Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 1998 No. 318
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1998 No. 318
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Foreign Affairs
Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987
Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Amendment Regulations (No. 2)
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987 ("the Act") gives effect to certain of Australia's obligations under international agreements relating to the peaceful use of nuclear material and facilities, including the Safeguards Agreement between Australia and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) pursuant to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and various bilateral safeguards agreements.
Section 74 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
The Nuclear Safeguards (Producers of Uranium Ore Concentrates) Charge Act 1993 imposes a charge on producers of uranium ore concentrates due on 1 December each year. The Act specifies the amount of this charge payable by these producers. Following a review of this charge in 1997 the Australian Government decided to change the charge from a fixed flat fee the same for all producers to an amount, to be set each year, charged per kilogram of uranium produced by each producer.
The amount calculated to be due, for each person paying the charge, on 1 December 1998 is 9.5359 cents per kilogram of uranium in the uranium ore concentrates produced by the person in the previous financial year. The Act sets a maximum limit of $500,000 on the charge.
The regulations:
a) amend the title of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Regulations to
bring it into line with current drafting practice;
b) set the amount of charge payable by a producer of uranium ore concentrates as
the lesser of 9.5359 cents per kilogram of uranium in the uranium ore
concentrates produced by the producer in the previous financial year and
$500,000.
The Regulations commence on 1 December 1998.
Details of the Regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1
Regulation 1 names the amendment regulations as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Amendment Regulations 1998 (No. 2)
Regulation 2
Regulation 2 sets the commencement date for the amendments as 1 December 1998.
Regulation 3
Regulation 3 amends the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Regulations ("the principal regulations") as follows:
Regulation 1 of the principal regulations is amended so the name of the regulations is brought into line with current drafting practice
Regulation 6 of the principal regulations is amended to set the amount of charge payable by a producer of uranium ore concentrates as the lesser of 9.5359 cents per kilogram of uranium in the uranium ore concentrates produced by the producer in the previous financial year and $500,000 (which is the maximum charge allowed under the Act).