Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

  That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

WATER EFFICIENCY LABELLING AND STANDARDS (REGISTRATION FEES) BILL 2013

The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (Registration Fees) Bill 2013 will provide the necessary legal basis for cost recovery for the WELS scheme.

Background

When the WELS scheme was established by the Council of Australian Governments in 2005, the scheme was intended to recover 80 per cent of its costs through registration fees.

In practice, this level of cost recovery was never achieved. The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005 provides for charging of fees in relation to a service. The effect of this is that only the costs of registration-related activities may be recovered through WELS registration fees. Other activities of the scheme, including compliance and enforcement, communications, and product standard development, may only be taken into account in scheme fees when authorised by a cost recovery taxing statute.

The COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water has sought changes to the scheme to allow the realisation of its cost recovery target.

Purpose of the Bill

This Bill provides the necessary legal basis for the WELS scheme to recover costs for all its activities. Consequential amendments to the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005, provide for the collection and administration of the fees, and are made in the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment (Registration Fees) Bill 2013.

This Bill is enabling and mechanistic in nature. It does not itself set the amount of the fees or affect the intended outcome for the scheme registrants. The fees will be set in a ministerial determination, which is a disallowable instrument and which is to be made following consultation with the States and Territories. The Bill does not allow the scheme to recover more than 100 per cent of its costs.

Conclusion

This Bill enables recovery of the full suite of the schemes costs, supporting a directive of the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water that the capacity of the scheme to recovery costs should be strengthened to ensure the long term viability of the scheme.

WATER EFFICIENCY LABELLING AND STANDARDS AMENDMENT (REGISTRATION FEES) BILL 2013

The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment (Registration Fees) Bill 2013 amends the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Act 2005. This Bill complements the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (Registration Fees) Bill 2013.

Background

The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards, or 'WELS' scheme was established by the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005 as part of the Council of Australian Governments' National Water Initiative.

The WELS Act2005 provides for charging of fees only in relation to a service. The effect of this is that only the costs of registration-related activities may be recovered through fees charged in relation to registration of WELS products.

Other activities of the scheme, including compliance and enforcement, communications, and product standard development, may only be taken into account in scheme fees when authorised by a cost recovery taxing statute.

Purpose of the Bill

This Bill is complementary to and introduced with the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment (Registration Fees) Bill 2013.

The Bill makes the necessary consequential amendments to the WELS Act 2005 to ensure that registration fees set under the Registration Fees Bill will be able to be collected and appropriately administered by the WELS Regulator.

Conclusion

This Bill is integral to the success and long term viability of the WELS scheme, as it makes essential amendments to the WELS Act to allow the proper collection and administration of WELS administration fees; which will be able to recover any or all costs of the WELS scheme.

Debate adjourned.