{"id":"C2019A00019","name":"Industrial Chemicals Charges (Excise) Act 2019","slug":"industrial-chemicals-charges-excise-act-2019","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"19 of 2019","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":436306,"registerId":"C2019A00019-fast-fetch-1775953546011","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Industrial Chemicals Charges (Excise) Act 2019","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![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nIndustrial Chemicals Charges (Excise) Act 2019\n\n \n\nNo. 19, 2019\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose charge on the registration of introducers of industrial chemicals, so far as that charge is a duty of excise\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Extension to external Territories\n\n4 Act binds the Crown\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Imposition of charge\n\n7 Amount of charge\n\n8 Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n9 Regulations\n\n \n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nIndustrial Chemicals Charges (Excise) Act 2019\n\nNo. 19, 2019\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose charge on the registration of introducers of industrial chemicals, so far as that charge is a duty of excise\n\n[Assented to 3 April 2019]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act is the Industrial Chemicals Charges (Excise) Act 2019.\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- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. 3 April 2019\n- 2. Sections 3 to 9 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 Industrial Chemicals Act 2019.However, the provisions do not commence at all if the event mentioned in paragraph (b) does not occur. 1 July 2020(paragraph (b) applies)\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  Extension to external Territories\n\n  This Act extends to every external Territory.\n\n4  Act binds the Crown\n\n  This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities. However, it does not bind the Crown in right of the Commonwealth.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\namount includes a nil amount.\n\ncharge means charge imposed by this Act.\n\nindustrial chemical has the same meaning as in the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019.\n\nintroduce an industrial chemical has the same meaning as in the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019.\n\nproperty of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.\n\nregistration year has the same meaning as in the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019.\n\n6  Imposition of charge\n\n (1) Charge is imposed in relation to the registration of a person under section 17 of the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 for a registration year.\n\n (2) This section imposes charge only so far as that charge is a duty of excise within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.\n\n7  Amount of charge\n\n (1) The amount of charge payable by a person is the amount:\n\n (a) prescribed by the regulations; or\n\n (b) worked out in accordance with a method prescribed by the regulations.\n\n (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the regulations may prescribe different charges or methods depending on the value of industrial chemicals introduced by the person during a registration year or a financial year.\n\n8  Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n  This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.\n\n9  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 1 June 2017\n\nSenate on 18 October 2017]\n\n \n\n(97/17)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act is narrowly framed and, as enacted, stays within its original, limited purpose: to provide a statutory basis for imposing an excise-character charge tied to registration of introducers under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019. It does not broaden tax bases, create other regulatory duties, or alter the registration scheme itself. The only substantive room for expansion is via delegated regulations (s7, s9), but delegation to set amounts and methods is a predictable implementation detail rather than a change in scope of the primary legislative purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act (9 sections) but substantive details are delegated to regulations (s7, s9)","6 defined terms in the interpretation section, several of which draw definitions from the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (s5)","Dependence on external legislation: multiple cross-references to the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (definitions and registration s17) and to the Constitution (s55 and s114) (s5, s6(2), s8)","Conditional commencement: most provisions commence only after a section of the Industrial Chemicals Act commences (s2)","Regulations may prescribe either fixed amounts or prescriptive methods and may differentiate by value, creating multiple possible regulatory designs (s7)","Constitutional constraint (only to the extent the charge is an excise) limits legislative reach and may require careful drafting of regulations (s6(2))","Crown-binding nuance: binds the Crown but not the Commonwealth in right of the Commonwealth (s4)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (plain language)**\n\n- This Act creates a charge (a fee with the character of an excise) that applies when a person is registered as an \"introducer\" of industrial chemicals under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (that is, when someone registers to bring industrial chemicals into use or supply) (see s6 and s5).\n\n- The amount of the charge is not set in the Act itself. Instead the regulations will either specify a fixed amount or a method for working out the amount. The regulations may also set different charges or methods depending on the value of chemicals a person introduces in a registration year or financial year (see s7 and s9).\n\n- The charge only applies to the extent it is a duty of excise under the Constitution (s6(2)). The Act also says it does not impose a tax on property belonging to a State (s8).\n\n- The Act applies across Australia including external Territories (s3) and generally binds the Crown, except it does not bind the Crown in right of the Commonwealth (s4).\n\n- The Act’s detailed operation is deferred to the regulations and to the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 for key definitions and the registration mechanism (see s5 and s7). Commencement of most provisions is tied to the commencement of a particular section of the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (see s2).\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Businesses or persons who must register as introducers of industrial chemicals under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019. Those registrants will be the parties liable to pay the charge (s6).\n\n- Regulators and the Minister/Executive branch, because the regulations will determine the amounts and methods for calculating charges (s7, s9).\n\n- State governments to the extent the Act excludes taxing State property (s8).\n\n**Why it matters (mechanics and practical effects)**\n\n- Revenue and cost recovery: The instrument gives the Commonwealth a statutory basis to charge registrants; the actual revenue and who ultimately bears it depend on the regulations and how businesses pass costs on to customers (s7).\n\n- Administrative delegation and discretion: The Act delegates the key design decisions (amounts and calculation methods) to regulations (s7, s9). That means details can be changed by the executive without amending the Act, subject to the normal regulatory process.\n\n- Behavioural incentives: By charging registrants, the law creates a financial cost of introduction. That may change business behaviour (for example, reducing the quantity or value of chemicals introduced, changing supply chains, or affecting timing of registration). How strong those incentives are depends on the level and structure of the charge set in regulations (s7).\n\n- Compliance and measurement burden: If regulations use the value of chemicals introduced as the basis for charges, registrants must measure and report those values. That increases compliance tasks for businesses and administrative work for the regulator (s7).\n\n- Constitutional and jurisdictional limits: The Act conditions the charge on it being a duty of excise within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution (s6(2)). That constraint may limit legal scope and invites careful design of the charge to fit constitutional parameters.\n\n**Source's stated purpose vs practical trade-offs**\n\n- The statutory text implements the stated purpose of placing an excise-character charge on registrations of introducers under the Industrial Chemicals Act (s6). The Act achieves that by: (a) tying the charge to the registration mechanism in the Industrial Chemicals Act (s6, s5), and (b) delegating the monetary detail to regulations (s7, s9).\n\n- Trade-offs and costs: delegating amount-setting to regulations (s7, s9) allows flexibility and administrative speed but concentrates discretion in the executive and creates uncertainty for businesses until regulations are finalised. Using value-based charges improves progressivity (higher-value introducers pay more) but raises verification and reporting costs and creates opportunities for strategic re-labelling or supply-chain changes to avoid higher charges.\n\n- Who pays and who decides: Registrants pay the charge (s6). The Governor‑General (on executive advice) makes regulations that fix amounts or methods (s9). The Industrial Chemicals regulator administers registration and would implement collection and verification arrangements under the Industrial Chemicals Act.\n\n- Concentrated benefits and diffuse costs: Any revenue covers government costs (or general revenue), whereas the financial burden falls directly on the subset of businesses that introduce industrial chemicals. The degree to which costs are concentrated depends on how the regulations allocate charges across registrants (s7).\n\n**Key sections to look at immediately**\n\n- Section 6: imposes the charge and limits it to the extent it is an excise.\n- Section 7: empowers regulations to set amounts or methods (including value-based differentiation).\n- Section 5: links essential definitions to the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019.\n- Section 2: shows most provisions only start after the linked Industrial Chemicals Act provisions commence.\n- Section 9: regulation-making power.\n\n"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: imposing a charge on registration of industrial chemical introducers. It has not expanded beyond this narrow fiscal function. The Act is a companion piece to the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 and maintains its limited scope as a charging statute."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute—only 9 sections","Minimal defined terms (5 definitions in section 5, mostly referencing another Act)","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic","Heavy reliance on external legislation (*Industrial Chemicals Act 2019*) for substantive concepts like 'industrial chemical' and 'introduce'","Delegation of all substantive monetary details to regulations (section 7)","Single constitutional safeguard (section 8) ensuring compliance with section 114 of the Constitution (state property immunity)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a **registration fee** (called a 'charge') for businesses that want to import or manufacture industrial chemicals in Australia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Requires companies or individuals who introduce industrial chemicals (meaning they import them or make them locally) to register with the government under the *Industrial Chemicals Act 2019*\n- Imposes a fee on that registration\n- The fee amount isn't set in this law—it's left to government regulations to decide later\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Any business that imports industrial chemicals into Australia\n- Any business that manufactures industrial chemicals in Australia\n- These businesses must register annually and pay the charge each registration year\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is essentially a **cost-recovery mechanism**. The government uses these fees to fund the regulatory scheme that ensures industrial chemicals are safe for human health and the environment. The law is carefully drafted as an 'excise' (a type of tax on goods) to fit within Australia's constitutional framework—specifically section 55, which deals with how taxes must be structured.\n\n**Key limitation:**\nThe law explicitly avoids taxing state governments. It also doesn't specify dollar amounts—those details appear in separate regulations."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-charges-excise-act-2019","history":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-charges-excise-act-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-charges-excise-act-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-charges-excise-act-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-charges-excise-act-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-charges-excise-act-2019/documents"}}