2002
   The Parliament of the
   Commonwealth of Australia
   HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
   Presented and read a first time
   Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Bill 2002
   No. , 2002
   (Transport and Regional Services)
   A Bill for an Act to amend the Interstate Road Transport Charge Act
   1985

   Contents

   A Bill for an Act to amend the Interstate Road Transport Charge Act
   1985

   The Parliament of Australia enacts:

      1 Short title

   This Act may be cited as the Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment
   Act 2002.

      2 Commencement

   This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

      3 Schedule(s)

   Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or
   repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned,
   and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to
   its terms.

        Schedule 1--Amendment of the Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985

   1 Section 6

   Repeal the section, substitute:

      5A Automatic increase of amounts of charge

   (1) This section applies to the charges determined in accordance with
   the Schedule (including charges whose amounts have already been changed
   by a previous application or applications of this section or of
   regulations made for the purposes of section 6).

   (2) At the start of 1 July of each year, beginning with 1 July 2002,
   the amount of each of those charges is increased, from the amount that
   applied immediately before that 1 July, by the same percentage amount
   as is determined for the purposes of section 3A of the Road Transport
   Charges (Australian Capital Territory) Act 1993.

   Note: In some circumstances, this rule can result in no increases
   occurring on a particular 1 July: see Part 4 of the Schedule to the
   Road Transport Charges (Australian Capital Territory) Act 1993.

   (3) As soon as practicable, the Secretary must publish in the Gazette a
   statement setting out the new amounts of charge that apply under this
   section.

      6 Regulations may decrease amounts of charge

   (1) The regulations may decrease the amounts of charge that apply under
   sections 5 and 5A in relation to a year.

   (2) Such regulations must not decrease any amount of charge by more
   than 5% of the amount of charge that would apply in relation to the
   year if no regulations were made for the purposes of this section in
   relation to that year.

   2 The Schedule (note appearing after the Schedule heading)

   After "Sections 5", insert ", 5A".