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Fee Units Act 1997
An Act to provide for the introduction of a fee units system in legislation
[Royal Assent 11 December 1997]
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
This Act may be cited as the Fee Units Act 1997 .
This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.
(1) In this Act –CPI figure for Hobart means the Consumer Price Index: All Groups Index Number for Hobart published by the Australian Statistician under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 of the Commonwealth;enactment means an Act, but does not include –(a) a regulation, rule or by-law unless it is –(i) made by the Governor; or(ii) made by a person or body other than the Governor and is required by law to be approved, confirmed or assented to by the Governor; or(b) any other instrument of a legislative character unless it is –(i) made under the authority of an Act; and(ii) declared by the Minister under subsection (2) to be an enactment for the purposes of this Act;fee means a fee or charge that is payable under any enactment;goods and services tax means the GST as defined in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth;Head of an Agency means –(a) a Head of an Agency within the meaning of the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 ; and(b) a chief executive officer within the meaning of the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 .(2) The Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, may declare an instrument of a legislative character to be an enactment for the purposes of this Act.
Where, in an enactment, a fee is specified as a number of dollars, the fee is to be read as the same number of fee units.
(1) Until 1 July 1998, a fee unit is $1.(2) On 1 July in the year 1998 and in each following year, the value of a fee unit during the financial year commencing on that day is to be calculated in accordance with the following formula:where –F1 is the value in dollars of one fee unit during the relevant financial year;F0 is the value in dollars of one fee unit during the previous financial year;B is the average CPI figure for Hobart in respect of the 4 quarters ending on 31 March immediately preceding the financial year in which the value of a fee unit is to apply;C is the average CPI figure for Hobart in respect of the 4 quarters immediately preceding the 4 quarters referred to in the definition of B ;X is the fee unit adjustment factor, expressed as a decimal, determined under subsection (3) .(3) The value of "X" in subsection (2) must be greater than or equal to zero.(4) The Treasurer is to determine annually an amount, to be known as the fee unit adjustment factor, representing the amount by which the ratio of "B" to "C" should be adjusted to reflect any matters the Treasurer considers relevant for the purposes of the fee unit calculation.(5) Where the value of a fee unit calculated in accordance with subsection (2) contains a fraction of a cent that value is to be –(a) rounded up to the nearest cent, if the remainder is 0.5 of a cent or more; or(b) rounded down to the nearest cent, if the remainder is less than 0.5 of a cent.
(1) The amount of a fee provided for by an enactment is to be calculated by multiplying the number of fee units applicable by the value of a fee unit calculated under section 5 .(2) The amount of a fee is to be rounded down to the nearest cent.
7. Notification of fee unit and fee unit adjustment factor
Before 1 June in each year, the Minister is to publish in the Gazette notice of –(a) the value of a fee unit that is to apply for the financial year commencing on 1 July in that year; and(b) the fee unit adjustment factor used in the calculation of that value together with a brief description of the matters taken into consideration in determining the fee unit adjustment factor.
(1) A Head of an Agency responsible for collecting a fee is to –(a) publish in the Gazette a notice specifying –(i) the amount of the current fee, excluding the goods and services tax; and(ii) the amount of the fee for the next financial year, excluding the goods and services tax; and(iii) whether or not the fee is excluded from the goods and services tax under section 81-5(2) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth; and(iv) the amount of the goods and services tax payable in respect of the fee; and(v) the total fee payable; and(b) give any other notification specifying the amounts and matters referred to in paragraph (a) that the Head of an Agency considers appropriate for the next financial year.(2) The Head of an Agency is to publish the notice before 15 June immediately preceding the financial year during which the amount of the fee is to apply.(3) The provisions of section 47(3) , (3A) , (4) , (5) , (6) and (7) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1931 apply to a notice made under subsection (1)(a) as if it were regulations within the meaning of that Act.(4) The Subordinate Legislation Committee Act 1969 applies to a notice under subsection (1)(a) as if it were regulations within the meaning of that Act.
(1) The Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, may specify certain fees to be exempt from the application of this Act.(2) This Act does not apply if a fee is levied by a Government Business Enterprise, within the meaning of the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 , unless the fee relates to a public regulatory function or power of that Government Business Enterprise.(3) The Minister, by written notice to a Government Business Enterprise, may determine whether a fee relates to a public regulatory function or power of the Government Business Enterprise.
10. Effect of disallowance or exemption
(1) If a notice, or part of a notice, under section 8(1)(a) adjusting a fee is disallowed by either House of Parliament, the amount of the fee is taken, on and from the date of that disallowance, to be the same as it was immediately before the publication of the notice.(2) If, in a financial year, a fee is exempted from the application of this Act by a notice under section 9(1) , the amount of the fee is taken, on and from the date of that notice, to be the same as it was at the end of the previous financial year, subject to any adjustment in accordance with any other arrangement applying under the Act under which the fee is levied.
11. Notices not statutory rules
A notice under this Act is not a statutory rule for the purposes of the Rules Publication Act 1953 .
Until provision is made in relation to this Act by order under section 4 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990 –(a) the administration of this Act is assigned to the Minister for Finance; and(b) the Department responsible to the Minister for Finance in relation to the administration of this Act is the Department of Treasury and Finance.