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INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS (NOTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2006 (NO. 1) (SLI NO 78 OF 2006)
Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 78
Minute No. 6 of 2006 - Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing
Subject - Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989
Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)
Section 111 of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 (the Act) provides in part that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
The object of the Act is to provide for a national system of notification and assessment of industrial chemicals for the purposes of aiding in the protection of the Australian people and the environment; providing information and making recommendations about industrial chemicals to Commonwealth, State and Territory bodies; giving effect to Australia’s obligations under international agreements; and collecting statistics in relation to these chemicals.
Subsection 110(1) of the Act provides that the regulations may prescribe fees for specified services. Subsections 110(2) to (6) set out details for when fees are due, the payment schedules and other arrangements. The fees for services defined in section 110 are prescribed in the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990 (the Principal Regulations).
The purpose of the Regulations is to increase all fees and charges for the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) for 2006-07, introduce application and renewal fees for the NICNAS controlled use permits, and specify the prescribed information required on applications for one type of controlled use permit (export only permits).
NICNAS operates on a fee for service basis for the assessment of new chemicals and applies a levy (NICNAS Registration) across the broader base of industry to fund all other programs such as compliance activities and the assessment of existing chemicals. Without sufficient funding including adequate operational reserves, NICNAS will be unable to satisfactorily discharge its mandatory obligations under the Act. In addition, new chemical assessment activity will not meet the Government’s cost recovery policy. The proposed increase in existing fees and charges would result in a reserve balance position that meets the agreed operational reserve target.
NICNAS fees and charges will be increased by 3.9% (rounded to the nearest dollar) commencing 1 July 2006. The last increases to new chemical fees and charges were made on 1 July 2005. The fee increase will enable the NICNAS to continue to operate on a full cost-recovery basis.
Division 1C of Part 3 of the Act establishes a controlled use permit system. A controlled use permit is an alternative to the assessment certificate system in respect of industrial chemicals that are low risk to occupational health and safety, public health and the environment because of their highly controlled use, handling and exposure. Introduction of a chemical under a controlled use permit must be of low risk to workers, the public and the environment. A person who makes an application for a controlled permit under this Division 1C will also have to meet relevant safeguards. Subsection 110(1) of the Act provides that the regulations may prescribe fees for application and renewal of controlled use permits. No such fees are currently prescribed and the proposed regulations will introduce such fees.
Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.
The fee increase was arrived at by agreement with the NICNAS Industry Government Consultative Committee (IGCC). Stakeholder consultation for the controlled use permit was through NICNAS’s established consultative forums, i.e. the IGCC, the Community Engagement Forum and States/Territories Memorandum of Understanding Committee. Consultation with the community, industry and government was conducted prior to the passage through Parliament of amendments to the Act in August 2004. A discussion paper specifically on the Controlled Use Permit (Chemicals for Export Only) proposal was released for public comment in the Chemical Gazette in December 2004 and a final report and recommendations was published in May 2005.
The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the proposed Regulations may be exercised.
The proposed Regulations would be a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Regulations 1 to 3 and Schedule 1 to the Regulations commence on the day after registration. Schedule 2 will commence on 1 July 2006. The reason for the delayed commencement of Schedule 2 is to align the date on which NICNAS fees and charges are revised with the new financial year.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)
Regulation 1 would provide for the Regulations to be referred to as the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1).
Regulation 2 would provide for the regulations 1 to 3 and Schedule 1 to commence on the day after they are registered and Schedule 2 to commence on 1 July 2006.
Regulation 3 would provide for Schedules 1 and 2 to amend the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990 (the Principal Regulations).
Item [1] – New prescribed information for ‘export only’ permits
This item introduces new prescribed information for an application for one type of controlled use permit (an export only permit). The prescribed information enables the regulator to confirm that the chemical will be used in a highly controlled manner and that it poses low risk to workers, the public and the environment and meets all safeguards built into the permit system.
This item introduces a new application fee of $3204 and a renewal fee of $633 for controlled use permits.