Gig workers can be considered independent contractors or employees, or sometimes the platform operator is classed as an employment agent. It depends on the business structure and the workers’ employment relationship. Click the arrow to read the new ‘Gig economy businesses’ page.
An application for an exemption must be made to the Minister of Resources by the holder of the mining lease. A request for exemption may be submitted if:
the minerals are ‘publicly owned minerals’, meaning they are owned by the Crown and
the value of minerals recovered in a 12 month period is less than $2,000 or, if the period is less than 12 months, the value of minerals recovered is the same proportion of $2,000 that the period is to 365 days.
If the royalty period was 3 months, e.g. March, April and May, this would equate to 92 days.
For an exemption to apply, the value of minerals recovered would have to be $504.11 or less.
If $2,000 is the appropriate amount for 12 months or 365 days, then 1 day will be $5.47945.
In the same proportion, a 92 day royalty period works out to be $504.11.
Coal reject
Coal reject is ‘the by-product of the mining or processing of coal that contains a mixture of coal and other substances (such as shale) and has either:
an energy value (the maximum energy capable of being produced by it on combustion) of less than 16 gigajoules per tonne (dry weight), or
contains more than 35 per cent ash (by dry weight)’.
The holder of the mining lease or sublease must pay royalty on the coal in coal reject only when the coal reject is used or disposed of for energy producing purposes.
If you are required to pay royalty on coal reject, you must apply to the Minister for Resources for a determination of the rate of royalty that applies to the coal reject.
Recovery of petroleum from the coal mining lease area
If you hold a coal mining lease, you may lodge an application with the Secretary of the Department of Planning and Environment to have petroleum included in the coal mining lease.
If this is approved, you may recover petroleum from that lease area, but you will have to pay royalty on the petroleum recovered.
This will be a separate royalty return from your coal royalty return.
A tax default occurs if royalty is not paid by the due date. When tax defaults occur, interest and penalties are applied.
Tax default is defined in the Taxation Administration Act 1996. It means a failure by a taxpayer (for royalty purposes, this is the holder of the mining lease/sub-lease or petroleum title) to pay, in accordance with a taxation law, the whole or part of tax that the taxpayer is liable to pay.