Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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TELEVISION LICENCE FEES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2012 (NO. 1) (SLI NO 31 OF 2012)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2012 No. 31

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Television Licence Fees Act 1964

Television Licence Fees Amendment Regulations 2012 (No. 1)

The Television Licence Fees Act 1964 (the Act) requires commercial television broadcasting licensees to pay licence fees in relation to their gross earnings from the televising of advertisements or other matter by the services provided under their licences.

Section 8 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all 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.

Subsection 5(2) of the Act provides that the regulations may make provisions for rebate of fees payable by licensees.

Part 4 of the Principal Regulations was introduced in 2010 to provide for new television licence fee rebates. This Part stipulates the amount of licence fee rebates that may be claimed annually by each eligible licensee over a period starting from the accounting period ending in 2010 to the accounting period ending in 2012.

The Regulations amend the Principal Regulations to increase the amount of licence fee rebate for the accounting period ending in 2012 from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, representing an effective six month extension of the rebates originally introduced in 2010.

The Government considers it appropriate at this time to temporarily extend the licence fee rebates through this increase because of the ongoing challenges affecting the sector in its transition to digital television.  

Regulation Impact Statement

A Regulation Impact Statement is not required for the Regulations on the basis that a preliminary assessment revealed that the proposal would be likely to have no or low impact on business, individuals or the economy. The Office of Best Practice Regulation provided agreement to the preliminary assessment on 4 October 2011.

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

The Regulations are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. This is because the Regulations do not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms, and they do not raise any human rights issues.

Consultation

The Regulations were prepared following consultations by the Minister with the peak industry body for the eligible commercial television broadcasting licensees.

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA) (see paragraph 6(a) of the LIA).

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

The Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.


 

ATTACHMENT

Details of the Television Licence Fees Amendment Regulations 2012 (No. 1)

Regulation 1 - Name of Regulations

Regulation 1 provides that the title of the Regulations is the Television Licence Fees Amendment Regulations 2012 (No. 1).

Regulation 2 - Commencement

Regulation 2 sets out the date on which the Regulations commence. It provides that the Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Regulation 3 - Amendment of Television Licence Fees Regulations 1990

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Television Licence Fees Regulations 1990 (the Principal Regulations).

Schedule 1 - Amendment

Item 1 - Subregulation 23 (2), table, column 2

Item 1 of the Regulations amends subregulation 23 (2), table, column 2 of the Principal Regulations. Item 1 of the Regulations omits the figure of '25%' in column 2 of the table in subregulation 23 (2) of the Principal Regulations, and replaces the figure with '50%'.

 


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