{"id":"C2014A00018","name":"Biosecurity Charges Imposition (General) Act 2015","slug":"biosecurity-charges-imposition-general-act-2015","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"18 of 2014","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8482,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2014A00018-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n This Act may be cited as the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (General) Act 2015.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n```html\n

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provision(s)

Commencement

Date/Details

1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

31 March 2014

2. Sections 3 to 12

The later of:

(a) the start of the day after this Act receives the Royal Assent; and

(b) immediately after the commencement of section 3 of the Quarantine Charges (Collection) Act 2014.

However, the provision(s) do not commence at all if the event mentioned in paragraph (b) does not occur.

1 April 2014

(paragraph (b) applies)

\n```\n\n> Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act binds the Crown","content":"#### 3 Act binds the Crown\n\n This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Extension to external Territories","content":"#### 4 Extension to external Territories\n\n (1) This Act extends to the Territory of Christmas Island and the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands.\n (2) A regulation may extend this Act or any provisions of this Act to any other external Territory that is prescribed by the regulation.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Extraterritorial application","content":"#### 5 Extraterritorial application\n\n This Act extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside:\n (a) Australia and any external Territory to which a provision of this Act extends; and\n (b) the airspace over an area covered by paragraph (a); and\n (c) the coastal sea (as defined in subsection 15B(4) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901) of Australia and of any external Territory to which a provision of this Act extends.\n\n> Note: Under section 4:\n\n (a) all provisions of this Act extend to the Territory of Christmas Island and the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands; and\n (b) a regulation may extend any or all provisions of this Act to one or more other external Territories.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act does not impose tax on property of a State","content":"#### 6 Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.\n (2) In this section:\n\n> property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Charges","content":"## Part 2—Charges","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Imposition of charges","content":"#### 7 Imposition of charges\n\n (1) A regulation may prescribe a charge in relation to a prescribed matter connected with the administration of the Biosecurity Act 2015.\n (2) The charges prescribed under subsection (1) are imposed as taxes.\n (3) Two or more charges may be prescribed in relation to the same matter, and a single charge may be prescribed in relation to 2 or more matters.\n (4) This section imposes a charge only so far as that charge is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Matters relating to amount of charges","content":"#### 8 Matters relating to amount of charges\n\n (1) A regulation may prescribe a charge under subsection 7(1):\n (a) by specifying an amount as the charge; or\n (b) by specifying a method for calculating the amount of the charge.\n (2) Before the Governor‑General makes a regulation under subsection 7(1) prescribing a charge in relation to a matter, the Minister must be satisfied that the amount of the charge is set at a level that is designed to recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs in connection with the matter.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exemptions from charges","content":"#### 10 Exemptions from charges\n\n A regulation may provide for exemptions from a charge prescribed under subsection 7(1).","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"Part 4","sectionType":"part","heading":"Miscellaneous","content":"## Part 4—Miscellaneous","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 12 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":12}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's scope, as enacted, is to enable regulation‑made charges for matters connected to the Biosecurity Act 2015 and to set procedural limits (cost‑recovery test, exemptions, constitutional limits). Nothing in the text indicates a change from that core scope within the instrument itself; it primarily delegates detailed design and application to regulations (s7–s10, s8(2), s12)."},"complexity_factors":["Delegation of core rule‑making to regulations rather than primary legislation (s7, s12).","Ministerial precondition requiring satisfaction on cost‑recovery level before regulations are made (s8(2)), introducing administrative judgment.","Charges are characterised as taxes but limited by constitutional constraints (excludes customs/excise under s7(4)).","Permitted methods for setting amounts include fixed sums or formulae, increasing drafting and compliance complexity (s8(1)).","Regulatory power to create exemptions adds discretionary complexity and potential uneven application (s10).","Extraterritorial scope and extension to external Territories, plus Act binding the Crown, widen operational reach (s3–5).","Commencement linkage to another Act for some provisions creates temporal conditionality (s2)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act authorises the Commonwealth to impose charges (treated as taxes) by regulation for matters connected with the Biosecurity Act 2015 and allows regulations to provide exemptions (s7, s10). Those who engage in or require prescribed biosecurity matters — individuals or businesses — may pay these charges. The Minister must be satisfied charges recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs before regulations are made, and the Governor‑General makes the regulations (s8, s12)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains focused on its original and narrow purpose: providing the legislative framework for imposing cost-recovery charges connected with administration of the Biosecurity Act 2015. It contains no provisions that appear to extend beyond this core function, and the explicit cap on charges to cost-recovery levels reinforces that the scope has not expanded into broader revenue-raising territory."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional law references: The Act explicitly references sections 55 and 114 of the Australian Constitution, requiring knowledge of constitutional distinctions between taxes, duties of customs, and duties of excise","Delegated legislation structure: The Act itself sets very little detail — the actual charges are set in regulations made by the Governor-General, meaning you must consult separate regulatory instruments to understand what you'll actually be charged","Extraterritorial application provisions add geographic complexity, including references to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 definition of 'coastal sea'","The Crown-binding provision and State property exemption require understanding of federal-state constitutional relationships","Dependent commencement provisions tied to another Act (Quarantine Charges (Collection) Act 2014) create interpretive complexity around when provisions took effect","The distinction between taxes, duties of customs, and duties of excise is a nuanced constitutional concept not easily grasped without legal background"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act authorises the Australian Government to impose fees (treated as taxes) for services and activities connected with the national biosecurity system — affecting importers, travellers, businesses and anyone subject to biosecurity inspections, permits or assessments. \n\nCharges must be set by regulation and limited to recovering the government’s actual costs; regulations may create exemptions, but State governments are excluded. The law applies across Australia (including external territories) and can cover certain biosecurity activities carried out overseas."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears to serve its original purpose as a charging framework for biosecurity services. It is a companion piece to the Biosecurity Act 2015 and remains tightly focused on enabling cost-recovery charges. There is no evidence of scope creep; the Act delegates all substantive charging details to regulations, which is its intended design."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (only 12 sections, with many being standard machinery provisions like commencement and short title)","Minimal defined terms (only one defined term in section 6)","Simple conditional logic limited to commencement provisions and constitutional limitations in section 7(4)","Heavy reliance on delegated legislation (regulations) for substantive content—actual charges are not in the Act itself","No cross-references to other legislation except incidental references to the Constitution and the Biosecurity Act 2015","Straightforward structure: preliminary matters, charging power, miscellaneous"],"plain_english_summary":"This law allows the Australian Government to charge fees (called 'charges') for services related to biosecurity—the protection of Australia from pests, diseases, and other biological threats.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Creates a framework for fees**: The Act doesn't set specific dollar amounts itself. Instead, it gives the Government power to make regulations (rules) that set fees for biosecurity-related services.\n- **Cost recovery only**: Fees must be set at a level that covers the Government's costs—no more, no profit allowed.\n- **Tax status**: These charges are technically classified as taxes under the law, but they're really user fees for services.\n- **Constitutional safeguard**: The Act carefully avoids imposing 'customs duties' or 'excise duties' (special types of taxes that have strict constitutional rules about which level of government can charge them).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone who uses biosecurity services—this typically includes importers, exporters, travellers, and businesses that need inspections, permits, or other biosecurity clearances.\n- The law applies across Australia, its external territories (Christmas Island, Cocos Islands), and even to activities happening overseas that relate to Australian biosecurity.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, the Government couldn't legally charge for biosecurity services. It ensures that those who use these services help pay for them, rather than all taxpayers bearing the full cost. It also ensures the fees are fair—limited to actual costs—and that certain constitutional protections for States are respected."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/biosecurity-charges-imposition-general-act-2015","history":"/api/acts/biosecurity-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/history","analysis":"/api/acts/biosecurity-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/biosecurity-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/biosecurity-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/biosecurity-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/documents"}}