EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
BOUNTY (SHIP REPAIR) ACT 1986
STATUTORY RULES 1988 NO. 175
BOUNTY (SHIP REPAIR) (REGISTRATION) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SCIENCE, CUSTOMS AND SMALL BUSINESS
Statutory Rules 1987 No. 53 prescribed certain conditions to be fulfilled by a registered ship repairer and to be fulfilled generally in the repair of ships a claim for bounty for a claim for bounty under the Act could be made.
Paragraph 4(1)(c) of the Regulations required registered ship-builders to forward to the Minister for his or her approval the names of any additional subcontractors the registered ship-repairer intended using in the repair of a ship. (Where the Minister refuses to approve the additional subcontractors, the ship-repairer is ineligible to receive bounty for work done by the unapproved subcontractor.)
The Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances was concerned that this discretion could not be reviewed on its merits by an independent body.
The attached Statutory Rules discharge an undertaking made to the Committee by the Minister for Science, Customs and Small Business on 19 November 1987 to give a person affected by the above discretion the right to have an Minister’s decision reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Details of the Regulations are as follows:
Principal Regulations
Regulation 1 identifies the Bounty (Ship Repair) (Registration) Regulations as the Regulations being amended by these Statutory Rules.
Conditions for the purposes of subsection 19(8) of the Act
Regulation 2 amends subregulation 4(1) of the Principal Regulations as follows:
- paragraph (a) amends paragraph 4(1)(c) of the Principal Regulations and requires the applicant to provide to the Minister such information about the applicant as may reasonably be required to assist the Minister to determine whether the subcontractor should approved for the purposes of the Act.
• Regulation 3(c) currently requires a ship repairer applying for registration under the Scheme to nominate those persons who are to be subcontractors of the ship-repairer. After registration, should the
registered ship-repairer wish to add to the list of subcontractors, regulation 4(c) requires the ship-repairer to submit the names of the new subcontractors to the Minister for approval. Should the Minister withhold his or her approval for the registered ship-repairer to use the subcontractor, the registered ship-repairer is precluded by paragraph 4(d)(ii) of the Regulations from making a claim for bounty for work done by that subcontractor.
- paragraph (b) amends subparagraph 4(d)(ii) of the Principal Regulations, to make clear that the the non-approval of a subcontractor by the Minister is a “decision” for the purposes of the Administrative Appeals Act 1975.
- paragraph (c) adds a new subregulation 4(4) to the Principal Regulations, which positively requires the Minister to decide whether he or she will approve or not approve the name of a subcontractor nominated by a registered ship-repairer under paragraph 4(1)(c).
Regulation 3 adds two new regulations to the principal regulations:
Application for review
- New regulation 5 allows a decision of the Minister made pursuant to subregulation 4(4) of the Principal Regulations (discussed above) to be reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Notice of reviewability
- New regulation 6 obliges the Minister to advise the person whose interests are affected by a decision of the Minister pursuant to the new regulation 5 (discussed above) of his or her right to have the Minister’s decision reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
• new subregulation 6(2) provides that a failure to issue the notice will not itself invalidate the decision of the Minister.