EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
BOUNTY (SHIP REPAIR) ACT 1986
BOUNTY (SHIP REPAIR) (RESERVATION OF BOUNTY) REGULATIONS
STATUTORY RULES 1988 NO. 174
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SCIENCE, CUSTOMS AND SMALL BUSINESS
Statutory Rules 1987 No. 117 of 1987 established the Bounty (Ship Repair) (Reservation of Bounty) Regulations, which requires claimants under the Scheme to reserve an amount of bounty prior to a formal claim for bounty, as well as prescribing the manner in which the Comptroller-General of Customs is to allot available amounts of bounty to eligible claimants.
Statutory Rules 1987 No. 117 permits the Comptroller-General of Customs to (amongst other things):
• reject applications reserving bounty that do not comply with the formalities prescribed by Regulation 4 of the Regulations; and
• to cancel a reservation of an amount of bounty in certain circumstances contained in regulation 8 of the Regulations.
Should the Comptroller take either of these actions, a registered repairer would be ineligible to be paid bounty for performing the repair that was the subject of the claim for bounty.
The Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances was concerned that the Comptroller-General’s discretion to reject applications and to cancel reservations of bounty could not be reviewed on its merit by an independent body.
The attached proposed Statutory Rules discharges 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 a decision the right to have the exercise of the Comptroller’s discretion reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
The commencement date of these regulations is to deemed to be 15 June 1987 - the commencement date of the principal regulations. As the regulations confer a benefit, subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 is not offended.
The regulations provide as follows:
Commencement
Regulation 1 deems regulation 2 (discussed below) to have commenced operation on 15 June 1987.
Regulation 2 Adds a new 8A and 8B to the Regulations:
Application for review
• New regulation 8A is added to the regulations to permit the review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of a decision of the Comptroller-General of Customs to accept or reject an application for bounty based on:
- whether or not the application is in accordance with the approved form; the service period to which the service contract relates; or
- whether the form is signed and witnessed as required by the form;
(paragraph (a)); or
to cancel a reservation of bounty because:
- the repairer named in the reservation for bounty has ceased to be a repairer, or has become the owner of the vessel to which the reservation relates;
- the repairer named in the reservation for bounty has had an application to be a registered repairer for the purposes of the Act refused by the Minister; or
- the service contract under which the repairs were conducted has been terminated or the repairs have been abandoned
(paragraph (b))
Notice of reviewability
• A new regulation 8B obliges the Minister to advise a person whose interests are affected by a decision of the Minister pursuant to the new regulation 8A of the Regulations (discussed above) of his or her right to have the Minister’s decision reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
• New subregulation 8B(2) provides that a failure to issue the notice will not itself invalidate the decision of the Minister.
Overview
The Bounty (Ship Repair) (Reservation of Bounty) Regulations, Statutory Rules 1988 No. 174, were enacted to address concerns about the lack of independent review mechanisms for decisions made by the Comptroller-General of Customs under the Bounty (Ship Repair) Act 1986. The initial Statutory Rules 1987 No. 117 established the framework for reserving bounty for ship repairs and permitted the Comptroller-General to reject applications and cancel reservations under specific conditions. However, the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances raised concerns regarding the Comptroller-General’s discretionary powers, which could not be reviewed by an independent body. In response, these regulations were introduced to ensure that affected parties have the right to seek a review of the Comptroller’s decisions by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, thereby providing a more transparent and accountable process. This regulatory change aims to uphold the principle of fairness in the administration of the bounty scheme for ship repairs.
Scope and Application
The Bounty (Ship Repair) (Reservation of Bounty) Regulations 1987, as amended, apply to claimants under the Bounty (Ship Repair) Scheme and the Comptroller-General of Customs, primarily within the Commonwealth jurisdiction. These regulations mandate that claimants must reserve a portion of the bounty before submitting a formal claim and dictate the procedures for allotment of available bounty amounts by the Comptroller-General. Specifically, the Comptroller-General has the authority to reject applications that do not adhere to the prescribed formalities and to cancel reservations under certain conditions, such as when a repairer ceases to be registered or when the relevant service contract is terminated. To ensure fairness and provide a safeguard against potential abuses of discretion, the regulations allow for review of the Comptroller-General's decisions by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, with an obligation on the Minister to inform affected parties of their right to seek such review. These amendments were introduced to address concerns about the lack of independent review mechanisms for the Comptroller-General's discretionary powers and took effect from 15 June 1987.
Key Provisions
The Bounty (Ship Repair) (Reservation of Bounty) Regulations 1987, as amended by the Bounty (Ship Repair) (Reservation of Bounty) Regulations 1988, outline several key provisions concerning the reservation and allotment of bounty for ship repair services. Regulation 1 (1) deems these regulations to have commenced operation on 15 June 1987, the same date as the principal regulations. Regulation 2 introduces new regulations 8A and 8B, establishing the process by which decisions made by the Comptroller-General of Customs can be reviewed. Specifically, regulation 8A (1) allows for the review of decisions to accept or reject applications for bounty, or to cancel reservations of bounty, by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. This review can be based on whether the application complies with the approved form, the service period it pertains to, or if the form is correctly signed and witnessed. Similarly, the cancellation of a reservation of bounty can be reviewed if the repairer named in the reservation has ceased to be a repairer, has become the owner of the vessel, had their application for registration refused, or if the service contract has been terminated or the repairs abandoned.
These regulations impose obligations on both claimants and the Comptroller-General of Customs. Claimants are required to reserve an amount of bounty in compliance with the formalities prescribed in Regulation 4 of the Regulations. They must ensure that their applications are in the approved form, correctly signed and witnessed, and pertain to a valid service period. The Comptroller-General of Customs, on the other hand, is obligated to allot available bounty amounts to eligible claimants in accordance with the regulations. The Comptroller-General also has the discretion to reject non-compliant applications and cancel reservations of bounty under specific circumstances outlined in regulation 8 of the Regulations. Furthermore, regulation 8B (1) requires the Minister to inform individuals whose interests are affected by decisions made under regulation 8A of their right to have such decisions reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
The Bounty (Ship Repair) (Reservation of Bounty) Regulations 1988 also address the consequences of non-compliance with the regulations. If the Comptroller-General rejects an application or cancels a reservation of bounty, the claimant becomes ineligible to receive bounty for the repair in question. Regulation 8B (2) clarifies that failure to notify affected individuals of their right to review does not invalidate the decision made by the Minister. These regulations provide a structured process for claimants to seek review of decisions, ensuring that there is a mechanism for challenging the Comptroller-General's discretion in a fair and transparent manner.