Approvals (Deadlines) Act 1993
An Act to provide for the expeditious grant of approvals
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:
This Act may be cited as the Approvals (Deadlines) Act 1993 .
This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –appeal includes a right of review;approval means an approval, licence, permit or other authority specified in Schedule 1 ;relevant Act means the Act under which an application for an approval may be determined;responsible Minister means the Minister administering an enactment (other than this Act) by virtue of the operation of which an approval is required.
4. Applications for approval to be determined within certain periods
(1) Where an application for an approval is required to be determined by a person or body, that person or body must determine the application within the period specified in Schedule 1 in relation to the approval.(2) A period specified in Schedule 1 in relation to the determination of an application for an approval must not exceed the period within which that application is required to be determined under any other Act.
5. Power of responsible Minister to require decision-maker to determine application
(1) Where an application for an approval is not determined by the appropriate person or body within the period specified in Schedule 1 in relation to the approval, the responsible Minister may require that person or body to determine the application within 14 days of the expiration of that period, or such lesser period as the Minister may specify.(2) The responsible Minister may extend the 14 day period, or the lesser period specified by the responsible Minister under subsection (1) , if the responsible Minister considers that exceptional circumstances exist for extending that period.
6. Existing rights of appeal preserved
A person who would have been entitled to appeal under the relevant Act against the determination of an application for an approval under that Act may exercise the right of appeal in respect of the determination of the application notwithstanding that the responsible Minister has required the determination to be made within a period specified by the responsible Minister under section 5 .
(1) The Governor may by order –(a) amend Schedule 1 ; or(b) repeal Schedule 1 and substitute another Schedule for the Schedule repealed.(2) The provisions of section 47 (3) , (3A) , (4) , (5) , (6) and (7) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1931 apply to an order under this section as if the order were regulations within the meaning of that Act.
Until provision is made in relation to this Act by order under section 4 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990 –(a) the administration of this Act is assigned to the Minister for Environment and Land Management; and(b) the Department responsible to the Minister for Environment and Land Management in relation to the administration of this Act is the Department of Environment and Land Management.
SCHEDULE 1 - Approval Time Limits[Schedule 1 Amended by No. 68 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ][Schedule 1 Amended by No. 14 of 1995, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ][Schedule 1 Amended by No. 75 of 1995, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ][Schedule 1 Amended by No. 8 of 1996, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]
Sections 3 , 4 and 5
[Schedule 1 Amended by No. 2 of 1998, Sched. 2, Applied:01 Jul 2000] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 55 of 2000, Sched. 2, Applied:31 Dec 2001] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 90 of 2001, Sched. 6, Applied:01 Apr 2002] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 62 of 2001, Sched. 2, Applied:01 Sep 2003] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 48 of 2005, Sched. 5, Applied:01 Jun 2006] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 45 of 2007, s. 30, Applied:29 May 2008] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 56 of 2008, s. 133, Applied:11 Feb 2009] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 52 of 2005, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jul 2009] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 17 of 2006, Sched. 3, Applied:01 Oct 2011] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 2 of 2012, s. 27, Applied:01 Jan 2013] [Schedule 1 Amended by No. 18 of 2020, Sched. 4, Applied:17 May 2023]Approval | Period | Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1995 | Permit to use a chemical product | 60 days from the day on which an application under Schedule 5 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1995 is received by the Registrar of Chemical Products. | Commercial operator licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under Schedule 5 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1995 is received by the Registrar of Chemical Products. | Restricted chemical product permit | 60 days from the day on which an application under Schedule 5 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1995 is received by the Registrar of Chemical Products. | Agricultural spraying permit | 60 days from the day on which an application under Schedule 5 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1995 is received by the Registrar of Chemical Products. | Pilot (chemical rating) licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under Schedule 5 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1995 is received by the Registrar of Chemical Products. | Agricultural aircraft operator licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under Schedule 5 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1995 is received by the Registrar of Chemical Products. | Animal (Brands and Movement) Act 1984 | Registration of brand or tag | 60 days from the day on which an application under section 11 (6) of the Animal (Brands and Movement) Act 1984 is received by the Registrar of Animal Brands. | Apiaries Act 1978 | Registration as a bee-keeper | 60 days from the day on which an application under section 4(1) of the Apiaries Act 1978 is received by the Secretary of the responsible Department. | Apple and Pear Industry (Crop Insurance) Act 1982 | Fruit crop insurance policy | 60 days from the day on which an application under section 7(2) of the Apple and Pear Industry (Crop Insurance) Act 1982 is received by the Tasmanian Government Insurance Board. | Child Care Act 2001 | Grant or renewal of a licence, an exemption or an approval of approved premises under that Act | 90 days from the day on which the application under that Act is received by the Secretary, within the meaning of that Act. | Crown Lands Act 1976 | Reservation of Crown land as a public reserve under section 8 of the Crown Lands Act 1976 | 180 days from the day on which an application in a form approved by the responsible Minister is received by that Minister. | Sale of Crown land under section 13 of the Crown Lands Act 1976 | 180 days from the day on which an application in a form approved by the responsible Minister is received by that Minister. | Lease of Crown land under section 29 of the Crown Lands Act 1976 | 180 days from the day on which an application in a form approved by the responsible Minister is received by that Minister. | Temporary licence under section 42 of the Crown Lands Act 1976 | 180 days from the day on which an application in a form approved by the responsible Minister is received by that Minister. | Dairy Industry Act 1994 | Dairy farmer's licence, processor's licence, manufacturer's licence, vendor's licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under section 18 of the Dairy Industry Act 1994 is received by the Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority. | Fisheries Act 1959 | Fishing-boat licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 5 of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Fisherman's licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 9 of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Commercial crayfish-pot licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 9B of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the relevant Minister. | Non-commercial crayfish-pot licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 11 of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Special crayfish licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 12 of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Scallop licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 14 of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Non-commercial scallop licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 15 of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Non-commercial diving licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 17B of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Commercial diving licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 17CA of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Purse seine fishing licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 17CC of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Processing premises licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 17CI of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Scallop spat collection licence | 60 days from the day on which an application under regulation 30A of the Sea Fisheries Regulations 1962 is received by the Director of Sea Fisheries. | Local Government Act 1962 | Approval of a septic tank installation | 60 days from the day on which plans and specifications under section 558(2) of the Local Government Act 1962 are received by the responsible Minister. | Consent of a municipal corporation to an offensive trade | 60 days from the day on which plans and specifications under section 612(2)(b) of the Local Government Act 1962 are received by the municipal corporation. | Approval by the Commissioner for Town and County Planning of a scheme for a building estate or a plan of subdivision | 60 days from the day on which a proposal plan is received by the Commissioner for Town and Country Planning under section 757(1) of the Local Government Act 1962. | Mining Act 1929 | Exploration licence | 120 days from the day on which an application under section 15B(2) of the Mining Act 1929 is received by the Director of Mines. | Retention licence | 180 days from the day on which an application under section 15BA(6) of the Mining Act 1929 is received by the Director of Mines. | Mining lease | 180 days from the day on which an application under section 32 of the Mining Act 1929 is received by the Director of Mines. | Poisons Act 1971 | Licence to carry on business as a manufacturing or wholesale chemist | 60 days from the day on which an application under section 16(1) of the Poisons Act 1971 is received by the responsible Minister. | Licence to grow or cultivate a prohibited plant | 60 days from the day on which an application under Part V of the Poisons Act 1971 is received by the responsible Minister. | Public Health Act 1962 | Approval of places of assembly | 60 days from the day on which the materials referred to in section 57(3) of the Public Health Act 1962 are received by the responsible Minister. | Approval of premises for the manufacture, preparation, packing or storage of food for sale | 60 days from the day on which the materials referred to in section 120A(2) of the Public Health Act 1962 are received by the responsible Minister. | Registration of premises for the purpose of the Public Health (Skin Penetration) Regulations 1978 | 60 days from the day on which an application is received by the municipal corporation. | Vermin Destruction Act 1950 | Permit to keep rabbits or other vermin | 60 days from the day on which an application under section 21A(2) of the Vermin Destruction Act 1950 is received by the Chief Veterinary Officer. |