Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CATTLE TRANSACTION LEVY REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1996 NO. 249

STATUTORY RULES 1996 No. 249

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

Cattle Transaction Levy Act 1995

Cattle Transaction Levy Regulations (Amendment)

The Cattle Transaction Levy Act 1995 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

The Act provides for the imposition of a levy on each cattle transaction involving ownership transfer, delivery to a processor for slaughter, or slaughter of cattle or bobby calves, with certain exclusions principally relating to the sale of dairy cattle for dairying purposes.

There are six levy components funding the Meat Industry Council, the Meat Research Corporation, the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation, the National Cattle Disease Eradication Trust Account, the National Residue Survey (prior to 1 July 1993) and the Australian Animal Health Council Limited (AAHC). The levy rate payable to the National Cattle Disease Eradication Trust Account and the AAHC for leviable (per head of cattle) dealings can be set by regulations.

The AAHC component of the levy was recently inserted into the Act by separate legislation and applies to adult cattle and bobby calf dealings.

The Cattle Council of Australia (CCA) is recognised as the peak industry body representing cattle producers, the principal levy payers. These regulations implement a CCA request to decrease the National Cattle Disease Eradication Trust Account component on adult cattle dealings by 5 cents and for the AAHC component to apply only to adult cattle dealings. This is to achieve a nil impact on the total amount of levy paid by producers at the time of the application of the AAHC levy.

The purpose of the National Cattle Disease Eradication Trust Account is to receive the disease eradication component of cattle industry levies and charges collected by the Commonwealth and to make payments associated with the eradication of any disease in cattle that is endemic in Australia.

These regulations decrease the National Cattle Disease Eradication Trust Account component on adult cattle dealings to 25 cents.

The AAHC was established in January 1996 to be Australia's peak animal health body, providing the point of reference for strategic policy development and national program funding for animal health matters requiring a response at a national level. The Commonwealth, State/Territory Governments collectively, and the national councils of the livestock based industries (including the CCA) each provide funding for the AAHC.

These regulations decrease the Australian Animal Health Council Limited (AAHC) component on bobby calf dealings to 0 cents.

Charges specified in the Cattle Export Charges Act 1990 which are associated with these levies have also been amended by regulation.

Details of the regulations are:

Regulation 1 provides for a commencement date of 1 December 1996.

Regulation 2 provides for the Cattle Transaction Levy Regulations to be amended by the Cattle Transaction Levy Regulations (Amendment).

Regulation 3 prescribes, for the purposes of subparagraph 5(1)(d)(v) of the Act, the rate of levy for payment to the National Cattle Disease Eradication Trust Account to be 25 cents (replacing the previous rate of 30 cents).

Regulation 4 is a new regulation, prescribing in sub-clause 4.1, for the purposes of paragraph 5(2)(f) of the Act, the rate of levy for payment to the Australian Animal Health Council Limited to be 0 cents (replacing the previous rate of 5 cents).