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2000
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
ROAD TRANSPORT CHARGES
(AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY) AMENDMENT BILL
2000
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by
Authority of the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, the Honourable
John Anderson MP)
ROAD TRANSPORT CHARGES (AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY) AMENDMENT BILL 2000
OUTLINE
The purpose of the Road Transport Charges
(Australian Capital Territory) Amendment Bill 2000 (the Bill) is to amend
the Road Transport Charges (Australian Capital Territory) Act 1993 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 Bill forms 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 Bill will amend the substantive law of the Australian
Capital Territory (the ACT) in respect of heavy vehicle registration charging.
Victoria and the Northern Territory intend to adopt the Bill unchanged as the
law in their respective jurisdictions. The remaining States, and the
Commonwealth, intend to adopt the substance of the Bill in their own
legislation.
The Bill contains provisions relating
to:
• revisions to definitions of classes of heavy vehicles for
charging purposes; and
• the levels of heavy vehicle registration
charges to be levied from 2000/2001.
The Bill has been developed by the
National Road Transport Commission (the NRTC) 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 it deals with charges to be applied and collected by the ACT
Government.
The revised registration charges are estimated to raise an
additional $115,000 for the ACT Government (increasing registration revenue from
$2.081m to $2.196m). The proposed annual registration charges, when nationally
implemented by the Commonwealth and all States and Territories, are estimated to
raise around $424 m across Australia, 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 heaviest classes of
heavy vehicles increase, as current charge levels for these vehicles
under-recover the costs of their road use.
The Regulation Impact Statement is attached.
NOTES ON
CLAUSES
Clause 1 – Short Title
This clause
provides for the Act to be cited as the Road Transport Charges (Australian
Capital Territory) 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. The Act will be adopted by
reference by the Victorian and Northern Territory Governments, and adopted in
substance by other jurisdictions. Transport Minsters have agreed to target an
implementation date of 1 July 2000 for the implementation of the updated
charges. However, if, for practical reasons, the Australian Capital Territory
Government business and administrative systems are not ready at that date, the
provision allows for the Act to commence at a later date, up to 1 January 2001.
The 1 January 2001 date provides 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 Road Transport Charges
(Australian Capital Territory) Act 1993
Paragraph 1 –
Section 2
A similar provision specifies that permit charges will be updated from
the same date.
The new charges do not apply before 1 July 2000, even if
the Act is proclaimed before that time.
Paragraphs 2 to 37 –
Part 1 of Schedule
These paragraphs amend, repeal or insert a number
of definitions in the Act. The new and amended definitions are of vehicles and
vehicle components, which change and clarify how some vehicles are defined for
charging purposes and also to simplify the calculation of charges. In
particular, paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27,
34, 35, 36 and 37 amend or insert definitions in order to provide greater
consistency between the Act and other national legislation developed under the
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’,
‘short combination truck’, ‘special purpose vehicle’,
and ‘trailer’.
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’, ‘road’,
‘road related area’, ‘single axle’, ‘single axle
group’, ‘special purpose vehicle (type o)’, ‘special
purpose vehicle (type p)’, ‘special purpose vehicle (type t)’,
‘tandem axle group’, ‘tri-axle group’, and
‘twin-steer axle group’.
If a trailer does not meet the
definition of load carrying trailer, it may be classified as a Special Purpose
Vehicle.
Paragraph 13 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 14 and 15. 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.
The primary definition of special purpose vehicles is amended (Paragraph
28) to refer to the construction of a vehicle rather than its use. The key
component of the amended definition is that the primary purpose (that is, the
primary purpose for which the vehicle was built or permanently modified) is not
to carry goods or passengers. For example, a piece of self-propelled plant or
machinery would be considered a special purpose vehicle because it is built to
undertake a specific function such as (for example) earth moving, agricultural
harvesting or laying bitumen. Similarly, a truck that has been permanently
modified for a primary purpose that does not involve carrying goods or
passengers would also be considered a special purpose vehicle.
In the
definitions of special purpose vehicles:
• type p refers to
‘plant-based vehicles’ – a special purpose vehicle that is not
a modified truck, but rather a specialised piece of plant such as (for example)
a backhoe or agricultural harvester.
• type o and type
t refer to ‘truck-based vehicles’ – a special purpose
vehicle based on a modified truck or truck design. The distinction between type
t and type o depends on whether or not the vehicle exceeds mass limits specified
by regulation. ‘Truck-based’ special purpose vehicles that have at
least one axle or axle group that exceeds these mass limits are ‘overmass
vehicles’, that is type o. ‘Truck-based’ special purpose
vehicles that do not have any axle or axle group that exceeds these limits are
categorised as type t.
Administrative guidelines prepared by the
National Road Transport Commission will assist in the application of these
definitions of special purpose vehicles.
A number of definitions are
repealed, because they have been made redundant by new and amended definitions.
Definitions repealed are: ‘dolly’, ‘long combination vehicle
(type 1)’, ‘long combination vehicle (type 2)’, ‘special
purpose vehicle (type 1)’, and ‘special purpose vehicle (type
2)’.
Paragraph 38 – Part 1 of the Schedule (third last
sentence)
This new sentence clarifies the method of determining the
number of axles a vehicle has for the purpose of calculating the appropriate
charge so as to ensure that it does not apply to the new definitions of axle
groups, which also rely on numbers of axles.
Paragraph 39 - Part 1 of
the Schedule (second last sentence)
The new paragraphs insert further
definitions 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.
Interpretation provisions relating to what should be considered
goods and passengers in relation to the definitions of special purpose vehicles
are included to add clarity.
Paragraph 40 - Part 2 of the
Schedule
Paragraph 40 repeals existing Part 2, which contains the
current charges, and inserts a new Part 2 containing the updated charges. The
charges that apply from the commencement of these amendments are simply
calculated from Part 2 of the Schedule.
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.
New
item 4 lays out charges for special purpose vehicles in a table by vehicle type
and number of axles.
New item 5 specifies that if a vehicle can be
classified under 2 or more of the classes of vehicles in Part 2, then the higher
or highest of the applicable charges will be applied.
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 42
- Part 3 of the Schedule (heading)
This paragraph replaces the
existing heading for Part 3 of the schedule and substitutes a new simplified
heading. The charges for permits in Part 3 are unchanged by these amendments.
Paragraph 43 - Amendments not to affect requirements to determine
certain charges.
This paragraph makes clear that prior to the
commencement of these amendments, the ACT Government will continue to determine
heavy vehicle charges as it does now. This means that until these amendments
commence, the ACT Government will continue to determine charges in accordance
with the amounts and provisions of the existing Act.