EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997
Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Determination No. 2 of 2006
(2005-06 Financial Year)
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
The Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997 (the Act) sets out the method of calculating annual charges that apply to the carrier licences held by the telecommunications carriers. Paragraph 15(1)(e) of the Act provides that part of the total charges that may be imposed on carrier licences includes an amount determined by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, by written instrument, to be the proportion of the Commonwealth’s costs for the immediately preceding financial year that is attributable to the administration of Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Telecommunications Act). Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Telecommunications Act dealt with industry development plans.
The accompanying determination has been made for the purposes of paragraph 15(1)(e) of the Act. The determination provides that the amount determined to be the proportion of the Commonwealth’s costs for administering Part 2 of Schedule 1 for the 2005-06 financial year is $73,754.89. The definition of ‘costs’ in subsection 15(4) of the Act requires that the Commonwealth’s costs are to be calculated in accordance with accrual-based accounting principles. This amount has been calculated in accordance with those principles.
Subsection 15(2) of the Act provides that an instrument under subsection 15(1) is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA). The accompanying determination must therefore be tabled in the Parliament and is subject to Parliamentary disallowance. The determination will take effect from the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (see paragraph 12(1)(d) of the LIA).
The determined costs for the 2005-06 financial year includes only those expenses incurred up to 24 September 2005. On that date, Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Telecommunications Act was repealed. Thus, no further costs will be incurred in relation to the administration of the provisions concerning industry development plans.
Consultation was considered unnecessary due to the minor and machinery nature of the accompanying determination (see paragraph 18(2)(a) of the LIA).