LEVIES – AUSTRALIA

Super funds told to help bailout plan

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 19 : 10-Dec-25

The federal government will require the superannuation sector to contribute to the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort for the first time. The government intends to impose a ‘special levy’ on the super industry to help cover the scheme’s expected funding shortfall of $47.3m for the current financial year. Banks, financial advisers and stockbrokers are amongst the financial services providers that usually fund the CSLR via a levy. There has been ongoing concern about the viability of the CSLR since it was established to compensate refund victims of financial misconduct in cases where the provider is insolvent or otherwise lacks the capacity to pay.

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ACTU’s training levy a ‘crock’, say business leaders

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 20-Aug-25

The ACTU has used the first day of the federal government’s economic roundtable to call for a national skills levy, with its idea being roundly rejected by employer and business groups. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox claimed that the proposal would impact 71,000 businesses with a combined payroll of about $300 billion; the ACTU stated that its proposal would involve a levy of 1.5 per cent of payroll for companies with annual turnover above $500,000, unless a business already spends that amount on training. Business Council of Australia CEO Bran Black says incentives to boost training, such as those provided to take on apprentices, are preferable to taxes.

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ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Industry calls for more changes than just axing debit card fees

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Original article by David Ross, David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 16-Oct-24

The Reserve Bank of Australia has confirmed that it will investigate the regulation of the payments system, in the wake of the federal government’s proposal to ban debit card surcharges by 2026. Amongst other things, the RBA has indicated that its review will examine the costs that merchants incur when they accept card payments, and whether its surcharging framework is still ‘fit for purpose’. The Australian Banking Association’s CEO Anna Bligh argues that abolishing debit card surcharges would be a "win for consumers", although some observers contend that broader reform is needed.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION

Labor to ban debit card surcharges

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Original article by James Eyers, Lucas Baird, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 15-Oct-24

The Reserve Bank of Australia will launch a review of payment costs for retailers, with the announcement of its review coming as the federal government flags its intention to ban debit card surcharges. A ban on these surcharges would impact many retailers, who currently pass them on to consumers; it is estimated that consumers are paying $1.5 billion annually on debit and credit card surcharges. The ban could be implemented from the start of January 2026, subject to consulation with the RBA, while the government will give the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission an additional $2.1 million to crack down on excessive surcharge fees.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Micro-taxes stifle productivity

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 5 : 13-Dec-23

The Productivity Commission has released a research paper which raises concern about the growing use of industry levies by Australia’s federal and state governments. The Commission has found that governments are using these levies to raise $11bn in revenue a year ‘by stealth’. The agricultural sector was initially the focus of industry levies, but the Commission notes that the sector now accounts for just $600m of this revenue. Deputy chairman Alex Robson contends that taking action to rein in the use of industry levies could help to boost the nation’s productivity.

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AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Energy giants hit with $1bn clean-up tax

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 30-Jun-21

APPEA CEO Andrew McConville warns that the federal government’s proposed levy on the nation’s offshore oil and gas industry will be a major disincentive for investment in the sector. The levy of $0.48 per barrel on offshore production would be used to help meet the cost of decommissioning the Northern Endeavour floating platform and associated oil fields in the Timor Sea. The levy would take effect on 1 July and is expected to cost about $367m a year, and potentially up to $1bn in total. A key criticism of the levy is the fact that it would apply to energy producers that had no exposure to the Northern Endeavour project.

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AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Producers fight industry oil levy

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 : 10-Jun-21

It will cost taxpayers some $47.4m to maintain the Northern Endeavour in 2020-21, according to the federal government’s Budget papers. Meanwhile, oil and gas producers will lobby against a proposed industry levy to help finance decommissioning and remediation costs associated with the offshore oil production vessel in the Timor Sea. Some industry players believe that the Northern Endeavour’s former owner Woodside Petroleum should bear the cost; in 2015 it sold the vessel to Northern Oil & Gas Australia, which subsequently went into administration.

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WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, NORTHERN OIL AND GAS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Levy sparks alarm in energy industry

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-May-21

Industry body APPEA has expressed concern about the federal government’s proposed levy on the nation’s offshore oil and gas industry. The Budget measure will help fund the cost of decommissioning the Northern Endeavour floating platform and the associated Laminaria and Corallina oil fields in the Timor Sea. APPEA Andrew McConville says other options should be considered, warning that the levy is a "terrible precedent" that could adversely affect the domestic economy and jobs in the oil and gas sector.

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AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Canavan calls for retaliatory levy on iron ore to China

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 6 : 14-Dec-20

Former resources minister Matt Canavan contends that the federal government should respond to China’s import bans and punitive tariffs by imposing a levy on iron ore exports. Australia ships nearly 900 million tonnes of iron ore to China each year, and Canavan argues that a levy of just one per cent would raise more than $800m annually; this could be used to compensate companies that have been hit by China’s trade sanctions. Canavan notes that iron ore has not been affected by the trade war, as China cannot quickly and easily source an alternative supply.

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Greens want coal levy to fund more paid firefighters

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Original article by Judith Ireland
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 6-Feb-20

Greens leader Adam Bandt has proposed the introduction of a levy on coal, gas and oil producers. The levy would be priced at $1 per tonne of carbon dioxide and would raise about $1.5bn a year. Most of the proceeds would be used to hire nearly 16,000 additional paid firefighters in metropolitan and rural areas. Bandt says the nation’s firefighters are exhausted by the intensity and duration of the bushfire season. The Australia Institute also called for a levy on fossil fuel producers in late 2019, as part of its proposal for a National Climate Disaster Fund.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED