Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Quarantine Fees) Act 2020 (Vic)
Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Quarantine Fees) Act 2020
No. 44 of 2020
table of provisions
Section Page
1Purpose
2Commencement
3New sections 238A to 238E inserted
4New sections 247 and 248 inserted
5New Part 14 inserted
6Repeal of this Act
═════════════
Endnotes
1 General information
Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Quarantine Fees) Act 2020
No. 44 of 2020
[Assented to 9 December 2020]
The Parliament of Victoria enacts:
1Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to amend the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 to provide for fees for quarantine.
2Commencement
(1)Section 1 and this section come into operation on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
(2)The remaining provisions of this Act are deemed to have come into operation on 7 December 2020.
3New sections 238A to 238E inserted
After section 238 of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 insert—
238AFees payable in relation to quarantine detention"
(1)Without limiting the generality of section 232, the regulations may prescribe fees relating to a quarantined person's detention at a specified place of detention.
(2)Without limiting subsection (1), the regulations may—
(a)prescribe amounts as fees by reference to—
(i)the types of goods and services associated with the detention of a quarantined person at a specified place of detention, including goods and services supplied to a quarantined person during that detention;
Examples
Costs of accommodation at a hotel, cost of meals.
(ii)whether a quarantined person is detained with one or more other persons at a specified place of detention that is shared accommodation;
Example
Shared accommodation may be—
·2 persons in a hotel room;
·4 persons in an apartment.
(b)prescribe—
(i)specific fees;
(ii)maximum or minimum fees;
(iii)maximum and minimum fees;
(iv)scales of fees.
(3)Fees prescribed by regulations made under this section must be reasonably referrable to the costs incurred by the State in detaining a quarantined person at a specified place of detention.
(4)Regulations made under this section—
(a)may have a retrospective effect to 7 December 2020; and
(b)may provide that fees relating to a quarantined person's detention at a specified place of detention apply, and are payable in relation to that detention, on and from 7 December 2020.
(5)In this section, quarantined person and specified place of detention have the same meaning as in Part 14.
238BWaiver of fees payable in relation to quarantine detention
(1)Without limiting the generality of section 232, the regulations may prescribe matters that COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria must or may have regard to in making a decision under section 259, including—
(a)the circumstances of a person to whom a relevant invoice relates;
Example
Whether a person is experiencing economic hardship is a circumstance of a person.
(b)whether a person to whom a relevant invoice relates is an eligible person within the meaning of the State Concessions Act 2004.
(2)In this section—
COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria has the same meaning as in Part 14;
relevant invoice has the same meaning as in Part 14.
238CPayment of fees
Without limiting the generality of section 232, the regulations may prescribe the method for, or the manner of, payment of fees liable to be paid under section 257 including—
(a)the payment of such fees by instalments or under payment plans;
(b)applications for and the approval of the payment of such fees under payment plans;
(c)information to be provided in applications referred to in paragraph (b);
(d)matters to be considered in the approval of the payment of such fees under payment plans;
(e)the contents or conditions applying to approved payment plans;
(f)periods of time within which such fees must be paid.
238DCertain requirements under Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 disapplied
The following are not required for any proposed statutory rule that is to be made under section 238A, 238B or 238C—
(a)consultation under section 6 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994;
(b)the preparation of a regulatory impact statement under section 7 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994.
238ERepeal of provisions relating to fees payable in relation to quarantine detention
Sections 238A to 238D and this section are repealed on 31 December 2021.".
4New sections 247 and 248 inserted
After section 246E of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 insert—
247Transitional provision—Repeal of Part 14—detention has not ended or invoice not given"
(1)This section applies if—
(a)a quarantined person's period of detention at a specified place of detention does not end before the repeal of Part 14; or
(b)a quarantined person's period of detention at a specified place of detention has ended and a relevant invoice has not been given to them under section 258 before the repeal of Part 14.
(2)Despite the repeal of Part 14, that Part (including any regulations made for the purposes of that Part) continues to apply on and after that repeal in relation to that person.
(3)In this section, quarantined person, relevant invoice and specified place of detention have the meanings they had under Part 14 immediately before its repeal.
248Transitional provision—Repeal of Part 14—application for waiver of fees
(1)This section applies if an application has been made under section 259 before the repeal of Part 14 and that application has not been determined by COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria before that repeal.
(2)Despite the repeal of Part 14, that Part (including any regulations made for the purposes of that Part) continues to apply on and after that repeal for the purposes of that application.
(3)In this section, COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria has the meaning it had under Part 14 immediately before its repeal.".
5New Part 14 inserted
After Part 13 of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 insert—
"Part 14—Fees relating to detention in quarantine during COVID-19 pandemic
255Definitions
In this Part—
COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria means the Administrative Office established under section 11 of the Public Administration Act 2004 by Order in Council published on 1 December 2020 in Government Gazette S 622;
quarantined person has the meaning given by section 256;
relevant invoice—see section 258(1);
specified place of detention, in relation to a quarantined person, means the place an authorised officer specifies as the place where the quarantined person is to be detained under section 200(1).
256Meaning of quarantined person
A quarantined person is a person—
(a)who has arrived in Victoria from—
(i)overseas; or
(ii)another State or a Territory after travelling directly to Victoria after arriving from overseas in that State or Territory; and
(b)who, for the purpose of eliminating or reducing the serious risk to public health posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is detained under section 200(1) on or after 7 December 2020 at a place specified by an authorised officer pursuant to that section.
257Liability to pay quarantine detention fees
(1)A quarantined person is liable to pay to the State the prescribed fees relating to the quarantined person's detention at a specified place of detention.
(2)If the quarantined person is a child, the parents of the child are jointly and severally liable to pay to the State the prescribed fees relating to that child's detention at a specified place of detention.
(3)Despite subsections (1) and (2), if 2 or more adults are detained together at a specified place of detention that is shared accommodation, whether or not with any children, all the adults are jointly and severally liable to pay to the State the prescribed fees relating to each person's detention at that specified place.
258COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria to invoice quarantined persons for fees relating to detention
(1)COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria must give a person who is liable to pay prescribed fees under section 257 an invoice (a relevant invoice) that contains the prescribed information.
(2)If 2 or more adults are jointly and severally liable to pay prescribed fees under section 257(2) or (3)—
(a)COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria may give any one of the adults a relevant invoice; and
(b)the relevant invoice is taken to have been given to each of the adults for the purposes of sections 261 and 262.
(3)If COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria gives a relevant invoice under subsection (2), the relevant invoice must, in addition to the prescribed information, state—
(a)the name of every other person who is jointly and severally liable to pay the prescribed fees and, in the case of a parent who is jointly and severally liable to pay the prescribed fees relating to their child's detention, the name of the child; and
(b)the amount of the fees relating to the detention at the specified place of every other person who is jointly and severally liable to pay the prescribed fees or the child, as the case requires, that are owing.
259Waiver of fees
(1)A person liable to pay prescribed fees under section 257 may apply to COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria for the waiver of payment of all or part of the fees.
(2)An application must—
(a)contain the prescribed information; and
(b)be made within the prescribed period.
Note
Information contained in an application may be required to be verified by statutory declaration—see section 260.
(3)On receiving an application under this section, COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria, subject to and in accordance with the regulations (if any), may—
(a)waive payment of all or part of the fees; or
(b)refuse to waive payment of the fees.
(4)COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria must give notice of its decision under subsection (3) in accordance with the regulations.
(5)A notice under subsection (4) must—
(a)state the decision of COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria; and
(b)contain any other prescribed information.
260Verification of waiver application information by statutory declaration
COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria may require verification, by a statutory declaration, of any information contained in or accompanying an application under section 259.
261Payment of fees
A person liable to pay fees under section 257 must pay the fees, or any part of the fees not waived under section 259, to the State subject to and in accordance with the regulations.
262Recovery of unpaid fees
An amount not paid by a person under section 261—
(a)is a debt due to the State; and
(b)may be recovered by COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria, for and on behalf of the State, in a court of competent jurisdiction.
263Delegation
The Administrative Office Head within the meaning of the Public Administration Act 2004 of COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria, by instrument, may delegate to any employee or class of employees employed under Part 3 of that Act any power, duty or function of the Administrative Office Head or COVID‑19 Quarantine Victoria under this Part, other than this power of delegation.
264Repeal of this Part
This Part is repealed on 31 December 2021.".
6Repeal of this Act
This Act is repealed on the first anniversary of the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
Note
The repeal of this Act does not affect the continuing operation of the amendments made by it (see section 15(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).
═════════════
Endnotes
1 General information
See for Victorian Bills, Acts and current authorised versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
Minister's second reading speech—
Legislative Assembly: 8 December 2020
Legislative Council: 8 December 2020
The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to amend the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 to provide for quarantine fees and for other purposes."
0
0
0