Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS (COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGENTS) REGULATIONS 1997NO. 175

Statutory Rules 1997 No. 175

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Communications and the Arts

Telecommunications Act 1997

Telecommunications (Compliance with International Agents) Regulations

Section 594 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations:

(a)       required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed; or

(b)       necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Clause 13 of Schedule 3 to the Act provides that if a telecommunications carrier engages in an activity covered by Division 2, 3 or 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 3 (dealing with inspection of land and installation. and maintenance of telecommunications facilities), the carrier must do so in a manner that is consistent with Australia's obligations under a listed international agreement that is relevant to the activity. 'Listed international agreement' is defined in clause 2 of Schedule 3 to the Act to mean an international agreement specified in the regulations.

The purpose of the accompanying regulations is to specify as 'listed international agreements' a wide range of international agreements, principally relating to environmental and heritage matters, with which telecommunications carriers will be required to comply.

Regulation 1 -Citation

Regulation 1 provides for the citation of the accompanying regulations as the Telecommunications (Compliance with International Agreements) Regulations.

Regulation 2 - Commencement

Regulation 2 provides for the accompanying regulations to commence on 1 July 1997. This is the date that Schedule 3 to the Act commences.

Regulation 3 and Schedule - Listed international agreements

Regulation 3 provides that for the purposes of the definition of 'listed international agreement' in clause 2 of Schedule 3 to the Act, an agreement mentioned in the Schedule to the accompanying regulations is a listed international agreement.

The Schedule specifies as 'listed international agreements' a wide range of international agreements, principally relating to environmental and heritage matters, with which telecommunications carriers will be required to comply when engaging in an activity covered by Division 2, 3 or 4 of Pan 1 of Schedule 3 (dealing with inspection of land and installation and maintenance of telecommunications facilities).

The list in the Schedule is based on the list in Schedule 4 to the Telecommunications National Code 19916. This Code will cease to operate with the repeal on 1 July 1997 of the Telecommunications Act 1991.