{"id":"C2021A00030","name":"Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Charge (General) Act 2021","slug":"industrial-chemicals-environmental-management-register-charge-general-act-2021","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"30 of 2021","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":436343,"registerId":"C2021A00030-fast-fetch-1775953570514","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Charge (General) Act 2021","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 Environmental Management (Register) Charge (General) Act 2021\n\n \n\nNo. 30, 2021\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose charge on registered introducers of industrial chemicals, so far as that charge is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise, 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 Crown to be bound\n\n4 Extension to external Territories\n\n5 Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n6 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Charge\n\n7 Imposition of charge\n\n8 Amount of charge\n\n9 Exemptions from charge\n\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n\n10 Regulations\n\n \n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.002.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nIndustrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Charge (General) Act 2021\n\nNo. 30, 2021\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose charge on registered introducers of industrial chemicals, so far as that charge is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 26 March 2021]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act is the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Charge (General) Act 2021.\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. The whole of this Act The later of:(a) the start of the day after this Act receives the Royal Assent; and(b) immediately after the commencement of the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021.However, the provisions do not commence at all if the event mentioned in paragraph (b) does not occur. 27 March 2021\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  Crown to be bound\n\n  This Act binds the Crown in right of each of the States, of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory. However, it does not bind the Crown in right of the Commonwealth.\n\n4  Extension to external Territories\n\n  This Act extends to the external Territories.\n\n5  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\n6  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\namount includes a nil amount.\n\ncharge means charge imposed by section 7.\n\nproperty of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.\n\nregistered introducer for a registration year has the same meaning as in the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021.\n\nregistration year has the same meaning as in the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021.\n\nPart 2—Charge\n\n \n\n7  Imposition of charge\n\n (1) Charge payable by a registered introducer for a registration year under section 67 of the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021 is imposed.\n\n (2) This section imposes 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.\n\n8  Amount of charge\n\n (1) The amount of charge payable by a registered introducer for a registration year is:\n\n (a) the amount prescribed by the regulations; or\n\n (b) the amount worked out in accordance with the method prescribed by the regulations.\n\n (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the regulations may specify different amounts or methods for different classes of registered introducers.\n\n9  Exemptions from charge\n\n  The regulations may provide for exemptions from charge.\n\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n\n \n\n10  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the regulations; 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 3 December 2020\n\nSenate on 18 March 2021]\n\n \n\n(159/20)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act is narrowly focused: it creates a power to impose a charge on registered introducers tied to the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021 and delegates detail to regulations (ss 7–10). It does not materially broaden or repurpose the Register Act’s subject‑matter; rather it supplies the statutory basis for charging and leaves rate‑setting, calculation and exemptions to regulation. In practical terms the regulations could expand the practical reach (by creating classes, methods and exemptions), but the statute itself remains consistent with its original, limited purpose of authorising a charge on registered introducers."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act: 10 sections (including preliminary and miscellaneous)","6 defined items in s 6 (amount, charge, property of a State, registered introducer, registration year, amount includes a nil amount)","Cross‑references to another Act for key definitions and the charging trigger (Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021 and its s 67)","Delegation of substantive details to regulations (s 8–10) — amount, method, classes, exemptions determined by regulation","Conditional commencement tied to commencement of the Register Act (s 2)","Constitutional constraint excluding customs/excise (s 7(2)) which limits how regulations may be framed","Potential branching in regulations: either a prescribed fixed amount or a prescribed method (s 8(1)), and the ability to treat different classes differently (s 8(2))"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanics first)**\n\n- The Act creates a statutory power to impose a charge (a fee) on people or businesses who are “registered introducers” of industrial chemicals for each registration year (see section 7). The term “registered introducer” and “registration year” are taken from the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021 (s 6).\n\n- The actual dollar amount payable is not set in this short Act. Instead, the regulations will either prescribe a fixed amount or set out a method for calculating the amount (s 8(1)). The regulations may also treat different groups of registered introducers differently (s 8(2)) and may provide exemptions (s 9).\n\n- The Governor‑General (in practice, the Executive via delegated statutory instruments) makes the regulations that fix amounts, methods or exemptions and any other details necessary to operate the charging scheme (s 10).\n\n- The charge is limited so it does not operate as a customs or excise duty within the meaning of the Constitution (s 7(2)). The Act binds State governments (and ACT/NT) but not the Commonwealth Crown (s 3), extends to external Territories (s 4) and does not tax State property (s 5).\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Primary payers: registered introducers of industrial chemicals for a registration year — these are the entities required to register under the companion Register Act (s 7, s 6 definitions).\n\n- Secondary effects: suppliers, downstream users or customers if introducers pass the charge on in contract prices; entities seeking regulatory certainty if the regulations create differentiated classes or exemptions.\n\n- Administrators: the relevant Commonwealth department and the Executive (through regulations) will decide amounts, classes and exemptions and administer collection.\n\n**Why it matters (stated purpose and practical implications)**\n\n- The stated statutory purpose is to impose a charge connected to the industrial chemicals register (the Act implements a charging power linked to section 67 of the Register Act) (s 7).\n\n- Practically, the Act moves the decision over who pays and how much from primary legislation to the regulations. That means the fine detail — the levels of payment, the calculation methods, exemptions and differing treatment of classes of introducers — will be set by regulation (s 8, s 9, s 10).\n\n**Costs, incentives and trade‑offs (mechanical effects and implementation issues)**\n\n- Who pays: registered introducers will face a recurring cost (per registration year) if the regulations prescribe a non‑nil charge (s 8). That cost can be passed on to customers or absorbed depending on market conditions.\n\n- Administrative and compliance burden: registrants must comply with the register and the charging rules; different calculation methods or class‑based rules will increase bookkeeping and compliance complexity for businesses (s 8(1)–(2)).\n\n- Regulatory discretion and distributional effects: because regulations can specify different amounts, methods, and exemptions (s 8(2), s 9), the Executive can produce varied outcomes — some introducers may pay less or be exempt while others bear most of the cost. That creates scope for concentrated benefits (exempt or low‑paying groups) and diffuse costs dispersed across other registrants.\n\n- Legal boundary: the charge must not be a customs or excise duty (s 7(2)). That constitutional check constrains the form the regulations can take.\n\n- Implementation risk: the Act itself is short and delegates critical policy choices to regulations. The practical operation (level of revenue, which registrants pay, compliance systems) depends entirely on the content and timing of those regulations (s 8–10). The Act’s commencement is conditional on the Register Act commencing, so the charging power only becomes live together with the register framework (s 2).\n\n**What changes behaviour**\n\n- Introducers decide whether to register (if options exist) or change commercial terms in response to the extra cost.\n- Firms may reorganise who holds registration (for example, a different corporate entity) if regulations treat classes differently.\n- The regulator decides classes, exemptions and methods by regulation, shaping who bears the financial burden (s 8–10).\n\n**Key legal hooks**\n\n- Charging power: s 7 (linked to section 67 of the Register Act).\n- Amount and methods: s 8 (prescribed amount or prescribed method; differing classes allowed).\n- Exemptions: s 9.\n- Regulation‑making power: s 10.\n- Constitutional and Crown limits: ss 3, 5, 7(2), 4.\n\n(References in parentheses are to sections of this Act.)"},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose. It is a pure charging statute designed to impose fees on registered introducers of industrial chemicals, with appropriate constitutional limitations. There is no evidence of scope creep; the Act is a technical companion piece to the main regulatory scheme and does not expand beyond its narrow fiscal function."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short statute — only 10 sections across 3 Parts","Minimal defined terms — only 6 definitions in section 6, most of which simply point to definitions in the companion Act","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic — the substantive provisions are straightforward imposition and delegation to regulations","Heavy reliance on delegated legislation — the actual charging mechanism (amounts, methods, exemptions) is left entirely to regulations, meaning the real complexity sits outside this Act","Single cross-reference dependency — the Act operates entirely in conjunction with the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a **registration fee** (called a 'charge') that businesses must pay if they want to import or manufacture industrial chemicals in Australia.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Companies or individuals who are 'registered introducers' — meaning they're approved to bring industrial chemicals into Australia or make them here\n- These businesses must register annually under the main Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Imposes the charge** (Section 7): Makes it legal to collect this fee, but carefully avoids making it a customs duty or excise tax (which would raise constitutional problems)\n- **Sets the amount** (Section 8): The actual dollar amount isn't in this law — it's left to government regulations to decide. The fee could be a flat rate or calculated based on factors like business size or chemical volume\n- **Allows exemptions** (Section 9): The government can create rules to let certain businesses skip the fee\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a 'money bill' that enables the government to fund the regulatory scheme for managing industrial chemicals. Without this charging power, the environmental watchdog (the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme) wouldn't have money to operate the registration system that tracks what chemicals are being used in Australia.\n\n**Key limitation:**\nThe charge only applies to fees that aren't customs duties or excise taxes — this is a constitutional safeguard to ensure the law is valid under Australia's Constitution."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-environmental-management-register-charge-general-act-2021","history":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-environmental-management-register-charge-general-act-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-environmental-management-register-charge-general-act-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-environmental-management-register-charge-general-act-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-environmental-management-register-charge-general-act-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/industrial-chemicals-environmental-management-register-charge-general-act-2021/documents"}}