 2008 for a horse and horse disease response levy
in Section 3 of the Australian Animal Health Council (Live-stock
Industries) Funding Act 1996.
Item 3 -After paragraph 4(2) (a)
This item provides a new reference to the horse disease response levy under
the existing Section 4 (2) (a) of the Australian Animal Health Council
(Live-stock Industries) Funding Act 1996 and provides for the payment of
the horse disease response levy to be made to the Australian Animal Health
Council.
Item 4 At the end of subsection 4 (2)
This clause adds a further point to this section outlining the payment of
penalty amounts under Section 10 of the Horse Disease Response Levy
Collection ACT 2008 in relation to a failure to pay the horse disease
response levy by the due date.
Item 5 Subsection 4(3)
Australian Animal Health Council's obligations to apply a Commonwealth
payment
This clause repeals the subsection 4 (3) dealing with Commonwealth
payment as described in Section 4 (2) of the Australian Animal health
Council (Livestock Industries) Funding Act 1996. The clause then
incorporates subsection 3 (a) a levy or charge and to an animal
product; and 3 (b) horse disease response levy; which is subject to the
condition that the Australian Animal Health Council apply the payment
according to the priorities as outlined in subsections (4), (5) and (6)
and subject to subsections (7), (7A) and (8) of the this Act.
Liability of Australian Animal Health Council to repay Commonwealth
A new clause 3 (A) is included that outlines that if a non-government
body is not a party to the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement
at the time that a Commonwealth payment is made, the Australian Animal
Health Council must apply the payment in accord to the first priority
and pay the balance to the Commonwealth with 28 days.
Setting off liabilities under subsection (3A) against a future
Commonwealth payment
This new clause applies to the Commonwealth being able to set off a
credit balance on a debit amount as described under subsection (3A)
that is due to the Commonwealth from future payments to the Australian
Animal Health Council as described in subsection (2).
Note: A new heading has been inserted under subsection 4 (1) Commonwealth
obligation to pay the Australian Animal Health Council.
Note: The following heading to subsection 4 (4) is inserted First priority:
- administrative costs.
Item 6 Subsections 4(5) and (6)
This clause repeals these two subsections and substitutes them with clauses
that outline second and third priorities that oblige the Australian Animal
Health Council on the way it applies the Commonwealth payment as it relates
to the horse disease response levy, and the ability to pay any excess horse
disease response levy collected to an organisation that is concerned with
research and development or to the promotion or maintenance of the health
of horses.
Item 7 subsection 4(7)
This clause inserts "to the extent that it relates to a levy or charge and
to the animal product".
Note: The following heading to subsection 4 (7) is inserted "third priority
only to be applied on request".
Item 8 After subsection 4(7)
This new clause inserts clause 4 (7) the Australian Animal Health Council
is to apply the Commonwealth payment, to the extent that it relates to the
horse disease response levy, in accordance with the third priority only:
a) on request by a non-government body that is a party to the EADR
agreement and is concerned with the horse industry and
b) in the way that that body requests.
Note: The following heading to subsection 4 (8) is inserted "Applying the
priorities".
Items 9 to 18 - Treatment of Refunds
This item provides for situations where refunds of the levy charges or
penalty are applicable.
Clause 6 refers to the Treatment of Refunds. This clause sets out that, if
the Commonwealth refunds levies or charges, which have been overpaid by
industry, then the Australian Animal Health Council, must also pay the
equivalent amount back to the Commonwealth. This clause also provides for
the Commonwealth to set off any refunds due to the Commonwealth from future
payments to the Australian Animal Health Council
The clause then refers to associated subclauses that will apply if this
situation arises.