EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 240

 

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

 

National Transport Commission Act 2003

 

National Transport Commission (Model Amendments Act: Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue — Package No. 4) Regulations 2009

 

 

Section 52 of the National Transport Commission Act 2003 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

The provisions of the Act are supported by the Inter-Governmental Agreement on Regulatory and Operational Reform in Road, Rail and Intermodal Transport (IGA), which serves to formalise the cooperative arrangements between the Commonwealth, States and Territories and define the roles and responsibilities of the National Transport Commission, the Australian Transport Council and the jurisdictions. Clause 14 of the IGA requires the Commonwealth to submit model legislation for inclusion in schedules to regulations under the Act. The proposed Regulations would implement this commitment.

 

The purpose of the Regulations is to make various minor amendments to improve the operation of the National Transport Commission (Model Legislation — Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue) Regulations 2007 (the Principal Regulations) for nationally consistent implementation in each State and Territory. The Regulations are in model form to allow for implementation in each jurisdiction using the most convenient and effective regulatory manner available – for instance, the provisions may be incorporated into the law of a jurisdiction by way of amendment of existing legislation.

 

The objects of the Regulations are to correct minor typographical errors and make changes to existing definitions.

 

The Regulations provide for a number of minor amendments and clarifications to the Principal Regulations which were approved by the Australian Transport Council (ATC) in February 2007. The NTC developed the Regulations in partnership with the Transport Agency Fatigue Committee (TAFC), a jurisdictional fatigue working group, which comprises representatives from the States, Territories and the Commonwealth. The minor amendments were also released for public comment.

 

The amendments are minor clarifications to the Principal Regulations and do not affect the regulatory burden on any parties. The proposed Regulations did not require a supporting Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS). The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) provided the Regulations with an exemption from further regulatory impact statement examination as the amendments were found to be minor and mechanical in nature as well as having been adequately covered by the Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue — Final Regulatory Impact Statement (December 2006).

 

The NTC submitted the draft Model Amendments Act: Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue — Package 4 to the Transport Agency Chief Executives (TACE) group in July 2008. The proposed Regulations were submitted to TACE under an expedited approvals process. That process, as per the Guidelines for Expedited Approval of Minor and Non-Contentious Amendments to Agree Reforms, provides that NTC amendments that are unanimously and unconditionally endorsed by TACE can be implemented without requiring ATC approval.

 

The proposed Regulations were submitted to TACE for voting in July 2008 and were approved unanimously on 22 August 2008.

Section 7 of the Act provides that the regulations may set out model legislation, being legislation developed by the NTC in accordance with the IGA. Paragraph 7(2)(a) provides that model legislation does not have the force of law. The schedules to the regulations serve only as a repository for nationally agreed reforms, which may then be implemented by jurisdictions.

 

Item 44 of the table to subsection 44(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 together with item 7 of Schedule 2 to the Legislative Instruments Regulations 2004 operate to provide that the proposed Regulations would not be subject to disallowance. In addition, item 51 of the table to subsection 54(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 together with item 4 of Schedule 3 to the Legislative Instruments Regulations 2004 operate to provide that the proposed Regulations would not be subject to sunsetting.