EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Interstate Road Transport Act 1985

DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS TO BE DEBITED FROM THE INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT ACCOUNT (NO. 1/2009)

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 month.  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 credited to the COAG Reform Fund for payment to States, by reference to a percentage of the amount standing to the credit of the Account on the 20th day of each calendar month. 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 new Determination does not alter previous outcomes, has no financial or regulatory impact on either the state and territories or FIRS operators and as such consultation is considered unnecessary.  A Best Practice Regulation Preliminary Assessment has been completed and supports the assessment that further analysis is not required.

This Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.