Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am pleased to introduce the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Amendment Bill 2022.

The bill amends the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Act to clarify that the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Regulation may prescribe matters that will be the subject of multiple separate charges, which may be incurred by a licence holder during a particular charging period, and to enable a simpler method for working out the amount of charge prescribed.

The Narcotic Drugs Act provides, among other things, a licensing and permit scheme for regulating medicinal cannabis cultivation, production and manufacture in accordance with Australia's obligations under certain international drug conventions.

The medicinal cannabis regulatory scheme is cost-recovered in accordance with the Australian Government Charging Framework, through fees prescribed in the Narcotic Drugs Regulation. Charges are prescribed in the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Regulation pursuant to the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Act.

The Narcotic Drugs Act was amended in 2021 to simplify the medicinal cannabis licensing and permits framework, so the existing charges are intended to be revised to align with the new framework.

The bill enables the regulations to prescribe matters that will be the subject of multiple separate charges, which may be invoiced at multiple times during a particular charging period. It also enables the regulations to prescribe a charge by reference to a method for working out the amount of the charge. These changes support the regulations being able to prescribe charges that more accurately reflect the particular matter to which the charge relates.

The amendments in the bill are intended to provide sufficient flexibility for the regulations to appropriately prescribe charges, supporting the effective recovery of the costs associated with administering the Narcotic Drugs Act. Thank you.

Debate adjourned.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question now is that resumption of the debate be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Question agreed to.