EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1989 NO. 401
Stevedoring Industry Levy (Rates of Levy) Regulations (Amendment)
(Issued by the authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations)
Section 12 of the Stevedoring Industry Levy Act 1977 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing the rates of levy for the purposes of the Act, and that the Governor-General shall take into consideration any recommendations with respect to the rates of levy that have been made to the Minister by the Stevedoring Industry Finance Committee (SIFC).
The Stevedoring Industry Levy (Rates of Levy) Regulations, Statutory Rules 1978 No 246, as amended (the Principal Regulations) prescribe the rates of levy for the purposes of the Act.
The Government has agreed to the adoption of new rates of levy under the Act. Regulations have now been made to give effect to that decision. Under section 12 of the Act the Governor-General, in considering whether to make the regulations under the Act, is required to have regard to any relevant recommendations from the SIFC. In this case there were no such recommendations, the changes having been decided upon by Cabinet as part of the Government’s program to reform the stevedoring and international container depot industries. The bodies represented on the SIFC were, however, consulted about the proposed changes and agree with them. [By section 5 of the Stevedoring Industry Finance Committee Act 1977 the SIFC comprises a Chairman and representatives of the Association of Employers of Waterside Labour, ANL Limited, Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited and the Waterside Workers’ Federation of Australia].
The new rates of levy will be used to fund employer contributions to a special redundancy package which forms part of the Government’s waterfront reform program. The collection of non-statutory levies which were previously used to fund redundancies and early retirements in the stevedoring industry were suspended when the new statutory levy rates came into effect. Those rates have been calculated so as not to increase the total amount of levies (statutory and non-statutory) that previously applied in the industry.
The regulations amend the Principal Regulations to provide for the new rates of levy agreed to by the Government.
Paragraph 2(a)
Paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Act provides that a special levy is imposed in respect of the employment of waterside workers in, or in connexion with, the loading of cargo into ships by bulk means
or the unloading of cargo from ships by bulk means. Section 6 of the Act provides that this levy will be 35 cents per bulk handling man-hour of employment or such other amount per bulk handling man-hour of employment as is prescribed. The old amount of this levy as prescribed in subregulation 4(3) of the Principal Regulations was 49 cents per bulk handling man-hour of employment.
Paragraph 2(a) amended subregulation 4(3) of the Principal Regulations by providing for a new rate of $2.43.
Paragraph 2(b)
Paragraph 4(1)(c) of the Act provides that a special levy is imposed in respect of the employment of waterside workers in the loading of local cargo into ships. Section 7 of the Act provides that this levy will be equal to 75 per cent of the amount per tonne applicable in relation to overseas cargo by virtue of section 8 of the Act, or such lower amount per tonne of local cargo loaded into ships as is prescribed. The prescribed rate of levy applying under section 8 of the Act per tonne of overseas cargo was increased by paragraph 2(c) - see below.
Paragraph 2(b) amended subregulation 4(3A) of the Principal Regulations by providing for a new rate of 25 cents for the purposes of section 7 of the Act. The new rate is lower than 75 per cent of the new rate of levy that has now been prescribed for the purposes of section 8 of the Act.
Paragraph 2(c)
Paragraph 4(1)(d) of the Act provides that a special levy is imposed in respect of the employment of waterside workers in the loading of overseas cargo into ships or the unloading of overseas cargo from ships. Section 8 of the Act provides that this levy will be 18 cents per tonne, or such other amount per tonne as is prescribed, of overseas cargo loaded into or unloaded from ships. The old amount of this levy as prescribed in subregulation 4(4) of the Regulations was 25 cents per tonne of overseas cargo loaded into or unloaded from ships.
Paragraph 2(c) amended subregulation 4(4) of the Regulations by providing for a new rate of $1.25.
Date of effect
By regulation 1 the rates of levy will take effect from 1 January 1990.