Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION (SAFEGUARDS) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2002 (NO. 1) 2002 NO. 227

Statutory Rules 2002 No. 227

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Foreign Affairs

Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987

Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 1)

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987 ("the Act") gives effect to certain of Australia's obligations under international agreements relating to the peaceful use of nuclear material and facilities, including the Safeguards Agreement between Australia and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) pursuant to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and various bilateral safeguards agreements.

Section 74 of the Act provides 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 70 of the Act provides that actions authorised by the Act, for example the making of regulations to give effect to international agreements, are authorised only to the extent they are not inconsistent with Australia's obligations under the relevant international agreements. Relevant international agreements are listed in subsections 70(4) and (5) of the Act, or are prescribed by regulation for this purpose. Schedule 1 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Regulations 1987 (the principal regulations) lists the international agreements that are prescribed for the purposes of the Act.

Over the last fourteen months the Government of Australia has entered into the following Agreements and Exchange of Notes: The Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Czech Republic on Co-operation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and the Transfer of Nuclear Material done at Prague on 27 July 2001; the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Hungary on Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and the Transfer of Nuclear Material done at Budapest on 8 August 2001; and the Exchange of Notes constituting an Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America concerning Cooperation on the Application of Non Proliferation Assurances (on the retransfer of Australian obligated nuclear material to Taiwan) done at Washington on 31 July 2001.

In order to ensure implementation of the Act is consistent with these new Agreements and Exchange of Notes, they must be made prescribed international agreements for the purposes of the Act. The purpose of the proposed Regulations is to amend the principal regulations to include as "prescribed international agreements" in terms of the Act the above mentioned Agreements and Exchange of Notes.

The Regulations commence on gazettal.