Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED EXPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1992 NO. 414

STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 414

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Small Business, Construction and Customs

Customs Act 1901

Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 112 of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides in part that:

"1)        The Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the exportation of goods from Australia.

2)        The power conferred by subsection (1) may be exercised - ... (c) by prohibiting the exportation of goods unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with.

3)       Without limiting the generality of paragraph (2)(c), the Regulations - ... (a) may provide that the exportation of the goods is prohibited unless a licence, permission, consent or approval to export the goods or a class of goods in which the goods are included has been granted as prescribed by the regulations; and ..."

The Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (the Pro-export Regulations) control the exportation of the goods specified in the various regulations or the Schedules to the Regulations, by prohibiting exportation absolutely, or making exportation subject to the permission of a Minister of State or a specified person.

The Regulations implement two reforms to the prohibited exports regime.

The first reform takes into account commentary made by the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances that the delegation power provided by Statutory Rules 1991, No. 288 in respect of regulations 8 and 10 of the Pro-export Regulations is too broad and should be narrowed. Regulations 8 and 10 prohibit the exportation of certain goods unless the permission of the Secretary of the Department of Health, Housing and Community Services or an authorised person is first obtained. Authorised person is then defined as a person authorised in writing by the Secretary. The Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances considered this power of authorisation to be too wide, and recommended that it should be limited to persons employed in the Department of Health, Housing and Community Services.

The second reform concerns regulation 12 and Schedule 10 which give effect to the Australia - United States Steel Voluntary Restraint Arrangement (VRA) by prohibiting the exportation of steel mill and basic steel products unless the permission of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade or an authorised person is first obtained. With the expiration of the VRA, it is considered appropriate to remove those export controls by omitting regulation 12 and Schedule 10.

The Regulations, which commence on Gazettal, implement these reforms as follows:

Regulation 1 provides that the Pro-export Regulations are amended by the Regulations.

Regulation 2 limits the delegation power of the Secretary of the Department of Health, Housing And Community Services in respect of regulation 8 of the Pro-export Regulations by ensuring an authorised person for the purposes of the regulation is both authorised in writing by the Secretary and is employed in the Department of Health, Housing and Community Services,

Regulation 3 provides for the same limitation on the Secretary's power of delegation as regulation 2 in respect of regulation 10 of the Pro-export Regulations.

Regulation 4 omits regulation 12 of the Pro-export Regulations to give effect to the expiration of the VRA.

Regulation 5 omits Schedule 10 of the Pro-export Regulations consequential upon the repeal of regulation 12.