EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1985 No. 84
Stevedoring Industry Levy (Rates of Levy) Regulations (Amendment)
(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations)
The amendments to the Stevedoring Industry Levy (Rates of Levy) Regulations are designed to give effect to recommendations made by the Stevedoring Industry Finance Committee (the Committee) to the Minister with respect to the rate of levy prescribed for the purposes of Sections 6 and 8 of the Stevedoring Industry Levy Act 1977.
The Committee has recommended that the rate of the levy for the purposes of Section 6 of the Act be decreased from $1.03 to 68 cents per bulk handling man-hour of employment and the rate of the levy for purposes of Section 8 of the Act be decreased from 53 cents to 35 cents per tonne of overseas cargo loaded into or unloaded from ships. The third special rate of levy decrease does not require a regulation. This decrease will take effect automatically in accordance with section 7 of the Act once the decrease in respect of overseas cargo is in place.
The Committee’s recommendation for a reduction in the levy rates arises from the fact that the component of the levies which has been used since 1977 to fund the industry deficit was paid out in March 1985. The ‘industry deficit’ was predominantly a shortfall in long service leave provisions for waterside workers that existed when the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority was wound up in 1977.
The amended regulations are to come into effect on the date of gazettal.