Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED EXPORTS) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2002 (NO. 4) 2002 NO. 205

STATUTORY RULES 2002 No. 205

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Customs Act 1901

Customs (Prohibited Exports) Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4)

Section 270 of the Customs Act 1901 (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 for giving effect to the Act.

Section 112 of the Act provides in part that the Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the exportation of goods from Australia and that power may be exercised by prohibiting the exportation of goods absolutely or by prohibiting the exportation of goods unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with.

The Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (the PE Regulations) control the exportation of the goods specified in the various regulations or the Schedules to the Regulations, by prohibiting exportation absolutely, or by making exportation subject to the permission of a Minister or an authorised person.

The purpose of the amending Regulations is to prohibit absolutely the exportation of devices that are designed or customized to be used by a person to commit suicide or to be used by a person to assist another to commit suicide. The amending Regulations also prohibit absolutely the exportation of documents which:

•       promote the use of such devices; or

•       counsel or incite a person to commit suicide using such devices; or

•       instruct a person how to commit suicide using such devices.

The Government considers that the exportation of these goods from Australia is not in the public interest.

The amending Regulations commenced on gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

Customs (Prohibited Exports) Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4)

Regulation 1 - Name of Regulations

Regulation 1 provides for the regulations to be named the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4)

Regulation 2 - Commencement

Regulation 2 provides for the regulations to commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 - Amendment of Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958

Regulation 3 provides for the PE Regulations to be amended as set out in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1       Amendments

Item 1 - After Part 3, Division 4

item 1 creates a new Division 5 in the PE Regulations entitled 'Devices and documents relating to suicide'. Item 1 also inserts new regulation 13GA which prohibits the exportation of certain devices and documents relating to suicide. New subregulation 13GA(1) prohibits absolutely the exportation of a device which is designed or customised to be used by a person to commit suicide, or to be used by a person to assist another person to commit suicide.

This regulation does not prohibit the exportation of goods which might be used to commit suicide but which have not been designed or customised for that purpose.

New subregulation 13GA(2) would prohibit absolutely the exportation of documents that:

•       promote the use of such devices; or

•       counsel or incite a person to commit suicide using such a device; or

•       instruct a person how to commit suicide using such a device.

The term 'document' is defined in the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as follows:

document includes:

(a)       any paper or other material on which there is writing;

(b)       any paper or other material on which there are marks, figures, symbols or perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them; and

(c)       any article or material from which sounds, images or writings are capable of being reproduced with or without the aid of any other article or device.

Therefore, videos or CD ROMs which promote the use of devices referred to in subregulation 13GA(1) are prohibited.