EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1988 NO 115
Issued by the Authority of Minister for Primary Industries and Energy
WOOL MARKETING ACT 1987
WOOL MARKETING REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
The purpose of these Regulations under the Wool Marketing Act 1987 (the Act) is to make certain amendments to the Wool Marketing Regulations (Statutory Rules 1987 No 132 - the Principal Regulations), made under the Act for the purpose of placing in regulations the administrative procedures for making wool tax refunds to growers.
These amendments result from a review of the Principal Regulations by the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances (SSCRO) in which a number of administrative and drafting problems were identified. The Regulations to be amended were identified as subregulations 11(4), 11(6), 19(3), 21(5), 45(1), 45(3) and Regulations 20, 23 and 43. At the same time the Australian Wool Corporation (AWC) has sought some minor changes to subregulations 3(1), 6(2), 9(1), 9(2), 13(1) and 13(2) to improve the procedures in place regulating the provision of wool tax refunds.
The effect of these amending regulations is to correct errors made in drafting the Principal Regulations and to tighten up some of the administrative procedures in order to improve the efficiency and timeliness of wool tax refunds.
Subregulation 3(1) of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by providing for the inclusion of the definition of “authorised person” and “examinable document” from Regulation 23 to the more appropriate Regulation 3 - Interpretation.
Subregulation 6(2) of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by providing the AWC with the discretion to authorise Registered Persons to re-pay moneys paid into Market Support Fund to former partners of dissolved partnerships.
Subregulations 9(1) and (2) of the proposed Regulations amend the Principal Regulations by providing for a flexible formula mechanism to take account of changes to the apportionment and total percentage of wool tax.
Regulation 11 of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by omitting the redundant subregulation 11(6) and amending subregulation 11(4) to provide for a reasonable period to enable registered persons to comply with a direction from the Corporation regarding the provision of prescribed information.
Regulation 13 of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by allowing persons to make a claim upon the AWC if they have not received a payment within three months after the date of publication in the Gazette of a refund period and gives the Corporation the discretion to make retrospective refunds with respect to a refund year if satisfied there was sufficient reason why the claim was not delivered to the Corporation within the prescribed period.
Subregulation 19(3) of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by replacing the reference to “section” with a reference to “regulation” to correct a drafting error.
Regulation 20 of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by replacing the reference to “principles” with a reference to “formula” to make the scope of the regulation more precise and remove any possible ambiguity.
Subregulation 20(7) of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by replacing the reference to “section” with a reference to “regulation” to correct a drafting error.
Regulation 21 of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by omitting subregulation 21(5) being, like subregulation 11(6), redundant as Regulations 22, 23 and 23A, B, C, D provide sufficient basis for action in any proceedings for an offence under the Principal Regulations.
Regulation 23 of the Principal Regulations is to be repealed and replaced by proposed Regulations 23, 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D to meet the SSCRO preference for regulations governing the entry of inspectors onto premises either with consent or pursuant to a search warrant, to be modelled on subsections 232 and 236 of the ACT Credit Ordinance 1985.
Regulation 43 of the Principal Regulations is to be repealed as the appeal rights it bestows are already provided for under section 125 of the Act.
Regulation 45 of the proposed Regulations amends the Principal Regulations by omitting subregulation 45(1) and deleting from subregulation 45(3) reference to subregulation 45(1) as, like regulation 43, it is made redundant by section 125 of the Act.