{"id":"F2017L00145","name":"Determination under paragraph 15(1)(d) No. 1 of 2017","slug":"determination-under-paragraph-15-1-d-no-1-of-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":95823,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2017L00145-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Determination under paragraph 15(1)(d) No. 1 of 2017","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 20.2\ntitle: Attachment A - Determination Under Paragraph 15(1)(d) No.1 of 2017_OGC review 11012017.docx\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms](image.001.png)\n\n \n\nCommonwealth of Australia\n\n \n\nTelecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997\n\n \n\nDetermination Under Paragraph 15(1)(d) No. 1 of 2017\n\n \n\nI, MITCH FIFIELD, Minister for Communications, under paragraph 15(1)(d) of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997, determine that the estimated total amount of grants likely to be made during the 2016-2017 financial year under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 is $2,230,000.\n\n \n\nDated 17 February 2017.\n\n \n\nMITCH FIFIELD\n\nMinister for Communications\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not change the statutory scope of the grant power; it is a routine ministerial determination that records an estimated total for grants under an existing statutory provision (section 593). The text supplied performs the administrative function of setting an estimate and does not expand or narrow the legal authority to make grants."},"complexity_factors":["Single substantive action: records one numeric estimate ($2,230,000) for a specified financial year.","Short, self-contained instrument with no operative grant-making provisions in the text supplied.","Requires cross-reference to two statutory provisions (paragraph 15(1)(d) of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997 and section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997) to determine practical effects.","Dependence on external provisions for details (funding source, recipients, conditions) increases the effort to assess downstream impacts.","Ministerial discretion is exercised but the instrument does not state the method or criteria used to produce the estimate."],"plain_english_summary":"What this instrument does\n\n- This is a ministerial determination made under paragraph 15(1)(d) of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997. (See paragraph 15(1)(d).)\n- It records the Minister's estimate of the total amount of grants likely to be made in the 2016–2017 financial year under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. The figure stated is $2,230,000. (See section 593 reference and the determination text.)\n\nWho decides and what the document changes mechanically\n\n- The Minister for Communications (named in the instrument as Mitch Fifield) exercises the statutory power to make this estimate and signs the determination. The determination is an administrative declaration of an estimated dollar amount for a specific financial year.\n- Mechanically, the instrument sets a single numeric estimate. It does not itself make grants, change grant eligibility rules, or create new obligations for third parties in the text provided. It is a formal step that records the Minister’s estimate under the cited statutory power.\n\nWhy the instrument matters (official purpose, and what that implies)\n\n- The instrument’s stated purpose is to set an estimated total for grants likely to be made under s.593 in 2016–17. That is the instrument’s explicit claim of purpose. The legal or budgetary role this estimate plays (for example, whether it feeds into calculations of carrier licence charges, budget appropriations, accounting, or administrative planning) is not described in this text; those effects depend on the operation of the referenced Acts and supporting administrative rules.\n\nCosts, incentives and implementation matters (what the text shows and what it does not show)\n\n- Who pays: The determination itself does not identify the payers or the source of funding for the grants — it only states an estimated total for grants that are “likely to be made under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997.” (See section 593 reference.)\n- Who receives money / who benefits: The instrument does not identify recipients or eligibility. Any concentrated benefits or diffuse costs depend on the grant program established by s.593, which is not reproduced here.\n- Incentives and private-sector effects: This instrument is a numeric administrative estimate. The text does not by itself change regulatory rules governing private firms, competition, prices, ownership, contract freedom, speech, or individual choice. Any such effects would flow from how the grants under s.593 are allocated and funded, which the instrument does not describe.\n- Compliance burden and discretion: The instrument is an exercise of statutory discretion by the Minister to set an estimate; it does not impose compliance obligations on external parties in the text provided. The decision reflects ministerial discretion under paragraph 15(1)(d) of the Carrier Licence Charges Act, but the instrument does not record the criteria or method used to produce the estimate.\n- Fiscal and administrative trade-offs: The text provides a single estimated quantum ($2,230,000) for a financial year. How that estimate affects budgeting, opportunity costs, or trade-offs with other public spending is not stated here and would require reference to the underlying grant provision (s.593) and any linking provisions in the Carrier Licence Charges Act.\n- Implementation risk and uncertainty: Because the instrument is an estimate, actual grants paid could differ. The determination does not set a binding ceiling or floor for payments in the wording shown; it simply records the Minister’s estimate as required by the cited statutory power.\n\nLimitations and next steps for a user who needs more detail\n\n- To understand who pays, who receives grants, the conditions attached to the grants, and any downstream effects on licence charges or industry participants, consult section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 and the relevant provisions of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997 that reference this determination power. The instrument itself records only the estimated total and the statutory authority under which the estimate is made.\n\nSource citations\n\n- Determination made under paragraph 15(1)(d) of the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997 (document header and signature).\n- Estimate refers to grants likely to be made under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (text of the determination)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a routine annual determination made under a specific statutory power. It performs exactly the function intended by the parent Act—setting the estimated grants figure for fee calculations. There is no scope creep or expansion beyond the original legislative purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision with no defined terms","No cross-references within the instrument itself (only references to external legislation)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or procedural requirements","Extremely short (one substantive paragraph)","Purely administrative/declaratory in nature"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short official decision made by the Minister for Communications, Mitch Fifield, in February 2017. It sets a dollar figure ($2.23 million) that is used to calculate annual fees that telecommunications companies must pay for their carrier licences.\n\n**How it works:**\n- Under the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Act 1997, phone and internet companies pay annual licence fees to the government.\n- The amount they pay is calculated using a formula that includes an estimate of government grants that will be paid out under the Telecommunications Act 1997.\n- This document is the Minister formally declaring that, for the 2016-2017 financial year, that estimated grant amount is **$2,230,000**.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Telecommunications carriers (companies like Telstra, Optus, TPG, etc.) who hold carrier licences.\n- The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which collects these fees.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis figure directly affects how much carriers pay in licence fees for that year. The higher the estimated grants, the higher the total fee pool that carriers contribute to. It's essentially a technical adjustment to ensure the government's cost recovery model for regulating telecommunications is properly funded."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/determination-under-paragraph-15-1-d-no-1-of-2017","history":"/api/acts/determination-under-paragraph-15-1-d-no-1-of-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/determination-under-paragraph-15-1-d-no-1-of-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/determination-under-paragraph-15-1-d-no-1-of-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/determination-under-paragraph-15-1-d-no-1-of-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/determination-under-paragraph-15-1-d-no-1-of-2017/documents"}}