QUESTIONS ON NOTICE › Resources and Energy; and Tourism (Question Nos 2348 and 2349)
Senator Chris Evans: 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 Title instrument Title Term Application Type GHG Assessment Permit 6 years + possible 3 year extension Application for Greenhouse Gas assessment permit (s296 of the Act). Application Fee: Nil Declaration of a Storage Formation Indefinite Application for Declaration (s312 of the Act). Application Fee: Nil GHG Injection Licence Indefinite - or if no injection for a period of 5 years Application for Greenhouse Gas injection licence (s361 of the Act). Application Fee: $1,835 GHG Holding Lease 5 years + one renewal for a further 5 years Application for Greenhouse Gas holding lease (s324 of the Act). Application Fee: $1,835 Greenhouse Gas Search Authority In force for a specified period which must not exceed 180 days Application for Greenhouse Gas search authority (s407 of the Act). Application Fee: Nil Greenhouse Gas Special Authority In force for a specified period which can be extended Application for a Greenhouse Gas special authority (s415 of the Act). Application Fee: Nil Greenhouse Gas Research Consents In force for a specified period Application for Greenhouse Gas research consent (s425 of the Act). Application Fee: Nil Infra-structure & Pipeline Licences Indefinite Applications for licences (s198 & s217 of the Act) respectively. Application Fees: $1,835 & $4,590 respectively. (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) 2007-08 and 2008-09 – Not administered by the Department. 2009-10 $36,413,962 2010-11 $19,743,133 2011-12 $42,835,577. 2012-13 $26,371,778 (year to date, to the end of October) (b) $0. (c) $0. (d) 2007-08 and 2008-09 - Not administered by the Department. 2009-10 $48,720 2010-11 $6,000 2011-12 $12,400 2012-13 $5,600 (year to date, to the end of October) (5) (a) 2007-08 and 2008-09 - Not administered by the Department. 2009-10 $36,413,962 2010-11 $19,743,133 2011-12 $42,835,577 2012-13 $26,371,778 (year to date, to the end of October) (b) $0. (c) $0. (d) 2007-08 and 2008-09 - Not administered by the Department. 2009-10 $48,720 2010-11 $6,000 2011-12 $12,400 2012-13 $5,600 (year to date, to the end of October) 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 2007-08 $0 2008-09 $0 2009-10 $0 2010-11 $213,000 2011-12 $178,000 2012-13 $0 (5) Total revenue 2007-08 $0 2008-09 $0 2009-10 $0 2010-11 $213,000 2011-12 $178,000 2012-13 $0 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) 2007-08 $900 2008-09 $1800 2009-10 $1998 2010-11 $1595 2011-12 $1458 2012-13 $1400 Inter-Library Loans: (1) The number of Inter-Library Loans provided by the agency's Library to the non-government sector are: 2007-08 520 2008-09 484 2009-10 552 2010-11 423 2011-12 451 2012-13 64 year to date. (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) 2007-08 $8839.40 2008-09 $8961.83 2009-10 $9692.82 2010-11 $8456.00 2011-12 $9758.73 2012-13 $1569.82 year to date, to the end of October 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) 2007-08 Nil 2008-09 Nil 2009-10 Nil 2010-11 Nil 2011-12 $1918 2012-13 Nil 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) 2007-08 $567096 2008-09 $585571 2009-10 $917129 2010-11 $870214 2011-12 $656652 2012-13 $200457 year to date, to the end of October 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) 2007-08 compass calibration $1400 2008-09 compass calibration $2100 2009-10 compass calibration $3850 2010-11 compass calibration $4150 2011-12 compass calibration $4550; compass swing bay calibration $27030+GST 2012-13 compass calibration $350 year to date, to the end of October ATTACHMENT A 2011-12 2012-13 REGRISTRATION FEES – applicable to both Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Titles Registration Fees Act Provisions Current Fee ($) Number Amount ($) Number Amount ($) Renewal Minimum fee for approval and registration of transfers and dealings Section 5 – Items 2 & 3 (Petroleum) 920 61 56,120 37 34,040 Section 6 - Item 5 (Petroleum) Section 6A – Items 2 & 3 (GHG) Section 6B – Item 5 (GHG) Registration fee in the case of related corporations (ie reorganisation of corporations) Section 5 – Item 4 (Petroleum) 4,590 2 9,180 1 4,590 Section 6 – Item 6 (Petroleum) Section 6A – Item 4 (GHG) Section 6B – Item 6 (GHG) Transfer/Dealing Ad Valorem Section 5 – Item 1 (Petroleum) 1.5% of value 22 18,454,334 14 23,501,587 Section 6 – Items 1, 2, 3 & 4 (Petroleum) Section 6A – Item 1 (GHG) Section 6B – Item 1, 2, 3 & 4 (GHG) Registration fee (entry into/alteration of register) Regulation 11.02 (1) & (2) - petroleum 105 8 1,418 1 315 Registration fee (entry into/alteration of register) Regulation 11.02 (3) & (4) - GHG 92 Register inspection fee Regulation 11.03 (1) - petroleum 20 Register inspection fee Regulation 11.03 (2) - GHG 19 Document and certification fee Regulation 11.04 – OPGGSA section 516 (2) - petroleum 4 17 837 Document and certification fee Regulation 11.04 – OPGGSA section 516 (4) - petroleum 50 Document and certification fee Regulation 11.04 – OPGGSA section 565 (2) - GHG 3.5 Document and certification fee Regulation 11.04 – OPGGSA section 565 (4) - petroleum 45 Information fees Regulation 11.05 – OPGGSA section 717 (2) (a) - petroleum 45 Information fees Regulation 11.05 – OPGGSA section 741 (2) (a) - GHG 38 Sample inspection fees Regulation 11.06 – OPGGSA section 717 (2) (b) 45 Sample inspection fees Regulation 11.06 – OPGGSA section 741 (2) (b) 38 Schedule 6: Application – Part 1 (petroleum) 2011-12 2012-13 Item Type of application Current Fee ($) Number Amount ($) Number Amount ($) Renewal 101 Work-bid petroleum exploration permit 5,220 18 97,290 102 Special petroleum exploration permit 5,220 107 Petroleum production licence over a surrendered block 5,220 112 Pipeline licence 5,220 103 Cash-bid petroleum exploration permit 2,090 13 27,170 6 12,540 104 Renewal of petroleum exploration permit (all types) 2,090 105 Petroleum retention lease (all types) 2,090 106 Renewal of petroleum retention lease (all types) 2,090 109 Petroleum production licence (other than in items107 and 108) 2,090 110 Renewal of petroleum production licence (all types) 2,090 111 Infrastructure licence 2,090 108 Petroleum production licence over an individual block 1,050 9 9,690 4 4,200 113 Variation of pipeline licence 1,050 114 Petroleum special prospecting authority 1,050 Schedule 6: Application – Part 2 (GHG) 2011-12 2012-13 Item Type of application Current Fee ($) Number Amount ($) Number Amount ($) Renewal 201 Work-bid greenhouse gas assessment permit 0 0 0 0 0 0 202 Cash-bid greenhouse gas assessment permit 0 0 0 0 0 0 203 Renewal pf greenhouse gas assessment permit 0 0 0 0 0 0 204 Greenhouse gas holding lease (all types) 1,835 0 0 0 0 0 205 Renewal greenhouse gas holding lease 1,835 0 0 0 0 0 206 Greenhouse gas injection licence 1,835 0 0 0 0 0 207 Greenhouse gas search authority 0 0 0 0 0 0 208 Greenhouse gas site closing certificate 4,590 0 0 0 0 0