Several key legal concepts structure the Act’s transitional architecture. The Act defines “assessable period” narrowly, as a period ending before 1 July 2011 (s 3). That date separates conduct and entitlements that remain actionable from conduct and claims that are extinguished. The term “pre‑repeal matter” is also framed in s 3. It covers (a) a levy liability or an exempt arrangement for an assessable period, (b) the imposition or collection of the levy relating to such a levy liability, (c) the use of the electricity supply and sale system as the basis for imposing or collecting the levy, and (d) anything done or not done under the repealed Act relating to those matters. The Act therefore preserves the legal consequences of past levy activity that originate in, or depend on, the pre‑1 July 2011 period while freeing future conduct from the repealed Act.

“Electricity retailer” has continuing significance as the statutory agent for collection under the repealed Act. Section 6(2) lists that an electricity retailer “continues to be the agent of the commissioner for collection of the levy for an assessable period,” and that the commissioner may give written directions to an electricity retailer or authorised subcontractor for administration or enforcement related to pre‑repeal matters. The commissioner may also act in the place of an electricity retailer to enforce compliance (s 6(2)). Those provisions retain the agent/principal relationship and allow the commissioner to substitute enforcement actions that would have been available under the repealed Act.

“Administration agreement” carries particular operational significance. Section 15 preserves administration agreements in force immediately before 1 July 2011, subject to subdivision 4. Subdivision 4 then modifies the fee base and reporting regime for any continuing administration agreement (ss 16-21). Section 18 fixes the base annual fee used to calculate the administration fee from 1 July 2011 as the base annual fee under the agreement for the financial year ending 30 June 2011. Sections 19 and 20 require monthly levy statistics statements to the commissioner from October 2011 and set a defined formulaic basis for calculation of administration fees from October 2011, using variables that the Act identifies (for example BAF for base annual fee and AESA for the number of assessable electricity sale arrangements) (ss 19-20). Section 21 allows a retailer to elect, by written notice to the commissioner, not to claim the administration fee, in which case the commissioner ceases to be liable for that fee and the reporting and fee calculation provisions no longer apply to that retailer.

“Statement of levy liability” remains a live instrument only to the extent it shows levy amounts for assessable periods. Section 8 applies sections of the repealed Act governing statements of levy liability, but limited to amounts that relate to assessable periods, and section 8(3) requires retailers to replace any prior statement that purports to relate to non‑assessable periods. Section 9 cross‑references section 108 of the repealed Act for refund treatment, as applied subject to s 9’s clarification. Section 10 then imposes a restriction on issuing replacement statements on or after 1 July 2012 unless the customer had asked for a replacement statement before 1 July 2012.

The Act also clarifies recovery rights and limits. Sections 12 and 13 declare that owners of power card premises and on‑suppliers who have paid amounts purporting to be levies for non‑assessable periods cannot recover those amounts under specified recovery sections of the repealed Act (sections 115(2) and 120 respectively). Instead, those persons must seek refunds, in practice from the electricity retailer (s 12(3), s 13(3)). Section 14 limits monetary liability of the commissioner and the State to electricity retailers, by requiring retailers to have given a notice in the approved form before 1 July 2012 if they wish to claim amounts as overpayments from the commissioner or State; exceptions are provided where the retailer cannot pay a refund out of levy funds it has collected (s 14).

Finally, the Act preserves limited tribunal and confidentiality processes for pre‑repeal matters. Section 22 continues the operation of part 9, division 2 of the repealed Act for QCAT reviews of commissioner decisions relating to objections, whether the decision was made before or after 1 July 2011. Section 23 keeps the repealed Act’s confidentiality provisions (sections 142 and 143) in force for the use of information for administration or enforcement in relation to pre‑repeal matters. The Act also declares which parts of the Administration Act apply to this Act as a revenue law (s 24).

The statute identifies a compact set of parties who bear continuing duties, rights and potential liability in relation to pre‑repeal matters. The principal actors are:

• Electricity retailers. The Act treats electricity retailers as continuing agents of the commissioner for the collection of levies for assessable periods (s 6(2)(a)). Retailers must continue to keep records required under the repealed Act concerning levy liabilities, on‑supply arrangements and power card arrangements (s 6(2)(h)). Retailers may be required to pay the commissioner levy amounts collected for assessable periods, to refund overpayments, and to recover unpaid levy amounts (s 6(2)(d)-(f)). Retailers also face new administrative reporting obligations if an administration agreement remains in force: monthly levy statistics statements from October 2011 (s 19(2)). Retailers can elect not to claim administration fees (s 21), but the Act conditions retailer claims against the commissioner or the State on the retailer having given a notice in an approved form before 1 July 2012 (s 14).

• Electricity customers. Customers remain liable to pay only that part of a total levy amount shown in a statement of levy liability that relates to an assessable period (s 8(5) as continued). Customers can request replacement statements in circumstances governed by the repealed Act and modified by this Act; but s 10 restricts the giving of replacement statements on or after 1 July 2012 relating to certain circumstances unless the customer had previously asked for one before that date. The entitlement to refunds under part 7 division 8 of the repealed Act terminates for claims where required notices were not given before 1 July 2012 (s 11).

• Owners of power card premises and on‑suppliers. If such owners or on‑suppliers have paid amounts purporting to be levy amounts for non‑assessable periods, the Act prevents them from recovering those amounts under specified recovery provisions of the repealed Act (s 12(2) and s 13(2)). They may, however, seek refunds from the electricity retailer (s 12(3), s 13(3)).

• The Commissioner. The commissioner retains directing and enforcement powers in relation to electricity retailers and authorised subcontractors for administration and enforcement of the repealed Act as it applies to pre‑repeal matters (s 6(2)(b)-(c)). The commissioner also continues to be the recipient of levy statistics statements (s 19(2)) and the entity against whom retailers may have claims for overpayments, subject to the requirement that retailers have given a notice in an approved form before 1 July 2012 (s 14).

• The State. The Act limits State liability to compensate retailers for overpayments where the prescribed notice was not filed before 1 July 2012 (s 14). The Act also specifies that neither subsection (1) nor subsection (2) of s 14 confers a right or imposes an obligation for the payment of an amount (s 14(3)), indicating that the State’s exposure is constrained.

• QCAT and users of the tribunal process. Proceedings for review by QCAT of commissioner decisions relating to objections are preserved and continue to be governed by the repealed Act’s part 9 division 2 for such proceedings, whether those commissioner decisions were made before or after 1 July 2011 (s 22).

• Parties to an administration agreement, and any authorised subcontractor under it. Administration agreements in force immediately before repeal continue, and their operation is modified by ss 16-21. The agreement’s financial base and reporting regime are set out in ss 18-20, and a retailer may elect not to claim the administration fee (s 21).

Practically, this means electricity retailers face the bulk of the continuing compliance and enforcement workload relating to past levies, including record retention, potential refund administration, and reporting. Electricity customers and other private parties (owners of power card premises and on‑suppliers) retain limited rights to refunds and to seek replacement statements, but those rights are time‑limited and circumscribed. The Commissioner retains the administrative tools to direct retailers, act in their stead, and receive reporting, while the State’s monetary exposure is limited by the notice requirement in section 14.

The Act creates, preserves and limits a set of duties and rights, concentrated on post‑repeal management of historical levy matters.

Continuing duties under the repealed Act for pre‑repeal matters

• The repealed Act continues to apply for rights, privileges, liabilities and obligations that would have been acquired, accrued or incurred on or after 1 July 2011 relating to a pre‑repeal matter (s 6(1)). That provision expressly continues offences in the repealed Act for any relevant doing or omission on or after 1 July 2011 (s 6(3)). The statutory instruments made under the repealed Act immediately before repeal remain part of what continues to apply (s 6(4)).

Duties on electricity retailers

• Continue to act as agent of the commissioner for levy collection for assessable periods (s 6(2)(a)).
• Must keep records that were required under the repealed Act about another person’s levy liability, on‑supply arrangements or power card arrangements (s 6(2)(h)).
• May be required by the commissioner to pay collected levy amounts, to refund overpayments, or to recover unpaid levy amounts for assessable periods (s 6(2)(d)-(f)).
• Must not give a customer a statement of levy liability that shows an amount purported to be a levy for a period other than an assessable period (s 25; penalty 100 penalty units).
• If they remain party to an administration agreement, must provide levy statistics statements monthly from October 2011, stating specific statistical items that the Act prescribes (s 19).

Duties and rights of customers and other private parties

• Electricity customers are required to pay only that part of the total levy amount in a statement of levy liability relating to an assessable period, as continued under the repealed Act (s 8(5)).
• A customer may seek a replacement statement of levy liability if a previous statement purports to relate to a non‑assessable period; retailers are required to provide such replacement statements (s 8(3)). However, s 10 restricts giving replacement statements on or after 1 July 2012 for circumstances under the repealed Act’s s 89(b) unless the customer had asked for a replacement prior to 1 July 2012.
• Owners of power card premises and on‑suppliers who paid unauthorised amounts (purporting to be levy amounts for non‑assessable periods) cannot recover those amounts under specific recovery provisions of the repealed Act (s 12(2), s 13(2)); they can, though, seek refunds from electricity retailers (s 12(3), s 13(3)). Section 12 and 13 explicitly point to ss 8(3) and 108 of the repealed Act as relevant.

Commissioner’s powers and constraints

• The commissioner may give written directions to electricity retailers or authorised subcontractors under the repealed Act relating to pre‑repeal matters, and the commissioner may act in the place of a retailer to enforce compliance with directions or obligations (s 6(2)(b), (c)). That preserves an enforcement pathway where a retailer fails to act or to comply.
• The commissioner receives levy statistics statements and calculates administration fees under the modified formula regime for continuing administration agreements (ss 19-20).
• The commissioner’s liability to pay an electricity retailer an amount claimed to be overpaid under the repealed Act is limited by section 14, because retailers must have given notice in the approved form before 1 July 2012 to preserve claims against the commissioner or the State (s 14(1)).

Administrative fee and reporting regime

• The Act fixes the base annual fee for administration fee calculation from 1 July 2011 as the base annual fee under the administration agreement for the financial year that ended on 30 June 2011 (s 18).
• From October 2011, the electricity retailer under a continuing administration agreement must provide monthly levy statistics statements within 14 days after the end of the month, listing the number of assessable electricity sale arrangements, the number and type of exemptions applied, number and value of adjustments, and other relevant information required by the commissioner (s 19).
• The administration fee payable for October 2011 and subsequent months must be calculated using a formula the Act prescribes or identifies variables for (s 20). If the agreement is not in force for the whole month, a pro‑rata adjustment applies (s 20(2)).
• An electricity retailer may elect by written notice to the commissioner not to claim the administration fee. If it does so on or after 1 October 2011, the commissioner ceases to be liable for that fee and the monthly reporting and fee formula provisions no longer apply to that retailer (s 21).

Tribunal and confidentiality procedures

• Proceedings for review by QCAT of decisions of the commissioner relating to objections continue to be governed by the repealed Act’s part 9 division 2, as in force immediately before 1 July 2011 (s 22).
• Confidentiality provisions of the repealed Act (sections 142 and 143) remain in force for using information for the administration or enforcement of the repealed Act in relation to pre‑repeal matters (s 23).

Limits and prohibitions

• Issuing, or attempting to recover, levy amounts that purport to relate to a non‑assessable period is a criminal offence carrying a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units for both retailers (s 25) and owners or on‑suppliers (ss 26-27). The Act also declares the specific recovery routes that are excluded for owners and on‑suppliers (ss 12-13), and limits State and commissioner liability where notice requirements are not met (s 14).

These duties and rights are tightly linked to the cut‑off dates embedded in the statute. Parties holding records, entitlement claims or recovery expectations must align their actions to the notice and claim deadlines the Act imposes, and retailers in particular carry the continuing recordkeeping, reporting and refund administration responsibilities for pre‑repeal matters.

The Act preserves and creates enforcement mechanisms directed at ensuring that amounts purporting to be levies for non‑assessable periods are not asserted or recovered, and that administrative rules applying to pre‑repeal matters are enforced.

Criminal penalties for specified conduct

• The Act creates three specific offences, each with an identical maximum penalty of 100 penalty units:
  • Section 25 makes it an offence for an electricity retailer to give an electricity customer a statement of levy liability showing an amount that purports to be a levy amount for a period other than an assessable period. Maximum penalty, 100 penalty units.
  • Section 26 makes it an offence for an owner for a power card arrangement to recover, or attempt to recover, from a person an amount for the arrangement that purports to be a levy amount for a period other than an assessable period. Maximum penalty, 100 penalty units.
  • Section 27 makes it an offence for an on‑supplier to recover, or attempt to recover, an amount for an on‑supply arrangement that purports to be a levy amount for a period other than an assessable period. Maximum penalty, 100 penalty units.

These offences target three different actors , retailers, owners of power card premises, and on‑suppliers , and criminalise the act of asserting levy recovery outside the temporal boundary of “assessable period” (defined as periods ending before 1 July 2011) (s 3). The structure is preventive: it does not create new refund rights for non‑assessable period claims, but seeks to deter the circulation of demands or statements that purport to create such liabilities.

Administrative enforcement powers

• The commissioner retains powers under s 6 to give written directions to electricity retailers and authorised subcontractors under the repealed Act, for the administration or enforcement of that Act relating to pre‑repeal matters (s 6(2)(b)). The commissioner may also act in the place of an electricity retailer to enforce compliance with a direction or an obligation to perform a function relating to a pre‑repeal matter (s 6(2)(c)). Those provisions provide administrative enforcement pathways where private recovery or retailer action is insufficient.

Limits on State and commissioner liability

• Section 14 limits the State’s monetary exposure: on and from 1 July 2012, neither the commissioner nor the State is liable to pay an electricity retailer an amount claimed to be overpaid under the repealed Act if the retailer did not give the commissioner a notice in the approved form about the amount before 1 July 2012 (s 14(1)). Subsection (2) creates an exception for amounts relating to an “appropriate refund” paid or payable by a retailer where the retailer is not able to pay the amount out of levy amounts it has collected (s 14(2)). Subsection (3) clarifies that neither s 14(1) nor s 14(2) confers a right or imposes an obligation for the payment of an amount (s 14(3)). Section 14(4) makes clear that s 14(1) applies despite anything to the contrary in the repealed Act or another Act. These provisions shift the burden onto retailers to preserve claims for overpayments by lodging the prescribed notice by the 1 July 2012 cut‑off.

Tribunal review as enforcement mechanism

• Section 22 preserves the availability of review proceedings before QCAT in respect of objections to commissioner decisions, by continuing to apply part 9 division 2 of the repealed Act as in force immediately before 1 July 2011 (s 22). The provision ensures an adjudicative mechanism survives repeal for disputes arising from pre‑repeal matters.

Contractual and statutory continuity

• Administration agreements survived repeal (s 15), and the Act modifies fee calculation and reporting (ss 18-20). Section 16 applies those modifications despite section 83 of the repealed Act and despite the terms of the administration agreement (s 16). That gives the commissioner the statutory authority to make the financial and reporting adjustments the Act prescribes, rather than relying solely on contractual renegotiation.

Confidentiality and use of information

• Section 23 keeps the repealed Act’s confidentiality provisions (sections 142 and 143) in force for using information for administration or enforcement of the repealed Act in relation to pre‑repeal matters. That limits disclosure of collected levy information in line with the pre‑repeal statutory confidentiality regime.

In short, enforcement is a mixture of criminal sanctions directed at improper recovery or issuance of levy statements outside the preserved period, administrative powers for the commissioner to direct or substitute for retailers, and tribunal review for contested commissioner decisions. Monetary exposure for the State and commissioner is capped by a procedural notice requirement for retailers, and contractual administration agreements are adjusted and can be disapplied by retailer election.

The Act is expressly careful about its interaction with the repealed Act, with the Administration Act 2001, and with the statutory instruments that had been made under the repealed Act.

Interaction with the repealed Community Ambulance Cover Act 2003

• Certain provisions and instruments from the repealed Act continue to operate for pre‑repeal matters. Section 6 declares that the repealed Act as in force immediately before 1 July 2011 “continues to apply” to rights and liabilities relating to pre‑repeal matters, and that this continuation includes statutory instruments in force under the repealed Act immediately before repeal (s 6(4)). The Act therefore preserves enforcement, refund and offence provisions of the repealed Act, but limits their scope in multiple places, for example by restricting statements of levy liability to amounts relating to assessable periods (s 8) and by preventing recovery under certain recovery sections of the repealed Act for unauthorised amounts (ss 12-13).

References to particular sections of the repealed Act are retained and re‑applied with qualifications. For example:

• Section 8 applies sections 87(2) and (3) of the repealed Act to a statement of levy liability only to the extent the statement shows a levy amount for an assessable period, and adjusts the meaning of “period to the end of the electricity sale arrangement” in section 87(5) to be the assessable period before the end of the electricity sale arrangement, while requiring replacement statements where earlier statements purport to relate to non‑assessable periods (s 8).
• Section 11 expressly references part 7 division 8 and sections 90, 90A, 92, 92B, 94, 107, 107A, 117(3), 122(3) and 124A(2) of the repealed Act when describing the end of entitlement to refunds and the consequences of the 1‑year limits under the repealed Act. The Act thereby threads together the old refund and notice architecture with explicit cut‑offs under the repeal Act.

Interaction with the Acts Interpretation Act 1954

• Section 5 clarifies that this division does not limit section 20 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954. That preserves interpretive principles that might otherwise be read down by the transitional rules in this Act.

Interaction with the Administration Act 2001

• Section 24 declares which parts of the Administration Act apply to this Act as a revenue law under that Act’s scheme. Only parts 7 and 8, section 117, part 10 and section 150 of the Administration Act apply to this Act as a revenue law. Section 24 further states that the Administration Act, section 172, declares that this Act is taken to be a revenue law under section 6 of that Act. That limited application identifies the administrative collection and review mechanisms under the Administration Act that remain available, while excluding other provisions.

Interaction with tribunal review and confidentiality regimes

• Section 22 continues application of the repealed Act’s procedures for QCAT review for commissioner decisions relating to objections, and s 23 preserves the repealed Act’s sections 142 and 143 for confidentiality and use of information in relation to pre‑repeal matters. These cross‑references keep intact the administrative law and privacy mechanisms that had applied to levy administration, but their operation is narrowed to pre‑repeal matters.

Relationship with contractual administration agreements

• The Act preserves administration agreements in force immediately before repeal (s 15), but s 16 makes the Act’s subdivision 4 apply to an administration agreement “despite” section 83 of the repealed Act and “despite” the terms of the administration agreement. That gives the statutory provisions precedence over contractual terms and over the repealed Act’s own section 83, thereby modifying the financial and reporting regime of those contracts by operation of statute.

Limits on statutory recovery rights

• Sections 12 and 13 declare that certain recovery rights in the repealed Act (section 115(2) for owners, section 120 for on‑suppliers) cannot be used to recover unauthorised amounts paid for non‑assessable periods. This removes statutory recovery paths that existed in the repealed Act and channels recovery actions to refund claims against electricity retailers instead.

By design the Act preserves specific parts of the legacy legal architecture while extinguishing others and imposing cut‑off deadlines. It does not purport to alter unrelated Commonwealth, state or local laws outside the narrow list of Administration Act provisions the Act incorporates (s 24). It also creates procedural preconditions that limit State exposure and direct parties back to private contractual or refund mechanisms rather than to expanded statutory recovery.

The source text supplied contains limited material on formal amendment history beyond internal annotations that refer to the Act’s own adoption in 2011. The Short title provision records the Act’s citation as the Community Ambulance Cover Levy Repeal Act 2011 (s 1). There is an editorial note appended to s 1 in the text supplied (“s 1 amd. 2011 No. 20 s 36”), which appears to be an internal amending annotation; the body of the supplied text contains no subsequent schedules, amending instruments, or later insertion or repeal entries beyond the substantive repeal and transitional provisions enacted in 2011.

Commencement staging constitutes a form of internal temporal amendment to the operation of the Act, since different parts take effect on different dates. Section 2 sets out the commencement timetable:

• Part 9 commences on 30 June 2011.
• A large set of provisions commences on 1 July 2011 (part 2 divisions 1-3; part 4; most of part 6 except specified subdivisions; part 7 divisions 1 and 2; part 10 division 3; part 11; part 12 division 3).
• Other provisions commence on 2 July 2011 (part 5; the omitted subdivisions of part 6).
• Part 7 division 3 commences on 1 August 2011.
• Part 2 division 4 commences on 1 January 2012.

These staged commencements effectively operate like time‑staggered amendments by bringing different legal consequences into force at different times. They are central to the transitional architecture, because the Act preserves certain rights and obligations up to those dates, and cuts off other rights thereafter.

No later amending statutes, disallowances, or retrospective modifications are recorded in the supplied text. The Act does, however, modify the operation of the repealed Act by preserving specified provisions and instruments as in force immediately before repeal (s 6(4)), and by declaring that certain provisions of the repealed Act continue to apply in particular ways (for example s 8’s application of sections 87 and 108 as limited by this Act). That is a built‑in, self‑contained amendment to the legal operation of the repealed Act for pre‑repeal matters.

If a practitioner needs authoritative amendment lineage beyond the supplied text, the practitioner should consult the consolidated statutes and parliamentary amendment records maintained by official legislative counsel or the state statute database to confirm whether subsequent amending instruments or repeals have occurred after the 2011 repeal Act. The supplied text does not provide evidence of any such later amendments.

The supplied statute does not record litigation or cases. The legislation preserves tribunal review rights for objections to decisions of the commissioner under the repealed Act, by continuing to apply part 9 division 2 of the repealed Act to such proceedings (s 22). That provision indicates that administrative tribunal avenues , namely QCAT review , remain available for disputes arising from pre‑repeal matters, whether the underlying commissioner decision occurred before or after 1 July 2011.

Beyond this preservation, the supplied text contains no references to judicial decisions, appellate rulings, or precedents that interpret the provisions. The Act itself refers to numerous sections of the repealed Act whose interpretation and application could give rise to litigation, for example refund provisions (sections 107 and 107A of the repealed Act), recovery provisions (sections 115(2), 120), and provisions dealing with statements of levy liability (sections 87, 89, 101, 108). Section 22 ensures that challenges to commissioner decisions remain capable of review under the repealed Act’s tribunal regime.

Because the supplied text contains no litigation records or named cases, readers should assume that interpretation disputes arising from the transitional provisions were to be resolved through the tribunal and court processes preserved, but that any concrete litigation history is not reflected in the statute as supplied. To determine whether particular disputes were litigated, and to obtain judicial construction of key transitional provisions (for example the meaning and scope of “pre‑repeal matter”, the operation of notice requirements in s 14, or the application of replacement statement restrictions in s 10), a practitioner should search tribunal and court databases for decisions that cite this Act or the relevant sections of the repealed Act as preserved by it.

Several practical traps and timing risks are embedded in the Act’s transitional architecture. These are concrete, mechanically described points that practitioners and compliance officers should note.

Cut‑off dates and effective extinguishment

• The boundary between preserved and extinguished rights is the date defining an assessable period, namely any period ending before 1 July 2011 (s 3). Many consequential cut‑offs use 1 July 2012. Section 11 ends entitlement to refunds under part 7 division 8 of the repealed Act where required notices under the repealed Act were not given before 1 July 2012, for example notices under sections 90(2), 90A(2), 92(2) or (3), 92B(1)(d) and 94(2) of the repealed Act. If a claimant failed to give the necessary notice by that date, their entitlement is ended. Practically, parties must check whether notices were given in time because missing the deadline extinguishes statutory refund claims.

Notice form requirement for retailer claims against State/commissioner

• Section 14 conditions commissioner or State liability to a retailer claiming an overpayment on the retailer having given the commissioner a notice in the approved form before 1 July 2012. If an electricity retailer did not lodge the prescribed notice by that deadline, neither the commissioner nor the State is liable to pay the claimed amount on and from 1 July 2012 (s 14(1)). The Act leaves the phrase “approved form” in play, so proof of the form and the date of lodgement is critical. Retailers should not assume that late lodgement will preserve rights; the statutory wording is peremptory.

Replacement statements: restricted after 1 July 2012

• Section 8 allows replacement statements where prior statements purport to relate to non‑assessable periods, and s 10 goes further to restrict issuing certain replacement statements on or after 1 July 2012 unless the customer had requested a replacement before that date. The practical risk is that customers who discover an error after 1 July 2012 may, in some circumstances, no longer obtain a replacement statement unless they had asked pre‑1 July 2012.

Limits on recovery for owners and on‑suppliers

• Owners of power card premises and on‑suppliers who paid amounts purporting to be levies for non‑assessable periods cannot recover those amounts under sections 115(2) or 120 of the repealed Act respectively (ss 12-13). They must instead seek a refund from the electricity retailer. For owners or on‑suppliers that might have relied on statutory recovery under the repealed Act, the Act changes the available pathway; this may affect solvency management and cash recovery expectations.

Criminal exposure for improper statements or attempted recovery

• Sections 25-27 impose criminal penalties of up to 100 penalty units for issuing or attempting to recover levy amounts for non‑assessable periods. That exposure attaches to retailers, owners and on‑suppliers. Organisations should therefore review legacy billing, automated invoicing systems and contractual recovery processes to ensure no post‑repeal activity inadvertently triggers the offence provisions.

Administration agreement arithmetic and reporting

• Sections 18-20 modify the fee base and require monthly levy statistics statements from October 2011, and set a formulaic basis for calculating administration fees. The supplied text identifies variables used in the formula (BAF, AESA, AFP, NDM, TDM) but the precise arithmetic is represented in the statutory text as a formula line item. Practically, parties must ensure accurate counting of “assessable electricity sale arrangements” (as defined in s 17), and must take care if an administration agreement is not in force for a full month, because pro‑ration rules apply (s 20(2)). Failure to provide accurate monthly statements within 14 days may expose retailers to dispute and reduce transparency as to administration fee payable.

Limited application of the Administration Act

• Only specific parts of the Administration Act apply to this Act as a revenue law (s 24). Parties familiar with other parts of the Administration Act should not assume full application; they must check whether particular collection or review mechanisms they expect are actually available under parts 7 and 8, s 117, part 10 and s 150 only.

Continuing statutory instruments and definitions

• Section 6(4) declares that the reference to the repealed Act as in force immediately before 1 July 2011 includes statutory instruments in force under the repealed Act immediately before 1 July 2011. Practically, this keeps regulatory specifications, forms and subordinate rules alive where they apply to pre‑repeal matters. It also means that precise definitions imported from the repealed Act continue to govern interpretation under this Act (s 4). Parties must therefore consult those subordinate instruments in addition to this repeal Act to understand their ongoing obligations.

No new refund right for unauthorised amounts via recovery sections

• The Act explicitly prevents owners and on‑suppliers from recovering unauthorised amounts under certain statutory recovery provisions of the repealed Act (ss 12-13). That could be an unexpected limitation where parties had assumed those statutory recovery routes remained available.

Burden of proof and recordkeeping

• The Act requires continued recordkeeping obligations under the repealed Act for pre‑repeal matters (s 6(2)(h)). Given the time limits and notice requirements, the evidential burden to show that notices were given before the cut‑off dates rests with the claimant. Records that prove the date and content of notices are therefore critical.

These “gotchas” are mechanical and procedural. The Act’s text makes them explicit; the practical consequence is that parties who have historic engagement with levy administration must perform an audit of notices, statements and records, and must calibrate their expectations about recovery and State liability accordingly.

This compliance checklist is drawn directly from the Act’s text and sets out concrete steps for each affected party. It is organised by actor and by action, with the controlling statutory references.

For electricity retailers

• Identify all “assessable electricity sale arrangements” in your systems by reference to the Act’s definition and by checking which statements of levy liability were issued for periods ending before 1 July 2011. The Act defines “assessable electricity sale arrangement” in s 17.
• Maintain all records required under the repealed Act that relate to levy liabilities, on‑supply arrangements and power card arrangements, because s 6(2)(h) requires continuation of recordkeeping obligations for pre‑repeal matters.
• If you hold levy amounts collected for assessable periods, be prepared to pay them to the commissioner, to refund appropriate overpayments, and to recover unpaid levy amounts as required under s 6(2)(d)-(f). Cross‑check the repealed Act’s relevant provisions (as continued by s 6) for precise procedures.
• If you intend to claim an overpayment from the commissioner or State, ensure you lodge the required notice in the approved form before 1 July 2012, because s 14(1) conditions commissioner/State liability on the retailer having given that notice before that date. Keep auditable proof of the date and the form of lodgement.
• Do not issue statements of levy liability that show amounts purporting to be levies for non‑assessable periods. Section 25 makes that conduct an offence punishable by up to 100 penalty units.
• If a previous statement purports to relate to a non‑assessable period, provide a replacement statement in accordance with s 8(3). But note that s 10 restricts issuances of replacement statements after 1 July 2012 for certain circumstances unless the customer had asked for a replacement before that date. Track customer requests for replacements and retain evidence of the dates of such requests.
• If you remain party to an administration agreement and it continues in force, begin providing monthly levy statistics statements to the commissioner within 14 days after the end of each month from October 2011, stating the items s 19(3) prescribes. Ensure your IT and billing systems can produce the counts of assessable arrangements and the breakout by exemption type that s 19 requires.
• For administration fee calculations from October 2011 forward, apply the formulaic regime set out in s 20, using the variables the Act gives (BAF, AESA, AFP, NDM, TDM). Where the agreement does not cover a full month, apply the pro‑rata adjustment in s 20(2). Cross‑check contractual fee terms against s 16, which applies subdivision 4 despite contractual terms.
• Consider whether you wish to elect in writing not to claim the administration fee on or after 1 October 2011; if you do, give written notice to the commissioner under s 21. If you elect out, the commissioner ceases to be liable and the reporting and fee calculation provisions (ss 19(2), 20) no longer apply to you.

For electricity customers

• If you received a statement of levy liability that purports to show a levy for a period other than an assessable period, you are entitled to a replacement statement under s 8(3). Request a replacement and retain proof of your request. Note that s 10 limits replacement statements for certain circumstances after 1 July 2012 unless you had asked for one before that date.
• If you believe you are entitled to a refund under part 7 division 8 of the repealed Act, check whether the relevant notices required by the repealed Act (for example under ss 90, 90A) were given before 1 July 2012. Section 11 extinguishes entitlement if those notices were not given before that date.
• When responding to retailer requests or communications about past levies, insist on documentation showing the levy amount’s breakdown between assessable and non‑assessable periods, because s 8(5) limits payments to that part of the total levy amount relating to assessable periods.

For owners of power card premises and on‑suppliers

• If you paid an amount purporting to be a levy for a period other than an assessable period, you cannot recover that amount under the repealed Act’s statutory recovery provisions cited in ss 12-13 (section 115(2) for owners, section 120 for on‑suppliers). Instead, seek a refund from the electricity retailer, relying on s 12(3) and s 13(3). Keep precise payment records and correspondences to establish the claim against the retailer.
• Avoid seeking recovery under the repealed Act’s recovery sections; the Act precludes that route and criminal sanctions for attempting to recover non‑assessable amounts are in place (ss 26-27).

For the Commissioner and State administrators

• Keep and use the statutory power to give written directions to electricity retailers or authorised subcontractors for the administration and enforcement of pre‑repeal matters (s 6(2)(b)). Use the power to secure compliance with replaced statements and refund administration where necessary.
• Monitor whether electricity retailers have lodged notices in the approved form by 1 July 2012 that would preserve claims for overpayments against the commissioner or the State (s 14). If an electricity retailer fails to lodge the requisite notice by that date, the commissioner and the State are not liable for the retailer’s claimed overpayment, subject to s 14(2) exceptions.
• Where an administration agreement remains in place, ensure the retailer provides the monthly levy statistics statements required by s 19 and that the administration fee is calculated in accordance with s 20. If a retailer elects not to claim the administration fee, note that the commissioner is no longer liable and the reporting and fee provisions cease to apply to that retailer (s 21).

General compliance and recordkeeping

• Retain auditable evidence of any notices required or given under the repealed Act before the cut‑off dates. The Act repeatedly conditions ongoing rights on the existence of timely notices (for refund claims, for replacement statements in specified circumstances, and for retailer claims against the commissioner), so documentary evidence is essential.
• Audit automated invoicing and recovery systems to ensure no statements or recovery attempts purport to relate to non‑assessable periods, because s 25 imposes a criminal penalty on retailers for doing so, and ss 26-27 create equivalent offences for owners and on‑suppliers.
• Where a refund is sought, follow the procedures in the repealed Act as they are preserved and modified by this Act, for example the reference in s 8 and s 9 to section 108 of the repealed Act as applied subject to s 9.
• Check confidentiality obligations: section 23 keeps sections 142 and 143 of the repealed Act in force for use of information for administration or enforcement in relation to pre‑repeal matters. Ensure handling of levy data complies with those confidentiality rules.

Following these steps will align a party’s behaviour with the specific duties, prohibitions and time limits that the repeal Act creates. Because many rights and liabilities hinge on precise dates and on the existence of formal notices and documentary evidence, conservative practice is to preserve and catalogue all records and to make any necessary statutory notices in the prescribed form well in advance of the 1 July 2012 deadlines where claims are to be preserved.