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13811 Cat. No. 97 2862 7 ISBN
0644
519118
1998
THE
PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
INTERSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT AMENDMENT BILL 1998
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Transport and Regional Development, The Honourable Mark Vaile MP)
The purpose of this Bill is to amend the Interstate
Road Transport Act 1985 (IRT Act) to take account of self-government in the
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and provide for additional enforcement
officers to be appointed in the ACT.
The IRT
Act provides for the registration of vehicles involved in interstate trade and
commerce under the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme. The States and
Territories administer the Scheme on behalf of the
Commonwealth.
Following ACT self-government,
the Commonwealth can no longer appoint ACT enforcement officers. The amendment
will redefine ‘State’ for the purpose of the Act to include the ACT,
enabling the appointment of inspectors by the ACT. Consequential amendments to
other sections of the Act are required to remove references to ‘the
Australian Capital Territory’ and
‘Territory’.
Other amendments are
also made updating references to penalties in line with current drafting
practice including references to the Crimes Act 1914. In relation to
paragraph 56(2)(da) which provides for an infringement notice as an alternative
penalty for excess loaded mass, this involves a reduction from $3000 to
$2000.
The Act will take effect on the day on
which it receives Royal Assent.
All revenue collected under the Federal Interstate
Registration Scheme is returned to the States for expenditure on the maintenance
of roads. The net budgetary impact of these amendments will be
nil.
All administrative costs incurred by the
State and Territory authorities administering the scheme are met through the
levying of fees paid by vehicle owner. No additional administration or staffing
requirements will arise for the Federal Department of Transport and Regional
Development.
Clause 1 - Short
title
This clause provides for the Act to
be called the Interstate Road Transport Amendment Act
1998.
Clause 2 -
Commencement
This clause provides for the
Act to commence on the day on which it receives Royal
Assent.
Clause 3 –
Schedule(s)
This clause provides that each
Act or item specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended according to
amendments made in this Act.
Schedule 1
– Amendment of the Interstate Road Transport Act
1985
Item 1 – Subsection
3(1)
This item inserts a definition of
‘carriage of passengers or goods between prescribed places’
to mean interstate carriage. The definition excludes reference to a
‘territory’ and is moved from section 4 to be included with other
definitions under this subsection.
Item 2
– Subsection 3(1) (definition of
insurance)
The item amends the definition
of ‘insurance’ by deleting the reference to ‘territory’
as the ACT is included in the definition of a State, see Item 3
below.
Item 3 - Subsection 3(1) (definition
of State)
The amendment provides for
the Australian Capital Territory to be included in the definition of a State.
This amendment causes consequential amendments in items: 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 18,
19, 22, 23, 25, 34, 37.
Item 4 –
Subsection 3(1) (definition of State operator’s
licence)
See Item
3.
Item 5 – Subsection 3(1)
(definition of territory)
The amendment
repeals the definition of ‘territory’ as it refers only to the ACT
which is included in the definition of a State, see Item
3.
Item 6 - Paragraph
3(10)(a)
As a consequence of including the
ACT in the definition of a ‘State’ (see Item 3) separate reference
to the ACT’s Regulatory Authority or Minister in this paragraph is no
longer required.
Item 7 - Subsection
3A(2)
See Item
3.
Item 8 – Section
4
This item repeals section 4 of the Act as
a consequence of including a definition of ‘carriage of passengers or
goods between prescribed places’ in subsection 3(1), see Item
1.
Item 9 - After
subsection 6(4)
This item inserts new
subsection 6(4A) which provides for references in the ACT, in that section, to
the Governor-General to be references to the Prime Minister and references to a
Governor of a State to be references to the Chief Minister of the
Territory.
Item 10 - Subsections 7(1) and
(2)
See Item
3.
Item 11 - Subsection
7(5)
This item replaces previous subsection
7(5) to provide that, in subsection 7(3) an (4) in relation to the ACT,
references to the Governor of a State are to be read as references to the Chief
Minister of the Territory.
Item 12 -
Paragraph 8(1)(e)
See Item
3.
This item converts the existing monetary penalty to
equivalent penalty units and inserts a reference to a provision of the Crimes
Act 1914 that permits a court to impose a greater fine on a body corporate
than on an individual.
Item 14 - After
subsection 8(2)
This item inserts new
subsection (8)(2A) to explain that a reference to ‘this section’ in
relation to the ACT in subsection (2) is a reference to the commencement of this
subsection.
Item 15 - Subsection
10(1) (penalty)
This item replaces the
current penalty provision, which includes a monetary penalty and a term of
imprisonment, with the same term of imprisonment and a reference to provisions
of the Crimes Act 1914 that permit a court to impose alternative
penalties.
Item 16 - Subsection 10(3)
(penalty)
This item replaces the current penalty
provision, which includes a monetary penalty and a term of imprisonment, with
the same term of imprisonment and a reference to provisions of the Crimes Act
1914 that permit a court to impose alternative
penalties.
Item 17 – Subsection
10(5)
This item repeals the subsection
as a consequence of the amendment to sub-section 10(1) at Item
15.
See Item 3.
See Item 3.
This item converts the existing monetary penalty to
equivalent penalty units.
This item inserts a reference to a provision of the
Crimes Act 1914 that permits a court to impose a greater fine on a body
corporate than on an individual.
Item 22
– Paragraph 19(1)(b)
See Item
3.
Item 23 – Subsection
23(2)
This item repeals subsection 23(2) as
a separate reference to payments to the ACT is not longer required following the
inclusion of the Territory in the definition of a state, see Item
3.
Item 24 –
Subsection 23(3)
This item replaces
subsection 23(3), with a similar provision which removes the separate reference
to the ACT when the Minister determines allocation of payments.
Item 25 – Subsections 24(2) and
(3)
See Item
3.
Item 26 – Section 25
(penalty)
This item converts the existing
monetary penalty to equivalent penalty units and inserts a reference to a
provision of the Crimes Act 1914 that permits a court to impose a greater
fine on a body corporate than on an individual.
This item converts the existing monetary penalty to
equivalent penalty units and inserts a reference to a provision of the Crimes
Act 1914 that permits a court to impose a greater fine on a body corporate
than on an individual.
Item 28 –
Subsection 44(2)
This item converts the
existing monetary penalty to equivalent penalty units and inserts a reference to
a provision of the Crimes Act 1914 that permits a court to impose a
greater fine on a body corporate than on an
individual.
Item 29 – Subsection
44(5)
This item converts the existing
monetary penalty to equivalent penalty units and inserts a reference to a
provision of the Crimes Act 1914 that permits a court to impose a greater
fine on a body corporate than on an
individual.
Item 30 – Subsection 44(6)
(penalty)
This item replaces the current
penalty provision, which includes a monetary penalty and a term of imprisonment,
with the same term of imprisonment and a reference to provisions of the
Crimes Act 1914 that permit a court to impose alternative
penalties.
Item 31 – Subsection 45(2)
(penalty)
This item inserts a reference to
a provision of the Crimes Act 1914 that permits a court to impose a
greater fine on a body corporate than on an
individual.
Item 32
– Subsection 45(3) (penalty)
This
item replaces the current penalty provision, which includes a monetary penalty
and a term of imprisonment, with the same term of imprisonment and a reference
to provisions of the Crimes Act 1914 that permit a court to impose
alternative penalties.
This item replaces the current penalty provision,
which includes a monetary penalty and a term of imprisonment, with the same term
of imprisonment and a reference to provisions of the Crimes Act 1914 that
permit a court to impose alternative
penalties.
Item 34 – Subsection
47A(7)
See Item
3.
Item 35 – After paragraph
49(1)(a)
The amendment inserts new
paragraph 49(1)(aa) to include a reference, in the exercise of a power referred
to in subsection 49(1), to trade not being absolutely free between the ACT and a
State as provided in the Australian Capital Territory (Self Government) Act
1988.
Item 36 – Subsection
49(2)
The amendment provides that for the
purposes of subsection 49(1) the definition of a ‘State’ does not
include the ACT .
See Item 3.
Item
38 – Paragraph 56(2)(d)
This item
converts the existing monetary penalty to equivalent penalty
units.
Item 39 – Paragraph
56(2)(da)
This item converts the existing
monetary penalties to equivalent penalty units and reduces the body corporate
penalty to an amount equivalent to five times the penalty for an
individual.
Item 40 – Paragraph
56(2)(e)
This item converts the existing
monetary penalty to equivalent penalty
units.
Item 41 – Paragraph
56(2)(f)
This item converts the existing
monetary penalty to equivalent penalty units.