Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations (Amendment)

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Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 157

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Statutory Rules 1996 No. 157

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Communications and the Arts

Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Act 1991

Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 8 of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Act 1991 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters:

(a)       required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed; or

(b)       necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Section 4 of the Act provides that the holder of a general telecommunications licence or a public mobile licence must pay to the Commonwealth, by way of tax in respect of the licence, on each 1 July that occurs while the licence is in effect or within 12 months after it ceases to be in effect, a fee of an amount determined in accordance with the regulations as m force immediately before that 1 July.

Paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act provides that, without limiting section 4, regulations made for the purposes of that section may prescribe a procedure in accordance with which the amount of a fee is to be determined.

Section 6 of the Act provides that the total of the fees that become payable under the Act on 1 July in a financial year must not exceed the sum of:

(a)       all amounts appropriated, in respect of the immediately preceding financial year, for the purposes of the Australian Telecommunications Authority (AUSTEL); and

(b)       an amount. determined under the regulations, to be the proportion of the Commonwealth's contribution to the budget of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the calendar year in which that 1 July occurs that is to be recovered from carriers.

The ITU is a United Nations specialised agency with over 180 members concerned with international cooperation in the use of telecommunications, and the radio frequency spectrum and with promoting communications in developing countries. The ITU's work is organised in three sectors: Telecommunication Standardization, Radiocommunication and Telecommunication Development. Australia's ITU contribution is made on a calendar year basis.

Section 6 of the Act was recently amended by the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Amendment Act 1996 to enable the recovery of the full telecommunications carriers' share of the ITU contribution. This amending Act provides that the amendment made to section 6 applies in respect only of fees payable on 1 July 1996 or on 1 July of each succeeding year in respect of a general telecommunications licence or a public mobile licence.

The Government has agreed that, as radiocommunication and telecommunications carrier licensees are the major beneficiaries of the Government's participation in the ITU, it is appropriate that the full Commonwealth contribution to the ITU should he recovered from those licensees. Separate arrangements are being put in place to recover the full radiocommunications share of the ITU contribution through radiocommunications licence fees. This amendment to the regulations will enable recovery of the fix telecommunications carriers' share of the contribution through their licence fees.

Details of the accompanying Regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1: Commencement

Regulation 1 provides that the accompanying Regulations commence on 30 June 1996. This will ensure that the accompanying Regulations are in force before 1 July 1996 to allow the full recovery of the telecommunications carriers' share of Australia's contribution to the ITU through carrier licence fees payable on 1 July 1996.

Despite subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Amendment Act 1996 allows for Regulations made under paragraph 6(b) of the principal Act, for the purposes of determining the amount of the fee payable by carriers on 1 July 1996 under that Act, to be expressed to have commenced at a time not earlier than the commencement of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Amendment Act 1996. The Act commenced on 28 June 1996.

Regulation 2: Amendment

Regulation 2 provides that the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations are amended as set out in the accompanying Regulations.

Regulation 3: Regulation 4 (Limit of annual fees - proportion of Commonwealth's contribution to ITU budget)

Proposed Regulation 3 omits Regulation 4 of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations and replaces it with a new Regulation which provides that, for the purposes of paragraph 6(b) of the Act, the amount determined for a calendar year is the product of:

(a)       the Commonwealth's contribution to the budget of the ITU for that calendar year; and

(b)       the number (rounded to 2 decimal places) obtained using the formula:

T
____
T+R

where:

"T"       is the amount of the budget of the ITUs Telecommunication Standardization sector for that calendar year., and

"R"       is the amount of the budget of the ITU's Radiocommunication sector for that calendar year.

 

Overview

The Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 157 were enacted to address the issue of how to recover the full telecommunications carriers' share of Australia's contribution to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) through carrier licence fees. This regulatory amendment was introduced under the authority of the Minister for Communications and the Arts and was designed to align with the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Act 1991. The primary policy objective of these regulations is to ensure that the full telecommunications carriers' share of the Commonwealth's ITU contribution is recovered from the relevant licensees, reflecting their major benefit from the government's participation in the ITU. The regulations amend the existing framework to accurately determine the proportion of the ITU budget attributable to telecommunications, thereby allowing for an equitable recovery of the costs through carrier licence fees.

Scope and Application

The Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 157 pertains to the amendment of existing regulations under the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Act 1991. It applies to holders of general telecommunications licences and public mobile licences who are required to pay fees as a tax in respect of their licences, as specified in the Act. These regulations determine the procedure for calculating the fees payable by licensees on July 1st each year or within 12 months after their licence ceases to be in effect. The amendment ensures that the full telecommunications carriers' share of Australia's contribution to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is recovered through these licence fees. This applies nationally, as the ITU is a United Nations specialised agency involved in international telecommunications cooperation. The Act does not specify exclusions or exemptions, but it is implied that those not holding the specified licences are not subject to these fees. The regulations are made under the authority of the Minister for Communications and the Arts, and the amendments provide a clear framework for determining the proportion of the Commonwealth's ITU contribution that will be recovered from carriers, as well as setting out the commencement date for these regulations.

Key Provisions

The primary operative sections of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 157, under the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Act 1991, involve amendments to the existing regulations concerning the fees payable by telecommunications carriers. Regulation 1 sets the commencement date of these regulations as 30 June 1996, ensuring they are effective before the fees for 1 July 1996 are due. Regulation 2 indicates that these regulations amend the existing Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Fees) Regulations. Regulation 3 replaces Regulation 4 with a new provision determining the proportion of the Commonwealth's contribution to the budget of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that will be recovered from carriers. This new formula considers the budgets of the ITU's Telecommunication Standardization and Radiocommunication sectors. The obligations imposed by these regulations primarily concern the holders of general telecommunications licences or public mobile licences, as specified in section 4 of the Act. These licence holders must now pay a fee that includes the full proportion of the Commonwealth's ITU contribution, as determined by the new formula in Regulation 3. This obligation is set to ensure that the total fees collected do not exceed the amounts appropriated for the Australian Telecommunications Authority and the Commonwealth's contribution to the ITU, as stipulated in section 6 of the Act. The new formula is designed to accurately reflect the share of the ITU budget that will be recovered from telecommunications carriers. Breach of the obligations set out in these regulations may lead to civil or criminal consequences. The penalties for non-compliance with the fee payment requirements are not explicitly stated in the provided text, but under the broader legislative framework, penalties for non-compliance with telecommunications regulations can include fines and other enforcement actions. The maximum penalties would depend on the specific nature and severity of the breach, and could be determined by a court or tribunal under the relevant legislation. Additionally, ongoing non-compliance could potentially result in the suspension or revocation of the telecommunications licence.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.