Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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PRIMARY INDUSTRIES (CUSTOMS) CHARGES AMENDMENT (HONEY) REGULATIONS 2018 (F2018L00686)

Explanatory Statement

Issued by Authority of the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources

Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999

Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment (Honey) Regulations 2018

The Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999 (the Act) authorises the imposition of primary industries charges that are duties of customs.

Section 8 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by that Act to be prescribed or that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Subclause 13(2) of Schedule 14 to the Act requires the Minister to take into consideration any relevant recommendation made to the Minister by the designated body for the purposes of the subclause, before the Governor-General's power to make the proposed regulation may be exercised. The Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) was designated as the body for honey by the Minister within the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges (Designated Bodies) Declaration 2017, in line with the Act.

The Act provides for the ability to impose charges on honey. Schedule 14 to the Act authorises the regulations to impose charges on primary industry products, set the rate of the charge and identify the person liable to pay the charge.

The Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment (Honey) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations) decreases the Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) charge amount on honey from 2.9 cents per kilogram of honey to 2.7 cents per kilogram.

In addition to the Regulations, a further package of regulations amend the Primary Industry Levies and Charges (National Residue Survey Levies) Regulations 1998 to increase the rate of the National Residue Survey (NRS) excise and customs levies on honey, to offset the decrease to the EPPR. This would enable the honey industry to build up reserves in the NRS program without increasing the total amount payable by honey levy payers.

On 21 July 2017, the AHBIC wrote to the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources requesting a reduction to the EPPR charge by 0.2 cents per kilogram of honey. AHBIC is made up of the beekeeping associations in the New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania; pollinators; queen bee breeders and other relevant industry members. AHBIC also represents honey producers as a member of Plant Health Australia (PHA) and as a signatory to the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD).

EPPR levies may be used to pay for industry contributions to emergency responses under the EPPRD, an agreement between Commonwealth, state and territory governments, PHA and plant industry representative bodies that sets out the arrangements (including cost-sharing) for emergency eradication responses to plant pest incursions, or for other purposes relating to plant pest emergencies. Industries may also choose to build a reserve of funds to prepare for future such responses.

The reduction in the EPPR charge by 0.2 cents does not impact biosecurity responses as adequate reserves have now been accrued by the honey industry and this change allows industry to restore the NRS levy from 0.1 cents to 0.3 cents.

AHBIC consulted widely with levy payers and potential levy payers through its state chapters, amateur beekeeping associations, and public notifications of the proposed changes through print and electronic media. The proposal had majority industry support. No objections were raised during the six week objection period from 21 August to 2 October 2017. The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources assessed AHBIC's proposal and considers that it met the Australian Government's Levy Principles and Guidelines.

There is no financial impact on honey producers from the Regulations as the overall amount of the honey levy does not change.

Details of the Regulations are set out in Attachment A.

The Regulation is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment B.

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.