WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Bill
1996
Date Introduced: 5 December 1996
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Communications and the Arts
Commencement: Royal Assent, but if the Act
receives the Royal Assent later than 5 June 1997, it is taken to
commence on that earlier date.Note, however, that the annual charge
imposed by Clause 12 (below) is imposed only in respect of
financial years beginning on or after 1 July 1998.
This Bill is a part of a package of Bills, the purpose of which
is to implement a new regulatory framework for the
telecommunications industry.The purpose of the Bill is to impose a
fee on applications for carrier licences and an annual charge on
carrier licences
Refer to the Background contained in the Digest of the
Telecommunications Bill 1996.
The bill contains 4 Parts.
Part 1
This Part contains the commencement and interpretation
provisions.
Part 2
Clauses 7 imposes a charge when an
application is made for a carrier licence (under
Clause 52 of the Telecommunications Bill 1996).The charge
is payable by the applicant (Clause 8).
The amount of the charge is calculated in accordance with a
determination to be made by the Australian Communications Authority
(ACA) (Clause 9).The maximum
charge is $100,000 (Clause 10).
Clause 44 of the Telecommunications (Transitional Provisions
and Consequential Amendments) Bill 1996 deems the issue of a
carrier licence under the Telecommunications Bill 1996 to
existing telecommunications carriers.
Part
Clause 12 imposes an annual
charge on carrier licences that are in force at the beginning of a
financial year.The charge is imposed in respect of financial years
beginning on or after 1 July 1998.The charge is payable by the
licence holder (Clause 13).
Again, the amount of the charge is calculated in accordance with
a determination to be made by the ACA (Clause
14).
There is no limit on the amount of the annual licence charge
except that Clause 15 provides that the total of
charges imposed on licences must not exceed the sum of the amounts
which represent the proportion of the:
-
ACA's costs, for the preceding financial year, that are
attributable to its telecommunications functions and powers
-
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's
(ACCC) costs, for the preceding financial year,
that are attributable to its telecommunications functions and
powers, and
-
Commonwealth's contribution to the budget of the International
Telecommunications Union (see the digest for Telecommunications
(Carrier Licence Fees) Amendment Bill 1996 for a brief
explanation of the role of the ITU) for the calendar year in which
the beginning of the financial year occurs that is to be recovered
from carriers.
Part 4
The ACA does not come into existence until 1 July 1997.The
Telecommunications Bill 1996, when enacted, will allow for
applications to be made for carrier licences from 5 June
1997.Clause 45 of the Telecommunications (Transitional
Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 1996 substitutes
AUSTEL for the ACA for the period from 5 June 1997 to 30 June 1997
for the purpose of receiving carrier licence applications.Part 4 is
a transitional provision which substitutes AUSTEL for the ACA for
the period from 5 June 1997 to 30 June 1997 (inclusive) for the
purposes of Part 2, i.e. to make a written determination setting
out how the amount of the application charge is to be
ascertained.
Lee Jones
5 February 1997
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other
sources should be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been
enacted and, if so, whether the subsequent Act reflects further
amendments.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents
with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of
the public.
ISSN 1323-9031
Commonwealth of Australia 1996
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior
written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library,
Commonwealth of Australia
Last updated: 26 March 1997
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