Review of Fee Structure and Charges
In December 2005 a new fee structure was introduced that reflected the cost of providing classification services for the next three years. It is a government requirement to regularly review cost-recovery charging systems. The Department has almost concluded a review with the aim of implementing revised fees in the latter part of 2010. When the final fees are being implemented, notification will be made on this website.
- Proposed New Fees
- Confidentiality
- Why are the fees being reviewed?
- How was the fee review conducted?
- What are the major proposed changes to the fees?
- Detailed information about the proposed new fees
Proposed New Fees
The Commonwealth Government is inviting public comment on the proposed new fees for the classification of publications, films and computer games. The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 requires that applications for classification be accompanied by the prescribed fee as set out in the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Regulations 2005.
Other information on the operations of the Classification Board and the Classification Review Board is available in their Annual Reports which are published on the Classification Website.
The proposed new fees are available for viewing on the website in a table format that includes comparisons with the current fees and details of individual product fee movements, in Word and PDF format. The structure of some fee categories has changed as well cost adjustments to the amount of individual fees.
Comments are invited on the proposed new fees by close of business Friday 28 May 2010.
Comments can be submitted either directly via email to proposedfees@classification.gov.au;
or by post to
The Attorney General’s Department
Classification Operations Branch
Locked Bag 3
Haymarket NSW 1240
or by passing on your comments to a representative industry body such as the MPDAA, AVSDA, IGEA etc.
A summary of issues raised in submissions to the review will be provided in the Cost Recovery Impact Statement that the Department is required to prepare for the new fees. It will be published on this website.
Confidentiality
Unless confidentiality is requested, submissions are public documents and may be accessed by any member of the public, published on the Commonwealth Attorney‑General’s Department’s website and further quoted. If you do not want your submission to be published, or you would like to request anonymity, you must clearly request this in your submission.
Why are the fees being reviewed?
The current fees have been in place since 2005. The only changes in fees since 2005 have occurred as a result of significant improvements to the National Classification Scheme that has seen the introduction of more authorised assessor schemes with lower fees (i.e. Additional Content Assessor scheme, the Authorised Television Series Assessor scheme and the Authorised Advertising Assessor scheme).
Government policy requires an agency to regularly review fees charged for services under cost recovery arrangements. Reviews must occur at least every five years.
It is anticipated that revised fees will be implemented in the latter half of 2010.
How was the fee review conducted?
The current fee review commenced in mid 2008 and has been conducted in accordance with Government accounting policies and cost recovery guidelines.
The review has considered classification work processes, changes to demand, additional types of classification products and emerging technology.
The current fee review used an activity based costing methodology, similar to that used in 2005.
The Department had the model assessed by an independent consultant, Ascent Governance Pty Ltd, to ensure that it complies with the cost recovery guidelines and the cost outcomes are reasonable.
The proposed fees have been set for two years. The two year period provides flexibility and greater accuracy in estimating costs and demand.
What are the major proposed changes to the fees?
The table below sets out the proposed fees in detail.
Under the proposed changes, 38 fees would rise or are new fee categories while 22 would be reduced or remain unchanged. According to figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and projections covering the life of the new fees, the estimated CPI increase is 22% (since 2005 to 2012 when the next review is proposed to be implemented). The average increase across the proposed fees is 11%. This increase also compares very favourably with the 74% average increase when the last fees were implemented in 2005.
Key points on the proposed fees include the following:
Publications
- All publications fee categories have fallen in price (one category remains the same) except Publications >800 pages. There is zero demand for this category. The proposed fee increase for this category is 1% which equates to $20.
- Publications 0 – 76 pages decreased by 19% or $100 from $520 to $420.
- Publications 77-152 pages decreased by 19% or $110 from $590 to $480 (this fee category accounts for 48% of publications).
- The changes identified in the review have reduced direct labour costs as well as affected the allocation of overheads to these fees.
Film Other
- This product type represents approximately 64% of the work of the Classification Board.
- There are 22 fee categories. All are projected to increase. The increases range from 4% to 59% (from $30 to $2710).
- The most popular fee category, for material 61 to 120 minutes in length, is proposed to increase by 4% (i.e. $30 per application).
- The five most popular fee categories that make up 79% of applications for Film Other rise by an average of 9.2%.
- Fees for categories of material over 300 minutes are projected to rise between 19% and 59%. This includes 12 new running time categories for applications between 800 minutes and 2000 minutes to reflect the increase in the availability of “boxed sets” and the extra time it takes the Classification Board to deal with these longer applications.
- The new longer running time categories attract the largest fees but represent less than 3% of the total estimated Film Other applications.
- The expansion of fee categories beyond the >800 minute fee removes the need to lodge multiple applications for material over 1100 minutes.
- Access to alternative lower cost industry-based assessor schemes has also created significant opportunities for potential savings in classification fees.
Industry-Based Assessor Schemes
- The Authorised Television Series Assessor (ATSA) scheme fee has been reduced from $780 to $640 or by 18%.
- The Additional Content Assessor (ACA) Scheme fee has increased by 12% or $50 from $430 to $480
- As an alternative to a standard Film Other application, applicants who use this scheme can save between $70 and $610 per application depending on the length of the additional content.
Public Exhibition (PE) Films
- All five fee categories for public exhibition films are proposed to increase.
- Increases proposed range from 19% to 28%. The most commonly used fee category (61-120 minute film) is projected to increase by 19% or $350.
- PE Films will be required to pay a Priority Processing Fee (PPF) of $450 to ensure a maximum processing time of three days from the receipt of a valid application. This brings the treatment of PE films into line with Film Other and Computer Games priority applications that are already required to pay a priority processing fee.
Computer Games
- There are four proposed categories of computer games (streamlined from six). Three of the four are proposed to decrease in cost between 9% and 41% ($40 to $830). Ninety-nine percent of applications fall into one of these categories.
- The fourth category (demonstrated computer games) is proposed to increase from $1070 to $2460 per application however this category represents only 1% of total computer games applications.
Applications for Review
- Applications for review have increased from $8,000 to $10,000 per review.
- The actual full cost of each review is approximately $28,000.
- The $10,000 fee is a partial cost recovery.
Applications for Classification (Enforcement)
- Fees for a Statement of Content or Certificate of Identification have both been reduced by approximately 33% from $710 to $475.
- Fees for a Certificate of Verification remain unchanged at $1,410 per application
Detailed information about the proposed new fees
Please consult the table below for detailed information on the proposed new fees.