Navigation (Compass) Regulations (Amendment)

Overview

The Navigation Act 1912, enacted by the Commonwealth Parliament, was introduced to regulate maritime navigation and safety within Australian waters. The primary objective of the Act was to ensure the safe and efficient movement of vessels, protecting both human life and the marine environment. In line with this objective, the Navigation Act 1912 provides a framework for the creation of regulations governing various aspects of maritime navigation, including fees for services provided to the maritime industry. The Act was amended in 1986 through Statutory Rules to adjust fees in accordance with the Government’s policy of cost recovery for services rendered. These amendments, made under the authority of the Minister for Transport and directed by the Minister for Finance, aimed to achieve full cost recovery over a five-year period. The accompanying explanatory statement details the adjustments to fees for services provided under the Act, including those related to compass examinations and adjustments, reflecting changes in economic conditions and the need for updated cost structures.

Scope and Application

The Navigation (Compass) Regulations Amendment, made under sub-section 425(1) of the Navigation Act 1912, applies to individuals and entities involved in maritime activities, specifically those requiring services related to compass adjusters. This includes ship owners, masters, agents, and compass adjusters themselves. The amendments primarily pertain to the fees associated with various services related to compass examinations, adjustments, and inspections. These Regulations have a national reach, applying across all Australian jurisdictions under the Commonwealth framework. There are no explicit exclusions or exemptions noted in these amendments, but the fees are adjusted to reflect cost recovery measures and align with the Government's policy on maritime service fees. The application of these Regulations is further extended through subordinate instruments which detail the specific fee adjustments for services rendered under the Act.

Key Provisions

The primary operative sections of the Navigation (Compass) Regulations are set forth in Regulations 2 to 3, which amend the existing fees for services related to compass adjusters. Regulation 2 increases the examination fee for a compass adjuster’s licence from $129 to $147. Regulation 3 introduces several changes: it replaces the fixed fees for out-of-hours attendance by a compass adjuster with an hourly rate of $35 and a minimum fee of $105 for work not continuous with ordinary hours. It also replaces the scale of fees for the cancellation of requested examinations or adjustments with a single fee of $108, reduces the fee for causing a compass adjuster to wait from an hourly rate of $86 to $70, and increases the fee for an unprescribed inspection of a ship’s compasses from $72 to $94. These changes aim to align the fees more closely with current market rates and operational costs. The Navigation (Compass) Regulations impose specific obligations on parties involved in the examination, adjustment, and inspection of a ship’s compasses. These include the payment of adjusted fees for services rendered by compass adjusters, such as examinations for a licence, attendance fees, and fees for inspections and cancellations of requested services. Ship owners, masters, or agents must comply with these fee structures when engaging compass adjusters for various maritime operations. The regulations also require that compass adjusters, who are surveyors, adhere to the fees specified in the amended regulations when performing their duties. The Navigation (Compass) Regulations do not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breaches. However, non-compliance with the specified fees and requirements could lead to disputes and potential legal actions for non-payment or underpayment of fees. Given that the regulations are amendments to existing maritime laws, any breach of these provisions might result in administrative penalties or actions under the broader Navigation Act 1912, which could include fines or other enforcement measures as deemed appropriate by the relevant maritime authorities. The precise penalties would depend on the context and severity of the breach, as well as any applicable maritime laws and regulations.