Operational Update10 July 2020
Important information about net proceeds retention, class 4 waivers and refundsOn 1 July, the Department advised that Government had introduced The Gambling (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2020 and Gambling (Class 4 Net Proceeds) Amendment Regulations 2020. Net proceeds retention can ONLY be used to build cash reservesFeedback and questions from the sector suggest there may be some misunderstanding about the new regulations concerning Class 4 net proceeds. Non-club societies are now able to retain enough gross proceeds to enable them to maintain a ratio of current assets to current liabilities of up to a maximum of 1.5:1. As per the 1 July Operational Update, this cash reserve MUST NOT be used to purchase fixed assets. This means that cash reserves should not be used to purchase gaming machines or gaming equipment. These new regulations enable societies to build up cash reserves and improve liquidity. Once the maximum 1.5:1 ratio has been attained, all distributions under regulations 10 and 11 are required to be returned to the community. The Department will continue to monitor societies’ activities, accounts and returns to ensure that cash reserves are not being used inappropriately and that returns to the
community are being maximised. Class 4 fees, waivers and refundsFor class 4 operators, the fees as set out in the new Regulation 19AA are waived for the period of 98 days, from 25 March to 30 June 2020. For fees paid on a pro-rata basis (e.g. compliance annual fees and the category B class 4 operator’s annual fee), operators will be refunded 98 days out of 366 (2020 being a leap year). For application fees, the fees payable for applications submitted during this 98-day period (from 25 March to 30 June 2020) will be waived. Applications submitted outside this period will attract full fees. All class 4 operators will receive some form of refund, but this will be managed separately from invoicing. The Department is currently calculating
the refunds and these will be staggered over the coming months. You should expect to receive your refund and fees invoices in due course. EMS feesThe Department is aware that the debiting of fees for electronic monitoring has not yet resumed. EMS fees did not apply for the period of inactivity during the Government’s Level 3 and Level 4 COVID-19 response. Fees are still owed for periods of activity (before and after the lockdown) that have not yet been debited. On 20 July 2020, you will be debited for your June 2020 cycle. On 20 August 2020, you will be debited for the following periods of activity:
After 20 August 2020, normal billing cycles will resume. |