Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Annual Report 2011–12

For more information on the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011 go to .

For more information on the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme go to .

Operation of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989

The Act controls the import, export, manufacture, acquisition, use, storage, handling and disposal of these substances. In implementing these measures, Australia has adopted a progressive approach. Australia has a longstanding agreement between state, territory and the Australian governments and industry for an accelerated phase out of ozone-depleting substances. Australia will meet its Montreal Protocol obligations on hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by achieving phase-out of 99.5percent in 2016, four years ahead of our obligation. In the process, in the period from 1996 to 2020 Australia will use some 60percent less HCFCs than permitted under the Montreal Protocol. Australia has adopted parallel import, manufacture and end-use controls for synthetic greenhouse gases, as these are common replacements for ozone-depleting substances. This initiative provides a consistent approach for industry, resulting in reduced emissions of these substances.

Purpose

• 
  implement the provisions of the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
  
• 
  institute specific controls on the manufacture, import, export, distribution and use of ozone-depleting substances
  
• 
  encourage Australian industry to replace ozone-depleting substances and achieve a faster and greater reduction than is provided for in the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol to the extent that is reasonably possible, given the availability of suitable alternative substances and appropriate technology and devices
  
• 
  control the manufacture, import, export and use of synthetic greenhouse gases that are used to replace ozone-depleting substances, to give effect to Australia’s obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol
  
• 
  promote the responsible use of ozone-depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases to minimise their effect on the atmosphere.
  

Operation

Licensing

• 
  prohibits the import, export or manufacture of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons (halon 1211, 1301 and 2402), carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, bromochloromethane and hydrobromofluorocarbons without either an essential-use licence or a used-substance licence
  
• 
  establishes a system of controlled substance licences and reporting requirements for the import, export or manufacture of HCFCs, methyl bromide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs), consistent with Australia’s obligations under the Montreal Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  
• 
  will require from 1 July 2012, a controlled substances licence for the import, export and manufacture of sulfur hexafluoride
  
• 
  establishes a licensing system for the import of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment that contains an HFC or HCFC refrigerant charge (precharged equipment), thereby applying the same conditions and responsibilities for these substances when imported in equipment that applies to their importation in bulk form
  
• 
  expands licensing requirements to all equipment containing synthetic greenhouse gases from 1 July 2012, unless an exemption has been granted.
  

Quota

Revenue

End-use regulations

The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 creates regulation-making powers to allow the Australian Government to develop end-use controls on acquisition, purchase, sale, handling, use, storage and disposal of ozone-depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases.

End-use regulations have been implemented for the use of ozone-depleting and synthetic greenhouse gases in the refrigeration and air conditioning and fire protection industries. Regulations also control the use of methyl bromide as a feedstock and as a fumigant for approved critical uses, and quarantine and pre-shipment uses.

These regulations assist Australia to meet its phaseout obligations under the Montreal Protocol. They also lead to reduced emissions of ozone-depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases through the establishment of minimum industry standards.

The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) and the Fire Protection Association of Australia administer the permit schemes in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry and the fire protection industry respectively.

Product stewardship

Holders of import licences under the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 are required to meet product stewardship obligations by joining an approved product stewardship scheme as a licence condition. The Refrigerant Reclaim Australia scheme obliged its members to pay a levy of $2 for every kilogram of ozone depleting substance or synthetic greenhouse gas refrigerant that they imported. This money was used to fund the collection of used refrigerant at end-of-life, and its subsequent destruction.

In 2011, Refrigerant Reclaim Australia collected 567 tonnes and destroyed 510 tonnes of ozone-depleting and synthetic greenhouse gas refrigerants¹. Refrigerant recovery exceeded destruction in 2011 due to the increased volume of recovered material and delays in destroying waste refrigerant. The remainder is expected to be destroyed by the end of 2012. The amount of gas reclaimed and destroyed continues to increase.

Permits

Licences issued

Four types of licences can be issued under the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989:

• 
  Controlled substances licences. Used to import (in bulk), export and manufacture HFCs, PFCs and/or SF6, known as synthetic greenhouse gases, HCFCs and methyl bromide.
  
• 
  Precharged equipment licences. Used to import equipment that contains ozone-depleting substances or synthetic greenhouse gases, including air conditioning and refrigeration equipment that contain HFCs or HCFCs.
  
• 
  Essential-uses licences. Since 1996 the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 has prohibited the import, export and manufacture of CFCs, halons, methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, and bromochloromethane without an essential-uses licence. Such licences are only granted for a strictly limited range of essential uses approved by the parties to the Montreal Protocol.
  
• 
  Used-substance licences. Since 1996, the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 has prohibited the import and export of used or recycled HCFCs, methyl bromide, bromochloromethane, CFCs, halon, carbon tetrachloride and methyl chloroform without a used-substance licence.
  

Precharged equipment licences were previously valid for a fixed two-year period, but after amendments to the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 became effective in May 2011 these licences are now valid for two years from the date of issue, which reduces the administrative burden on business. There is one type of exemption under Section 40 of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 for essential use.

The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 prohibits the import or manufacture of products listed in Schedule 4 of the Act that contain or use a specified ozone-depleting substance unless the minister grants an exemption under Section 40 of the Act or the Regulations. Only a very limited range of products will meet the exemption criteria.

There were 1767 licences active during the 2011–12 licensing period. This figure includes both new licences and those that were active for part of 2011–12 but then expired in that year. It excludes one-off licences for imports of less than five items of equipment containing less than 10kg of refrigerant.

Table 2: Active licences as at 30 June 2012

Type of licence	Number
Controlled substances HCFC	8
Controlled substances HFC	31
Controlled substances methyl bromide	8
Precharged refrigeration and air conditioning equipment	823
Used substances	3
Section 40 exemptions	19

Imports

In 2011, 70.92 ODP tonnes of bulk ozone-depleting substances were imported into Australia. A further 2.34 ODP tonnes were imported in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.

In 2011, 6676.17 CO₂e kilotonnes of bulk hydrofluorocarbons were imported into Australia. A further 3691.66 CO₂e kilotonnes of hydrofluorocarbons were imported into Australia in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.

Revenue

The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 provides for licence and exemption application fees to be levied.

Table 3: Licence and exemption fees

Type of licence/exemption	Fee
Controlled substance	$15,000 per licence period
Precharged equipment	$3,000 per licence period. On application the fee can be reduced to $400 for single-use low volume import licence
Essential use	$3,000 per licence period
Used substance	$15,000 per licence period
Section 40	$3,000 per exemption period

Levies on imports and manufacturing activity under a controlled substance licence are payable each quarter under the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Act 1995 and the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Act 1995. The levies are applied according to the quantity and ozone-depleting potential of HCFCs imported or manufactured, or the quantity of methyl bromide, HFCs or PFCs imported or manufactured (see Table 4). Australia has not manufactured ozone-depleting substances since 1996 and has never manufactured HFCs or PFCs. From 1 July 2012, an equivalent carbon price on synthetic greenhouse gases will be applied through the Levy Acts.

Table 4: Activity fees

Licensed activity	Fee
Import HCFCs	$3,000per ODP tonne
Import HFCs and PFCs	$165per metric tonne
Import methyl bromide	$135per metric tonne

Licence fees and levies are charged on a cost recovery basis. These fees are held in the Ozone Protection and SGG Account, which is managed by the department. The purpose of the account is to reimburse the government for the costs associated with:

• 
  administration of the Act and Regulations
  
• 
  progressing the ozone-depleting substance phase-out and the ozone-depleting substance and synthetic greenhouse gas emission-minimisation programs
  
• 
  management of the National Halon Bank.
  

Funds received during 2011–12 from operation of the National Halon Bank and licence fees and levies are shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Ozone protection and SGG account receipts

Activity	Amount received in 2011–12 ($)
Levies	1 369 103
Licence fees	3 462 868
National Halon Bank sales and services	752 690
Refrigeration fees	6 128 995
Total	11 713 656

Projects funded from the Ozone Protection and SGG Account

The department supports ozone research, including by the implementation of its Ozone Science Strategy (2009). The goal is to support nationally coordinated stratospheric ozone research in Australia that contributes to a better understanding globally of ozone protection and recovery. The activities that occur under the strategy include:

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  support of a group of Australian ozone scientists to cooperate and contribute relevant stratospheric ozone research internationally
  
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  an annual top-up scholarship to a PhD student undertaking research that will improve our understanding of atmospheric ozone depletion and recovery
  
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  providing guidance to the Australian Government and research organisations on priorities for ozone research and encouragement to align research priorities with Montreal Protocol priorities
  
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  seed funding to leverage additional funding for ozone research.
  

The Ozone Science Group is an informal group made up of Australian scientists and departmental representatives interested in stratospheric ozone science; their work assists with the implementation of the Ozone Science Strategy. The group was established in 2007 as a means to encourage cooperation and coordination among Australia’s stratospheric ozone interests. It comprises key Australian ozone scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division, Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, and a number of research universities. The group met four times during 2011–12 to share information about developments in ozone science and research, to coordinate their activities and to cooperate on specific projects.

The top-up scholarship for a student commencing a PhD this year was advertised and awarded to an applicant undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne.

The Ozone Science Strategy was reviewed in 2012 and a number of changes were made to enhance its functioning, including improving linkages to other research groups, policy making and international research, streamlined administration of the postgraduate scholarship, consideration of seed funding on a case-by-case basis, and possible assistance to ozone scientists to participate in international assessments.

CSIRO and the department continued to cooperate on monitoring global concentrations of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere and estimating emissions of these gases from Australia in 2011–12. These projects showed that in 2010 projected emissions of ozone-depleting substances from Australia decreased in line with our decreasing consumption of these gases.

Refrigeration and air conditioning

The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Regulations1995 establish a competency-based permit scheme for the refrigeration and air conditioning industry in Australia. Four types of permits are issued:

• 
  Refrigerant Handling Licence allows the holder to handle controlled refrigerants in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.
  
• 
  Refrigerant Trading Authorisation allows the holder to acquire, possess and dispose of controlled refrigerants.
  
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  Restricted Refrigerant Trading Authorisation allows the holder to acquire, possess and dispose of controlled refrigerants but only where they have been reclaimed from end-of-life refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, and only where the refrigerant is supplied to the operator of an approved refrigerant destruction facility.
  
• 
  Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturers Authorisation allows the holder to acquire and use controlled refrigerants in the manufacture of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
  

The operation of the permit scheme is contracted to the Australian Refrigeration Council.

Table 6: Permits issued at 30 June 2012

Permits	Issued
Authorisations	17178
Licences	55620

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