Fire Service Amendment Act 2009

Fire Service Amendment Act 2009

An Act to amend the Fire Service Act 1979

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Fire Service Amendment Act 2009 .

2.   Commencement

This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent, but if it does not receive the Royal Assent on or before 1 September 2009 it is taken to have commenced on that date.

3.   Principal Act

In this Act, the Fire Service Act 1979 is referred to as the Principal Act.

4.    Section 74 amended (Interpretation of Part VI)

Section 74(1) of the Principal Act is amended by omitting the definition of minimum assessed annual value and substituting the following definition:

minimum assessed annual value, in relation to any rating district land or general land for a financial year, means the minimum assessed annual value of that land for that financial year as determined by the Commission after it has complied with section 80(1) and (3) ;

5.    Section 79A repealed

Section 79A of the Principal Act is repealed.

6.    Section 80 amended (Commission to obtain assessed annual value of land)

Section 80 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting from subsection (1) "15 April" and substituting "30 September";

(b) by omitting from subsection (1)(a) "in the immediately preceding year" and substituting "in that year";

(c) by omitting from subsection (1)(b) "in the immediately preceding year" and substituting "in that year";

(d) by omitting from subsection (1)(c) "in the immediately preceding year" and substituting "in that year";

(e) by omitting from subsection (2) "15 April" and substituting "30 September";

(f) by omitting from subsection (2) "in the immediately preceding year" and substituting "in that year";

(g) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (3) :

(4)  A local council, on or before 30 September in each year, must –

(a) reconcile its own records as to the assessed annual values (and overall number) of properties of each grade in its municipal area with the Valuer-General's assessment notices for the same municipal area; and

(b) give the Commission a copy of that reconciliation in an approved form.

(5)  In this section –

grade, of property, means its grade according to whether its assessed annual value is –

(a) greater than the minimum assessed annual value; or

(b) equal to the minimum assessed annual value; or

(c) less than the minimum assessed annual value.

7.    Section 81 substituted

Section 81 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following sections are substituted:

81.   Contributions to be made by local councils

(1)  The contribution required to be made by a local council for a financial year (in this section referred to as "the contribution year") in respect of each category of land in its municipal area is an amount calculated in accordance with the following formula:

where –

a is the amount of the contribution; and

b is the total leviable value of all land of that particular category within the local council's municipal area for the contribution year and the 5 financial years immediately preceding the contribution year; and

c is the total leviable value of all land of that particular category in the State for the contribution year and the 5 financial years immediately preceding the contribution year; and

d is the total estimated operating expenses and capital costs, as approved by the Minister, of brigades within that particular category of land in the State, less –

(a) such portion of the prescribed amount under section 79(3) as relates to the same category of land; and

(b) the sum of all the minimum fire service contributions that the Commission estimates will be payable in respect of the contribution year in the State as regards the same category of land; and

e is the sum of all the minimum fire service contributions that the Commission estimates will be payable for the contribution year in the council's municipal area as regards that particular category of land.

(2)  In this section –

category, of land, means its category according to whether it is –

(a) permanent brigade rating district land; or

(b) composite brigade rating district land; or

(c) volunteer brigade rating district land; or

(d) general land;

leviable value, of land, means its net assessed annual value (being net assessed annual value greater than minimum assessed annual value), adjusted by the Commission pursuant to section 80(3) .

81A.   Allowable rate of annual increase or decrease in contribution

(1)  This section applies if, for any council, the amount of the contribution calculated under section 81 for any category of land for a financial year ("the council's new contribution") increases or decreases by more than the allowed percentage relative to the amount of the contribution so calculated for the immediately preceding financial year ("the council's previous contribution").

(2)  The council's new contribution is to be adjusted so that it does not exceed or, as the case may be, fall short of the council's previous contribution by more than the allowed percentage.

(3)  The excess or shortfall (being the amount by which the council's new contribution exceeded or, as the case may be, fell short of the council's previous contribution by more than the allowed percentage) is to be reallocated across all other councils, for the same category of land, in accordance with the formula in section 81 .

(4)  In this section –

adjustment rate means –

(a) 5%; or

(b) if another percentage is prescribed, that other percentage (instead of 5%);

allowed percentage means the total (Statewide) percentage increase or decrease for the relevant category of land for the relevant financial year relative to the immediately preceding financial year, plus the adjustment rate (in the case of an increase) or minus the adjustment rate (in the case of a decrease).

8.    Section 81B amended (Commission to notify local councils of contribution)

Section 81B of the Principal Act is amended by omitting "1 June" and substituting "30 April".

9.    Section 81C amended (Collection by local councils of contribution)

Section 81C of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (5) and substituting the following subsection:

(5)  A council may collect the fire service contribution (for the rateable parcels of land in its municipal area) under the Local Government Act 1993 .

10.    Section 82 inserted

After section 81D of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Division 3:

82.   2010 transitional doubts removal

(1)  To avoid doubt, the amendments of this Division made by the Fire Service Amendment Act 2009  –

(a) apply only in respect of the financial years following the transition year; and

(b) do not affect the calculation or collection of contributions under section 79 for the transition year.

(2)  In this section –

transition year means the financial year ending on 30 June 2010.

[Second reading presentation speech made in:

House of Assembly on 29 SEPTEMBER 2009

Legislative Council on 15 OCTOBER 2009]