Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012

Administered by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Legislation au C2012A00133 In force Act

Legislation content

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012

 

No. 133, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

An Act to impose, as taxes, fees for registering models of GEMS products under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012, and for related purposes

 

 

 

Contents

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Act binds the Crown

4 External Territories

5 Extraterritorial application

6 Act does not impose tax on property of a State

7 Definitions

Part 2—Registration fees

8 Imposition of registration fees

9 Matters relating to amount of fees

Part 3—Miscellaneous

10 Regulations

 

 

 

Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012

No. 133, 2012

 

 

 

An Act to impose, as taxes, fees for registering models of GEMS products under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012, and for related purposes

[Assented to 21 September 2012]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

Part 1—Preliminary

 

1  Short title

  This Act may be cited as the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

 

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provision(s)

Commencement

Date/Details

1.  Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

22 September 2012

2.  Sections 3 to 10

At the same time as section 3 of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 commences.

1 October 2012

Note:  This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Act binds the Crown

  This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.

4  External Territories

  This Act extends to every external Territory.

5  Extraterritorial application

  This Act extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia.

6  Act does not impose tax on property of a State

 (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.

 (2) In this section, property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.

7  Definitions

 (1) In this Act:

registration application means an application under section 41 of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 to register one or more models of GEMS products in relation to one or more product classes.

registration fees: see subsection 8(1).

 (2) Other expressions used in this Act that are defined in the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 have the same meanings as they have in that Act.


Part 2—Registration fees

 

8  Imposition of registration fees

 (1) The GEMS Regulator may, by legislative instrument, specify fees (registration fees) for registration applications.

Example 1: The instrument might specify different fees for applications to register models in different product classes (see subsection 33(3A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).

Example 2: The instrument might specify different fees for registration applications depending on whether or not the applications are made by electronic means (see subsection 33(3A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).

 (2) Registration fees specified under subsection (1) are imposed, and are so imposed as taxes.

 (3) Two or more registration fees may be specified for a single registration application.

Example: The instrument might specify a number of registration fees for a single registration application to deal with applications covering a number of models or product classes.

Note: The GEMS Regulator may, in a particular case or in particular classes of cases, waive or reduce a registration fee, or refund the whole or part of a registration fee, that would otherwise be payable under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (see section 64 of that Act).

9  Matters relating to amount of fees

 (1) A legislative instrument made under subsection 8(1) may specify a registration fee:

 (a) by specifying an amount as the fee; or

 (b) by specifying a method for calculating the amount of the fee.

 (2) In specifying the amount of a registration fee, or a method for calculating such an amount, for the purposes of subsection (1), the GEMS Regulator may take into account only the following matters:

 (a) the cost of processing registration applications;

 (b) the cost of compliance monitoring (including testing) in relation to models of GEMS products, for the purposes of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012.


Part 3—Miscellaneous

 

10  Regulations

  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

 

 

 

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 30 May 2012

Senate on 10 September 2012]

(112/12)

 

Overview

The Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012, enacted by the Parliament of Australia, was designed to impose fees, treated as taxes, for the registration of models of Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) products under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012. This Act ensures the funding necessary for the administration and compliance monitoring of GEMS products, thereby supporting the broader policy objective of improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. The Act allows the GEMS Regulator to set specific registration fees through legislative instruments, taking into account only the cost of processing applications and compliance monitoring. The Act commenced on 22 September 2012, binding the Crown and extending its application to external territories and extraterritorial acts.

Scope and Application

The Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012 applies to the imposition of fees for the registration of models of Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) products under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012. This Act is designed to provide a funding mechanism for the administration and enforcement of the GEMS, thereby ensuring the standards are met and maintained. The Act binds the Crown and extends to every external Territory as well as to acts, omissions, matters, and things outside Australia, thereby establishing a broad jurisdictional reach. However, it does not impose a tax on property belonging to a State. The Act allows the GEMS Regulator to specify registration fees through legislative instruments, which are imposed as taxes, and the fees can be calculated based on the cost of processing applications and compliance monitoring costs related to GEMS products. The Governor-General has the authority to make regulations necessary for the implementation of this Act, further extending its application through subordinate instruments.

Key Provisions

The Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012 (sections 1-2) sets out the legislative framework for the imposition of fees for the registration of models of Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) products. The Act binds the Crown and applies to external territories and extraterritorial acts, though it does not impose taxes on state property. Section 8 specifically authorises the GEMS Regulator to set registration fees by legislative instrument, treating these fees as taxes. The fees can vary based on the product class or the mode of application, such as electronic versus paper-based submissions. The Act allows for multiple fees for a single registration application, depending on the number of models or product classes involved. The Act places several obligations on the GEMS Regulator. Under section 8, the Regulator must specify the registration fees, considering only the cost of processing applications and compliance monitoring when determining the fee amount or calculation method. This is explicitly detailed in section 9, which further refines that the fees must be based on these two cost factors. Additionally, the GEMS Regulator has the discretion to waive or reduce fees or provide refunds in certain cases, as outlined in section 64 of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012. Breaching the provisions of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012 can result in various penalties and consequences. While the Act does not explicitly state civil or criminal penalties for non-compliance, the imposition of fees as taxes suggests that failure to pay the specified fees could lead to standard tax-related enforcement actions. These may include fines or other administrative penalties as per general tax law. Additionally, the Regulator's ability to waive or reduce fees in specific cases implies that improper administration or enforcement of these fees might also be subject to review or corrective action under relevant administrative law provisions.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Environmental Law
Instrument
Act
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Commencement Provisions
Imposition of registration fees

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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.