{"id":"C2012A00133","name":"Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012","slug":"greenhouse-and-energy-minimum-standards-registration-fees-act-2012","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"133 of 2012","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8453,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2012A00133-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nGreenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012\n\n \n\nNo. 133, 2012\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose, as taxes, fees for registering models of GEMS products under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Act binds the Crown\n\n4 External Territories\n\n5 Extraterritorial application\n\n6 Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n7 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Registration fees\n\n8 Imposition of registration fees\n\n9 Matters relating to amount of fees\n\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n\n10 Regulations\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nGreenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012\n\nNo. 133, 2012\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose, as taxes, fees for registering models of GEMS products under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 21 September 2012]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Act 2012.\n\n2  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 \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provision(s) Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. 22 September 2012\n- 2. Sections 3 to 10 At the same time as section 3 of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 commences. 1 October 2012\n\n\nNote:  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.\n\n3  Act binds the Crown\n\n  This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.\n\n4  External Territories\n\n  This Act extends to every external Territory.\n\n5  Extraterritorial application\n\n  This Act extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia.\n\n6  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\n (2) In this section, property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.\n\n7  Definitions\n\n (1) In this Act:\n\nregistration application means an application under section 41 of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 to register one or more models of GEMS products in relation to one or more product classes.\n\nregistration fees: see subsection 8(1).\n\n (2) Other expressions used in this Act that are defined in the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 have the same meanings as they have in that Act.\n\n\n\n\nPart 2—Registration fees\n\n \n\n8  Imposition of registration fees\n\n (1) The GEMS Regulator may, by legislative instrument, specify fees (registration fees) for registration applications.\n\nExample 1: The instrument might specify different fees for applications to register models in different product classes (see subsection 33(3A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).\n\nExample 2: The instrument might specify different fees for registration applications depending on whether or not the applications are made by electronic means (see subsection 33(3A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).\n\n (2) Registration fees specified under subsection (1) are imposed, and are so imposed as taxes.\n\n (3) Two or more registration fees may be specified for a single registration application.\n\nExample: The instrument might specify a number of registration fees for a single registration application to deal with applications covering a number of models or product classes.\n\nNote: The GEMS Regulator may, in a particular case or in particular classes of cases, waive or reduce a registration fee, or refund the whole or part of a registration fee, that would otherwise be payable under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (see section 64 of that Act).\n\n9  Matters relating to amount of fees\n\n (1) A legislative instrument made under subsection 8(1) may specify a registration fee:\n\n (a) by specifying an amount as the fee; or\n\n (b) by specifying a method for calculating the amount of the fee.\n\n (2) In specifying the amount of a registration fee, or a method for calculating such an amount, for the purposes of subsection (1), the GEMS Regulator may take into account only the following matters:\n\n (a) the cost of processing registration applications;\n\n (b) the cost of compliance monitoring (including testing) in relation to models of GEMS products, for the purposes of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012.\n\n\n\n\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n\n \n\n10  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 30 May 2012\n\nSenate on 10 September 2012]\n\n(112/12)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act is narrow and focussed: it authorises and constrains registration fees for GEMS model registrations and sets procedural and territorial coverage. It does not expand the GEMS regime beyond its original purpose of providing for registration fees, nor add unrelated powers or policy objectives. Therefore the scope has not significantly changed beyond the legislation’s original, stated purpose of enabling fee imposition for registrations (see ss 8–9)."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act: 10 sections, concise text","Only 1 locally defined term of substance (\"registration application\") plus reliance on definitions in the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (s 7)","Uses legislative instrument to set fees (s 8) — introduces a separate instrument to consult for detail","Cross-references to the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (s 41, s 64 referenced in note) and to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (examples citing s 33(3A))","Limited conditional logic: multiple fees per application allowed (s 8(3)), two allowable bases for fee calculation (s 9(2))","Few exceptions and constraints: prohibition on taxing State property (s 6), Crown binding and extraterritorial clauses (ss 3–5)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this Act does (mechanically)**\n\n- Grants the GEMS Regulator the power to set fees for applications to register models of GEMS products (appliances and equipment regulated under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards framework). (See s 8.)\n- Declares those registration fees to be taxes. (See s 8(2).)\n- Allows the Regulator, by a legislative instrument, to: fix a dollar amount or specify a method to calculate a fee; set more than one fee for a single application; and differentiate fees by product class or by how the application is made (examples in s 8 and s 9). (See ss 8–9.)\n- Limits what the Regulator may take into account when setting fees: only the cost of processing registration applications and the cost of compliance monitoring (including testing) related to the GEMS regime. (See s 9(2).)\n- Confirms that the Act binds the Crown, extends to external Territories and has extraterritorial application, and that it does not impose a tax on State property. (See ss 3–6.)\n- Gives the Governor‑General power to make regulations needed to operate the Act. (See s 10.)\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Businesses or persons who make registration applications under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 — principally manufacturers, importers or suppliers who wish to have models of regulated products registered. (See definition of \"registration application\" in s 7.)\n- The GEMS Regulator, which decides the fee structure and amounts through a legislative instrument. (See s 8.)\n- The Commonwealth (the fees are imposed as taxes) and those required to pay the fees; the Act binds the Crown and covers external Territories (ss 3–4).\n\n**Why it matters (official rationale and the legal effect)**\n\n- Officially, the Act provides the statutory authority for charging registration fees tied to the GEMS registration process and makes clear those fees are taxes. It also places limits on what costs can be recovered through those fees (processing and compliance monitoring/testing). (See ss 8–9.)\n\n**Practical effects, incentives and trade-offs**\n\n- Who pays: Applicants seeking to register product models will pay registration fees set by the GEMS Regulator (s 8). Where an application covers multiple models or product classes, multiple fees may apply (s 8(3)).\n- Who decides: The GEMS Regulator sets the fees by legislative instrument (s 8(1)); the instrument can fix amounts or set a formula (s 9(1)).\n- Behaviour changes incentivised: Applicants may change filing behaviour (for example, group or split applications) depending on how fees are structured. Firms may prefer electronic filing if lower fees are available for electronic applications (examples in s 8). The fee is intended to recover specific administrative and compliance-monitoring costs (s 9(2)).\n- Cost constraint: The Act restricts fee‑setting to two cost bases only: processing applications and compliance monitoring (including testing). That caps the lawful basis for recovering costs from industry through these fees (s 9(2)).\n- Discretion and regulatory burden: Because fees are set by legislative instrument, the Regulator has discretion over detailed fee design (amounts, formulas, differentiation by product class or application method). That discretion creates administrative decision‑making by the regulator but within the cost-related limits in s 9(2). The GEMS Act also allows the Regulator to waive, reduce or refund fees in particular cases (see s 64 of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012, cited in the note to s 8). This provides operational flexibility to address edge cases.\n- Effects on competition and prices: The Act authorises cost recovery from those seeking registration; businesses that face these fees may incur higher upfront compliance costs which could be passed on in prices or affect decisions about entering certain product markets. The Act does not itself set fee levels or exemptions other than the permitted bases for calculating fees.\n- Implementation risks and transparency: Because fee levels and calculation methods are established by legislative instrument (a public instrument), there is a clear legal mechanism for publishing fee rules. However, the Regulator’s discretion over structure and the potential for multiple fees per application mean the practical compliance cost to businesses depends heavily on the details of the instrument.\n\n**Key legal limitations and safeguards**\n\n- Fees must be connected only to processing and compliance‑monitoring/testing costs (s 9(2)).\n- The Act does not authorise taxing State property (s 6).\n- The Regulator may waive, reduce or refund fees under the primary GEMS Act (note to s 8 referencing s 64 of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012).\n\n**Bottom line — simple summary**\n\nThis short Act authorises the GEMS Regulator to impose registration fees (declared to be taxes) for registering models under the GEMS framework, constrains those fees to recover only processing and compliance‑monitoring costs, and leaves detailed fee design to the Regulator by legislative instrument (ss 8–9). It therefore shifts specific administrative and compliance costs of the registration regime onto applicants, subject to the statutory cost limits and the Regulator’s discretion to waive or reduce fees."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: imposing registration fees as taxes for the GEMS product registration scheme. The scope has not expanded beyond fee imposition for product model registration."},"complexity_factors":["Only 10 sections total, with minimal conditional logic","Just 2 defined terms in section 7 ('registration application' and 'registration fees')","Heavy reliance on definitions from the parent Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 rather than standalone definitions","Simple two-part structure: preliminary matters (Part 1) and fee imposition (Part 2)","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing beyond basic references to the parent Act","Regulation-making power in section 10 is standard and unconstrained"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a system for charging fees when companies register energy-efficient products under Australia's GEMS (Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards) scheme.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Allows the GEMS Regulator (the government body overseeing energy efficiency standards) to set fees for registering product models\n- These fees are officially classified as **taxes** under Australian law\n- The fees can vary based on:\n  - What type of product is being registered (different product classes)\n  - How the application is submitted (electronic vs. paper)\n  - How many models or product classes are covered in one application\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Manufacturers and importers of appliances and equipment covered by the GEMS scheme (things like fridges, air conditioners, computers—anything with energy efficiency ratings)\n- Anyone applying to register a product model so it can legally be sold in Australia\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- The money raised helps pay for processing applications and checking that products actually meet their energy efficiency claims (compliance monitoring and testing)\n- Without this law, the GEMS Regulator couldn't legally charge these fees—the Constitution requires specific legislation to impose taxes\n- It ensures the energy efficiency scheme is self-funding rather than coming from general taxpayer money\n\n**Key limitation:**\n- The Regulator can only consider two things when setting fees: (1) the cost of processing applications, and (2) the cost of checking compliance. They can't charge whatever they want."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/greenhouse-and-energy-minimum-standards-registration-fees-act-2012","history":"/api/acts/greenhouse-and-energy-minimum-standards-registration-fees-act-2012/history","analysis":"/api/acts/greenhouse-and-energy-minimum-standards-registration-fees-act-2012/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/greenhouse-and-energy-minimum-standards-registration-fees-act-2012/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/greenhouse-and-energy-minimum-standards-registration-fees-act-2012/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/greenhouse-and-energy-minimum-standards-registration-fees-act-2012/documents"}}