What it does
The Administration and Probate (Deposit of Wills) (Fees) Regulations 2016 (S.R. No. 83/2016) prescribe the fees payable to the registrar of probates for services under Division 1A of Part I of the Administration and Probate Act 1958. The regulations are made under section 5B of that Act. Regulation 5(1) sets the fee for depositing a will with the registrar at 1.6 fee units, as referred to in section 5A(2) of the Act. Regulation 5(2) sets the fee for delivery of a deposited will by the registrar at 2.7 fee units, as referred to in section 5C(1) of the Act. The regulations came into operation on 6 July 2016 (regulation 3) and revoke the earlier Administration and Probate (Deposit of Wills) (Fees) Regulations 2006 (regulation 4). A note appended to regulation 5(1) reproduces the effect of section 5A(3) of the Act: no fee is payable for depositing a will if the deposit is made because a legal practitioner has died, or has ceased, or is about to cease, practising in Victoria. The fees are expressed by reference to fee units as defined in the Monetary Units Act 2004. The explanatory details at the end of the regulations explain how the fee amount is calculated. For the financial year commencing 1 July 2016, the value of a fee unit was $13.94. The calculated fee is rounded to the nearest 10 cents. For future financial years, the Treasurer fixes the value of a fee unit under section 5 of the Monetary Units Act 2004, and that value must be published in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June in the preceding financial year. The regulations are subject to a sunset provision under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994: they will expire 10 years after the day of making, on 5 July 2026, unless earlier revoked or extended. The objective stated in regulation 1 is to prescribe fees payable to the registrar of probates under Division 1A of Part I of the Administration and Probate Act 1958.