Hi everyone,
I got an email from MRT regarding changes to prospecting licence application fees:
Updated prospecting licence application fees
The Mineral Resources Regulations 2016 were set up for prospecting licence application fee units to reflect the cost of a one-year licence, as were the provisions in the Act at the time of creation. The fee for prospecting licence applications has been set at 20 fee units per application, since at least 2006.
In 2017, the Act was updated to authorise for prospecting licences to be issued for up to five years (s.113). However, the current Regulations can only set the prescribed fee on a per application basis, regardless of the duration of the licence. Effectively since 2017, prospecting licensees have been given a grace period and have been getting a five-year licence for the cost of a one-year licence.
Under the 2026 Regulations, prospecting licence application fees will reflect the 2017 changes to the Act, and fees will align with the term of the licence issued. Importantly, the annual fee unit has remained the same, at 20 fee units per year, as has been the prescribed unit fee since at least 2006.
Other changes are:
- Inclusion of additional minerals to schedule four reflecting increased interest in critical minerals and strategic materials.
- Inclusion of a fee on a cost recovery basis for the inspection of the mining register on a per tenement basis.
- Update the regulations provision for the charging of a fee for the collection of royalites to fee units, rather than a % of royalty, to align with the requirements of the Fee Unit Act 1997.
- Administrative changes to strengthen the regulation and make them easier to interpret.
If I’m reading this correctly, it looks like they’re updating the cost of licences to be 5x the cost that they are.
I think this is unwise, there are already no repercussions for prospecting without a licence, and MRT seem to not be interested in prosecuting dredgers and other people blatantly breaking the rules, which means the only people who bother to pay for a licence are essentially just those like us trying to do the right thing.
By comparison, Victorian 10-year Miners Rights are under $30, and Western Australian ones are about the same for a lifetime licence.
The letter did not say whether there will be any kind of public discussion about this.