Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2011 (NO. 2) (SLI NO 173 OF 2011)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2011 No. 173

 

Subject -              Customs Act 1901

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Amendment Regulations 2011 (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 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 50 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the importation of goods into Australia.  The power may be exercised by prohibiting the importation of goods absolutely, or by prohibiting the importation of goods unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with. 

 

The Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (the Principal Regulations) control the importation of the goods specified therein, by prohibiting importation absolutely, or making importation subject to the permission of a Minister or a delegate. 

 

Schedule 6 of the Principal Regulations sets out the requirements for the importation of firearms, firearm accessories, firearm parts, firearms magazines, ammunition, components of ammunition and imitations.

 

The purpose of the amending Regulation was to amend the Principal Regulations by adding a new limb to the 'Specified purposes test'.  This new limb will enable the Minister or a delegate to grant permission to foreign law enforcement agencies invited to participate in a 'law enforcement sanctioned activity' by the government of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory to import firearms for use in that specified 'law enforcement sanctioned activity' if certain criteria are met. 

 

This new limb mirrors the 'defence sanctioned activity test' currently found in the Regulations.  The intention was to provide the same conditions to invited 'law enforcement agencies' as to invited defence forces recognising that there is now greater interaction between law enforcement agencies, for example, in undertaking joint training exercises on Australian soil, and to assist with providing security at large events under Australian operational control. 

 

To be eligible to import Schedule 6 articles under the 'law enforcement sanctioned activity test', law enforcement agencies must be invited by the government of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.  To be a 'law enforcement sanctioned activity' the event must be approved by the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police or the State or Territory Police or the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department. 

 

It is not intended that a 'law enforcement sanctioned activity' be approved by a Secretary or a Deputy Secretary of a State or Territory Attorney-General's Department.  The Commonwealth Attorney-General has specifically been included as he / she is the most appropriate person for considering invitations for the purposes of National Counter Terrorism Committee (NCTC) training. 

 

Law enforcement agencies are intentionally not defined so as to allow the flexibility to recognise entities who may not be a 'law enforcement agency' as per Australian definitions, but who may be a law enforcement agency in their country. 

 

The Act specified no conditions that needed to be satisfied before the power to make the amending Regulations was exercised.

 

Public consultation was not necessary as the amending Regulations were machinery in nature, removing ambiguity around the current legal position of the Commonwealth Government to authorise importation of controlled firearms for the purposes of law enforcement sanctioned training or performing of operational duties.

 

The amending Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The amending Regulations commenced on the day after they were registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

 

Authority: Section 270 of the Customs Act 1901

 


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