Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FISHERIES MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 95

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 95

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Resources and Energy

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Fisheries Management Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 168(1) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed and regulations necessary or convenient to be prescribed in carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Subparagraph 168(2)(e)(ii) provides that regulations may be made for the imposition and recovery of fees in respect of the making of applications under the Act.

Section 42 of the Act empowers the Governor-General to make regulations to provide for the holders of fishing concessions to record and furnish returns containing information relating to the taking, sale or disposal, carrying, transhipping and processing of fish.

The Fisheries Management Regulations (the principal Regulations) prescribe matters in support of the

Act, including requiring the recording and furnishing of returns and the setting of application fees.

The Fisheries Management Regulations (Amendment) (the Regulations) amend the principal Regulations to implement 2 new matters:

*       The first matter relates to the recording and communicating of information that is in a logbook, defined in the principal Regulations to mean a return recording in-formation as set out in section 42 of the Act. Regulation 36 of the principal Regulations provides that, subject to certain exceptions, a person must not make a record of information that is in a logbook or communicate to a person information that is in a logbook which concerns the affairs of another person, or give a person a part of a logbook in which information is recorded.

The Regulations amend Regulation 36 to expand the range of exceptions to this requirement by providing that the requirement that information in logbooks not be recorded does not apply to anything done in accordance with the Fisheries Administration Act 1991 (Administration Act). This amendment takes account of anticipated amendments to the Administration Act which will allow AFMA to exchange information, including information in a logbook, with the States and Territories.

*       The second matter relates to amendments to the schedule of fees (Schedule 2) in the principal Regulations, to increase the fees charged in respect of some of the applications referred to in Schedule 2. The new fees have been set following an internal review of application fees. It is AFMA policy to set application fees to reflect the costs to AFMA of processing each application.

The Regulations increase the fee for the grant or renewal of a fish receiver permit from $100 to $150. However, the Regulations provide for an exemption from payment of the fee for applications made between 1 July 1997 and 30 April 1998.

This exemption has been included in the Regulations to take account of the fact that during the 1997/1998 financial year AFMA will be introducing new administrative arrangements designed to simplify the process of granting and renewing fish receiver permits. There are currently five fisheries in respect of which a declaration is in force requiring fish receivers to hold fish receiver permits. The new administrative arrangements will:

*       reduce the fees payable by fish receiver permit holders authorised to receive fish in more than one declared fishery, as they will only be required to hold one permit, rather than one for each declared fishery in which they are authorised to receive fish; and

*       result in all fish receiver permits being granted for 12 months from 1 June in each calendar year to 31 May in the following calendar year.

To effect these changes, during the 1997/98 financial year AFMA will need to grant or renew a number of fish receiver permits for a period of somewhat less than 12 months. In these circumstances, AFMA. has decided to exempt current fish receiver pen-nit holders (persons holding a fish receiver permit on 30 June 1997) who apply for a fish receiver permit between 1 July 1997 and 30 April 1998 from payment of an application fee. Persons applying for a fish receiver permit for the first time will still be required to pay the fee. By 30 April 1998 all permits will be in force up until 31 May 1998, and during May 1998 AFMA. will accept applications for renewal of those permits for the period 1 June 1998 to 31 May 1999.

Except for Regulation 5, the Regulations commenced on gazettal. Regulation 5 is to commence on 1 May 1997.

Details of the Regulations are set out below:

Regulation 1 provides that Regulation 5 commences on 1 May 1997.

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations amend the principal Regulations.

Regulation 3 inserts a new subregulation 21(3) which provides for an exemption from payment of the application fee mentioned in item 13 of Schedule 2 where the application is made within the period outlined in the subregulation, and the applicant held a fish receiver permit on 30 June 1997.

Regulation 4 omits subregulation 36(2) and replaces it with a new subregulation 36(2) which adds an additional exception to the prohibition in subregulation 36(1) on the recording or communicating of information in a logbook. The new subregulation provides that a person may do an activity mentioned in paragraph (1) (a), (b) or (c) if the activity is done in accordance with, among other things, the Fisheries Administration Act 1991.

Regulation 5 omits some of the figures appearing in column 3 of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations, which concerns application fees, and replaces them with new figures.