❓ Mr. Hill questions the continued charging of the Fire Service Levy by insurance companies despite the introduction of the Emergency Services Levy (ESL). The Minister clarifies the transitional arrangements and confirms the levy will cease on 1 January 2004.
AnsweredQoN 1783Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Will the Minister advise if insurance companies can still include a Fire Service Levy charge on notices?
(2) If so, when will it be withdrawn?
(3) If not, why not?
(2) If so, when will it be withdrawn?
(3) If not, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 September 2003
Responded by
Minister for Police and Emergency Services
Response time
36 days
The Fire and Emergency Services Authority advise:
(1 - 3) Insurance companies can charge the fire levy until 31 December 2003. This will cease on 1 January 2004. For example, if an insurance policy runs from July 03 until July 04, people will pay the fire service levy from July until 31 December 2003. The portion from 1 January 2004 onwards will not have any fire service levy applied.
For 2003/04 special arrangements have been made to enable the insurance fire levies to be phased out. As the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) was introduced from 1 July 2003, there is a six-month period when FESA is collecting part of its funds from both systems. To account for the money raised through insurance, the amount to be raised through the ESL this year has been reduced. People are not paying double, however, they are contributing a part contribution through their insurance and a part payment through the ESL.
There is legislation in place that will ensure insurance companies cease charging fire service levies from 1 January 2004. FESA is appointing a specialist to provide a quarterly audit and to prepare a report on insurance companies’ compliance. I am required to table this report by 30 June 2004.
(1 - 3) Insurance companies can charge the fire levy until 31 December 2003. This will cease on 1 January 2004. For example, if an insurance policy runs from July 03 until July 04, people will pay the fire service levy from July until 31 December 2003. The portion from 1 January 2004 onwards will not have any fire service levy applied.
For 2003/04 special arrangements have been made to enable the insurance fire levies to be phased out. As the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) was introduced from 1 July 2003, there is a six-month period when FESA is collecting part of its funds from both systems. To account for the money raised through insurance, the amount to be raised through the ESL this year has been reduced. People are not paying double, however, they are contributing a part contribution through their insurance and a part payment through the ESL.
There is legislation in place that will ensure insurance companies cease charging fire service levies from 1 January 2004. FESA is appointing a specialist to provide a quarterly audit and to prepare a report on insurance companies’ compliance. I am required to table this report by 30 June 2004.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.