Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Minister for Resources and Energy and the Minister for Tourism has provided the following response to the honourable senator's question:

The Department (excluding Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Division and Resources Division) and Tourism Australia

(1) (a) T-QUAL Accreditation Scheme – Master Licenses.

(b) China Approved Destination Status (ADS) Scheme – Registrations.

(2) (a) The T-QUAL Accreditation Scheme is open to quality assurance schemes. This includes accreditation programs that accredit, rate or certify operators, or Large Tourism Organisations that apply a quality standard to their operations, business units or related business entities. After a quality assurance scheme submits their application, their standards and processes are assessed by independent assessors on behalf of the Tourism Quality Council of Australia (TQCA) against the T QUAL Accreditation criteria. Following approval by the TQCA, the applicant will be required to sign a Master Licence with the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. A Master Licence allows quality assurance schemes to use the T-QUAL Tick under licence. Master Licence holders may then issue a Sub-licence to their operators or related business units to use the T-QUAL Tick

The T-QUAL Accreditation Scheme Master License Fee is currently $1,500 per annum.

(b) Appropriately qualified tourism businesses can apply to be registered as approved inbound tour operators under the ADS scheme. There are no registration fees associated with the China ADS Scheme.

(3) (a) The T-QUAL Accreditation Scheme Master License requires renewal every 2 years.

(b) Registration as an approved inbound tour operator under the ADS Scheme is ongoing and does not require renewal. Approved ADS inbound tour operators are required to comply with the ADS Code of Business Standards and Ethics. Penalties for breaches of the Code may include suspension or revocation of an operator's ADS approval

(4) and (5) (a) T-QUAL Accreditation Scheme Master License Fees - $4,500 paid in 2010-11; $3,000 paid in 2011 12 and $18,000 paid in 2012-13 (to end October 2012).

(b) China ADS Scheme Registrations – no registration fees are payable.

Clean Energy & Energy Efficiency Division

(1) to (3) See table below for the 8 classes of title instruments administered under greenhouse gas sections of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGSA). Non-government or government entities may apply.

Three greenhouse gas title instruments have been issued to date under the OPGGSA, but these have all been administered to government entities (1 Greenhouse Gas Assessment Permit to the Victorian Department of Primary Industries in 2011; 1 Greenhouse Gas Research Consent to the Victorian Department of Primary Industries in 2010; 1 Greenhouse Gas Research Consent to Geoscience Australia in 2012.)

Title instruments administered under Greenhouse Gas (GHG) activities under OPGGSA

(4) $0.

(5) $0 year to date.

Resources Division

(1) (a) A range of Offshore Petroleum fees are collected under the legislation listed below. Please see Attachment A for data from 1 January 2012.

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003

Petroleum Revenue Act 1985

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Annual Fees) Act 2006

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Registration Fees) Act 2006

(b) Custom (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 – A Kimberley Process Certificate is a permit which allows the holder to export a shipment of rough diamonds to another country which participates in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

(c) Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 - as of 15 October 2012, there were 64 current permissions under Regulation 9 for the export of controlled ores and concentrates.

(d) The Offshore Minerals Act 1994 (Fees) allows for the collection of offshore minerals exploration licenses, from exploration companies.

(2) (a) Please see attached spread sheet for fees for each item. Oil and gas companies which require offshore petroleum titles are required to pay these fees.

(b) Kimberley Process Certificates – no fees are levied by the Department, although applicants for Kimberley Process Certificates are required to apply to the AFP for a Police Criminal History Check, which currently costs $42.

Any individual, company or organisation which wishes to export rough diamonds from Australia is required to hold a certificate for each shipment. In the 2011 calendar year, 122 certificates were issued, covering shipments valued at $240 million.

(c) Controlled ores and concentrates - no fees are levied by the Department. Any proponent that wishes to export controlled ores or concentrates is required to hold an export permission.

(d) An application for an exploration license costs $3,000, and its renewal after four years (for a further two years) costs $600. Minerals exploration companies require a license to explore offshore areas of Australia.

(3) a) Please see Attachment A.

(b) Each shipment of rough diamonds requires a certificate (a baseline requirement under the international Kimberley Process Certification Scheme).

(c) Controlled ores and concentrates – permissions are renewed for up to 10 years dependent upon type of material exported and whether shipment is a one-off or involves multiple shipments over an extended period.

(4) (a)

(b) $0.

(c) $0.

(d)

(5) (a)

(b) $0.

(c) $0.

(d)

National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA)

(1) (a) Fee for services applies to NOPSEMA, in the form of early engagement safety case assessment.

(b) Fee for services is administered only to the non-government sector.

(2) The costs for the assessment of early engagement safety cases are recovered via the fee for safety case assessment provisions of Regulation 36 of the OPGGS Regulations. Fees for assessment shall be billed quarterly in arrears (October, January, April and July). The hourly rate applied will be the NOPSEMA annual cost recovery rate set at the commencement of each financial year.

(3) As fee for service involves provision of a service, renewal does not apply.

(4) Early engagement fees

(5) Total revenue

Geoscience Australia

Only fee for services (c) applies to Geoscience Australia.

Library Membership:

(1) The number of memberships varies yearly. Across the requested reporting period the Library has had 4 - 8 individual and 1 - 2 corporate members.

(2) $100+GST for individuals, $500+GST for Corporate memberships.

(3) Annually.

(4) and (5)

Inter-Library Loans:

(1) The number of Inter-Library Loans provided by the agency's Library to the non-government sector are:

(2) The Library follows the price recommendations of the Australian Interlibrary Resource Sharing Code (ILRS) under which prices have varied over the requested reporting period. Until October 2011, the base price for a standard inter-library loan was $12+GST. After this date, the standard price became $15+GST. Higher charges apply to urgently required items as detailed on the ILRS website.

(3) The vast majority of inter-library loans are single transactions.

(4) and (5)

National Earth Observation fee for Satellite imagery relating

(1) One.

(2) $1,918. The fee was determined on a full cost recovery basis.

(3) N/A.

(4) and (5)

Petroleum Data Repository – distribution of products

(1) Almost all items are administered to the non-government sector.

(2) Fees for distribution of products from the Petroleum Data Repository are set in accordance with the Australian Government's Spatial Data Access and Pricing Policy 2001. Under this policy fees are set at the marginal cost of transfer.

Marginal cost of transfer is defined as:

- Free, when the data is routinely available on-line for self service;

- Run-on cost, for standard, bulk-produced products;

- Full cost of distribution for all other products.

(3) N/A.

(4) and (5)

Compass Calibration

(1) All.

(2) Compass calibrations - $350+GST. Compass swing bay calibrations – fees will be calculated on full cost recovery basis.

(3) Geoscience Australia does not impose any renewal requirements. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Australian Maritime Safety Authority govern compass calibrations in relation to aviation and maritime activities.

(4) and (5)

ATTACHMENT A

Schedule 6: Application – Part 1 (petroleum)

Schedule 6: Application – Part 2 (GHG)