House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, the Honourable Angus Taylor MP)

OUTLINE

The Fuel Security (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2021 (this Bill) will make limited but necessary amendments to existing legislation to support the minimum stockholding obligation (MSO) and fuel security services payment (FSSP) proposed to be implemented under the related Fuel Security Bill 2021 (the Main Bill).

Part 1 of Schedule 1 to this Bill will establish authority for Government agencies to share relevant fuel information with the Department to reduce the regulatory burden for regulated entities. It will also enable the Department to check the veracity and accuracy of reported data to improve the implementation, integrity and administration of the MSO and FSSP.

This will be achieved by making consequential amendments to the following laws:

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Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CC Act)

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Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TA Act)

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Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 (FQS Act)

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Petroleum and Other Fuels Reporting Act 2017 (POFR Act).

Part 2 of Schedule 1 to this Bill will provide for consequential amendments to be made to accommodate proposed changes to laws, likely to be made before early September 2021, which will make machinery changes to merge the Federal and Family Courts of Australia.

Schedule 2 to this Bill will establish transitional provisions required for the implementation of the MSO and FSSP measures under the Main Bill, to ensure the MSO does not take effect before 1 July 2022, and applications for the FSSP cannot be made until rules prescribing the application and assessment process have been made under the Main Bill.

FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Nil impact.

REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT

The combined Regulation Impact Statement for this Bill and the Main Bill has been prepared in accordance with the Australian Government Guide to Regulation and is attached to the Main Bill (reference numbers: 42904 and 20489).

CONSULTATION

While no external consultation was undertaken specifically in relation to this Bill, a targeted consultation was conducted for the Main Bill. This consultation included industry, peak bodies, and government representatives to determine suitability of the Main Bill.