EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Interstate Road Transport Act 1985
DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS TO BE DEBITED FROM THE INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT ACCOUNT (NO. 1/2007)
The Interstate Road Transport Act 1985 (IRT Act) provides for the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme (FIRS) which is an alternative heavy vehicle registration scheme for vehicles engaged in interstate trade. The states and territories administer FIRS on behalf of the Australian Government consistent with an agreement made under section 6 of the
IRT Act.
Revenue collected by state and territory registration authorities for FIRS registration charges and submitted to the Australian Government each month is held in the Interstate Road Transport Account for redistribution to all states and territories each quarter. Subsection 23(1) of the IRT Act provides that the payments are to be made in accordance with a determination made by the Minister. This Determination specifies, for the purposes of subsection 23(1) of the IRT Act, the amounts to be debited from the Account and paid to States by reference to a percentage of the amount standing to the credit of the Account on each 20 March, 20 June, 20 September and 20 December, starting 20 December 2007. This percentage is determined according to a formula based on tonne-kms travelled by FIRS vehicles in each jurisdiction. The Determination also requires, for the purposes of paragraph 23(5)c) of the IRT Act, that these payments, which are financial assistance grants, are spent on the maintenance of roads that are used by FIRS vehicles.
The Determination has no financial or regulatory impact on either the state and territories or FIRS operators and as such consultation is considered unnecessary. The Office of Best Practice Regulation has agreed that neither a Regulatory Impact Statement nor Business Cost Calculator report is required for the purposes of the new determination.
The Determination will commence the day following registration by the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
This Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.