EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 233

 

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

 

 

Quarantine Act 1908

 

Quarantine Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2)

 

Section 87 of the Quarantine Act 1908 (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 or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The Amendment Regulations vary the information that the master of a vessel or installation is required to provide in relation to the quarantine status of the ship or installation prior to its arrival at an Australian port.

Section 27A of the Act requires masters of overseas vessels or installations to cause prescribed information for pre-arrival and pre-departure reports to be given before arrival or departure, as appropriate, in a form approved by the Director of Quarantine within a prescribed period. An installation is a man-made structure that can be used for activities such as tourism, marine archaeology or exploiting natural resources. Subregulation 10(1) of the Quarantine Regulations 2000 (the Principal Regulations) sets out the prescribed pre-arrival information that must be provided by masters of overseas vessels and installations. Regulation 11 of the Principal Regulations prescribes the period within which the prescribed information must be given.

Section 28 of the Act provides that a quarantine officer may require a master or medical officer to answer questions about any prescribed matters relevant to an overseas vessel or installation. Regulation 18 of the Principal Regulations sets out the matters about which masters or medical officers must answer questions.

The information collected under sections 27A and 28 of the Act assists the Director of Quarantine and quarantine officers to make decisions under the Act about the quarantine measures to be applied to overseas vessels or installations and the people and goods on board to prevent or control the introduction, establishment or spread of diseases or pests into Australia. The information prescribed by subregulation 10(1) is also prescribed in regulation 18 as the powers under sections 27A and 28 of the Act are complementary. For example, section 28 of the Act allows quarantine officers to seek additional information if the information provided in a report under section 27A of the Act indicates that further investigation is needed.

The purpose of the Amendment Regulations is to:

·        amend the information required to be provided under subregulation 10(1) and regulation 18 of the Principal Regulations to improve the quality of information available to decision makers under the Act;

·        reframe the way some of the items are expressed in subregulation 10(1) and regulation 18 to ensure the effectiveness of the offence provisions under sections 27A and 28 of the Act; and

·        amend regulation 11 to require earlier reporting for the purposes of section 27A of the Act to improve the ability of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) to respond to any quarantine risks.

Consultation was undertaken in relation to the proposed Regulations with the AQIS/Industry Cargo Consultative Committee (the AICCC). The AICCC is comprised of representatives from AQIS and the cargo handling and importing industry. It is the principal advisory forum for consultation between AQIS and industry on quarantine issues arising from the management of seaports and clearance of imported goods. The AICCC was supportive of the proposed amendments. No Regulation Impact Statement is required because the proposed amendments are of a minor or machinery nature and do not substantially alter existing arrangements.

 

Details of the proposed Regulations are set out below.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.

 

The Amendment Regulations is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Amendment Regulations commence on 12 September 2007.

 

Details of the Quarantine Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2)

 

Regulation 1 provides that the name of the Regulations is the Quarantine Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2).

 

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on 12 September 2007.

 

Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Quarantine Regulations 2000.

 

Schedule 1 - Amendments

 

Item 1 amends the definition of container to reflect that the word does not have the meaning given by the Customs Convention on Containers, 1972, signed in Geneva on 2 December 1972 as affected by any amendments of the Convention that is in force on 23 June 2000 where this word is mentioned in regulations 10 and 18.

 

Item 2 amends the definition of Deratting Certificate and Deratting Exemption Certificate by updating the reference to the International Health Regulations.

 

Item 3 omits the definition of Decision Support System (DSS). This amendment is consequential on the removal of references to the DSS in the information prescribed in regulations 10 and 18. These references are no longer required because the DSS is no longer in use.

 

Item 4 amends the definition of health administration by updating the reference to the International Health Regulations.

 

 

Item 5 amends the definition of international certificate to mean a certificate issued pursuant to the International Health Regulations (1969) as existing on 14 June 2007.

 

Item 6 substitutes the definition of International Health Regulations. This removes any ambiguity as to which International Health Regulation is being referred. The International Health Regulations (1969), as in existence on 14 June 2007 have been replaced by the International Health Regulations (2005), as in existence on 15 June 2007. Member states have until 2012 to implement the International Health Regulations (2005). While the International Health Regulations (2005) are in force from 15 June 2007, there is an additional period of five years from this date for member states to further develop core capacities in surveillance and response at border crossings and more generally.

 

Item 7 provides a definition for the following terms in the Definitions section in Regulation 4;

 

·          overseas ship as a overseas vessel other than an aircraft,

·          Russian Far East Port previously, the definition for the expression was found within the relevant items in regulations 10 and 18. In addition, this item expands the range of ports included in this definition to reflect evidence that Asian Gypsy Moths are active within a broader region than previously described, and

·          ship sanitation certificate as a certificate issued under a law of a foreign country in accordance with the International Health Regulations (2005).

 

Item 8 substitutes a new table in subregulation 10 (1). This subregulation sets out the information that is prescribed for a vessel the hull proper of which is 25 metres or more, and for an installation for the purposes of section 27A of the Act. The effect of this substitution is to change to items in the table set out in the table below:

 

Current item	New item	Description of change
1	1	No change has been made to this item.
2	2	This item no longer requires information on ‘net and gross tonnage and deadweight’. The item now refers to ‘the hull proper (in metres) of the vessel’ as this information is more relevant to the assessment of quarantine risk.
3	-	This item has been deleted as it is no longer required.
4	3	This item no longer requires information on the last 6 ports of call as this information is no longer required. The item now requires information on the last port of call only.
5	4	No change has been made to this item.
6	5	This item changes the requirement for information on the next 3 ports of call in Australia, Christmas Island or the Cocos Islands to all ports of call in Australia, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands. This information is required to enable planning of inspections under the Act.
6A	6	This item requires additional information being the day and time estimated by the master of the vessel or installation when the crew members will be signing off. As a quarantine officer needs to be present when crew members disembark, this additional information assists in planning for this presence.
6B	7	This item requires additional information being the day and time estimated by the master of the vessel or installation when the passengers are disembarking. As a quarantine officer needs to be present when passengers disembark, this additional information assists in planning for this presence.
7	8	This item is substantially unchanged except for the removal of the definition of ‘Russian Far East Port’ to the Definitions regulation.
7A	9	This item is substantially unchanged except for the inclusion of Russia in paragraph (a) to reflect the fact that Russian ports now represent a quarantine risk in relation to Asian Gypsy Moth and to require in paragraph (b) that if the vessel or installation is cleared by a Russian authority, the date and time of departure from the Russian port be provided. This information is required because the time of year and the time of day would affect the assessment of the risk status of the vessel or installation.
8 and 8A	10	This item combines previous items 8 and 8A and extends the requirement for information from ‘grains’ to ‘seeds’ to reflect the quarantine risk that is posed by seeds (including grains).
-	11	This new item requires information on plants on board the vessel or installation, their location, health and condition. This information enables an assessment of the quarantine risk arising from plants and the soil in which they grow.
9	12	This item is substantially unchanged.
-	13	This new item is inserted to require information relating to whether or not a valid ship sanitation certificate for an overseas vessel has been issued by an authority of a foreign country, and if so the date and port of issue the certificate.
10	14	This item is substantially unchanged.
11	15	This item is substantially unchanged.
11A	16	This item extends the requirement for information on ‘a symptom prescribed by subregulation 6(1)’ to ‘a symptom’. The change requires information on all symptoms of illness, not just symptoms prescribed by subregulation 6(1).
12	17	This item clarifies that the information required includes animals that are part of the cargo because all animals may pose a quarantine risk.
13	18	This item is substantially unchanged.
14	19	This item extends the requirement for information on ‘bees’ to ‘insects’, because all insects may pose a quarantine risk. This item also extends the requirement for information relating to the location on board the vessel or installation when discovered and a description of the insect.
-	20	This new item to requires information on waste management on board the vessel or installation. Waste is a potential quarantine risk if it is not securely contained on board the vessel.
15-21E	21	Items 15-21E which required information about ballast water management on board the vessel or installation have been deleted and replaced by new item 21. New item 21 incorporates by reference the Australian Ballast Water Management Requirements and requires information to be provided on compliance with these Requirements.
22	22	This item is unchanged.

 

Item 9 amends the time in which a master of a vessel or installation is required to provide the pre arrival information prescribed in regulation 10 from between 48 and before 12 hours before the estimated time of arrival of the vessel or installation to between 96 hours and before 12 hours. The shipping industry requested this change. The effect of this amendment is to improve the ability of both AQIS and the Department of Health and Ageing to manage and plan for any potential human, animal or plant quarantine issues. It also brings AQIS into alignment with the practices of the Australian Customs Service.

 

Item 10 substitutes a new table in regulation 18 of the Principal Regulations. This regulation prescribes matters for the purposes of section 28 of the Act. The amendments to regulation 18 mirrors the amendments made to subregulation 10(1) of the Principal Regulations except for the retention of items 23 to 27 which are items 10 and 17-20 in the table in the existing regulation 18.

 

Item 11 omits notes 1 and 2 to subregulation 22A (4) of the Principal Regulations as a consequence of the removal of the items in the tables in regulations 10 and 18 relating to ballast water.

 

Item 12 substitutes the note to Regulation 24 to reflect that the reference to a Deratting Certificate or Deratting Exemption Certificate is as provided for in the International Health Regulations (1969).

 

Item 13 makes a minor and technical amendment to paragraph 24A(2)(d) of the Principal Regulations. This item removes a redundant reference. In particular, the item removed the words “containers or other”.