Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1995 NO. 89

STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 89

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Small Business, Customs and Construction

Customs Act 1901

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 50 of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides in part that:

"(1)       The Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the importation of goods into Australia.

(2)       The power conferred by the last preceding subsection may be exercised -...(a) by prohibiting the importation of goods absolutely; ......or (c) by prohibiting the importation of goods unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with.

(3)       Without limiting the generality of paragraph (2)(c), the regulations -...(a) may provide that the importation of goods is prohibited unless a licence, permission, consent or approval to import the goods or a class of goods in which the goods are included has been granted as prescribed by the regulations; and...".

The Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations (the Regulations) control the importation of goods specified in the various regulations or the Schedules to the Regulations, by prohibiting importation absolutely, or making the importation subject to the permission of a Minister or a specified person.

Pursuant to section 50 of the Act:

(i)        regulation 3 of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations prohibits the importation into Australia of goods specified in Schedule 1 absolutely,

(ii)       subregulation 4(1) of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations prohibits the importation into Australia of goods specified in Schedule 2 unless the permission in writing of the Minister or an authorised person to import the goods has been granted, and

(iii)       subregulation 4(2) of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations prohibits the importation into Australia of the goods specified in the second column of Part 1 of Schedule 3 unless the conditions, restrictions or requirements specified in the third column of that Schedule opposite to the description of the goods are complied with.

The Regulations exempt the goods:

(i)       in items 24 and 25 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations from regulation 3,

(ii)       in items 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 181), 19, 19A, 21, 23, 26 and 29A of Schedule 2 to the Regulations from subregulation 4(1), and

(iii)        in items 5, 6 and 7 of Schedule 3 to the Regulations from subregulation 4(2) where the defence force of a country listed in new regulation 3A is the owner of such goods and that defence force, or, a member of that defence force to whom the goods were issued, imported the goods into Australia.

The amendments to the Regulations give effect to a request by the Government to exempt visiting foreign defence forces from certain import and export controls regarding their defence equipment when such forces arrive in and subsequently depart Australia for the purpose of defence activities such as combined exercises and training.

The list of countries which benefit from the exemptions are those 14 "favoured" nations with whom Australia has joint Defence Force agreements and which previously were permitted to import defence goods under a licence regime.

Further amendments to the Regulations are the result of a request by the Government to change the control on crossbows to include only pistol crossbows. This request in turn was endorsed by the Australasian Police Ministers' Council meeting which took place on 26 May 1994. It exempts from the control those goods currently listed at item ISC under Schedule 2 to the Regulations, being crossbows, crossbow darts and crossbow bolts and instead only prohibit the importation of pistol crossbows unless the permission in writing of the Minister or an authorised person has been granted.

Subregulation 2.1 omits regulation 3 and substitutes new regulation 3, the effect of which is to exempt prohibited firearms and parts for prohibited firearms from the prohibited imports controls, provided that those firearms meet the criteria set out in hew regulation 3A.

New regulation 3A sets out criteria in paragraphs (a) and (b) with which prohibited firearms and parts for prohibited firearms under new subregulation 3(2), and the goods mentioned in new subregulations 4(1AAA) and 4(3) below, must comply in order that the importation of such goods will not be prohibited. The new regulation effectively exempts from the reach of the prohibited imports controls weaponry and firearms which would normally be subject to the controls, where such goods are imported by the defence forces of certain overseas countries.

New paragraph 3A(a) stipulates that a condition of the goods in subregulations 3(2), 4(1AAA) and 4(3) being exempt from the prohibited imports controls is that the defence force of a country listed in that paragraph must be the owner of the goods mentioned in new subregulations 3(2), 4(1AAA) and 4(3). The defence forces listed in paragraph (a) belong to the countries with which Australia has entered into agreements with respect to defence activities.

New paragraph 3A(b) stipulates; the second criterion with which the goods in subregulations 3(2), 4(1AAA) and 4(3) must comply in order that those goods be exempt from the prohibited imports controls. The goods must be imported into Australia by the defence force which owns the goods, or by a member of that defence force to whom the goods were issued.

Subregulation 3.1 is a technical drafting amendment to subregulation 4(1). It omits the phrase "The importation" and substitutes "Subject to subregulation (1AAA), the importation" so that the importation into Australia of the goods specified in Schedule 2 is not now prohibited despite the permission in writing of the Minister or an authorised person not being obtained, provided that new subregulation (1AAA), below, applies to those goods.

Subregulation 3.2 inserts new subregulation 4(1AAA) after subregulation 4(1).

New subregulation 4(1AAA) exempts from the prohibited imports controls in Schedule 2 certain defence type goods. The items specified incorporate goods the use of which would be required by the visiting defence forces, such as grenades, daggers and body armour. Such goods are not now caught as prohibited imports provided that they meet the criteria set out in new regulation 3 A, above.

Subregulation 3.3 is a technical drafting amendment to subregulation 4(2). It omits "The importation" and substitutes "Subject to subregulation (3), the importation" so that if the conditions in subregulation (3) relating to exempt firearms, silencers and detachable magazines being owned and imported by a listed visiting defence force are met, those goods do not require the conditions imposed by the third column of Schedule 3, in which those goods are listed, to be met and thus those goods are not prohibited imports.

Subregulation 3.4 adds subregulation 4(3) at the end of regulation 4. New subregulation 4(3) defines the conditions which the goods identified in proposed subregulation 3.3 must meet in order to avoid the prohibited imports controls.

Subregulation 4(3) states that the safety testing conditions specified in the third column of Schedule 3 to the Regulations do not have to be complied with when the goods imported are exempt firearms, silencers and detachable magazines and those goods are imported by one of the 14 visiting defence forces specified in new regulation 3A.

Subregulation 4.1 omits from item 18C in Schedule 2 to the Regulations "Crossbows, crossbow darts and crossbow bolts" and substitutes "Pistol crossbows" so that the type of crossbow which is a prohibited import is more specific. This now exempts from the control the more traditional crossbow which is most commonly used by sporting associations and is not now regarded as a sufficient threat to the community to warrant a prohibited import control.

The regulations commenced on gazettal.

Authority: Section 112 of the Customs Act 1901