National Fuel Quality Standards Regulation Impact Statement 1 ...

fuels. The Commonwealth proposal has been developed in close consultation with both
industries and all stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome for all Australians and
is recommended as the most viable option for achieving the Government’s objectives.
8. IMPLEMENTATION AND REVIEW
The preferred option, ie the Commonwealth’s proposal for national fuel quality standards,
would be implemented under primary legislation that provides the machinery for
establishing a national fuel quality standards regime. It is proposed that the actual
standards for each of the petrol and diesel parameters would be set in regulations under
the Act. This would provide the necessary flexibility to amend the standards quickly or to
deal with other fuel quality issues as they arise without having to go through the lengthy
process required to amend the legislation.
Under the legislation, statutory independent review will be required two years after the
first set of standards comes into effect, i.e. January 2002, and thereafter every five years.
From January 2002, the Minister will be required to present an annual report to the
Parliament that describes compliance with the legislation, prosecutions made under the
legislation and any other relevant actions, such as whether any regulations were made
under the legislation.
It is not envisaged that compliance will result in paper burden costs in the production and
supply chain as existing record keeping processes, if operated effectively, should be
sufficient. There may only be a requirement that the quality of these processes be
improved to ensure that sufficient records are kept and that they are accurate.
Effectiveness of the Commonwealth’s proposal for national fuel quality standards will be
measured in a number of ways. These include the availability of cleaner fuel to
consumers, measured reductions in emissions compared to business as usual projections,
and the effectiveness of the new advanced emissions control technology.
9. REFERENCES
AATSE (1997) Urban Air Pollution in Australia, Australian Academy of Technological
Sciences and Engineering, Melbourne, October 1997.
ACEA/AAMA/JAMA/EMA (1998) World Wide Fuel Charter, European Automobile
Manufacturers’ Association / American Automobile Manufacturers’ Association / Japan
Automobile Manufacturers’ Association / Engine Manufacturers Association, December
1998.
Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP), 1999a, Statistical Review 1998, Victoria.
Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP), 1999b, Australian Refinery Product
Characteristics.
ANOP Research Services (1993) Community attitudes to environmental issues, Report
prepared for Commonwealth Department of Environment, Sport and Territories.