EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2012 No. 85
Issued by Authority of the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985
Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1)
Section 7 of the Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985 (the Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of section 5 of the Act, which relates to the amount of the heavy vehicle registration charge.
The Act provides for an annual charge for the registration of heavy vehicles under the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme (FIRS). Section 5 provides that the amount of charge is the amount calculated in accordance with regulations made by the Governor-General under section 7.
The Interstate Road Transport Charge Regulations 2009 (the Principal Regulations) specifies different registration charges for categories of heavy vehicles and trailers and provides a mechanism for the annual adjustment of heavy vehicle registration charges for FIRS vehicles. Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations provides the annual adjustment factor, which provides a basis for adjusting FIRS charges on 1 July each year in the absence of any specific charges for a given year. The adjustment is intended to ensure that heavy vehicles’ share of road construction and maintenance costs continue to be fully recovered from the heavy vehicle sector as Government road expenditure and heavy vehicle fleet use changes over time.
During 2011, the heavy vehicle sector raised a number of concerns about high A‑trailer (the lead trailer in a B-double combination) charges impacting the viability of operators of B-double and B-triple configured trucks – particularly in rural and regional areas. In November 2011, the Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure (SCOTI) directed the National Transport Commission (NTC) to develop options for sharing the costs of reducing A-trailer charges among the remaining heavy vehicle fleet for implementation by June 2012.
The NTC subsequently undertook a five week public consultation period which included the release of a public consultation document on the proposed heavy vehicle charges annual adjustment and stakeholder meetings in Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. Fourteen written submissions were received from peak industry bodies on the consultation document.
On 21 March 2012, SCOTI agreed by majority revised heavy vehicle charges to apply from 1 July 2012.
The revised charges agreed by SCOTI:
- reduced A-trailer charges by around 50 per cent;
- excluded road reconstruction expenditure related to the 2010-11 natural disasters to ensure no double counting of cost recovery from heavy vehicles; and
- incorporated the annual adjustment to ensure ongoing cost recovery, consistent with a 2007 Council of Australian Governments directive.
The Regulation simplifies the trailer charges framework by reducing the number of different charges for trailers, resulting in increases and reductions to various types of trailer charges. A‑trailer axle charges for tandem, tri and quad axle groupings are approximately halved. All other trailer axle charges converted to a standard axle charge of $550 per axle, representing an increase from the 2011‑2012 rates of $418 or $473 per axle (depending on the number of trailer axles).
The reallocation of costs is based on more robust research on the road wear impacts of different types of heavy vehicles than was factored into the 2007 Heavy Vehicle Charges Determination. The research showed that past estimates of B-double damage to roads was too high while estimates of damage done by some rigid trucks and road trains was too low.
The Regulation varies the registration charges applying to heavy vehicles registered under FIRS for the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 in line with the SCOTI decision. If changes had not been made prior to 30 June 2012, the Regulation would have automatically applied an increase to current heavy vehicle registration charges of 6.7 per cent. This would have resulted in registration charges for FIRS vehicles being out of alignment with nationally agreed registration charges applying in most states and territories, and some FIRS operators paying more than the changes.
Some elements of the heavy vehicle industry raised concerns with the changes agreed by Ministers. However, the NTC calculated that adoption of the industry’s alternative proposals for heavy vehicle registration charges would have resulted in a significant under-recovery of charges (up to $372.4 million).
The state and territory registration authorities that administer FIRS on behalf of the Commonwealth have been advised about these changes.
Details of the Regulation are provided in the Attachment.
The Regulation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the proposed Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Regulation 2012
(No. 1)
Regulation 1 – Name of Regulation
This regulation provides that the name of the Regulation is the Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1).
Regulation 2 – Commencement
This regulation provides for the Regulation to commence on the day following registration.
Regulation 3 – Amendment of Interstate Road Transport Charge Regulations 2009
This regulation provides that Schedule 1 amends the Interstate Road Transport Charge Regulations 2009.
Schedule 1 Amendments
Item [1] – Regulations 5 and 6
Regulations 5 and 6 provide the registration charges for the 2009-2010 financial year and the 2010-2011 financial year respectively. The Note within each refers the reader to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport’s internet site for the amount of registration charge that applies in each of the financial years.
This item removes the reference to the Department’s internet site as the website of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport publishes only current registration charges, and not those of previous financial years.
Item [2] –Regulation 7
Regulation 7 provides a method for determining registration charges for any financial year after 30 June 2011.
As a separate method will be used to determine registration charges for the 2012-13 financial year (see Item 5) the heading of this regulation must be amended so it only refers to the 2011‑2012 financial year. This limits Regulation 7 to a single financial year, but it is necessary to maintain this section to ensure registration charges currently applying to heavy vehicles continue to apply up to the end of the 2011‑12 financial year.
Item [3] – Regulation 7
As per Item 2, this item removes the reference in Regulation 7 to any financial year after 30 June 2011 and replaces it with the specific time period of the 2011-2012 financial year.
Item [4] – Regulation 7
This item removes the Note in Regulation 7 which refers the reader to the Department’s internet site for the specific registration fees. The website of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport publishes only the current registration charges, and not those of previous financial years to avoid potential confusion.
Item [5] – Regulations 7A and 7B
Regulation 7A
This item inserts a new Regulation following Regulation 7, detailing heavy vehicle registration charges for the 2012-2013 financial year. This Regulation contains a table of base charges per axle which is used by registration authorities to derive heavy vehicle registration charges by vehicle category:
- Division 1 – Load Carrying Vehicles;
- Division 2 – Trailers; and
- Division 3 – Buses.
Regulation 7B
This item inserts a new Regulation providing a methodology to determine registration charges for financial years after the financial year ending 30 June 2013. This Regulation contains the same methodology as applies in Regulation 7 which is used to determine registration charges in the 2011-12 financial year.
Item [6] – Regulation 8
Regulation 8 defines the meaning of the term previous annual registration charge used in Regulations 6 and 7. The previous annual registration charge is an element of the methodology used to determine the automatic increase to registration charges where the registration charge is not otherwise specified.
This item adds Regulation 7B to Regulations 6 and 7 as those Regulations for which a definition of the term previous annual registration charge is needed.
Item [7] – Regulation 8
As per Item 6, this item adds Regulation 7B to Regulations 6 and 7 as those Regulations for which a definition of the term previous annual registration charge is needed.