EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Shipping and
Subject - Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981
Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Regulations (Amendment)
The Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981 (the Act) imposes a quarterly levy on commercial ships calling at an Australian port with more than 10 tonnes of oil on board. Levy funds are used to purchase and maintain pollution-combat equipment which is strategically located around the Australian coastline. Funds are also used to meet administrative costs and the training of personnel in oil pollution response techniques.
Section 6 of the Act provides that the rate of levy for a quarter is such rate as is prescribed, being a rate not exceeding 4 cents per ton of the tonnage of the ship. The Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Regulations (the Regulations) prescribe the levy for the purposes of the Act.
A levy of 2.0 cents was set in 1981 when the Regulations first came into force and was reduced to 1.7 cents in 1984 as the levy collected was surplus to expenditure.
The surplus funds acquired in the first 3 years of the levy have now run down and the levy no longer meets current and projected equipment and operational costs.
The Regulations are therefore amended to raise the level of levy payable from 1.7 cents to 2.2 cents per ton of the tonnage of a ship.
Details of the amending Regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 provides that the amending Regulations commence on 1 January 1991.
Regulations 2 and 3 amend the Regulations by increasing the rate of levy from 1.7 cents to 2.2 cents and by specifying 1 January 1991 as the date on which the new levy comes into force.