EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 234

 

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Customs Act 1901

Customs (Prohibited Exports) Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2)

 

Subsection 270(1) of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides in part that the Governor‑General may make regulations not inconsistent with the Act prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed for giving effect to the Act.

Section 112 of the Act provides in part that the Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the exportation of goods from Australia and that the power may be exercised by prohibiting the exportation of goods absolutely or by prohibiting the exportation of goods unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with.

Subregulation 5(2) of the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (the Principal Regulations) prohibits the exportation from Australia of goods specified in Schedule 3 unless an approval to export the goods is obtained from the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the Minister) or an authorised officer. ‘Wheat’ is specified for the purposes of subregulation 5(2) in item 31 of Schedule 3 to the Principal Regulations.

Subregulation 5(4) of the Principal Regulations provides that subregulation 5(2) does not apply to the export of wheat by the company that is ‘nominated company B’ within the meaning of the Wheat Marketing Act 1989 (the Wheat Marketing Act). The note under subregulation 5(4) provides that the ‘nominated company B’ is AWB (International) Ltd.

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend the export controls on wheat in the Principal Regulations as a result of amendments made to the Wheat Marketing Act by the Wheat Marketing Amendment Act 2007 (Wheat Marketing Amendment Act). The Regulations remove the prohibition under the Principal Regulations on the exportation of wheat in bags or containers and replace the ‘nominated company B’ with the ‘designated company’.

Schedule 1 to the Regulations substitutes item 31 of the table in Schedule 3 to the Principal Regulations with a new item 31 which specifies ‘wheat (other than wheat in bags or containers)’. The Regulations have the effect that only wheat exported in bulk is prohibited under the Principal Regulations from being exported without the approval of the Minister or an authorised officer. Wheat exported in bags or containers is regulated by new Part 6 of the Wheat Marketing Act which was inserted by the Wheat Marketing Amendment Act.

Schedule 2 to the Regulations substitutes references to ‘nominated company B’ with ‘designated company’ in subregulation 5(4) of the Principal Regulations and removes the note after subregulation 5(4). The amendments made to the Wheat Marketing Act by the Wheat Marketing Amendment Act give the Minister the power to designate a company as the holder of the single desk export privilege under the Wheat Marketing Act. This company is known as the ‘designated company’. The Regulations reflect the change in terminology made in the Wheat Marketing Act from ‘nominated company B’ to ‘designated company’.

No consultation was undertaken specifically in relation to the Regulations as the Regulations were required as a result of amendments made to the Wheat Marketing Act.

Regulations 1 to 3 of the Regulations and Schedule 1 to the Regulations commence on the commencement of Schedule 4 to the Wheat Marketing Amendment Act, which is due to commence on the 60^th day after the day on which that Act received Royal Assent. As Royal Assent was received on 28 June 2007, regulations 1 to 3 of the Regulations and Schedule 1 to the Regulations commence on 27 August 2007. Schedule 2 to the Regulations commence on 1 March 2008. These commencement dates coincide with the commencement dates of the relevant schedules to the Wheat Marketing Amendment Act.

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