The Regulation deploys a small number of organising legal concepts whose operation is strictly defined in the text.

Fee unit and indexing: The Regulation defines a fee unit for its purposes (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 2). For 2022-23 a fee unit is $100; in each subsequent financial year the fee unit is increased by a CPI ratio using the Consumer Price Index (All Groups Index) for Sydney (Schedule 2, Part 2, cls 1-2). The formula ties fee-unit changes to the CPI number for the March quarter in the financial year immediately preceding the year of calculation (A) relative to the March quarter CPI number for 2022 (B). The Regulation rounds fee units to the nearest cent and any calculated fee-unit that is less than the previous year’s amount is replaced by the previous year’s amount (non-decreasing nominally, cl 2(2)-(3)). Fees calculated from fee units are rounded to the nearest dollar with 50-cent ties rounded down (cl 3). The Secretary must notify Parliamentary Counsel and publish indexed fee amounts after the March-quarter CPI is released, but the indexing operation takes effect independently of the notice (cl 4).

Authorisation exemption for part of Mount Panorama: For the purpose of the Act, s 5(4) (as modified), the Regulation provides that a motor race on part of the Mount Panorama race circuit may be conducted without a motor race authorisation if two conditions hold: a traffic management plan has been prepared in accordance with s 24 of the Act, and written approval under s 115 of the Road Transport Act 2013 has been obtained from the Commissioner of Police (reg 4). The Regulation therefore substitutes two preconditions for the requirement of the motor race authorisation identified in the Act.

Targeted consultation requirement: The Regulation requires that, before giving a works approval for the Newcastle 500, the government coordinating agency must consult with Transport for NSW (reg 5(1)). The instrument defines both "Newcastle 500" and "Transport for NSW" for this purpose (reg 5(2)). This is a procedural obligation that applies to a named event; it does not create a general consultation requirement for other races.

Penalty notice offences: Schedule 1 lists specific offenses under the Act for which a penalty notice may be issued and the amount payable (Schedule 1, and the Application of Schedule provisions). The Application clarifies that only offences and circumstances specified in the Schedule are eligible to receive a penalty notice (Application, paras (1)-(2)).

Works approval and traffic management plan: The Regulation frequently refers back to the Act,most notably to s 24 (traffic management plan) and to the Act’s motor race authorisation provisions (s 5 as modified). The Regulation does not itself define the content of a traffic management plan; that content and the mechanics of a works approval remain in the Act.

Collectively, the Regulation is precise and narrow in scope. It adjusts administrative steps and monetary levers (fees, penalties) rather than rewriting substantive safety or licensing standards. The key instruments are substitution of the authorisation step at Mount Panorama, a single-event consultation duty, and fee/penalty mechanics built on CPI indexing and fixed amounts respectively.

Directly affected parties

• Event organisers and promoters running motor races on part of the Mount Panorama race circuit. The Regulation allows such organisers to run a motor race without obtaining a motor race authorisation from the government coordinating agency provided they prepare a traffic management plan in accordance with the Act, s 24, and obtain written approval from the Commissioner of Police under s 115 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (reg 4). This changes the compliance pathway for these organisers and shifts decision points from the government coordinating agency to the police (for the approval) and to the traffic-plan preparer.

• The government coordinating agency. The agency retains responsibilities (for example, receiving any applications and considering works approvals), but the Regulation narrows the circumstances in which the agency’s motor race authorisation power must be used for races on part of Mount Panorama (reg 4). Separately, the government coordinating agency is required to consult Transport for NSW before giving works approval for the Newcastle 500 (reg 5(1)), which imposes a specific procedural obligation on that agency.

• Transport for NSW. The agency is the named consultee for the Newcastle 500 works approval. The Regulation requires the government coordinating agency to consult Transport for NSW before granting a works approval for that event (reg 5(1)-(2)). Transport for NSW gains a guaranteed consultation role for that specific approval process.

• Commissioner of Police (NSW Police). For races on part of Mount Panorama, written approval from the Commissioner of Police under s 115 of the Road Transport Act 2013 is a condition precedent to operating without a motor race authorisation (reg 4). The Commissioner, therefore, becomes a gatekeeper for the exemption: police approval can determine whether the organiser benefits from not having to obtain a motor race authorisation.

• Applicants for motor race authorisations at Mount Panorama who elect to seek an authorisation. Schedule 2, Part 1 fixes a fee of 30 fee units for the government coordinating agency to consider an application for a motor race authorisation for a motor race at the Mount Panorama circuit (Schedule 2, Part 1, item 1). If organisers proceed by application, they pay that fee; if they instead meet the exemption conditions under reg 4 and do not apply, that fee may not be payable (practical effect depends on whether an application is made).

• Participants and contractors (traffic planners, suppliers, contractors) engaged to prepare traffic management plans. The Regulation makes a traffic management plan a specified precondition for the Mount Panorama exemption (reg 4), which transfers operational compliance tasks to whoever prepares and signs off on that plan.

Indirectly affected parties

• Local councils and emergency services. The consultation mechanics and traffic management plan processes will involve local authorities and emergency services as stakeholders during planning and in practice, even where not expressly named in the Regulation (traffic management plans are prepared in accordance with the Act, s 24, which is referenced in reg 4).

• Competitors, teams and commercial partners of events. Any change to the approval pathway, timing or conditionality of approvals (police approval, traffic plan requirements, consultation obligations) can affect scheduling certainty and the commercial terms underpinning events.

Who pays, who decides, and who enforces

• Who pays: Applicants that choose to seek a motor race authorisation for a Mount Panorama race pay the application fee of 30 fee units to the government coordinating agency (Schedule 2, Part 1, item 1). Persons subject to certain Act offences payable by penalty notice pay the dollar amounts set out in Schedule 1 if a penalty notice is issued and not contested (Schedule 1 and Application).

• Who decides: The government coordinating agency decides whether to give works approvals and, in general, whether to grant motor race authorisations (subject to the exemptions created by the Regulation). The Commissioner of Police decides on written approvals under the Road Transport Act s 115 (reg 4). Transport for NSW has a consultation role in relation to the Newcastle 500 works approval (reg 5).

• Who enforces: Penalty notices for the specified offences are authorised under the Act, s 68 (Application of Schedule, para (1)); the Regulation lists the offences and penalty amounts. The body responsible for issuing penalty notices is governed by the Act; the Regulation specifies which offences are penalty-notice-eligible and the payable amounts.

Geographic and event scope

• The exemption in reg 4 is strictly limited to motor races on "part of the Mount Panorama race circuit"; it does not exonerate races on the entire circuit or other venues. The Newcastle 500 consultation duty applies only to the motor race "conducted under that name in the City of Newcastle local government area" (reg 5(2)). These are narrow, place-and-event-specific instruments.

Duties created or modified by the Regulation

• Duty to prepare a traffic management plan for the Mount Panorama exemption: A motor race on part of the Mount Panorama race circuit may be conducted without a motor race authorisation only if a traffic management plan has been prepared in accordance with the Act, s 24 (regulation 4). The duty to prepare such a plan falls on the event organiser or the person required by the Act to prepare it. The Regulation does not set the contents of the traffic management plan; it requires compliance with the Act’s s 24.

• Duty to obtain police approval: For the Mount Panorama exemption, organisers must obtain written approval from the Commissioner of Police under s 115 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (reg 4). The requirement is expressed as a precondition for operating without a motor race authorisation.

• Consultation duty for the Newcastle 500: Before giving a works approval for the Newcastle 500, the government coordinating agency must consult with Transport for NSW (reg 5(1)). This is a duty on the government coordinating agency, not on private applicants. The Regulation defines "Newcastle 500" and "Transport for NSW" to fix the parties and the spatial scope (reg 5(2)).

• Fee-payment duty for motor race authorisation applications at Mount Panorama: A fee of 30 fee units is payable to the government coordinating agency for considering an application for a motor race authorisation for a motor race at the Mount Panorama circuit (Schedule 2, Part 1, item 1). The duty arises when an application is made to that agency for that specific authorisation.

• Publication duty: The Secretary must notify Parliamentary Counsel and give public notice of the fee unit and resulting fees after the CPI for the March quarter is published (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 4). This duty is administrative and concerns transparency of indexed fees.

Rights and entitlements

• Right to rely on the exemption: An organiser whose event meets the specified conditions (traffic management plan per s 24 and police approval under Road Transport Act s 115) can conduct a motor race on part of the Mount Panorama circuit without applying for or obtaining a motor race authorisation under the Act, s 5(4) as modified by reg 4. The operative language is permissive,"may be conducted without a motor race authorisation",and supplies an entitlement conditioned on compliance with the two requirements.

• Rights to consultation for Transport for NSW: The Regulation grants Transport for NSW a right to be consulted before works approval is given for the Newcastle 500 (reg 5). The text does not set out the form or extent of that consultation or prescribe any binding decision-making role arising from the consultation.

• Administrative rights under fee indexing: There is a right to public notice and publication of indexed fees (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 4). While the indexing takes effect regardless of notice, the public and stakeholders have a right to be informed by the Secretary via Parliamentary Counsel and an appropriate government website.

Interaction between duties and rights

• Substitution of authorisation with police approval and traffic plan shifts decision authority: The right to conduct the race without an authorisation is conditional on obtaining police approval and preparing a traffic plan. In practice, this makes the Commissioner of Police and the traffic-plan preparer effectively decisive actors for whether the organiser can exercise that right without the formal motor race authorisation process.

• Fee avoidance possible if exemption applied: If an organiser elects to run a race under the exemption and therefore does not apply for a motor race authorisation, the fee obligation to pay 30 fee units for consideration of such an application will not be triggered (Schedule 2, Part 1). The Regulation therefore creates a compliance choice for organisers between paying the fee and applying, or meeting the exemption’s conditions and avoiding the application pathway.

Scope, limits and compliance specifics

• The consultation duty is event-specific and applies only to the Newcastle 500, limiting its general application (reg 5).

• The Schedule of penalty notice offences is explicit about which Act provisions attract penalty notices and their monetary amounts (Schedule 1 and Application). The Regulation limits the use of penalty notices to the offences and circumstances specified (Application, para (2)).

Collectively the duties articulate clear compliance steps (traffic management plan, police approval, consultation) and fixed monetary obligations (application fee, penalty notices) with defined actors responsible for performing or receiving them.

Penalty notice framework

• Schedule 1 lists specific offences under the Motor Sports Events Act 2022 that are eligible for penalty notices and specifies the dollar amounts payable (Schedule 1). The Application to Schedule 1 clarifies that, for the purposes of the Act, s 68, each offence specified is an offence for which a penalty notice may be issued and the amount payable is the amount specified opposite the provision (Application, para (1)). The Regulation expressly limits penalty-notice issuance to the kinds of offences or circumstances set out in the Schedule (Application, para (2)).

Fixed penalty amounts

• The Schedule specifies dollar amounts for particular sections and distinguishes individuals and corporations where applicable. Key amounts include:
  • s 10(3): $4,000 for an individual; $8,000 for a corporation.
  • s 64(1): $1,100.
  • Several lesser amounts for other specified sections (for example, s 32(2), (4) and (6) $330; s 37(2) $220; s 39 $110; s 42(1) $110; s 43(2) $110; s 52(1) $220; s 53(1) $220 for individuals and $440 for corporations).
• These are fixed dollar amounts as stated in Schedule 1. The Schedule was amended as indicated (sch 1: Am 2023 (24), sec 3(2)).

Enforcing authorities and mechanics

• The Application identifies that the penalty notice regime operates under the Act, s 68 (Application, para (1)), so enforcement mechanics for issuing and processing penalty notices rest within the Act’s enforcement framework. The Regulation does not alter or add enforcement powers beyond specifying which offences and amounts qualify for penalty notices.

• The Application’s para (2) restricts issuance of penalty notices to the precise scope in the Schedule. If an offence under the Act is broader or qualified, a penalty notice can be issued only for the limited kinds or circumstances set out.

Practical enforcement implications

• For regulated parties, the presence of penalty notice amounts provides an immediate monetary sanction that authorised issuers can apply administratively rather than pursuing court-based sanctions. The Regulation does not specify who issues the penalty notices; that is governed by the Act. The Schedule reduces uncertainty about the immediate cost of certain categories of non-compliance by fixing penalty amounts.

• Penalty notices are discrete from prosecutions; the Schedule identifies which contraventions are eligible for the summary administrative instrument (penalty notice) rather than prosecution. The Application therefore narrows the prosecutorial discretion to a discrete set of administrative penalties for the offences listed.

• The Schedule separates individuals and corporations in some provisions, producing higher penalty amounts for corporations for designated provisions (see s 10(3) and s 53(1)). This creates a different financial exposure profile depending on legal form.

Interaction with fees and indexing

• Penalty amounts in Schedule 1 are expressed in dollars and the Schedule contains no indexing mechanism. The fee side (Schedule 2) uses fee units and expressly indexes those by CPI; the Regulation thus treats enforcement penalties and application fees differently from a monetary-updating perspective.

Limits and process safeguards

• The Application provision (para (2)) means that if an Act provision is limited in scope within the Act, a penalty notice can only be issued in those limited circumstances. That restricts overbroad use of penalty notices by tying issuance to the same limits that define the underlying offence.

• The Regulation does not set out appeal or review processes for penalty notices; those processes are governed by the Act and general administrative law standards. The Regulation’s role is to identify which offences are penalty-notice-eligible and the payable amounts.

In short, the Regulation memorialises a set of specific penalty notice exposures and fixes application fee amounts, while leaving enforcement mechanics and contestation procedures to the Act’s framework.

References and dependencies

• The Regulation operates explicitly as a subordinate instrument referring back to the Motor Sports Events Act 2022 (cl 3). Multiple provisions are framed as modifications or clarifications "for the Act", meaning the Regulation affects how certain provisions of the Act are to be treated.

• The Regulation incorporates approval under the Road Transport Act 2013, s 115, as a precondition for the Mount Panorama exemption (reg 4). This creates a cross-act dependency where police approval under the Road Transport Act functions as a substitute decision for the Motor Sports Events Act authorisation in specified circumstances.

• The consulting duty names Transport for NSW constituted under the Transport Administration Act 1988 (reg 5(2)). This fixes the statutory identity of the consultee and ensures the consultation occurs with the authorised body under its own enabling legislation.

Interplay with the Act

• The Regulation modifies the operation of the Act’s authorisation requirement: it states that "for the Act, section 5(4) a motor race on part of the Mount Panorama race circuit may be conducted without a motor race authorisation if..." (reg 4). This is an express alteration to the application of s 5(4) of the Act, conditional on compliance with the two specified requirements. Practically, the Act’s general authorisation pathway is narrowed for that venue to a choice between the Act’s authorisation and the alternative twin precondition route set out in the Regulation.

• The traffic management plan requirement references the Act, s 24. The Regulation does not define traffic-plan content or standards; the Act remains the source of those rules. Consequently the adequacy and sufficiency of traffic plans for the purposes of the exemption are governed by the Act’s criteria, while the Regulation makes preparing such a plan a necessary step to avoid applying for a motor race authorisation.

• The penalty notice provisions are tied to the Act’s enforcement framework (Application refers to the Act, s 68). Enforcement of the offences and issuance of penalty notices therefore occurs within the Act’s enforcement regime.

Interaction with the Road Transport Act 2013

• The Regulation makes written approval under the Road Transport Act s 115 a condition for the Mount Panorama exemption (reg 4), thereby importing the police’s statutory prerequisites and any associated conditions from that Act. The Regulation does not alter the substance of the Road Transport Act’s approval process; it simply makes that outcome a trigger for relief from the Act’s authorisation requirement.

Administrative law and publication duties

• The indexing and notice duties in Schedule 2 require the Secretary to notify Parliamentary Counsel of the fee unit amount for the next financial year and to give public notice on an appropriate government website (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 4). This interacts with general administrative and transparency obligations governing subordinate instruments and fee publication. Importantly, the indexing operation takes effect whether or not the Secretary gives the notices (cl 4(2)), so the legal amount changes automatically per the formula; the notices are administrative transparency measures rather than the operative trigger.

Potential conflicts and sequencing

• The Regulation substitutes police approval and traffic plan for the authorisation process in a narrow case. If the police refuse to grant written approval under Road Transport Act s 115, the organiser cannot rely on the exemption and must fall back on the Act’s authorisation route if they wish to proceed. The Regulation presumes a sequencing in which traffic-plan preparation and police approval occur before a decision to proceed without a motor race authorisation.

• Consultation with Transport for NSW for the Newcastle 500 is imposed on the government coordinating agency before giving a works approval (reg 5). The regulation does not prescribe the effect of that consultation on the approval decision; therefore the consultation is procedural and does not displace the coordinator’s ultimate decision power under the Act unless the Act otherwise requires.

Overall, the Regulation levers approvals and consultation duties from other statutes and agencies rather than creating standalone regimes; it modifies the Act’s operation by importing other instruments and bodies into decision pathways.

Textual amendments recorded in the Regulation

• The Regulation includes amendment references identifying later insertions and amendments. Two specific amendment notes appear in the text provided:
  • The insertion of regulation 5 (consultation with Transport for NSW regarding the Newcastle 500) is noted as "s 5: Ins 2023 (24), sec 3(1)." That records that s 5 was inserted by an instrument in 2023 (item 24), section 3(1).
  • Schedule 1 carries a notation "sch 1: Am 2023 (24), sec 3(2)." That indicates Schedule 1 was amended in 2023 (item 24), section 3(2).

Scope of the amendments

• The insertion/amendment notes indicate the Regulation has been altered post-enactment, at least to: (a) add the targeted consultation duty for the Newcastle 500; and (b) amend the penalty notice schedule. The Regulation as presented therefore represents a consolidated text that incorporates those 2023 changes.

No other historical amendments recorded in the provided text

• Apart from the two internal amendment annotations, the provided Regulation text does not list a chronological schedule of prior amendments, repeal history or transitional provisions. The commencement clause states the Regulation commences on publication (cl 2), but the Regulation does not include a separate commencement date for later amendments; the amendment notes in the margins serve as the record of change for the inserted clauses and Schedule modifications.

Consequences of amendment types

• The 2023 insertion of reg 5 creates a new consultative legal duty specific to one event. The Schedule 1 amendment likely changed penalty amounts or added or removed offences eligible for penalty notices; the marginal note records that change but the Regulation does not provide the prior figures for comparison.

• The indexing mechanics in Schedule 2 are framed to operate automatically each financial year (Schedule 2, Part 2), so future fiscal adjustments will occur through the formula rather than through instrument-by-instrument amendment. The Secretary’s publication duty (cl 4) is an administrative step to notify Parliament and the public after each CPI release; it should reduce the need for legislative amendment solely to adjust the fee unit in future years.

Implication for users tracking changes

• Because the Regulation contains both place-specific policy instruments (reg 4 and reg 5) and a formulaic indexing framework (Schedule 2), users tracking costs and compliance obligations must monitor both formal legislative amendments and the Secretary’s published notices following the March-quarter CPI release (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 4). The marginal amendment notes record past changes; future changes will be reflected either in formal amending instruments (with marginal notes) or through fee-unit recalculation and administrative publication.

No litigation recorded in the instrument

• The Regulation as provided contains no court decisions, judicial interpretations, or references to litigation. It is a subordinate instrument that amends administrative processes, fee arrangements and penalty notice lists, and the text supplied contains no litigation history.

Potential sources of dispute suggested by the instrument

• Although the Regulation includes no recorded cases, the provisions identify potential factual and legal questions that could be litigated under the Act or other statutes that the Regulation references. The Regulation itself introduces a few likely loci for litigation or dispute, contingent on factual scenarios (the Regulation does not itself record any such cases):

  • Interpretation of "part of the Mount Panorama race circuit": Reg 4 allows a motor race on part of the Mount Panorama circuit to be conducted without an authorisation if the specified conditions are met. A dispute could arise over what constitutes "part of the Mount Panorama race circuit" for the exemption. The Regulation does not define the phrase; any disagreement about its spatial scope would depend on the Act’s definitions (if any), event records or factual evidence.

  • Adequacy of a traffic management plan prepared "in accordance with the Act, s 24": The Regulation makes a traffic-management plan a condition of the exemption but leaves the Act’s s 24 to define adequacy. Litigation might arise about whether a given plan meets the statutory standards in s 24, and whether the government coordinating agency or another body has the power to second-guess or require amendments for the purpose of the exemption.

  • Effect and scope of police approval under Road Transport Act s 115: The Regulation makes written approval under s 115 a precondition. Disputes could arise as to whether an approval given by the Commissioner of Police satisfies the requirement (for example, whether a conditional approval counts), or whether a refusal to give approval can be challenged administratively or judicially.

  • Consultation sufficiency for the Newcastle 500: Reg 5 requires the government coordinating agency to consult Transport for NSW before giving a works approval. Litigation or administrative review could focus on whether the consultation carried out was adequate in content and timing, particularly if Transport for NSW claims the consultation was perfunctory and an approval followed that harmed transport infrastructure or public safety.

No precedents named in the Regulation

• The Regulation does not cite or rely on judicial precedent, and the instrument’s text contains no litigation citations. Any litigation arising from these specific provisions would proceed under the Act’s enforcement and judicial-review regimes, and outcomes would depend on case-specific facts and the courts’ interpretations of the Act, the Regulation, and any cross-referenced statutory instruments such as the Road Transport Act and the Transport Administration Act.

For now, practitioners should treat the Regulation as having no recorded litigation history and identify the likely contentious issues above as potential future dispute areas that would rely on the Act and facts underpinning approvals, plans and consultations.

Narrow, conditional exemption , not a blanket waiver

• Reg 4 permits a motor race on part of Mount Panorama to be conducted without a motor race authorisation only if two strictly stated conditions are satisfied: the traffic management plan must be prepared in accordance with the Act, s 24, and written approval from the Commissioner of Police under Road Transport Act s 115 must be obtained. The exemption is therefore conditional, venue-specific and process-dependent. Organisers should not assume a blanket waiver of authorisation obligations; the Regulation requires both the traffic-plan and the police approval.

Fee implication of choosing the exemption path

• Schedule 2, Part 1 prescribes a fee of 30 fee units to be paid to the government coordinating agency when an applicant seeks consideration of a motor race authorisation for Mount Panorama (Schedule 2, Part 1, item 1). If an organiser chooses the exemption route and therefore does not apply for an authorisation, they may avoid paying that fee. That creates a compliance choice with a material financial trade-off. However, the exemption requires police approval and a traffic-plan; costs associated with obtaining those (e.g. consultants, police conditions) may be significant even if the formal application fee is avoided.

Police approval as a potential bottleneck

• The Commissioner of Police’s written approval under the Road Transport Act s 115 is a precondition for the exemption (reg 4). Police approval processes, timing and conditions are governed by the Road Transport Act, not this Regulation. Organisers should plan for the police approval timeline and condition risk; a refusal or delayed decision will force reliance on the motor race authorisation pathway and its application fee.

Consultation requirement limited but binding on government body

• Reg 5 obliges the government coordinating agency to consult with Transport for NSW before giving a works approval for the Newcastle 500. The provision imposes a procedural duty on a government agency rather than on private applicants. The Regulation does not specify the form, timeframe or outcome effect of the consultation. In practice, a deficient consultation could be the basis for administrative-review challenges to the grant of a works approval where the Act or general administrative law requires procedural fairness.

Indexing takes effect independently of publication

• Schedule 2, Part 2 sets the CPI-indexing formula for fee units and requires the Secretary to publish the indexed fee unit after the March-quarter CPI is released (cl 4). Important point: the indexing operates to change fee amounts regardless of whether the Secretary has published the notice (cl 4(2)). Users cannot rely on the absence of an updated notice to assert the old fee unit remains in force; the indexed amount applies automatically per the formula.

Floor on fee unit decreases

• The fee-unit calculation has a floor: if the calculated fee unit for any financial year is less than the previous year’s amount, then the previous year’s amount applies instead (cl 2(3)). Fees thus will not decrease nominally; organisers should not expect fee reductions even if CPI movements would imply them.

Rounding rules can produce small differences

• Fee units are rounded to the nearest cent with 0.5-cent ties rounded down (cl 2(2)). Fees calculated from fee units are rounded to the nearest dollar with 50-cent ties rounded down (cl 3). These rounding rules may produce discrete dollar differences when comparing pre-indexing and post-indexing amounts; bookkeeping should account for the rounding method specified.

Penalty notices limited to specified circumstances

• The Application to Schedule 1 (para (2)) restricts penalty notices to the limited kinds of offences or circumstances specified. If a provision in the Act is qualified in scope, a penalty notice can be issued only for the kind or circumstances specified. Practitioners should not assume broader availability of penalty notices beyond the Schedule’s strict language.

Event-specific definitions matter

• Reg 5 defines "Newcastle 500" narrowly as the motor race conducted under that name in the City of Newcastle local government area (reg 5(2)). If an event’s name, location or ownership changes, the consultation duty may not apply. Similarly, the Mount Panorama exemption applies to "part of the Mount Panorama race circuit",organisers need to check whether their proposed configuration falls within that description.

Administrative vs substantive change

• The Regulation changes administrative pathways and monetary instruments rather than substantive safety or operating standards. The traffic management plan requirement, police approval and works approval consultation are administrative controls; substantive safety standards remain governed by the Act and other regulatory instruments referenced therein. Organisers must therefore comply with both the Regulation and the underlying Act’s substantive regulatory requirements.

Practical checklist for organisers and applicants

1. Decide the compliance pathway

   • If you propose a motor race on part of the Mount Panorama circuit, first determine whether you will rely on the Regulation’s exemption (reg 4) or apply for a motor race authorisation under the Act. Applying triggers the 30 fee-unit application fee (Schedule 2, Part 1, item 1). Relying on the exemption avoids the application fee but requires both a compliant traffic management plan and written police approval.

2. Prepare a traffic management plan that meets the Act’s requirements

   • Reg 4 requires a traffic management plan "prepared in accordance with the Act, s 24". Consult s 24 of the Act to ensure the plan addresses the statutory content and procedural expectations. Engage qualified traffic planners and document compliance; retain records showing the plan was prepared "in accordance with" s 24.

3. Obtain written approval from the Commissioner of Police under Road Transport Act s 115

   • Reg 4 makes the Commissioner’s written approval a mandatory precondition for the exemption. Submit any required applications to NSW Police early, and plan for potential conditions attached to approval. Keep written evidence of the approval; a verbal assurance will not satisfy the Regulation.

4. If applying for a motor race authorisation at Mount Panorama, pay the fee

   • Schedule 2, Part 1 prescribes payment of 30 fee units to the government coordinating agency for considering an application for a motor race authorisation for Mount Panorama. For 2022-23 the fee unit is $100, so the initial fee is $3,000 (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 2(1)(a)). Anticipate annual indexing per the CPI formula (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 2).

5. If seeking works approval for the Newcastle 500, expect consultation with Transport for NSW

   • The government coordinating agency must consult Transport for NSW before giving a works approval for the Newcastle 500 (reg 5). Applicants should anticipate that Transport for NSW will be consulted and, where appropriate, proactively engage with Transport for NSW to surface transport and infrastructure matters before the government coordinating agency commences formal consideration.

6. Budget for indexing and rounding rules

   • Fee units will be indexed annually by the CPI formula (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 2). The Secretary will publish the indexed fee unit after the March-quarter CPI; however, the indexed fee applies whether or not notice is published (cl 4(2)). Fees calculated from fee units are rounded to the nearest dollar (cl 3). Include buffer room in budgets to account for indexing and rounding.

7. Be aware of penalty notice exposure and contest options

   • Review Schedule 1 to identify which Act provisions carry penalty-notice amounts and the relevant dollar exposure. Where exposure exists, consider implementing compliance checks targeted at those specific provisions. If issued a penalty notice, consult the Act’s procedural provisions and administrative-review or contestation pathways rather than assuming prosecution.

8. Document compliance and decision timelines

   • Because the Mount Panorama exemption depends on demonstrable steps (a traffic management plan and a written police approval), keep contemporaneous records, evidence of submissions, and all approvals. For works approvals that require consultation (Newcastle 500), retain evidence of any pre-consultation engagement with Transport for NSW and responses received.

9. Plan for sequencing and contingencies

   • Police approvals and traffic-plan review can take time. Do not assume simultaneous processing will align. If police approval is refused or delayed, have a contingency plan that may include applying for a formal motor race authorisation and paying the application fee.

10. Monitor Secretary notifications for indexed fee-unit amounts

    • After the March-quarter CPI is published each year, the Secretary will notify Parliamentary Counsel and give public notice of the fee unit for the next financial year (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 4). Monitor appropriate government websites and Parliamentary Counsel publications for updated fee-unit figures and the concrete dollar amounts resulting from the indexing formula.

What government agencies must do

• Government coordinating agency: Ensure protocols exist to consult Transport for NSW before giving works approval for the Newcastle 500 (reg 5). Ensure application-fee collection systems align with the fee-unit formula and rounding rules, and that staff apply the exemption in reg 4 only where the traffic-management plan and police approval are demonstrably in place.

• Secretary: After the March-quarter CPI publication, notify Parliamentary Counsel of the fee unit and publish the indexed fees on an appropriate government website (Schedule 2, Part 2, cl 4). Recognise that the indexed amount is legally effective irrespective of publication and ensure internal accounting and communication systems are updated promptly.

• Commissioner of Police: Recognise that written approvals under the Road Transport Act s 115 can be the determinative condition for an organiser’s ability to proceed without a motor race authorisation for events on part of Mount Panorama (reg 4). Be prepared to issue timely written decisions and to articulate any conditions attached.

Records and audit trail

• Keep the traffic management plan, correspondence and written approval from the Commissioner of Police, receipts or evidence of payment of any fees (including calculation of fee units and rounding), and any consultation records with Transport for NSW. These documents will be essential to demonstrate compliance in the event of enforcement action, a penalty notice, or an administrative-review challenge.

Concluding compliance note

• The Regulation supplies a narrow exemption and a precise, indexed fee framework. Compliance requires attention to statutory cross-references (Act s 24, Road Transport Act s 115), deliberate sequencing of approvals, careful budgeting for indexed fees and rounding, and clear record-keeping to show the conditions for exemptions and approvals have been met.