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WIA lodges cost recovery submission
Date :
21 /
02 /
2007
Author :
Michael Owen - VK3KI
Just before Christmas ACMA placed on its website a paper "Cost recovery arrangements for services provide d by ACMA", calling for comment by 1 February 2007.
A 15% increase in the non-tax component of amateur licence fees was proposed, as well as substantial increases in the cost of amateur examinations conducted by ACMA.
As a number of matters in the paper were not clear, WIA President Michael Owen VK3KI and Peter Young VK3MV sought a meeting with ACMA officers and on Thursday 18 January 2007 they attended a videoconference with ACMA officers in Sydney and Canberra.
On 29 January 2007 the WIA lodged a submission in response to the paper and the following are some extracts from that submission:
"There are, however, a number of assumptions underlying the proposed fees for licence issue and renewal that the WIA seeks further clarification. The discussion paper refers to an amortisation period for amateur licences of seven years as the average period that an amateur licence is held. The WIA believes this period, particularly for the Advanced Licence, to be understated and suggests that the amortisation period be reassessed in light of the fact that this assumption has not been tested for some ten years."
"The WIA raised the opportunity to renew apparatus licences for periods up to five years and thus provide a saving in administrative costs. Information on multi-year licences is missing on the offer to renew apparatus licence notice."
"The other issue that the WIA is concerned with is the significant leap in costs associated with ACMA administered amateur examinations. The WIA understands that ACMA does not in the ordinary course itself administer amateur examinations, though it could administer special examinations if necessary. As you will be aware, the WIA is continuing to develop protocols to administer special examinations, and it is our understanding that it would be only in unusual circumstances that ACMA would, in fact, administer such examinations."
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