The Tasmanian Government has moved from partial cost recovery to recovering the full costs of managing the Tasmanian salmon farming industry, an action under the Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan 2023.
What is cost recovery?
Cost recovery involves the Government charging the non-government sector some or all of the costs of a specific government activity. That activity may include the provision of goods, services or regulation, or a combination.
Full cost recovery for the Tasmanian salmon industry
Scope of services to be cost recovered
Costs of management of the Tasmanian salmon farming industry will be cost recovered where the service:
- provides a benefit to the industry, where the benefit is solely for the salmon industry or the benefit received by the salmon industry is significantly disproportionate; or
- is solely, or principally, in service of the salmon industry within Tasmania; or
- results in a cost or burden to the Government which arises because of, or principally because of, the salmon industry within Tasmania.
Services within scope are provided across NRE Tas, the Environment Protection Authority and the Inland Fisheries Service.
There are also services provided by Government that are outside the scope of the cost recovery program as they are more general services or apply across a broad range of stakeholders. Some of these operate under their own cost recovery model, such as testing undertaken by Analytical Services Tasmania. This is not included in the Tasmanian salmon industry cost recovery program.
Annual lease fees for marine farming leases are additional to cost recovery charges. These fees represent a payment to the Crown for the rights conferred by the marine farming lease.
How are costs recovered?
Costs are recovered through a levy on salmonid marine farming licences. A licence holder becomes liable to pay the levy when they apply for the grant or renewal of a licence.
Cost recovery 2023-24
The total cost of services within scope of the Tasmanian salmon industry cost recovery program is $10.2 million. A range of fees and charges apply for some services, for example, licence fees and fish pathology fees. The net cost of management, over and above the revenue from these fees and charges, to be recovered in 2023-24 is $9.6 million.
NRE Tas expects there will be 2905 hectares of marine farming lease areas subject to a marine farming licence in 2023-24. With a levy of $3310 per hectare applied to 2905 hectares, full cost recovery of $9.6 million will be achieved.
The indicative costs to be recovered in 2023-24 by organisation are below.
Organisation
| Licenced area 2023-24 (ha)
| Expected amount to be cost recovered ($’000)
|
Huon Aquaculture
| 1185
| 3,922
|
Petuna
| 422
| 1,398
|
South East Aquaculture
| 30 | 99
|
Tassal
| 1268
| 4,196
|
Total*
| 2905
| 9,616
|
*Any difference between the sum of values shown in the table and respective total is due to rounding.Governance