Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move government amendments (1) to (3) as circulated together:

(1) Schedule 1, item 2, page 3 (lines 20 to 22), omit "a National VET Regulator annual registration charge (or charges) for a financial year,", substitute "an amount of National VET Regulator annual registration charge for a financial year, or a method for working out such an amount,".

(2) Schedule 1, item 2, page 4 (lines 11 to 16), omit subsection 6B(2), substitute:

(2) Before determining an amount of charge, or a method for working out such an amount, under subsection (1):

(a) the Minister must be satisfied that the determination will result in recovering no more than the Commonwealth's likely costs incurred by the National VET Regulator in performing its functions; and

(b) the Minister must get the Ministerial Council's agreement to the amount of the charge or to the method.

Note: The Ministerial Council's prior agreement is also required to the amount of certain fees determined under section 232 of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.

(3) Schedule 1, item 2, page 4 (after line 16), at the end of section 6B, add:

(3) Despite subsection 44(1) of the Legislation Act 2003, section 42 of that Act (disallowance of legislative instruments) applies to a legislative instrument made under subsection (1) of this section.

These amendments address concerns raised by the Senate's Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills in its Scrutiny Digest No. 5 of 2017. The amendments limit the amount of the national VET regulator annual registration charge—the charge—to no more than required for cost recovery. The amendments provide that I, as the minister, may determine the amount of the charge or a method for working out such an amount. Before making a determination, I must be satisfied that the amount determined will recover no more than the likely costs incurred by the national VET regulator in performing its functions, and obtain the ministerial council's agreement to the amount of the charge or the method for working out that amount. The amendments ensure parliamentary oversight of the use of the taxation power by excluding the legislative instrument imposing the annual registration charge from the exemptions from disallowance. I commend the amendments to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.