Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by the authority of the Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP)Schedule 5-Repeal of obsolete Acts
Items 1 and 2
120 Items 1 and 2 are related. The Air Passenger Ticket Levy (Collection) Act 2001 (the Collection Act ) and the Air Passenger Ticket Levy (Imposition) Act 2001 (the Imposition Act ) were introduced on 1 October 2001, after the 12 September 2001 collapse of the Ansett group.
121 The legislation provided for a $10 levy to be placed on air tickets sold within Australia to fund (under the Special Employee Entitlements Scheme for Ansett group employees, or SEESA) the paying of: all unpaid wages, annual leave, long service leave, pay in lieu of notice and up to eight weeks of redundancy payments for former employees of the Ansett Group.
122 The levy remained in effect until 1 July 2003, as the then Minister for Transport and Regional Services notified in the Gazette (as per section 12 of the Collection Act) dated 18 June 2003 that the levy would conclude after June 2003.
123 The final SEESA report (as required under section 24 of the Collection Act), covering the year to March 2012, noted that all eligible former Ansett group employees have now received 100% of the SEESA payments they are entitled to and any further payments were the responsibility of the Ansett administrators, KordaMentha. KordaMentha advised the final distribution of funds occurred in September 2011.
124 With the levy no longer in effect and all funds collected having been allocated to former Ansett group employees as prescribed under SEESA, the Collection Act and the Imposition Act are no longer required and can be repealed.