Casino Control (Fees) Regulations 2015

The Regulations operate around a small set of drafting concepts: prescribed fees, fee units, statutory cross-reference to the Act, revocation of prior subordinate instruments, commencement date, and sunset/extension information.

Prescribed fees and statutory cross-references

• Each monetary prescription is expressly linked to a section of the Casino Control Act 1991. The instrument does not create new licensing powers; it prescribes the payment required by specific provisions of the Act: s 17(3) (redefinition of casino boundaries), s 39(1) (licence application), s 45A(2) (applications by those licensed under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003), s 49(2) (renewal), s 50(1) (variation), and s 51(1) (replacement licence) (regs 5-10). The text uses the formula "For the purposes of s X of the Casino Control Act 1991, the prescribed fee is ..." which makes clear these Regulations supply the monetary figure an applicant must pay to satisfy the payment requirement in the named Act provision.

Fee units and the Monetary Units Act

• Most fees are expressed in "fee units" rather than fixed dollar amounts (regs 5-9). The explanatory material sets out that these fee units are to be converted to dollars in accordance with section 7 of the Monetary Units Act 2004 and notes the Treasurer fixes the fee unit value for each financial year (Endnotes: Fee Units). The value for the financial year commencing 1 July 2024 is published in the explanatory material as $16.33; the Regulations state the calculated fee may be rounded to the nearest 10 cents.

Fixed-dollar outlier

• The fee for issue of a replacement licence is an explicit dollar amount ($10.72) rather than a fee-unit figure (reg 10). That establishes a different indexing treatment for that particular transaction: it is not automatically varied by the annual fee unit value unless regulators amend this Regulation.

Revocation and sunset

• Reg 4 revokes two prior Statutory Rules from 2005 related to licence fees and boundary redefinition fees. The endnotes record that the Regulations will sunset on 19 April 2026 (Subordinate Legislation (Casino Control (Fees) Regulations 2015) Extension Regulations 2025, S.R. No. 19/2025). The device of revocation plus sunset indicates replacement of earlier fee instruments and a limited statutory life absent further extension or re‑making.

Statutory authority and commencement

• The Regulations are made under s 167 of the Casino Control Act 1991 (reg 2) and came into operation on 26 April 2015 (reg 3). The made-by instrument is the Governor in Council (Endnotes).

Interpretation assistance

• The endnotes reproduce elements of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 that affect headings, examples, punctuation and provision numbers. Those interpretive points are part of the statutory presentation and may affect how the Regulations are cited and how notes/headings are treated, but they do not alter the numerical fee prescriptions.

The instrument names the categories of persons who must pay the prescribed fees by linking the fee prescriptions to the corresponding sections of the Casino Control Act 1991. Concrete affected parties are:

• Applicants seeking a redefinition of casino boundaries. Reg 5 prescribes a fee for applications made under s 17(3) of the Casino Control Act 1991; therefore any person or entity that applies under s 17(3) must pay the prescribed fee when making that application.

• Applicants for special employee licences. Reg 6 prescribes the fee for licence applications under s 39(1) of the Act; this applies to those seeking the particular class of licence described in the Act provision.

• Persons already licensed under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 who make an application under s 45A(2) of the Casino Control Act 1991. Reg 7 prescribes a separate fee for that cohort, which is a narrower group explicitly identified.

• Existing licence-holders seeking renewals. Reg 8 prescribes the fee for renewal applications under s 49(2) of the Act.

• Licence-holders seeking variations to licences. Reg 9 prescribes the fee for variation applications under s 50(1).

• Holders of special employee licences who require a replacement licence. Reg 10 prescribes a flat dollar fee ($10.72) for issuing a replacement under s 51(1).

• Administrating authorities and agencies. The regulations affect the Victorian government bodies responsible for processing Casino Control Act applications because those bodies or their payment collection processes must accept, calculate and record the prescribed fees. The Regulations were made by Governor in Council under s 167 of the Casino Control Act 1991 (reg 2), which identifies the executive origin of the instrument.

• The Treasurer and publishers of official notices. The Monetary Units Act 2004 mechanism described in the explanatory material requires the Treasurer to fix the fee unit value for each financial year and to publish it in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June in the preceding financial year (Endnotes: Fee Units). That duty affects how applicants determine the current dollar cost of fee-unit denominated charges.

Who is not directly affected by these Regulations

• The Regulations do not purport to change eligibility, background suitability or substantive licensing criteria in the Casino Control Act; they only set the monetary amounts to be paid with particular applications. Any enforcement of non-payment or consequences for failing to pay are matters for the Act itself or administrative procedures not contained in these Regulations.

Geographical and temporal reach

• The Regulations operate in Victoria and commenced on 26 April 2015 (reg 3 and Endnote 1). The explanatory note indicates they will sunset on 19 April 2026 absent further action. That temporal limitation affects individuals planning applications over time: the precise fee mechanics may change after sunset or if the Regulations are remade.

Practical implications

• Applicants and licence-holders must identify which statutory provision of the Casino Control Act governs their application to know which prescribed fee applies (regs 5-10). They must also obtain the current fee unit value for the relevant financial year from the Treasurer's publications to convert fee units to dollars where applicable.

The Regulations impose monetary duties (payment obligations) and identify the mechanism for calculating those duties; they do not create licensing rights or procedural entitlements beyond the Act’s provisions.

Duties (what must be done)

• Pay the prescribed fee when making an application or requesting an action identified in the Regulations. Each monetary prescription is expressly tied to a section of the Casino Control Act 1991, and the Regulations prescribe the fee "for the purposes of" that section (regs 5-10). That wording establishes the fee as the payment required by or associated with the cited Act provision.

• Convert fee-unit denominated amounts into dollar amounts by multiplying the number of fee units by the relevant fee unit value for the financial year. The explanatory material makes explicit that fees are provided "by reference to fee units within the meaning of the Monetary Units Act 2004" and that the amount is to be calculated in accordance with s 7 of that Act (Endnotes: Fee Units).

• Round the calculated dollar amount to the nearest 10 cents. The explanatory text states, "The amount of the calculated fee may be rounded to the nearest 10 cents." This affects practical payment amounts.

• For the Treasurer: fix and publish the fee unit value for each financial year. The endnotes quote the Monetary Units Act 2004 obligations that the Treasurer must fix the value and publish it in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June in the preceding financial year.

Rights and entitlements (what applicants retain)

• The Regulations preserve whatever substantive rights the Act gives applicants. These Regulations only set fees; they do not, on their face, alter adjudicative or administrative rights conferred by the Casino Control Act 1991 (for example, rights to have an application considered, to administrative review, or to procedural fairness). Any such rights remain governed by the primary Act and by any relevant administrative law.

• Consistency and predictability. Expressly prescribing fees in fee units is an indexing mechanism that allows applicants to determine that the monetary amount will be adjusted indirectly by the fee unit value set annually by the Treasurer, rather than requiring repeated statutory amendment to change every dollar amount. The Regulations therefore create a predictable procedure for fee updates: fee‑unit denominated amounts will convert via the Monetary Units Act process.

Operational duties for administrators

• The authorities receiving applications must accept payments calculated under the fee-unit mechanism and accept replacement licence payments at the specified flat rate where applicable. They must also observe the revocations (reg 4) and the commencement date (reg 3) in their records and processes.

Absence of other specified duties

• The Regulations do not specify application timing, evidence of payment, refunds, or waivers. Neither do they specify collection methods or late-payment consequences. Those matters, if any, are found in the Casino Control Act 1991 or in administrative policies and are not set out in these Regulations.

The Casino Control (Fees) Regulations 2015 themselves do not create offences, penalties or an enforcement regime; they prescribe amounts to be paid in respect of certain statutory matters in the Casino Control Act 1991. The text of these Regulations contains no penalty provisions or sanctions for non-payment. The relevant material in these Regulations is limited to monetary prescriptions and administrative details (regs 5-10, reg 2, reg 3, reg 4).

Where enforcement or consequences for non-payment exist, they will derive from the Casino Control Act 1991 or from administrative processes established by the agency that administers the Act. The Regulations explicitly link the fees to particular Act provisions (for example, "For the purposes of section 17(3) ... the prescribed fee is 278·62 fee units" (reg 5)), which means the immediate legal effect of these Regulations is to define the quantum of the payment required by the Act. Any statutory consequences for failure to pay that quantum, or practical consequences such as refusal to accept or process an application, would be matters for the Act or the administering agency.

Administrative enforcement and collection

• The administering body must calculate the fee amount where the fee is denominated in fee units, using the fee unit value fixed by the Treasurer for the relevant financial year (Endnotes: Fee Units), then apply the rounding convention to the nearest 10 cents. Administrative collection processes will enforce payment in practice by refusing to accept applications that are not accompanied by the prescribed fee; the Regulations provide the figure the agency checks against.

Publication and transparency obligations

• The Treasury's obligation to publish the fee unit value in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June in the preceding financial year (Endnotes: Fee Units) is an administrative control that supports enforceability by ensuring there is an authoritative public figure to use in calculating fee-dollar amounts for that financial year.

Revocation and sunset implications for enforcement

• The revocation of earlier subordinate instruments (reg 4) may shift which document an administrator looks to for the correct fee amount; administrators and applicants must rely on the 2015 Regulations (as extended) for the current prescriptions. The sunset date recorded in Endnote 1 (Regulations will sunset on 19 April 2026) creates a temporal enforcement risk: if the instrument expires without replacement or extension, there would be an immediate need for the administering authority to rely on transitional or replacement rules absent these Regulations.

Practical note on penalties: absence in the Regulations

• Because the Regulations do not specify penalties, practitioners should not look to this instrument to determine sanctions for non-payment. Instead, the Casino Control Act 1991 and relevant administrative policies, instruments or guidelines should be consulted for enforcement and consequences. The Regulations are a fee-scheduling instrument, not an enforcement code.

The Regulations are a subordinate instrument made under the Casino Control Act 1991 and operate in conjunction with other statutes identified in the Regulations and endnotes. The interactions are primarily mechanical and administrative.

Casino Control Act 1991

• These Regulations were made under s 167 of the Casino Control Act 1991 (reg 2). Each fee prescription is expressly tied to a specific provision of the Act: s 17(3), s 39(1), s 45A(2), s 49(2), s 50(1) and s 51(1) (regs 5-10). The effect is that the Act provides the substantive application points and these Regulations provide the monetary amounts required by those provisions.

Monetary Units Act 2004

• The explanatory notes make the connection to the Monetary Units Act 2004 explicit: fees are expressed in fee units and must be converted to dollar amounts in accordance with s 7 of that Act (Endnotes: Fee Units). The explanatory details set out that the Treasurer fixes the fee unit value for each financial year under s 5 of the Monetary Units Act and must publish it in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June in the preceding financial year. Therefore the dollar quantum of most fees depends on a separate statutory regime for monetary indexing.

Gambling Regulation Act 2003

• Reg 7 expressly refers to applications by persons licensed under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, and ties the prescribed fee to s 45A(2) of the Casino Control Act 1991. That shows a statutory link where a person holding a gambling licence under a different Act will interact with the Casino Control Act fee schedule.

Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984

• The endnotes reproduce interpretive and stylistic provisions from the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 that affect headings, punctuation and provision numbering. Those internal interaction rules affect how the Regulations are presented and read legally, for example that headings are part of the Statutory Rule and that punctuation matters for interpretation.

Revoked subordinate instruments

• The Regulations revoke the Casino Control (Licence Fees) Regulations 2005 and the Casino Control (Boundary Redefinition Fee) Regulations 2005 (reg 4). That revocation creates a direct interaction with the legislative history of fee instruments: prior fee prescriptions are displaced and replaced by the 2015 instrument.

Publication and administrative timelines

• The Monetary Units Act requirement that the Treasurer publish fee unit values before 1 June preceding each financial year imposes a timetable cross-reference. Practitioners converting fee units to dollars must consult the Treasurer's published notice, the Government Gazette or a Victorian newspaper for the current rate.

Sunset provision and extension regulation

• The Endnotes record that the Regulations will sunset on 19 April 2026 and mention the Subordinate Legislation (Casino Control (Fees) Regulations 2015) Extension Regulations 2025, S.R. No. 19/2025. That shows interaction with the Subordinate Legislation Act / sunset mechanics: continuation of the fee instrument requires an extension, remaking or replacement before sunset.

Practical consequence of these interactions

• Calculation and applicability of fees require cross-referencing the Casino Control Act section governing the application, the fee-unit number listed in these Regulations, and the current fee-unit dollar value as fixed under the Monetary Units Act and published by the Treasurer. The one exception is the replacement licence fee, expressed directly in dollars (reg 10), which does not require conversion via fee units.

The text of the Regulations and the endnotes contain the complete amendment information recorded in the instrument.

• The Regulations were made on 21 April 2015 by the Governor in Council under s 167 of the Casino Control Act 1991 and came into operation on 26 April 2015 (Endnote 1; regs 2-3).

• Reg 4 revokes two prior Statutory Rules: the Casino Control (Licence Fees) Regulations 2005 and the Casino Control (Boundary Redefinition Fee) Regulations 2005. The explanatory detail in the endnotes identifies the specific S.R. numbers for those 2005 instruments (S.R. No. 21/2005 and S.R. No. 38/2005).

• The instrument includes an express Table of Amendments entry: the Table of Amendments in the endnotes states there are no amendments made to the Casino Control (Fees) Regulations 2015 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments or Acts (Endnote 2: Table of Amendments). That indicates the Regulations themselves have not been substantively amended since their making up to the version date stated (version as at 15 April 2025).

• The explanatory details include routine interpretive material and note the use of fee units. The explanatory notes specify the fee unit value for the financial year commencing 1 July 2024 as $16.33 and the rounding rule (Endnotes: Fee Units). Those are not amendments to the Regulations themselves but are part of the explanatory detail in the published version.

• The instrument has an extension instrument recorded in the endnotes: the Regulations will sunset on 19 April 2026 but were the subject of a Subordinate Legislation (Casino Control (Fees) Regulations 2015) Extension Regulations 2025, S.R. No. 19/2025, which is listed in the Endnote 1. The presence of that Extension Regulations entry indicates at least one extension action occurred to maintain the Regulations beyond their original sunset point; the Endnote 2 Table of Amendments nevertheless reports no amendments to the provisions themselves.

What is not in the amendment history

• There are no recorded amendments to the numeric prescriptions of the Regulations in the Table of Amendments. Any change to dollar amounts for fee‑unit denominated fees will normally happen by changing the fee-unit value under the Monetary Units Act 2004, not by amending these Regulations. The replacement licence dollar amount in reg 10 is fixed in this instrument and would require a statutory amendment to change; there is no record in this instrument of such an amendment up to the version date.

Practical implication

• For practitioners, the amendment history indicates the Regulations as drafted (fee-unit denominated amounts and one fixed-dollar fee) have remained stable since 2015 through to the version date. Fee changes over time for the fee-unit denominated items will occur through the separate fee-unit valuation process rather than through amendment of the Regulations themselves unless a later Statutory Rule expressly varies these fee-unit numbers or the fixed dollar amount.

The Regulations and accompanying endnotes do not include any cases, judicial commentary, or references to litigation. The text contains no citations to judicial decisions, and the Endnotes Table of Amendments records no amendments attributable to litigation outcomes. Therefore, the instrument as published does not record any litigation history.

Practical consequence for practitioners

• Absent recorded cases or judicial interpretation in the instrument, the definitive statements of statutory fee amounts and the mechanism for conversion to dollars (fee units) remain the primary source for determining applicable fees. If disputes arise about whether a fee was correctly calculated, or whether an administering authority correctly accepted or rejected an application for payment reasons, resolution would proceed through the Act’s administrative and judicial review avenues rather than through guidance in these Regulations. Any case law addressing application of these regulations would need to be sought outside the text of this instrument.

Where to look if litigation is expected or suspected

• If a practitioner expects litigation or needs precedent on fee calculation, disputes over the sufficiency of payment, or administrative treatment of the fee, the relevant sources to consult (not contained in this instrument) are:
  • The Casino Control Act 1991 for the substantive application and any enforcement mechanisms.
  • Administrative decisions and tribunal or court judgments that interpret how fees are to be applied in practice.
  • Policies and practice directions of the authority administering the Casino Control Act which may clarify payment methods, refund rules and timing.

Data point in the Endnotes

• The endnotes contain interpretive statutory references (for example, to the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984) which affect presentation and citation, but they do not provide litigation records.

The Regulations are short and numerical, but there are a number of practical pitfalls and attention points that arise from their drafting and the explanatory material.

1. Fee-unit denominated amounts change by reference to the Treasurer, not by statutory amendment

• Most fees are expressed in fee units (regs 5-9). The dollar cost therefore depends on the fee unit value fixed annually under the Monetary Units Act 2004 and published by the Treasurer before 1 June in the preceding financial year (Endnotes: Fee Units). Practitioners must obtain the current fee unit value rather than relying on historic dollar amounts.

2. Different indexing treatment for replacement licence fee

• Reg 10 sets a specific dollar amount ($10.72) for a replacement licence. That figure will not change automatically with fee unit adjustments. If an administrator or applicant assumes all fees move with fee units they may miscompute the replacement fee.

3. Rounding convention to nearest 10 cents

• The explanatory notes specify calculated fees "may be rounded to the nearest 10 cents." That rounding to one decimal of a dollar (0.1) differs from the more common rounding to the nearest cent; practical calculation must implement the 10‑cent rounding rule. For example, using the fee unit value stated for 2024-25 ($16.33), a fee of 3.39 fee units converts to $55.3587 and would round to $55.40 (nearest 10 cents).

4. Large difference between fee categories

• The fee for redefinition of casino boundaries (reg 5) is 278.62 fee units, a substantially larger fee-unit figure than the others. Using the 2024-25 fee unit value of $16.33 supplied in the explanatory material, that fee converts to approximately $4,549.90 after rounding to the nearest 10 cents. Practitioners should be alert to the relative scale of that fee compared with worker licence fees (single-digit fee units).

5. Sunset date and extension mechanics

• The endnotes record the Regulations will sunset on 19 April 2026 (Subordinate Legislation (Casino Control (Fees) Regulations 2015) Extension Regulations 2025, S.R. No. 19/2025). If the instrument expires without replacement or extension, there may be a gap or the need to rely on transitional arrangements. Practitioners arranging applications near that date should check for extension, remaking or replacement.

6. Revocation of earlier instruments , transitional questions

• The Regulations revoke two 2005 instruments (reg 4). Where applications were prepared under those prior instruments, confirm which instrument applies to the application date. The Regulations commence 26 April 2015 (reg 3); applications before that date would fall under prior rules.

7. Source-of-truth for fee unit value

• The explanatory material gives the 2024 fee unit value ($16.33). The statutory requirement that the Treasurer publish the fee unit value in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper is the authoritative source for the fee unit value for each financial year. Secondary sources or outdated websites may give incorrect values.

8. No procedural or waiver provisions in the Regulations

• These Regulations are strictly fee-scheduling. They do not address refund, waiver, late-payment consequences, or acceptable payment methods. Practitioners must consult the primary Act or administrative guidelines for those operational matters.

9. Mixed numeric formats

• The Regulations use fee units for most fees but a direct dollar figure for one item. Ensure bookkeeping and payment systems account for both conversion processes and fixed-dollar handling to avoid misreceipts.

10. Interpretive nuance from the Interpretation of Legislation Act

• The endnotes indicate style changes authorised by the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 and that headings, punctuation and examples form part of the Statutory Rule. While largely technical, practitioners should ensure any citation or cross-reference follows the presentational rules to avoid clerical misinterpretation.

This section gives a practical compliance checklist and worked examples based on the explanatory material contained in the Regulations. It confines itself to actions the Regulations require or make necessary by operation.

Step 1 , Identify the correct statutory provision

• Determine which section of the Casino Control Act 1991 governs the application or transaction: s 17(3) for redefinition of boundaries (reg 5), s 39(1) for licence application (reg 6), s 45A(2) for certain applicants licensed under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (reg 7), s 49(2) for renewals (reg 8), s 50(1) for variations (reg 9), and s 51(1) for replacement licences (reg 10). The Regulations prescribe the fee to be paid "for the purposes of" each of these sections (regs 5-10), so the first compliance step is mapping the transaction to the correct section.

Step 2 , Obtain the current fee unit value

• For fee-unit denominated charges (regs 5-9) obtain the fee unit value fixed by the Treasurer for the relevant financial year. The Monetary Units Act 2004 mechanism requires the Treasurer to fix and publish that value in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June in the preceding financial year (Endnotes: Fee Units). Use the Treasurer’s publication as the authoritative figure.

Step 3 , Convert fee units to dollars

• Multiply the number of fee units prescribed in the relevant regulation by the fee unit value for the financial year, in accordance with s 7 of the Monetary Units Act 2004 as noted in the explanatory material. For example, using the 2024-25 fee unit value published in the explanatory notes ($16.33), calculate:
  • Reg 6 (5.16 fee units): 5.16 × $16.33 = $84.2628 → round to nearest 10 cents = $84.30.
  • Reg 7 (3.39 fee units): 3.39 × $16.33 = $55.3587 → round to nearest 10 cents = $55.40.
  • Reg 8 (3.40 fee units): 3.40 × $16.33 = $55.522 → round to nearest 10 cents = $55.50.
  • Reg 9 (3.35 fee units): 3.35 × $16.33 = $54.7055 → round to nearest 10 cents = $54.70.
  • Reg 5 (278.62 fee units): 278.62 × $16.33 = $4,549.8646 → round to nearest 10 cents = $4,549.90.

Step 4 , Apply the rounding rule

• Round the calculated dollar amount to the nearest 10 cents. The explanatory material supplies this rounding convention and it must be applied to the computed dollar total before tendering payment.

Step 5 , Replacement licence fee

• For replacement licences under reg 10, pay the fixed dollar amount stated: $10.72. No fee unit conversion is required.

Step 6 , Submit payment with the application

• The Regulations prescribe the fee for the purposes of the cited Act sections; they are intended to be the fee that accompanies the application. Ensure payment is made as required by the administrative processes of the body that processes Casino Control Act applications. The Regulations do not specify acceptable payment methods, evidence of payment, or refund policies; consult the administering body for those procedural details.

Step 7 , Check effective dates and sunset risk

• The Regulations commenced on 26 April 2015 (reg 3). They are recorded to sunset on 19 April 2026 (Endnote 1) unless further extended or remade. Before lodging an application near the sunset date, confirm whether these Regulations remain in force or whether a new instrument applies.

Step 8 , Where to find authoritative information

• Authoritative sources are:
  • The Casino Control (Fees) Regulations 2015 for the fee-unit figures and the replacement licence dollar figure.
  • The Treasurer's notice in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper for the fee unit value applicable to the financial year.
  • The administering authority’s application instructions for procedural matters (payment methods, application forms, evidence of payment, timing).

Practical checklist for applicants

• Identify which regulation applies (5-10).
• Obtain the current fee unit value from the Government Gazette prior to calculating fees.
• Multiply fee units by fee unit value; round to the nearest 10 cents.
• For replacement licences, prepare $10.72.
• Confirm payment method and documentation required by the administering authority.
• Check that the Regulations are in force at the date of application (watch the sunset date and any extension instruments).
• Retain proof of payment and reference the applicable Casino Control Act section on the application.

Record-keeping and accounting

• Because most fees are tied to the fee unit value and rounding conventions, record the fee unit value used, the arithmetic, and the rounded final figure in the application record to permit later verification. For audit or dispute, the Treasurer’s published fee unit value for the relevant year and the arithmetic based on the fee-unit figure in the Regulation will be the objective basis for any reconciliation.

Contact points

• The Regulations do not identify contact points for payment or queries; for transactional questions, contact the authority that administers the Casino Control Act 1991 or consult its published application guidance.