Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
2000
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT
CHARGE AMENDMENT BILL 2000
INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT AMENDMENT BILL
2000
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by
Authority of the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, the Honourable
John Anderson MP)
INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT CHARGE AMENDMENT BILL
2000
INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT AMENDMENT BILL 2000
OUTLINE
The purpose of the Interstate Road Transport
Charge Amendment Bill 2000 and the Interstate Road
Transport Amendment Bill 2000 is to implement updated nationally consistent
heavy vehicle registration charges, that have been agreed by the Australian
Transport Council, comprising the Commonwealth and State and Territory Ministers
responsible for Transport.
The Bills form part of a system of nationally
consistent road transport laws envisaged under the Inter-governmental Agreements
on Road Transport signed by Heads of Government in 1991 (the Heavy Vehicles
Agreement) and 1992 (the Light Vehicles Agreement), which are scheduled to the
National Road Transport Commission Act 1991. In accordance with the
Agreements, it is intended that the Road Transport Charges (Australian
Capital Territory) Amendment Bill 2000 will amend the substantive law of the
Australian Capital Territory in respect of heavy vehicle registration charging.
Victoria and the Northern Territory intend to adopt the Road Transport
Charges (Australian Capital Territory) Amendment Bill 2000 unchanged as the
law in their respective jurisdictions. The remaining States intend to adopt the
substance of the Bill in their own legislation. For vehicles registered under
the Interstate Road Transport Act 1985, the Interstate Road Transport
Charge Amendment Bill 2000 and the Interstate Road
Transport Amendment Bill 2000 implement the nationally agreed
provisions.
The Bills contain provisions relating
to:
• revisions to definitions of classes of heavy vehicles for
charging purposes – one of these definitions, that of
‘trailer’ appears in the Interstate Road Transport Act 1985,
necessitating amendment of that Act; and
• the levels of heavy
vehicle registration charges to be levied for 2000/2001 and later
years.
The charges and definitions in the Bills have been developed by
the National Road Transport Commission in consultation with State and Territory
registration authorities and transport agencies, the Commonwealth, the transport
industry, and other interested parties.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
STATEMENT
There will be no direct financial impact for the
Commonwealth, as all charges collected by States and Territories for Federally
registered vehicles are returned to the States and Territories in proportion to
where road use occurs.
The proposed annual registration charges, when
implemented by the Commonwealth and all States and Territories, are estimated to
raise around $424 m Australia wide, an increase of 5.5% on the sum collected at
the existing rates of charges. There would be no change in annual charges for
around 80% of heavy vehicles. Charges for the heavier classes of heavy vehicles
increase, as current charge levels for these vehicles under-recovers the costs
of their road use.
REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT
The
Regulation Impact Statement is attached.
NOTES ON
CLAUSES
These notes cover clauses in the Interstate Road Transport
Charge Amendment Bill 2000 and the Interstate Road
Transport Amendment Bill 2000.
Clause 1 – Short Title
This clause provides
for the Act to be cited as the Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Act
2000.
Clause 2 – Commencement
Clause 2
provides that the Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation, and that
it will commence automatically on 1 January 2001 if it has not been proclaimed
by that date. Transport Minsters have agreed to target an implementation date
of 1 July 2000 for the implementation of the updated charges. However, if
the amendments are not in place prior to 1 July 2000, it is intended that the
Act will be proclaimed to commence immediately it receives Royal
Assent.
Automatic commencement on 1 January 2001, if the Act has not been
proclaimed before that date, allows time for unforseen practical administrative
delays, while providing certainty that the new charges will commence no later
than the beginning of the calender year 2001.
Clause 3 –
Schedule
This clause explains that the effective provisions of
the amendments are contained in the schedule to the Act.
Schedule 1
– Amendment of the Interstate Road Transport Charge Act
1985
Paragraph 1 – at the end of subsection
4(1)
This paragraph adds a reference to Part 2 of the Schedule to the
Act, which contains charges that apply to various types of vehicles and
trailers. This is intended to make clear that this Act is not intended to cover
charges for vehicles that do not appear in Part 2 of the Schedule.
Paragraph 2 – Subsection 5(2)
Paragraph 2 amends
this subsection to remove the reference to ‘the table in’ Part 2 of
the Schedule, as the amended Part 2 will contain more than one
table.
Paragraphs 3 to 30 – Part 1 of Schedule
These
paragraphs amend, repeal or delete a number of definitions in the Act. The new
and amended definitions are of vehicles and vehicle components, and change and
clarify how some vehicles are defined for charging purposes, to simplify the
calculation of charges, and to provide greater consistency between the Act and
other legislation developed under the national road transport reform process
through the National Road Transport Commission.
There are revised
definitions of ‘axle’, ‘axle group’, ‘bus’,
‘bus (type 2)’, ‘dog trailer’, ‘medium combination
truck’, ‘pig trailer’, ‘pole type trailer’,
‘semi-trailer’, and ‘short combination
truck’.
There are new definitions inserted for ‘converter
dolly’, ‘drawbar’, ‘driver’, ‘fifth wheel
coupling’, ‘load carrying trailer’, ‘long combination
prime mover’, ‘low loader, low loader dolly’, ‘quad axle
group’, ‘single axle’, ‘single axle group’,
‘tandem axle group’, ‘tri-axle group’, and
‘twin-steer axle group'.
Paragraph 14 establishes a new definition
of ‘long combination prime mover’ in place of the separate
definitions for ‘long combination prime mover (type 1)’ and
‘long combination prime mover (type 2)’, which are repealed in
Paragraphs 15 and 16. A single charge will now apply to all long combination
prime movers, removing the need for operators of these vehicles to distinguish
between the two types when they nominate how the vehicle should be registered.
A number of definitions are repealed, because they have been made
redundant by new and amended definitions. Terms repealed are:
‘dolly’, ‘long combination vehicle (type 1)’,
‘long combination vehicle (type 2)’, and ‘Registration
Authority’. The term ‘Registration Authority’ is deleted
because it is defined in section 7 of the Interstate Road Transport Act
1985, and it is intended that the term used in the Act should have the same
meaning as ‘Registration Authority’ in the Interstate Road
Transport Act 1985.
Paragraph 31 – Clause 2 of Part 1 of the
Schedule
The amendment clarifies the method of determining the number
of axles a vehicle has for the purpose of calculating the appropriate charge to
ensure that it does not apply to the new definitions of axle
groups.
Paragraph 32 – Clause 3 of Part 1 of the
Schedule
Paragraph 32 amends the existing clause 3 to make clear that
where a semi trailer is used with a converter dolly, or where a low loader is
used with a low loader dolly, these are to be regarded as a single trailer when
determining how many trailers a prime mover may tow. This is important, as
different charges are applied to a short combination prime mover, a medium
combination prime mover, and a long combination prime mover, and prime movers
may fall into different classes depending on the number of trailers they are
nominated to tow.
Paragraph 36 - Part 2 of the
Schedule
Paragraph 36 repeals existing Part 2, which contains the
current charges, and inserts a new Part 2 containing the updated charges.
New item 1 outlines the charges for load carrying vehicles in a table by
vehicle type and by number of axles.
New item 2 explains how to calculate
the charge for a load carrying trailer, converter dolly or low loader
dolly.
New item 3 lays out charges for buses in a table by vehicle type
and number of axles.
It is not intended that vehicles that may be
eligible for “higher mass limits” (mass concessions available if
certain conditions are met, including road friendly suspensions) would be
subject to higher registration charges under these amendments because they
operate at the concessional mass.
Paragraph 37 – Application of
Amendments.
This paragraph makes clear that the revised charges apply
to heavy vehicle registrations that come into force on or after 1 July 2000, if
the Act has commenced by that date, or on or after the date of commencement if
it is after 1 July 2000. This means that a new registration that is paid when
these amendments have commenced is charged at the applicable new rate.
Similarly, if a registration is renewed and the date that the renewal comes into
force is on or after the date of commencement of these amendments, the
applicable new charge will apply. Under subsection 9(4) of the Interstate
Road Transport Act 1985, a renewal comes into force immediately after the
existing registration expires.
The new charges in part 2 do not apply to
registrations that come into force before 1 July 2000, even if the Act is
proclaimed before then.
INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT AMENDMENT BILL 2000
Clause 1 – Short Title
Clause 1 provides for
the Act to be cited as the Interstate Road Transport Amendment Act
2000.
Clause 2 – Commencement
As the
amendment in this Bill is consequential to the amendments in the Interstate
Road Transport Charge Amendment Bill 2000, Clause 2 provides that the
Interstate Road Transport Amendment Act 2000 commences immediately after
the commencement of the Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Act
2000.
Clause 3 – Schedule
This clause
explains that the effective provisions of the amendments are contained in the
Schedule to the Act.
Schedule 1 – Amendment of the Interstate
Road Transport Act 1985
Paragraph 1 – Subsection 3(1)
(definition of trailer)
This paragraph amends the definition
of ‘trailer’. The amendment is to clarify the definition and make
it consistent with the definition used in agreed nationally uniform road
transport legislation. It is not intended to change the practical scope of
vehicles falling under the definition for the purposes of the Interstate Road
Transport Act 1985 or the Interstate Road Transport Regulations, as
the Interstate Road Transport Legislation encompasses only goods or passenger
carrying vehicles engaged in interstate trade or commerce.