EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULE 1982 NO. 269
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS
Section 13 of the Radiocommunications Licence Fees Act 1982 (Act 65 assented to on 16 June 1982) (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations required or permitted by the Act for giving effect to the Act.
The Act expressly imposes fees in the nature of taxes for the grant or renewal of radiocommunication licences with the actual rates and form of any exemption fixed by regulations. By virtue of Section 11 of the Act, the Act applies to the grant or renewal of a licence on or after 1 July 1981. Following consultation with the industry on fees, agreement has been reached on the initial fee scale to be prescribed by the regulations.
The Radiocommunications Licence Fee Regulations (the Regulations) fix the level of fees to be paid for the grant or renewal of a radiocommunications licence.
As the decision to increase fees to full cost recovery has strained the financial resources of certain operators, the Regulations provide for the fees to be phased in over a three year period.
Details of the Regulations are set out below:
Regulation 1 and 2 deal with interpretation provisions.
Regulation 3 provides for the payment of fees in respect of the grant or renewal of a licence at a rate specified in the Schedule to the Regulations.
Regulation 4 contains the formula by which the fees are to be phased in over a three year period and has the effect of giving some operators a concession.
Sub-Regulation 4(1) deals with interpretation provisions for the purposes of the Regulation.
The effect of sub-regulations 4(2) and (3) is, that where the fee paid by the licensee of a commercial television station under the Television Stations Licence Fees Act 1964 is less than $25,000; the fees payable by the licensee under the Regulations are calculated as follows:
(a) for the 1981/82 period 25% of the 1981/82 scheduled radiocommunications licence fees;
(b) for the 1982/83 period 50% of the 1982/83 scheduled radiocommunications licence fees; and
(c) for the 1983/84 period 75% of the 1983/84 scheduled radiocommunications licence fees.
The effect of sub-regulations 4(4) and (5) is that where the fees paid by the licensee of a commercial television station under the Regulations exceed $10,000, the actual fees payable by the licensee are calculated as follows:
(a) for the 1981/82 period the fees payable are $10,000;
(b) for the 1982/83 period the fees payable are $10,000 plus 33 1/3% of the difference between that sum and the 1982/83 scheduled fees; and
(c) for the 1983/84 period the fees payable are $10,000 plus 66 2/3% of the difference between that sum and the 1983/84 scheduled fees.
Sub-Regulation 4(6) provides that where both sub-regulations 4(2) and 4(4) would apply, the fee payable by the person in respect of the grant or renewal of the licence is the lower of the fees calculated by reference to the sub-regulations.