National Measurement Amendment (Fee Indexation) Regulation 2015

Select Legislative Instrument No. 35, 2015

I, the Honourable Alex Chernov AC QC, Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulation.

Dated 26 March 2015

Alex Chernov

Administrator

By His Excellency’s Command

Ian Macfarlane

Minister for Industry and Science

Contents

1 Name

2 Commencement

3 Authority

4 Schedules

Schedule 1—Amendments

National Measurement Regulations 1999

1  Name

  This is the National Measurement Amendment (Fee Indexation) Regulation 2015.

2  Commencement

  This instrument commences on the day after it is registered.

3  Authority

  This instrument is made under the National Measurement Act 1960.

4  Schedules

  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

National Measurement Regulations 1999

1  Regulation 90B

Repeal the regulation, substitute:

90B  Fees

  For subsection 19A(8) of the Act, and subject to regulation 90C, the fees for activities undertaken by the Chief Metrologist (or a delegate of the Chief Metrologist) in respect of the examination and certification of patterns of measuring instruments are set out in Schedule 13.

90C  Indexation of fees

 (1) At the start of each financial year (an indexation year) after the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, a dollar amount mentioned in Schedule 13 is replaced by the amount worked out using the formula:

 (2) In subsection (1), a dollar amount includes:

 (a) the amount of a fee; and

 (b) a component of a fee expressed as an hourly rate.

 (3) The indexation factor for an indexation year is the number worked out using the following formula:

  where:

base quarter means the last March quarter before the reference quarter.

index number for a quarter, means the All Groups Consumer Price Index number (being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities) published by the Australian Statistician for that quarter.

reference quarter means the March quarter in the last year before the indexation year.

 (4) An indexation factor is to be calculated to 3 decimal places (rounding up if the fourth decimal place is 5 or more).

 (5) An indexation factor that is less than 1 is to be increased to 1.

 (6) Amounts worked out under subregulation (1) are to be rounded to the nearest whole dollar (rounding 50 cents upwards).

 (7) Calculations under subregulation (3):

 (a) are to be made using only the index numbers published in terms of the most recently published index reference period; and

 (b) are to be made disregarding index numbers that are published in substitution for previously published index numbers (except where the substituted numbers are published to take account of changes in the index reference period).

2  Schedule 13

Repeal the Schedule, substitute:

Schedule 13—Fees

Note: See regulation 90B.

Part 1—Examination and certification of patterns of volume measuring instruments

1  Fees for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of volume measuring instruments

 (1) The following table sets out prescribed fees, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of volume measuring instruments.

Note: In later financial years, the fees are indexed under regulation 90C.

 (2) This Part does not apply to the separate examination and certification of patterns of point of sale systems.

 (3) Additional fees set out in Part 8 of this Schedule are payable for the use of equipment mentioned in that Part during the activities.

2  Application of Level 1 fees

  The fees in column 2 of the table in clause 1 apply in relation to volume measuring instruments of the following kinds:

 (a) simple mechanical liquor measures or dispensers;

 (b) simple mechanical indicators or counters for flow;

 (c) fuel dispenser consoles (excluding computer‑based systems);

 (d) pulse counters and pulse generators.

3  Application of Level 2 fees

 (1) The fees in column 3 of the table in clause 1 apply in relation to volume measuring instruments of the following kinds:

 (a) simple electronic and multi‑liquor measuring systems;

 (b) single product fuel dispensers (except for use with gaseous products);

 (c) tank level gauges (excluding volume conversion and correction devices);

 (d) electronic flowmeter indicators or calculators;

 (e) computer‑operated consoles for fuel dispensers;

 (f) mass flowmetering systems (excluding liquefied petroleum gas).

 (2) However, for the kinds of instruments mentioned in paragraphs (1)(b) and (f):

 (a) the fee prescribed in item 10 of the table does not apply; and

 (b) the fee for the activity mentioned in item 10 of the table is, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, $226 per hour.

4  Application of Level 3 fees

 (1) The fees in column 4 of the table in clause 1 apply in relation to volume measuring instruments of the following kinds:

 (a) milk metering systems;

 (b) flowmetering systems other than those mentioned in subclause 3(1);

 (c) controllers and calculator‑indicators with conversion, linearisation or correction functions for flow;

 (d) multi‑product dispensers;

 (e) single product dispensers for use with gaseous products;

 (f) any other kind of volume measuring instrument not referred to in clauses 2 and 3.

 (2) However, for the kinds of instruments mentioned in paragraphs (1)(b), (d) and (e):

 (a) the fee prescribed in item 10 of the table does not apply; and

 (b) the fee for the activity mentioned in item 10 of the table is, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, $226 per hour.

Part 2—Examination and certification of patterns of weighing and dimensional measuring instruments

5  Fees for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of weighing and dimensional measuring instruments

 (1) The following table sets out prescribed fees, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of weighing and dimensional measuring instruments.

Note: In later financial years, the fees are indexed under regulation 90C.

 (2) This Part does not apply to the separate examination and certification of patterns of point of sale systems.

 (3) Additional fees set out in Part 8 of this Schedule are payable for the use of equipment mentioned in that Part during the activities.

6  Application of Level 1 fees

  The fees in column 2 of the table in clause 5 apply in relation to weighing and dimensional measuring instruments of the following kinds:

 (a) class 3 and 4 weighing instruments with a capacity of up to 100 kg;

 (b) simple instruments for weighing or dimensional measurement.

7  Application of Level 2 fees

  The fees in column 3 of the table in clause 5 apply in relation to weighing and dimensional measuring instruments of the following kinds:

 (a) class 2 non‑automatic weighing instruments;

 (b) class 3 and 4 non‑automatic weighing instruments with a capacity of more than 100 kg and less than 600 kg;

 (c) baseworks for non‑automatic weighing instruments with a capacity of 600 kg or more;

 (d) load cells;

 (e) simple indicators with no linearisation;

 (f) overhead‑track weighing instruments;

 (g) semi‑automatic multi‑dimensional measuring instruments;

 (h) static wheel weighers;

 (i) length measuring instruments;

 (j) area measuring instruments.

8  Application of Level 3 fees

  The fees in column 4 of the table in clause 5 apply in relation to weighing and dimensional measuring instruments of the following kinds:

 (a) belt weighers;

 (b) weighing‑in‑motion systems for trains and road vehicles;

 (c) catchweighers;

 (d) totalising hopper weighers;

 (e) class 1 weighing instruments;

 (f) controllers and indicators with conversion or linearisation functions for weighing;

 (g) automatic multi‑dimensional measuring instruments;

 (h) any other kind of weighing or dimensional measuring instrument not referred to in clauses 6 and 7.

Part 3—Examination and certification of patterns of evidential breath analysers

9  Fees for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of evidential breath analysers

 (1) The following table sets out prescribed fees, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of evidential breath analysers.

Note: In later financial years, the fees are indexed under regulation 90C.

 (2) Additional fees set out in Part 8 of this Schedule are payable for the use of equipment mentioned in that Part during the activities.

Part 4—Examination and certification of patterns of grain protein measuring instruments

10  Fees for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of grain protein measuring instruments

 (1) The following table sets out prescribed fees, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of grain protein measuring instruments.

Note: In later financial years, the fees are indexed under regulation 90C.

 (2) Additional fees set out in Part 8 of this Schedule are payable for the use of equipment mentioned in that Part during the activities.

Part 5—Examination and certification of patterns of utility meters

11  Fees for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of utility meters

 (1) The following table sets out prescribed fees, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of utility meters.

Note: In later financial years, the fees are indexed under regulation 90C.

 (2) Additional fees set out in Part 8 of this Schedule are payable for the use of equipment mentioned in that Part during the activities.

Part 6—Examination and certification of patterns of point of sale systems

12  Fees for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of point of sale systems

 (1) The following table sets out prescribed fees, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of point of sale systems.

Note: In later financial years, the fees are indexed under regulation 90C.

 (2) This Part does not apply to the examination and certification of a pattern of a point of sale system as a component of another measuring instrument.

Part 7—Examination and certification of patterns of other measuring instruments

13  Fees for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of other measuring instruments

 (1) The following table sets out prescribed fees, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, for activities undertaken in respect of examination and certification of patterns of measuring instruments other than the kinds of measuring instruments referred to in Parts 1 to 6 of this Schedule.

Note: In later financial years, the fees are indexed under regulation 90C.

 (2) Additional fees set out in Part 8 of this Schedule are payable for the use of equipment mentioned in that Part during the activities.

Part 8—Fees for use of particular equipment in examination and certification of patterns of instruments

14  Fees for use of equipment

  The following table sets out prescribed fees, for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2014, for the use of particular equipment in activities undertaken in respect of the examination and certification of patterns of measuring instruments.

Note 1: These fees are in addition to the fees for the activities set out in the other Parts of this Schedule.

Note 2: In later financial years, the fees are indexed under regulation 90C.