Recreation and Tourism

Proposed Alpine Resorts (Management) Regulations 2009 - Draft Exposure

The Department of Sustainability and Environment is reviewing Victoria's Alpine Resorts (Management) Interim Regulations 2009 to make sure they provide appropriate protection, management and regulation controls for alpine resorts.

The Alpine Resorts (Management) Regulations are formed under Section 57 of the Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997, which governs the development, promotion, management and use of the alpine resorts in a way that is sustainable and compatible with the alpine environment. As well as regulating the use and control of alpine resorts, the regulations prescribe the level and structure of fees that Alpine Resort Management Boards charge to recover the costs of visitor services.

The proposed draft Regulations below may be of interest to visitors to the alpine resorts including snow users, alpine lease and license holders and Alpine Resort Management Boards.

Alpine Resorts Management Regulations Exposure Draft (PDF - 519 KB)

A Regulatory Impact Statement has been prepared to assess the costs and benefits of the proposed regulations and feasible alternatives. It concludes that the proposed regulations are the most appropriate means of achieving the objectives.

Regulatory Impact Statement of the Proposed Alpine Resorts (Management) Regulations 2009 (PDF - 752 KB)

The Regulatory Impact Statement for the proposed regulations was completed using the 2008-2009 value for fee units. An amended version with the 2009-2010 values is available below.

Regulatory Impact Statement of the Proposed Alpine Resorts (Management) Regulations 2009 – Amended (PDF - 69 KB)


Submissions

Electronic (email) submissions are preferred and can be sent to alice.daly@dse.vic.gov.au. Please download the submission template below.

Alpine Resorts Feedback Template (DOC - 39 KB)

Alternatively, you can post your submission to:

Alice Daly
Land Management Policy
Department of Sustainability and Environment
Level 2/8 Nicholson Street
East Melbourne, 3002.

All submissions must be received on or before COB Monday 14th September 2009. Any submission received after this date will not be considered.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Department has been working proactively to answer any questions you may have in relation to the proposed regulations. A series of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed for your convenience. It will be updated as necessary.

Can snow tyres or other traction devices be used in alpine resorts under the proposed Regulations, instead of wheel chains?
The Regulations require all vehicles entering the resorts during the declared snow season to carry wheel chains. Because of concerns raised about wheel chain safety in the RIS, DSE will work with VicRoads and Victoria Police to assess wheel chain safety issues. Wheel chain legislation and standards may be reviewed as part of this project.

VicRoads is the government agency tasked with preparing road safety standards and guidelines. DSE should not be including regulations that refer to other traction devices or wheel chain standards in the absence of guidance from VicRoads.

Why are some penalties expressed in dollars and others expressed in monetary units?
The Monetary Units Act 2004 provides direction for setting fees and penalties in Victorian regulations. Where a regulation is less than one fee unit it is expressed in dollars. In the proposed Regulations this applies to the cross country access fee for a child and daily camping fees. All of the remaining proposed Regulations where a fee is charged are expressed in monetary units.

The new regulations will be expressed in monetary units rather than dollar amounts. By what rate will fee caps increase into the future?
The Treasurer of Victoria sets a consumer price index (CPI) rate annually. This rate is the only rate applicable to fee cap increases. The Treasurer’s rate can be found online at www.dtf.vic.gov.au. ABS or other CPI rates cannot be used to increase the fee caps.

Will I receive feedback on my submission to the RIS consultation process?
Individual feedback will not be sent to each person who makes a submission. However, all submissions will be considered. Under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, the Minister must ensure that all comments and submissions are considered before the statutory rule is made and that a copy of all submissions is provided to the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC) which is responsible for reviewing new regulations.

Can my submission comment on the proposed Regulations and the RIS?
The public consultation process gives the public an opportunity to comment on the appropriateness and suitability of proposed Regulations. While comment may be made on the associated RIS, there is no scope to change the RIS once it has been approved by the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission.

Are the penalty units in the proposed Regulations expressed as a maximum?
Penalty units in the proposed Regulations are expressed as the maximum.

Offence provisions can be enforced in one of two ways:

• Via summons and court proceedings. The court may determine the severity of the breach and impose an appropriate penalty. For minor infringements this may not amount to the maximum penalty.
• Through the issue of a Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN) by an authorised officer. These penalties are limited by the ‘Attorney-General’s Guidelines to Infringements 2006’, which states that the amount should not exceed 25 per cent of the maximum penalty for the offence (that is the amount prescribed in the Regulations).