Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS (NOTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2010 (NO. 1) (SLI NO 175 OF 2010)
Explanatory STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 175
Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989
Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2010 (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 Act provides 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; collecting statistics in relation to these chemicals; setting and enforcing national standards for cosmetics introduced into Australia.
Subsection 110(1) of the Act provides that the regulations may prescribe fees for specified services. Subsections 110(2) to 110(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 purpose of the Regulations is to increase all fees and charges for the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) for 2010-11.
Consistent with the Government’s cost recovery policy, NICNAS operates on a fee for service basis for the assessment of New Chemicals. In general, a new industrial chemical is a chemical that is being introduced into Australia for the first time. It is defined as an industrial chemical that is not listed on the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances, or it is a listed chemical subject to a condition of use. NICNAS also applies a levy (NICNAS Registration) across the broader base of industry to fund all other programs such as stakeholder outreach, compliance activities and the assessment of existing chemicals.
The adequacy of cost recovery aspects of NICNAS are reviewed annually using an industry/government agreed activity based costing model. Without sufficient funding, including adequate operational reserves, NICNAS is unable to satisfactorily discharge its mandatory obligations under the Act.
Under established cost recovery principles, the adequacy of NICNAS’s cost recovered funds is reviewed annually using an Industry/Government-agreed activity based costing model that uses a ratio of the Consumer Price Index and Worker Price Index from December. Applying this principle, all existing NICNAS fees and charges for 2010-11 will be increased by 3.6 per cent (rounded to the nearest dollar) commencing 1 July 2010. The last increases to NICNAS fees and charges were made with effect from 1 July 2009.
The fee increase was discussed with the NICNAS’s Industry Government Consultative Committee and approved by the Parliamentary Secretary for Health.
Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.
The Minister has appointed the NICNAS Industry Government Consultative Committee (IGCC), with membership drawn from peak industry associations, to review the utilisation of resources against NICNAS objectives. While the IGCC has agreed in principle for the application of annual adjustments to NICNAS fees and charges, this is not automatic, but is considered in the context of each year’s revenue, expenditure, performance and efficiencies achieved in the operations of the Scheme, using an industry/government agreed activity based costing model.
The fee increase was discussed with the NICNAS’s Industry Government Consultative Committee and agreed by government.
The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.
The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Regulations commence on 1 July 2010.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)
Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations
Regulation 1 provides for the Regulations to be referred to as the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1).
Regulations 2 – Commencement
Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence on 1 July 2010.
Regulation 3 – Amendment of Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990
Regulation 3 provides for Schedule 1 to amend the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Regulations 1990 (the Principal Regulations).
Item [1]
This item amends subregulation 11AB(1) to increase the fee by 3.6 per cent (rounded to the nearest dollar). There are three Tiers for NICNAS registration. The fee relates to the registration charge amount for Tier 2 annual registration.
This item amends subregulation 11AB(2) to increase the fee by 3.6 per cent (rounded to the nearest dollar). The fee relates to the registration charge amount for Tier 3 annual registration.