Environmental Management Charge

What is the EMC?

• The Environmental Management Charge or EMC is a charge payable by most commercial operators granted permits by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). This includes operators conducting tourist programmes and non-tourist commercial charters plus those operating facilities in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• There is no Goods and Services Tax (GST) liability on the EMC
• Visitors to the reef participating in a tourist activity are now liable to pay the charge to the permit holder. The role of the operator in relation to the charge is to collect and remit the charge to the GBRMPA
• All funds received as EMC payments are applied directly to management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park including education, research, ranger patrols and policy development.
  

Does it apply to me?

The EMC applies to chargeable permissions. This includes a permission for any of the following kinds of activities:

• Operation of tourist programme
• installation and operation of tourist facilities (for example pontoons, marinas, floating hotels, underwater observatories)
• Resorts on Commonwealth islands for example Lady Elliot Island
• Non-tourist commercial operations (for example, vessels chartered for research, filming or other non-tourist activities)
• Mariculture
• Land-based sewage outfalls into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Sale of goods or services from a vessel.

How it works

Keeping Records

• EMC logbooks and charging returns are provided by the GBRMPA to permit holders at the beginning of each calendar year, and to new permittees a few weeks after the granting of a permit. Also, some permit holders use approved electronic logbooks
• The logbook is provided for you to record the number of visitors you carried, the amount of EMC payable and all locations you visited on a daily basis
• A charging return is where you summarise the information from the logbook pages regarding the amount of EMC due at the end of each quarter. It is a legal requirement to send the charging return and logbook pages to the GBRMPA even where there is no EMC payable.

Making Payments

• The charging returns, logbook pages and payments must be submitted to the GBRMPA on a quarterly basis. These are due at the end of the month following the calendar quarter
• Please note - multi-permit holders or Permitees with more than one operation on a permit are required to submit a Summary Remittance Form together with the charging returns.
  

Due Dates

• Please make cheques payable to the GBRMPA and attach to the return and logbook pages
• If you wish to make a direct deposit you should contact the EMC Section to request the BSB and Account numbers for the GBRMPA Appropriation Account
• To pay EMC using BPAY, use you Customer Reference Number and Biller Code located on the front of your charging return. Please note payments can only be made against individual permits and you will need to be registered with your bank for phone or Internet banking.

If you have made a direct deposit please let us know by enclosing details of the deposit with your return and logbook pages.

• All correspondence, including returns and payments should be addressed to:
  Attention: EMC Section
  The GBRMPA
  Reply Paid 1379
  TOWNSVILLE QLD 4810

What are the charges?

• The majority of visitors pay the standard tourist programme charge of $4.50 per day, subject to concessions and exemptions. The permit holder is required to collect the charge from the visitor
• A different scale of charges applies to other commercial operations. The charges are listed below under the heading `Environmental Management Charges’.

Environmental Management Charges (as at December 2006*)

*Please note charges will increase from 1 April 2007 to $5.00 per visitor (full day) and $2.50 per visitor (part-day).

Full EMC permit holder to collect from visitor $4.50 per day for:

• Trips of three hours or more
• Trips entering the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park before 5.00 pm
• Trips leaving the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park after 6.00 am
• First three days of an extended charter
• Fourth or subsequent days of an extended charter if visitor participates in an activity with another permit holder.

Part-day EMC permit holder to collect from visitor $2.25 per day:

• Trips less than three hours
• The first day of trip entering the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park after 5.00 pm
• The last day of trips leaving the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park before 6.00 am.

Exemptions No EMC is paid by the following visitors:

1. Free of charge (FOC) passengers are exempt if they are carried free of charge and are:
   • Children less than four years old
   • Beneficiaries of registered charities
   • School supervised school group
   • Tourism industry trade familiarisations
   • Media reporters, broadcasters reporting on Great Barrier Reef Marine Park issues.
2. Secondary Services or previously paid passengers are exempt if they have paid $4.50 that day.
3. Greater than three days exemption applies to the fourth and subsequent days of an extended trip with one operator if the visitor has paid the maximum of $13.50.
4. Transfer passengers are exempt if they transit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the permit holder does not provide any tourism activities for two hours after disembarkation.

Beach Hire Charges are based on what you have available for hire. The EMC is payable by the permit holder even if you do not operate.

1. Non-motorised Beach Hire
   • Less than six pieces of equipment: $12 per quarter
   • Six or more pieces of equipment: $25 per quarter
2. Dinghy Hire
   • Less than six dinghies: $50 per quarter
   • Six or more dinghies: $12 per dinghy per quarter
3. Motorised Watersports
   • Two person jet boats: $25 per quarter
   • Motorised equipment excluding jet boats: $62 per quarter
   • Motorised equipment including jet boats: $87 per quarter

Semi-submersibles, Glass-bottom boats and Sight-seeing flights

• Visitors are liable to pay 40 cents per trip unless they have paid $4.50 for the day.

Installations and Tourist Facilities

Permit holders are liable to pay for the following:

1. Pontoons
   • less than or equal to 40 square metres: $90 per quarter
   • greater than 40 square metres: $180 per quarter
2. Floating hotels are charged $280 per quarter
3. Marinas are charged $380 per quarter from date of construction or operation.
4. Mariculture is charged $500 per quarter for up to 10 hectares, plus $200 per quarter for each additional 10 hectares.

Underwater Observatories (other than those attached to pontoons)

• Permit holders are liable to pay $130 per quarter.

Resorts on Commonwealth Islands collect $4.50 per day from visitors subject to the part-day or greater than three days exemption. *NB Reg 158 provides that the charge payable by a visitor who participates in a tourist programme that involves visiting Lady Elliot Island is $2.00.

Discharge of sewage

Permit holders are liable to pay either:

• Tertiary sewage charge is $400 per quarter
• Primary or secondary treated sewage is $400 per quarter plus $4 x V x (N+P) where V is total volume in megalitres, N is milligrams of nitrogen per litre and P is milligrams of phosphorus per litre unless not more than five per cent of annual volume is discharged.

Non-tourist operations

1. Vessel chartering permit holders are required to collect from visitors $2 per person per trip. Visitors only pay for the first day of an extended trip.
2. Permit holders for a vending operation are required to pay $30 per metre of the length of the vessel per quarter.

Other Information and Penalties

How is logbook information used?

• Information from logbooks is used to determine your liability to pay the EMC and to assist the GBRMPA in exercising its management functions under the Act. It also provides valuable data on patterns and levels of visitors’ use within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
• Information collected from individual permit holders is confidential. Aggregate or ‘combined’ data are released to the public (for example annual figures on how many people visit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park).

Advertising the EMC

Tourism Operators who incorrectly advertise the EMC have been prosecuted by the Office of Fair Trading. Details of the correct methods to advertise the EMC are available from Onboard – The Tourism Operator’s Handbook for the Great Barrier Reef. It is your responsibility to ensure consistency across all your advertising methods including websites, brochures, television advertising, tax invoices, receipts and any other advertising methods you may use.

• Permit holders can advertise the EMC on tickets and brochures if they choose
• The EMC charge of $4.50 per day or a maximum charge of $13.50 for extended trips must be clearly shown in the permittee's advertising material.

Penalties

• Regulations require all permit holders to meet obligations such as maintaining appropriate records to determine the amount of EMC payable, to provide other information when requested to do so and to lodge and pay by the due dates
• There are Penalties for:

1. Late payment: penalty of 20 per cent per annum from the due date of payment
2. Failure to give information or return: penalty $4400
3. Not keeping proper records: penalty $5500
4. Altering records to claim exemption: penalty $5500
5. Not retaining records for two years: penalty $5500
6. Not recording information in the logbook supplied or in a form approved by the GBRMPA: penalty $5500

• There are also penalty amount equal to the amount of EMC that should have been collected from visitors if the permittee doesn't collect the EMC from visitors - see section 39FA(2)
• Penalty of $1000 per day for up to a maximum of 21 days if the holder of a chargeable permission doesn't pay the EMC collected from visitors to the Authority by the due date - see section 39FB(1)
• False and misleading information breaches are dealt with under the Crimes Act 1914
• Permits may be suspended if the permit holder fails to comply with the regulations requiring the provision of information, charging returns, logbook pages and payments. It is illegal to operate in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park if your permit is suspended.
• Permits may be revoked 60 days after a permit is suspended. This would mean that you no longer have a permit to operate in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Infringement Notices

Infringement Notices may be issued by Inspectors for breaches of record keeping requirements. Breaches are dealt with by the issue of an on-the-spot fine instead of progressing the matter through the courts.

Infringement Notices may be issued for:

• Not keeping proper records: penalty $550
• Altering records to claim exemption: penalty $550
• Not retaining records for two years: penalty $550
• Not recording information in the logbook supplied or in a form approved by the GBRMPA: penalty $550.

Payment Options

You may make an EMC payment by cash, cheque, direct deposit or internet/phone banking using BPAY.

CHEQUE - Please make your cheque payable to the GBRMPA and attach it to the charging return and logbook pages.

DIRECT DEPOSIT - If you wish to make a direct deposit, you should contact the GBRMPA to request the relevant BSB and account number. Please include the BPAY reference number in the reference/description field. This unique identifier will assist in assigning the payment against the correct permit. If you have made a direct deposit, please let us know by faxing details of the deposit to the EMC Section on fax (07) 4750 0892.

BPAY (internet/phone banking) – If you wish to use BPAY as a payment option, you will require a Biller Code and a Reference Number. EMC logbooks mailed out to you include a BPAY sticker on each charging return, displaying the Biller Code and your permit-specific Reference Number.

	(a) Biller Code
	(b) Each permit has an unique reference number assigned to it

When using BPAY the EMC payment must be made using the unique reference number.  This reference number links the permit to the payment.

Paying for one permit only

For payments for one permit, please use the permit-specific reference number and Biller Code displayed on the charging return.

Paying for multiple permits

If you hold more than one permit and wish to make a single EMC payment using BPAY facilities you will need to register with GBRMPA to receive a multi-permit reference number (MRN).

The MRN can be used instead of having to make individual payments against each permit reference number. 

How to register for a Multi-Permit Reference Number:

1. Have all of your permit information available – you will need to list your permit numbers
2. Ring the GBRMPA on (07) 4750 0700 and ask to speak to staff in permits.  Please mention that you wish to register for a BPAY reference number
3. Permits staff will register your multi-permit information against a MRN and provide that number to you over the phone.  You will then receive a formal letter in the mail with your BPAY details listed 
4. When using BPAY, use your biller code (listed on the charging return) and the MRN to make a single easy payment for all of your EMC.