Submissions can be made in the following ways:
Completed submissions can be either:
All submission must be provided in writing either digitally or in physical form. If submitters wish, they can follow up any digital submission with a copy posted to us.
The deadline to receive online and postal submissions is 5pm, Wednesday 21 November 2018.
The submitter will be asked to provide the following information in their submission:
Submissions will be made publicly available.
Submitters will need to indicate clearly if there are any comments in a submission that are commercially sensitive, or if, for some other reason, they should not be disclosed, or if the submitter does not want to be identified.
Any request for non-disclosure will be considered in terms of the Official Information Act 1982 and can only be withheld under that legislation.
If more information is required call 0800 699 000 or email fundingconsult@nzta.govt.nz
All amounts are GST exclusive.
| Current | Proposed | |||||
| Annual fixed safety levy | Per licensed organisation | $347.80 | A rail operator licence | $500 | ||
| A rail access provider licence | $500 | |||||
| To hold either or both types of licences | Most licence holders require both these licenses | |||||
| Annual variable safety levy | Access provider (network) | $152.60 | Per km track | Charitable or voluntary organisations | None | |
| Access provider (other) | $4.72 | Per km track | All other operators | 16.1 cents | Per passenger train km | |
| Passenger operator (metro) | $12.61 | Per 1000 pax | All other access providers | 8.05 cents | Per train km on its network | |
| Passenger operator (cable car) | $0.89 | Per 1000 pax | ||||
| Passenger operator (heritage and small tourist business) | $1.55 | Per 1000 pax | ||||
| Passenger operator (long distance) | $18.53 | Per 1000 pax | ||||
| Freight operator | $83.70 | Per $mill of freight revenue | ||||
| Fees (fixed) | Licence application | $104.00 | None | |||
| Fees (hourly rate) | Ordinary or special safety assessment | $156.00 | Per hour |
Licence application |
$120 | Per hour |
| Fees (other costs) | None | Any other expense incurred by the Agency | Actual and reasonable | |||
All licensed rail participants will hold a licence issued to them by the NZ Transport Agency.
Under the Railways Act 2005, there are two classes of rail participants that must be licensed – rail operators and access providers. Most organisations operating rail vehicles on their own railway lines will be both a rail operator and an access provider.
If you control the use of a railway line by rail operators, you must hold an access provider class of licence. If you provide or operate (i.e. move) rail vehicles on a railway line (yours or someone else’s – the access provider), you must hold a rail operator class of licence. You can hold both these classes under a single licence.
All activities and actions are indicative and dependant on the outcomes of the consultation. Once a funding model has been agreed it will be implemented in the first half of 2019 with any changes in safety levies and fees effective from 1 July 2019.
GST exclusive.
Yes they will. It is an industry wide funding model review. New licence holders will be affected in the same way as those who have been licence holders for years.
This consultation is open to the public. You do not need to be a rail licence holder, or even in the transport industry, to make a submission.
No, the questions are just there to help guide submissions and make it easier for us to understand submitter’s opinions correctly. You can make a submission on any aspect of the proposal discussed in the Consultation document you wish.
No, this is a separate process. the SPRs are an annual report, activity levels are submitted through the SPR and the present annual safety levy is calculated using this rail activity data.
No, invoicing will occur mid-December as usual.
The NZ Transport Agency is unable to advise any rail participant of their total future levies because the levy rates in the consultation document may change as a result of this consultation process.
We cannot be specific with this answer as we have not verified any organisation’s level of rail activity, nor do we know the reader’s organisational status, for example if you are a charitable or volunteer organisation.
However, the following templates step out the formulae for each licence class. This may help you calculate your future levies if the levy rates proposed in the consultation document come into effect.
Please note:
Table 1
| Charity or Volunteer Rail Participant (refer to definitions on page 17 of Consultation document) |
||
| Classes of licence held | Total proposed annual levy payable | Comments |
| Licensed Access Provider | Annual Fixed Safety Levy $500 |
This is regardless of whether you operate – if you hold a licence you must pay your Annual Fixed Safety Levy No Annual Variable Safety Levy charged |
| Licensed Rail Operator | Annual Fixed Safety Levy $500 | |
| Operating as both: Licensed Rail Operator, and Licensed Access Provider |
Annual Fixed Safety Levy $1,000 | |
Table 2
If you are not a Charitable or Volunteer Rail Participant then the following levies are proposed.
| Licensed Rail Operator | ||
| Amount | Comments | |
| Annual Fixed Safety Levy | $500 | This is regardless of whether you operate – if you hold a licence you must pay this component |
| Plus the annual variable safety levy as follows: | ||
|
Annual Variable Safety Levy What distance (in km) do your passenger trains travel each year? |
$0.1611 for every passenger train kilometre travelled $0.1611 x ? kms = $ |
If you don’t move passengers, this is $0. For example: if you do 20 return passenger excursions per year, and each is 20km:
|
| Added together to provide the total annual levy: | ||
| Total Annual Safety Levy to pay | Annual Fixed Safety Levy + Annual Variable Safety Levy = Total Annual Safety Levy |
|
Table 3
| Licensed Access Provider | ||
| Amount | Comments | |
| Annual Fixed Safety Levy | $500 | This is regardless of whether any vehicles are operating on your network – if you hold a licence you must pay this component |
| Plus the Annual Variable Safety levy: | ||
|
Annual Variable Safety Levy What distance (in km) do your, or other’s trains (passenger, freight and work trains) travel on your network each year?
|
$0.0805 for each train kilometre operated on your network $0.0805 x ? Km = $ |
Example: The only traffic on your network is your organisation’s 20 return passenger excursions per year, each travelling 20km per excursion:
Example: The only traffic on your network is your organisation’s 500 freight shunting movements per year, each travelling 2km per movement:
Example: Your organisation, and other passenger train operators that use your network, travel a combined total of 1,000 km on your network:
|
| Added together to provide the total annual levy: | ||
| Total Annual Safety Levy to pay | Annual Fixed Safety Levy + Annual Variable Safety Levy = Total Annual Safety Levy |
|
Table 4
| Both a Licensed Operator and a Licensed Access Provider Note – most of our licence holders are both Rail Operators and Access Providers |
|
|
Annual Fixed Safety Levy - Access Provider Annual Fixed Safety Levy – Rail Operator |
$500 $500 |
| Annual Variable Safety Levy – Rail Operator (refer Table 2 above) |
$0.1611 x ? km = $ |
| Annual Variable Safety Levy – Access Provider (refer Table 3 above) |
$0.0805 x ? km = $ |
| Total Annual Safety Levy to pay | Annual Fixed Safety Levy + Annual Variable Safety Levy = Total Annual Safety Levy |
| Year | Transport Agency Safety Regulator staff (FTE) |
| 2013 | 5 |
| 2014 | 5 |
| 2015 | 8.9 |
| 2016 | 11.8 |
| 2017 | 11.8 |
| 2018 | 15.1 |
| 2019 - 2023 | 21 (preliminary forecast) |
|
Rail passenger activity 2016/17 (Indicative only)
Exempt – means those charitable or volunteer (not for profit and no paid staff) licensed rail participants proposed to be exempted from the variable safety levy. |
||||
| Licensee type | Number | Total rail passengers | Total passenger service kms | Total train kms |
| KiwiRail and Metro commuter | 3 | 32,700,000 | 7,836,128 | 21,421,824 |
| T&H NRS Non-Exempt | 4 | 94,000 | 136,000 | 136,000 |
| T&H NRS Exempt | 2 | 7,100 | 4,500 | 4,500 |
| T&H Non-NRS Non-Exempt | 21 | 1,480,000 | 189,000 | 189,000 |
| T&H Non-NRS Exempt | 23 | 162,000 | 39,000 | 39,000 |
