Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) This section applies if the Minister designates a country to be a regional processing country under subsection 198AB(1).
(2) The Minister must cause to be laid before each House of the Parliament:
(a) a copy of the designation; and
(b) a statement of the Minister's reasons for thinking it is in the national interest to designate the country to be a regional processing country, referring in particular to any assurances of a kind referred to in paragraph 198AB(3)(a) that have been given by the country; and
(c) a copy of any written agreement between Australia and the country relating to the taking of persons to the country; and
(d) a statement about the Minister's consultations with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in relation to the designation, including the nature of those consultations; and
(e) a summary of any advice received from that Office in relation to the designation; and
(f) a statement about any arrangements that are in place, or are to be put in place, in the country for the treatment of persons taken to the country.
(3) The Minister must comply with subsection (2) within 2 sitting days of each House of the Parliament after the day on which the designation is made.
(4) The sole purpose of laying the documents referred to in subsection (2) before the Parliament is to inform the Parliament of the matters referred to in the documents and nothing in the documents affects the validity of the designation. Similarly, the fact that some or all of those documents do not exist does not affect the validity of the designation.
(5) A failure to comply with this section does not affect the validity of the designation.
(6) In this section, agreement includes an agreement, arrangement or understanding:
(a) whether or not it is legally binding; and
(b) whether it is made before, on or after the commencement of
this section.