{"id":"C2004A00384","name":"Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Act 1998","slug":"australian-radiation-protection-and-nuclear-safety-licence-charges-act-1998","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"134 of 1998","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6010,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00384-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title [see Note 1]","content":"#### 1 Short title \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Act 1998.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement [see Note 1]","content":"#### 2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act commences on the same day as the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 3 Definitions\n\n> facility licence means a facility licence issued under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998.\n\n> source licence means a source licence issued under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Facility licence—annual charge","content":"#### 4 Facility licence—annual charge\n\n  (1) A person who is the holder of a facility licence at any time during a financial year is liable to pay a charge for the licence for that year.\n  (2) The amount of the charge for a year is such amount as is prescribed by the regulations.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Source licence—annual charge","content":"#### 5 Source licence—annual charge\n\n  (1) A person who is the holder of a source licence at any time during a financial year is liable to pay a charge for the licence for that year.\n  (2) The amount of the charge for a year is such amount as is prescribed by the regulations.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Tax exempt bodies liable to pay charge","content":"#### 5A Tax exempt bodies liable to pay charge\n\n  (1) A person who is the holder of a facility licence or a source licence is liable to pay the charge imposed by this Act:\n    (a) even if a provision of a Commonwealth law is expressed to exempt the person from taxes or charges, or specified taxes or charges; and\n    (b) even if that provision is expressed to prevail over other laws.\n  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the relevant provision explicitly refers to this Act.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 6 Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n    (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n    (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains tightly focused on its original purpose: imposing annual charges on holders of facility and source licences under the parent radiation protection legislation. Section 5A, which addresses tax-exempt bodies, reinforces rather than expands scope — it is a clarifying provision ensuring the charge applies universally as originally intended, rather than a substantive expansion of who or what is regulated."},"complexity_factors":["Actual charge amounts are delegated to regulations, requiring cross-referencing to find real figures","Section 5A creates a nuanced interaction between this Act and other Commonwealth laws regarding tax exemptions, requiring careful reading of both instruments","Relies heavily on definitions and concepts from the parent Act (Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998), meaning it cannot be fully understood in isolation","The financial year trigger ('at any time during a financial year') may have practical implications not immediately obvious to readers"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act requires annual licence charges from anyone holding a licence to operate nuclear or radiation facilities or to use radiation sources in Australia, payable for a financial year if the licence was held at any time that year. The fee amounts are set by regulation rather than in the Act.\n\nImportantly, organisations normally exempt from taxes or charges still must pay these licence fees unless another law explicitly states it overrides this Act, ensuring all users help fund the regulatory system."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act does not alter who must hold licences or the licensing powers under the primary Act; it imposes an annual charge on holders of facility and source licences and delegates fee-setting and administration to regulations. It also clarifies that most Commonwealth tax-exemptions do not automatically remove liability for those charges unless the exemption expressly refers to this Act (see ss 4–5, 5A, 6)."},"complexity_factors":["Clear liability rule: simple, automatic annual liability if a person holds a facility or source licence at any time in a financial year (ss 4(1), 5(1)).","Fee quantum delegated: the Act does not set amounts but leaves them to regulations, concentrating substantive discretion in subordinate legislation (ss 4(2), 5(2), 6).","Tax-exemption interaction: subsection 5A creates a default rule that Commonwealth tax exemptions do not exclude liability unless they explicitly reference this Act, adding a narrow legal interaction to check (s 5A).","Timing and calculation: liability arises on holding a licence at any time during a financial year, which can create pro rata or administrative questions to be resolved in regulations or policy (ss 4(1), 5(1)).","Low procedural complexity: no detailed charging formulas, enforcement, or concessional regimes are set in the Act itself — those are implemented by regulation (s 6).","Predictability depends on secondary law: users must consult regulations to know amounts and detailed compliance steps, increasing practical complexity despite statutory simplicity (ss 4(2), 5(2), 6)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act requires anyone who holds a facility or source licence under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 to pay an annual licence charge; the specific amounts are set by regulations. It also says tax-exempt bodies must pay these charges unless the exemption explicitly refers to this Act, and gives the Governor‑General the power to make regulations to set and administer the charges."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: imposing annual charges on licence holders under the ARPANS Act. It has not expanded beyond this core function of establishing a charging mechanism for nuclear and radiation safety regulation."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute – only 6 operative sections","Minimal defined terms – only 2 definitions ('facility licence' and 'source licence')","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act","Simple conditional logic – only one exception in section 5A(2)","Substantive content delegated entirely to regulations (sections 4(2) and 5(2))","No temporal limitations, sunset clauses, or transitional provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets up a system for charging fees to people and organisations who hold licences to handle nuclear materials or operate nuclear facilities in Australia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Creates two types of annual charges:**\n  - **Facility licence charges** – for people who hold licences to operate nuclear facilities (like reactors or waste storage sites)\n  - **Source licence charges** – for people who hold licences to handle radioactive sources (like medical isotopes or industrial radiation equipment)\n\n- **How the charges work:**\n  - If you hold either type of licence at any point during a financial year, you must pay the annual charge for that whole year\n  - The exact dollar amounts aren't in this Act – they're set by regulations (separate rules made by the government)\n\n- **No special exemptions:**\n  - Even organisations that are normally exempt from taxes (like some government bodies or charities) must still pay these charges\n  - The only exception is if another law specifically mentions this Act by name when granting an exemption\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone holding a facility licence or source licence under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 – this includes hospitals, research institutions, mining companies, and nuclear facility operators\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- This law ensures that the regulator (ARPANSA – the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency) can recover costs from the industries it oversees, rather than funding this oversight entirely from general taxpayer revenue. It's a 'user pays' approach to nuclear safety regulation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-radiation-protection-and-nuclear-safety-licence-charges-act-1998","history":"/api/acts/australian-radiation-protection-and-nuclear-safety-licence-charges-act-1998/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-radiation-protection-and-nuclear-safety-licence-charges-act-1998/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-radiation-protection-and-nuclear-safety-licence-charges-act-1998/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-radiation-protection-and-nuclear-safety-licence-charges-act-1998/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-radiation-protection-and-nuclear-safety-licence-charges-act-1998/documents"}}