EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Quarantine Act 1908
Quarantine Service Fees Amendment Determination 2007 (No.1)
Subsection 86E of the Quarantine Act 1908 (‘the Act’) provides that the Minister may make determinations that require fees of amounts set out in the determinations to be paid in respect of, inter alia, specified examinations or services carried out or provided under the Act, and that the determination may specify by whom the fees are payable.
The Quarantine Service Fees Determination 2005 (‘the Determination’) sets out the fees that must be paid in respect of specified examinations or services carried out or provided under the Act. The Determination sets out fees for services performed by programs of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (‘AQIS’), including services for the quarantine clearance of imported goods.
The purpose of the Quarantine Service Fees Amendment Determination 2007 (No. 1) (‘the Amendment Determination’) is to:
- increase the fees for the care and maintenance of a plant, or plants, in quarantine at a quarantine station mentioned in paragraph 15(a) or (b) of the Quarantine Proclamation 1998; and
- increase the fees for the diagnostic and disease elimination services provided by AQIS in relation to a plant, or plants, in quarantine; and
- create a new fee for the care and maintenance of Prunus spp. imported into Australia and nominated for export to New Zealand.
The increase in fees for diagnostic and disease elimination reflect the cost of providing these services. The new fee is a result of a bilateral quarantine agreement entered into with New Zealand which enables Prunus spp. to undergo post entry quarantine in Australia prior to export to New Zealand.
Consultation has occurred on the fee increases with the Post Entry Plant Industry Consultative Committee (PEPICC). The PEPICC is the principal advisory forum for AQIS and the plant importing industry to consult on all issues arising from the management of Australia’s post entry plant quarantine strategy.
Membership of the PEPICC comprises of representatives from key industry sectors including:
- state government plant quarantine facilities
- fruit improvement programs/associations
- private quarantine nurseries
- botanic gardens
- AQIS representatives
- Biosecurity Australia
- Quarantine and Export Advisory Council (QEAC)
- Plant Heath Australia
The Amendment Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (‘the LIA’).
The Amendment Determination commences on the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (‘FRLI’).
Details of the Amendment Determination are set out below:
Section 1 provides that the name of the Amendment Determination is the Quarantine Amendment Determination 2007 (No.1).
Section 2 provides that the Amendment Determination commences on the day after it is registered on FRLI.
Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Quarantine Service Fees Determination 2005.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Item 1 amends item 33(a), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by removing $1.23 and substituting $4.00. The effect of this amendment is to increase the fee for the care and maintenance of a plant, or plants, grown from imported seed, where the import permit requires the plant, or plants, to be grown in quarantine to maturity.
The fee in item 33(a), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination was subsidised. The anti-smuggling subsidy was introduced by the Australian Government to reduce the direct cost of importing high-risk plant material for an importer, thereby reducing the incentive to smuggle. However, since Increased Quarantine Intervention (IQI) was introduced by AQIS in 2001, the operating environment has changed with heavily increased border screening at all entry ports resulting in much higher chance of detecting smuggled plant material.
Accordingly, AQIS considers that the greatest incentive to smuggle lies with those high risk quarantine plants that require more than 12 months growth in quarantine and extensive diagnostic testing. The underlying costs of quarantine maintenance and screening for plants that do not require the use of indicator plants is lower and the application of an across the board subsidy dilutes the funds available to support the management of the imports with a higher incentive for smuggling.
The comparatively short time spent in quarantine, the lack of complexity in screening and diagnostics, and the availability of options outside the government network of plant quarantine stations mean that the incentive to smuggle is significantly less for seeds other than ‘high risk’ commodities. The amendment seeks to ensure that the government subsidy is targeted more effectively to offset the costs of importing high risk material where the incentive to smuggle can be considered as being high.
Item 2 amends item 33(b), column 2 and 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by substituting a new paragraph (b) and a new paragraph (ba). The new paragraph (b) has the effect of increasing the fee for each square metre, or part of a square metre, of space occupied from $1.23 per day to $2.65 per day. Item 33(b) still benefits from the Australian Government anti-smuggling subsidy. The increase in the fee is a direct result of the increased cost of providing the service.
The effect of new paragraph (ba) is to establish a separate fee for space occupied by a plant (or plants) of the genus Prunus spp. (stone fruit) held in quarantine at the quarantine station at Knoxfield in Victoria which are intended for export to New Zealand. The new paragraph (ba) sets the fee for each square metre, or part of a square metre to be $4.00 a day. This item does not benefit from the Australian Government anti-smuggling subsidy because although the plants are imported into Australia, they are imported solely for the purpose of undergoing quarantine in Australia before export to New Zealand. They are therefore not considered to be a smuggling risk.
Item 3 amends item 33(c), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $2.75 and inserting $4.00. The fee incorporates all consumables and costs associated with the care and maintenance of plants/seeds, but does not include specific tasks performed by AQIS officers, for example, budding, grafting, re-potting and hand pollination. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 4 amends item 34(a), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $60 and inserting $80. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 5 amends item 34(b), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $100 and inserting $120. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 6 amends item 34(c), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $100 and inserting $120. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 7 amends item 34(d), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $150 and inserting $170. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 8 amends item 34(e), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $125 and inserting $145. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 9 amends item 34(f), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $100 and inserting $120. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 10 amends item 34(f), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $90 and inserting $110. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 11 amends item 34(f), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $75 and inserting $95. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 12 amends item 34(f), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $60 and inserting $80. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 13 amends item 34(g), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $145 and inserting $165. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 14 amends item 34(h), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $745 and inserting $765. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 15 amends item 34(i), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $150 and inserting $170. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 16 amends item 34(j), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $70 and inserting $90. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 17 amends item 34(k), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $150 and inserting $170. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 18 amends item 34(l), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $1250 and inserting $1270. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.
Item 19 amends item 34(m), column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by omitting $2500 and inserting $2520. The increase in this fee is a result of the increased cost of providing the service.