Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]


AVIATION TRANSPORT SECURITY AMENDMENT REGULATION 2012 (NO. 6) (SLI NO 304 OF 2012)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2012 No. 304

 

 
Subject -         Aviation Transport Security Act 2004
 
Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 6)

 

The Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 (the Act) establishes a regulatory framework to protect the security of civil aviation in Australia.

 

Section 133 of the Act provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

Section 28A of the Act provides that regulations may be made to prescribe different categories of security controlled airports. Subsection 28(6) allows the Secretary to place an airport in a category prescribed in the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 (the Principal Regulations).

 

The Regulation amends the Principal Regulations by:

a)      Inserting regulation 1.05A to reaffirm the term category to mean a security controlled airport as specified by subsection 28(6) of the Act

b)      Removing from regulation 3.01B the reference to 'temporary' from the description of Category 7 security controlled airports, so that the description better describes the power of the Secretary to prescribe an airport as a Category 7 security controlled airport; and

c)      Making minor consequential amendments.

 

Section 9A of the Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify items for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of prohibited item in section 9. Section 9 of the Act defines a prohibited item as:

a)      an item that could be used for unlawful interference with aviation; and

b)      an item that is specified in an instrument under section 9A.

 

The Minister has now specified, by legislative instrument, a list of prohibited items in the Aviation Transport Security (Prohibited Items) Instrument 2012.  This means regulation 1.07 of the Principal Regulations now contains a superseded list of prohibited items.

 

The Regulation amends the Principal Regulations to omit regulation 1.07.

 

Section 16 of the Act provides that regulations may prescribe matters to be dealt with in a Transport Security Program for a particular class of a particular kind of aviation industry participant.

 

The Regulation amends the Principal Regulations at regulation 2.23 so that TSP requirements for barriers only apply to aviation industry participants who are airport operators of designated airports.

 

Section 44 of the Act provides that the regulations may, for the purpose of safeguarding against unlawful interference with aviation, prescribe requirements for screening, receiving clearance, and the circumstances in which this is required. As such, the Principal Regulations outline a number of measures that must be undertaken in order to ensure the achievement of the aviation security outcomes including requirements for specific security processes for the screening of people and things.

 

The Regulation amends regulations 4.01 and 4.02 of the Principal Regulations to:

a)      Specify the application of an operational period to be applied to Category 1 security controlled airports only. This allows other categories of security controlled airports to achieve the prescribed aviation security outcomes through local arrangements which ensure the segregation of screened and unscreened people and things; and

b)      Make minor consequential amendments such as removing redundant reference to 30,000 kg maximum take-off weight of an aircraft.

 

Section 94(2)(a) of the Act provides that regulations must prescribe the training and qualification requirements for a person authorised or required to conduct screening as a screening officer.

 

The Regulation amends section 5.06(b) by removing the requirement that screening officers require a state security guard licence to perform their duties. This amendment assists the broadening of the screener recruitment pool.

 

Details of the Regulation are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Regulation would be a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Act does not impose any conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Regulation may be exercised.

 

The Regulation commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

 

 

 

Authority:       Section 133 of the

Aviation Transport Security Act 2004

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 6)
 
 

Section 1 - Name of Regulation

 

This section provides that the title of the Regulation is the Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 6).

 

Section 2 - Commencement

 

This section provides for the Regulation to commence on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

Section 3 - Amendment of Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005

 

This section provides that the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 are amended as set out in the Schedule.

 

Schedule 1 - Amendments

 

Item [1] - After Regulation 1.05A

 

This insertion clarifies the reference to the term category within the regulations as meaning a security controlled airport allocated to a specific category by the Secretary under subsection 28(6) of the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004.

 

Item [2] - Regulation 1.07

 

This amendment omits section 1.07 from the Principal Regulations.  This change removes a superseded list of prohibited items as the current list is now specified by the Aviation Transport Security (Prohibited Items) Instrument 2012.

 

Items [3] and [4] - Regulation 2.23

 

Regulation 2.23 currently sets out the TSP requirements for barriers that apply to the 11 listed airports.  This item amends regulation 2.23 to clarify that the TSP requirements will apply to airports that are defined as a 'designated airport' under regulation 1.03.  The effect of this change will be that this regulation will no longer apply to Alice Springs Airport as it was removed from the definition of 'designated airport' by Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1).

 

Item [5] - Regulation 3.01B, table, Category 7, column 2

 

This amendment removes the reference to Category 7 being a temporary category. This will avoid any lack of clarification that Category 7 enables the Secretary the ability to assign any airport to this category should it require tailored aviation security arrangements.  This provides greater flexibility to regional and remote airports, particularly for managing closed charter services, where screening services may need to be applied intermittently.

 

Items [6] and [7] - Regulation 4.01

 

This amendment removes reference to specific airports by name to confirm the regulation covering operational period is applied to Category 1 security controlled airports.

 

Item [8] - Subregulation 4.02 (1)

 

The amendment removes a redundant reference to 30,000 kg maximum take-off weight in regulation 4.02(1) as the trigger for security screening.

 

Item [9] - Subregulation 4.02 (2)

 

The amendment removes the application of the existing regulation 4.02(2) from those aircraft not departing from a category 1 security controlled airport. Compliance with other existing regulations (regulations 2.17(2)(g) and (h), 2.35(1)(b), 3.04, 3.15(3)(d) and (e)) will ensure that screened and unscreened passengers are segregated so that the integrity of the screened air service is maintained without necessarily impacting on other departing aircraft that do not require screening. 

 

Item [10] - Regulation 5.06

 

The amendment of Regulation 5.06(b) removes the requirement that screening officers require a state security guard licence in order to perform their duties.

 

Removal of the guarding licence requirement will greatly assist in broadening the screener recruitment pool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

 

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 6)

 

The Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

 

Overview of the Instrument

 

The Instrument will amend the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 to correct a number of redundant and inconsistent provisions, specifically:

 

a)      Amendments to sections covering airport classification 1.05, 3.01, 4.01 and 4.02, which provide clarification to the purpose and intent of the airport classification model as prescribed in the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 (the Act), as well as removing provisions which are obsolete through dated regulatory clauses;

 

b)      Amendments to omit section 1.07 - the list of Prohibited Items, by removing the superseded list of prohibited items. The correct list of prohibited items is now found in the Aviation Transport Security (Prohibited Items) Instrument; and

 

c)      Amendments to section 2.23 to remove an obsolete list of airports when referring to Transport Security Plan requirements for separation barriers.

 

Additional amendments proposed by the Instrument include the removal, at regulation 5.06(b), of the requirement that screening officers require a state security guard licence in order to perform their duties. Removing the guarding licence requirement and replacing this with a requirement to hold a Certificate II in Aviation Transport Protection will greatly assist in broadening the screener recruitment pool and is intended to improve the skill base of the screener workforce.

 

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

 

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport


AustLII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback