EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Dairy Produce Act 1986
Dairy Produce (Termination of Dairy Adjustment Levy) Declaration 2009
Sub-clause 94 (1) of Schedule 2 of the Dairy Produce Act 1986 provides that the Minister may declare that the seventh day after the day on which the instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments is the levy termination day.
OUTLINE
The purpose of the declaration is to remove the Dairy Adjustment Levy which is applied at the rate of 11 cents per litre on retail sales of drinking milk.
CONSULTATION
Dairy Australia Limited and dairy processors have been extensively consulted about the removal of the levy:
Dairy Australia Limited - the dairy industry services body and trustee of the Dairy Structural Adjustment Fund into which levy funds are appropriated.
Dairy processors - responsible for forwarding the levy to the Levies Revenue Service on behalf of milk retailers.
EXPLANATION
The levy was introduced in 2000 by Schedule 2 to the Dairy Produce Act 1986 to fund the Dairy Industry Adjustment Program. The levy is applied to retail sales of drinking milk at the rate of 11 cents per litre. It is a specific purpose levy that must be removed once the Adjustment Program has been completed.
The final scheduled quarterly payment to dairy farmers under the Adjustment Program was made in April 2008. The levy has remained in place to recover debts incurred by the Commonwealth in establishing the Adjustment Program.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised a Regulation Impact Statement and Business Cost Calculator Report are not required for the declaration to close the authority (OBPR ID: 9972).
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