Shipping Registration Regulations (Amendment)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULE NO. 273 OF 1984

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT SHIPPING REGISTRATION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Sub-section 83(1) of the Shipping Registration Act 1981 (the Act), provides that the ‘Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

Sub-section 83(2) of the Act further provides, inter alia, that the regulations may make provision for and in relation to the imposition and recovery of fees in respect of -

  (i) the making of applications under this Act;

 (ii) the lodging and registration of documents or information;

(iii) the registration and re-registration of ships

(iv) the issue of registration certificates, provisional registration certificates and temporary passes; and

 (v) the supplying of copies of, or abstracts from, entries in the Register or documents forming part of, or associated with, the Registrar.

Regulation 38 of the Shipping Registration Regulations provides that the fees payable under the Act are as specified in Schedule 3 to those Regulations.

In 1979 it was announced as part of a wider policy that recovery of the full costs, attributed to the maintenance and operation of the Shipping Registration Office should be introduced over a five year period.

The commencement date for this graduated recovery policy was the date on which the new system of Australian registration of ships became operative in 1982.

Prior to that date Australian ships were registered under United Kingdom legislation. To avoid confusion and unnecessary complications during changeover to Australian registration, it was directed that the starting rate for fees for Australian registration would be equivalent to the United Kingdom fee structure current at the commencement of the Australian system, although these fees would not cover the administrative costs of the new system.

In 1982/83 fees were increased to recover 43% of the costs incurred by the Shipping Registration Office. In 1983/84, they were further increased to recover 65% of those costs.

Consequently fees have been increased to achieve an 87% cost recovery for the year 1984/85, the third of the five year programme.

Proposed Regulation 1 repeals existing Schedule 3 and substitutes a new Schedule 3 indicating the new fees.

Proposed Regulation 2 provides for the Statutory Rule to come into operation on 1 October 1984.