Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018

Administered by Department of Agriculture

Legislation au F2018L00453 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Explanatory Statement

 

Issued by Authority of the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources

 

Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Act 2015

 

Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018

 

Legislative Authority

 

The Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Act 2015 (the Act) imposes, as taxes, charges in relation to matters connected with the administration of the Biosecurity Act 2015 (the Biosecurity Act), so far as those charges are duties of customs, and provides other provisions for related purposes.

 

Section 12 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act. Section 7 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may prescribe in regulation a charge in relation to a prescribed matter connected with the administration of the Biosecurity Act.

 

Subsection 8(2) of the Act provides that before the Governor-General makes a regulation under subsection 7(1) prescribing a charge in relation to a matter, the Minister must be satisfied that the amount of the charge is set at a level that is designed to recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs in connection with the matter.

 

Purpose

 

The purpose of the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations) is to increase the existing international vessel arrival charge to cost recover the expenses of the expanded ballast water biosecurity activities and the most recent vessel arrival volume projections available to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (the Department). The increased cost recovery charge will ensure that the Department’s biosecurity operations for vessels are able to be sustainably funded.

 

Background

 

The Department provides biosecurity services under the Biosecurity Act through cost recovered arrangements. Costs are recovered through both fees and charges, imposed in accordance with the Australian Government Charging Framework and the Australian Government Cost Recovery Guidelines.

 

Charging is undertaken under the Act, the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Excise) Act 2015 and the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (General) Act 2015 (the General Act). These Acts provide the taxing legislation framework necessary to support cost recovery charges. Under the legislative framework for biosecurity cost recovery, charges are imposed under both the Act and the General Act. For the avoidance of any doubt as to the technical classification of the charge in the customs and taxation context, all charges appear in identical form in regulations made under each of the Acts.

 

Ballast water has been regulated by the Australian Government since 2001, and has been regulated under the Biosecurity Act since 16 June 2016. The Biosecurity Act has a chapter devoted to the management of ballast water and sediments within Australian seas. This chapter provides assessment and management powers to certain biosecurity officials specific to vessels intending to discharge ballast water.

 

On 17 May 2017, an amendment to the Biosecurity Act relating to ballast water received the Royal Assent. The Biosecurity Amendment (Ballast Water and Other Measures) Act 2017 (the amendment Act), strengthened Australia’s ability to manage ballast water in ships, and broadened existing powers to destroy exotic vectors of human disease on vessels and aircraft arriving in Australia. It was also a necessary step in ratifying the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Ballast Water Management Convention) which came into force internationally and in Australia on 8 September 2017. On this day, the amendment Act and the Biosecurity (Ballast Water and Sediment) Determination 2017 also came into effect.

 

As part of the 2017–18 Budget, the Department is required to cost recover the expenses of the expanded ballast water biosecurity activities from an increase in the international vessel arrival charge. This has resulted in the need for changes to the price of the existing vessel arrival charge (imposed under taxing legislation).

 

Impact and Effect

 

The Regulations increase the price of the vessel arrival charge from $720 to $920 per arrival. This is expected to raise additional revenue of $3.4 million per annum to offset the modelled expense base of the biosecurity activities of the seaports program, and the most recent vessel arrival volume projections available to the Department.

 

Consultation

 

The Department has undertaken consultation with its industry consultative committee on the details of the expense base, the cost recovery charge points, and the extent of the cost recovery charges payable by each vessel. The industry committee consists of representatives from the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia Inc, the Australian Federation of International Forwarders Ltd, Shipping Australia Limited and the Conference of Asia Pacific Express Carriers.

 

The Office of Best Practice Regulation has been consulted and considers that the ballast water legislation will have minor impact (ID 16609).

 

Details/ Operation

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in Attachment A.

 

Other

 

The Regulations are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in the Attachment.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.


ATTACHMENT A

 

Details of the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018

 

 

Section 1 – Name

 

This section provides that the name of the Regulations is the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018.

 

Section 2 – Commencement

 

This section provides for the Regulations to commence on 1 April 2018.

 

Section 3 – Authority

 

This section provides that the Regulation are made under the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Act 2015.

 

Section 4 – Schedules

 

This section provides that the instrument specified in the Schedule to the proposed Regulations is amended as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments

 

Item 1 amends the price of the vessel arrival charge (at Section 9 (table item 14, column 2, paragraph (a) of the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Regulation 2016) from $720 to $920.

 

 

 


ATTACHMENT B

 

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018

 

This Legislative Instrument is 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.

 

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The regulation would amend the existing charging regulation to increase the price of the vessel arrival charge from $720 to $920 per arrival.

 

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

 

 

The Hon. David Littleproud MP

Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources

 

 

Overview

The Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018 were enacted to amend the existing international vessel arrival charge, aligning it with the expanded biosecurity activities associated with ballast water management. The Regulations were introduced under the authority of the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Act 2015 and aim to cost recover the expenses of these enhanced biosecurity activities to ensure sustainable funding for the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources' operations. The increase in the charge from $720 to $920 per vessel arrival is intended to generate additional revenue of $3.4 million annually, reflecting the expanded scope of biosecurity measures and the latest vessel arrival volume projections. This adjustment is necessary to support Australia’s ratification of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments and to effectively manage the risks associated with ballast water discharge. The Regulations were developed following consultations with relevant industry stakeholders and are considered to have a minor impact, as assessed by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

Scope and Application

The Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018 applies to the administration of the Biosecurity Act 2015 within the context of international vessel arrivals. These Regulations were made under the authority of the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Act 2015 and are designed to increase the existing international vessel arrival charge. The primary objective is to cost recover the expenses related to expanded ballast water biosecurity activities and to ensure sustainable funding for the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources' biosecurity operations for vessels. The increased charge from $720 to $920 per vessel arrival is expected to generate additional revenue of $3.4 million per annum, aligning with the most recent vessel arrival volume projections and the modelled expense base of the seaports program. These Regulations apply across the Commonwealth of Australia, ensuring uniform implementation of the increased vessel arrival charge for all international vessels entering Australian waters. While the Regulations are comprehensive in their scope, they do not include any specific exclusions or exemptions, and their application is broad, covering all relevant vessels and associated biosecurity activities. The Regulations also note compatibility with the human rights and freedoms recognised under the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, confirming that they do not engage any applicable rights or freedoms.

Key Provisions

The Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Amendment (International Vessel Arrival) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations) are made under the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (Customs) Act 2015 (the Act) and serve to increase the existing vessel arrival charge from $720 to $920 per arrival (Schedule 1, Item 1). These Regulations came into effect on 1 April 2018 (Section 2). They were enacted to align with the increased costs associated with expanded ballast water biosecurity activities, as well as the latest vessel arrival volume projections provided to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. The primary purpose of these amendments is to ensure that the Department's biosecurity operations for vessels can be sustainably funded. The Regulations impose certain obligations on the entities and parties they govern. Specifically, they require the Department to implement the increased vessel arrival charge as stipulated in the Schedule (Schedule 1, Item 1). Additionally, they mandate that the charge be set at a level that is designed to recover no more than the Commonwealth's likely costs in connection with the matter, as required by subsection 8(2) of the Act. The Regulations are also designed to ensure that the charging framework remains aligned with the Australian Government Cost Recovery Guidelines and the Australian Government Charging Framework. In terms of consequences for non-compliance, the Act itself does not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breaching the Regulations. However, non-compliance with the charge requirements could potentially lead to legal challenges or disputes over the validity of the charges, particularly if the charge levels are deemed to exceed the Commonwealth's likely costs. Additionally, if the increased charge is not properly implemented, it may result in underfunding of the biosecurity operations, which could have broader implications for Australia's maritime biosecurity efforts. The Act's focus on cost recovery implies that any significant deviation from the prescribed charge levels could be subject to scrutiny and review.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Environmental Law
Instrument
Regulation
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Regulatory Standards
Offence Provisions

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.