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
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games)
Charges Bill 1998
Date Introduced: 25 November 1998
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Attorney-General
Commencement: 28 days after Royal Assent
To impose charges
for applications for classification of publications, films and
computer games and for related services provided under the
Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act
1995.
This Bill reintroduces measures which were
included in the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer
Games) Charges Bill 1997 (the 1997 Bill). The previous Bill was
passed by the House of Representatives on 4 December 1997, having
been introduced on 26 November 1997. It was introduced into the
Senate on 4 December 1997 but lapsed when the election was called
on 31 August 1998. This Bill is written in exactly the same terms
as the previous Bill.
On 3 December 1997 the Senate Standing Committee
for the Scrutiny of Bills expressed concern over clause 13 of the
1997 Bill which allowed the amount of the charge for classification
to be amended by regulation without an upper limit being
prescribed. The Committee queried whether this clause might be
considered to delegate the legislative power of Parliament
inappropriately. It suggested that a government charge which was
set by regulation was, in fact, a form of taxation, and that it was
for Parliament to set a tax rate, not the makers of regulations.
The Committee's report said that if there was a compelling case for
approaching the issue in this way, then the principal legislation
should prescribe the maximum charge above which the regulations
should not go.(1)
The Attorney-General, Hon Daryl Williams QC MP
responded to the Committee's concerns. He said that charges
reflected in the Bill were not a general Government revenue raising
measure. They were set so as to generate sufficient revenue to pay
for the full operating cost of the Office of Film and Literature
Classification (OFLC) in any one year. It would have been the
Government's preference to set the initial charges in regulations
made under the enabling Act with some formula or ceiling placed on
the charges in the primary legislation. He outlined several
alternatives that were considered but concluded that the use of
regulations, which it is open to Parliament to disallow, was the
most appropriate compromise in this case.(2)
For general background, refer to the Digest for
the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games)
Amendment Bill 1998.
Clauses 5-12 impose the charges payable for
applications for classification of publications, films and computer
games and for related services provided under the Principal Act.
The amount of these charges is specified in Schedules
1-6.
From time to time, changes to the imposed
charges will be required in order to adhere to the policy of full
cost recovery. Clause 13 allows such changes to be
made by regulation.
1. Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny
of Bills, Alert Digest, no. 18 of 1997, 3 December 1997,
p. 10.
2. Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills,
Alert Digest, no. 3 of 1998, 25 March 1998, p. 42-44.
Mary Anne Neilsen and Rosemary Bell
30 November 1998
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared for general distribution to
Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. While great care
is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the
paper is written using information publicly available at the time
of production. The views expressed are those of the author and
should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services
(IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in
this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for
related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional
legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an
official parliamentary or Australian government document.
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 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1998
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,
1998.
Back to top