What it does
This Act imposes a fixed monetary shortfall charge for small‑scale renewable energy obligations created under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. It does two principal mechanical things. First, it formally imposes the small‑scale technology shortfall charge that is payable under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (s 5). Second, it sets the rate of that charge at $65 per megawatt hour (MWh) (s 6). The Act also records commencement arrangements (s 2), confirms that expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (s 3), binds the Crown in right of each State and the two mainland territories but not the Commonwealth (s 4), and expressly states that the Act does not impose a tax on property of a State (s 7).
The Act is short and technical in form. It does not itself define who is liable to pay the charge, how the shortfall is calculated, payment schedules, enforcement mechanisms, exemptions, or administrative processes; instead it relies on the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 for those operational and definitional matters (s 3; s 5). The commencement table in s 2 shows that sections 1 and 2 and any provisions not otherwise covered began on the day of Royal Assent, 28 June 2010, while sections 3 to 7 began on 1 January 2011 in tandem with a commencement trigger in the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Act 2010 (s 2). The Act also contains an explicit non‑property‑tax clause, preserving the position that the Act does not impose a tax on State property (s 7(1) and (2)).
In short, the Act fixes a monetary rate for a shortfall charge and incorporates the enforcement and definitional apparatus of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 by reference. It places the legal obligation into the existing renewable energy regulatory architecture without restating that architecture.