EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Telecommunications (Annual Carrier Licence Charge) Determination 2008
Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997
This instrument is issued by the authority of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (‘ACMA’). It sets out the method for calculating the annual carrier licence charge on a carrier licence.
Legislative Provisions
Section 12 of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997 (the Act) provides that a charge is imposed on a carrier licence that is in force at the beginning of a financial year.
Subsection 14(1) of the Act provides that the amount of charge to be imposed on a carrier licence is the amount ascertained in accordance with a written determination made by the ACMA.
Section 15 (1) of the Act enforces a limit on the total of the charges that are imposed on carrier licences.
For the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, a Determination is considered as a legislative instrument. The accompanying Determination must therefore be registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI).
Consultation
On application for a licence, carriers are advised that this instrument imposes a carrier licence charge, to recover costs for a financial year if they hold a licence on the first day of the financial year.
On 23 April 2008 the Office of Best Practice Regulation advised that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for the changes to the ACLC determinations (exemption number 9611), as the changes were minor and machinery in nature, and did not substantially alter existing arrangements.
On 27 March 2008 the Department of Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy provided the figures for the Commonwealth’s contribution to the budget of the International Telecommunication Union for the 2007 calendar year and confirmed the registration of the following determination:
- Determination under paragraph 15(1)(d) No. 1 of 2008 of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997
The determination provides that $742,679 is the amount estimated to be the amount of grants likely to be made for the financial year 2007-08 under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997.
On 9 April 2008 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) confirmed the registration of the Determination under paragraph 15(1)(b) No 1 of 2008 of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997 in relation to the proportion of the ACCC’s costs for the financial year 2006-07 that is attributable to the ACCC’s telecommunications functions and powers.
Attachment 1
Notes on the Instrument
Section 1 - Name of Determination
This is the Determination title.
Section 2 - Commencement
This section provides the commencement date of the Determination; which is the day after it is registered on the FRLI.
Section 3 - Definitions
This section sets out the definitions of key terms used in the Determination.
Section 4 – Method of ascertaining charge
This section specifies how the annual charge is calculated.
It states the annual charge payable by a carrier mentioned in Schedule 1, which was a carrier on 1 July 2007, is calculated using the formula described.
The amount of the charge imposed on each carrier licence is made up of a fixed component and a variable component. The fixed component (MFC: Minimum Fixed Charge) is a cost recovery based administration charge for the calculation, review and approval of the charge. For the 2007-2008 financial year, the fixed component is $295 per carrier.
The total variable component is calculated by first extracting the fixed component from the maximum charge amount (MCA) that excludes the other telecommunication charges (OTC). Then the total variable component is allocated to the individual carrier in the same proportion of their reported eligible revenue as set out in the Schedule 1.
Schedule 1
Column 2 sets out the persons who were holders of carrier licences as at 1 July 2007.
Column 4 sets out the assessment of each carrier's eligible revenue for the 2006-07 financial year.