EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for the Environment)
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Amendment to List of CITES Species
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the protection of the environment, including wildlife that may be adversely affected by trade, and the implementation of Australia’s international environmental responsibilities.
Section 303CA of the Act provides for a list of species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (the Convention) for the purposes of the Act (the list). Under subsection 303CA (3) of the Act, the list must include all species from time to time included in any of Appendices I, II and III to the Convention. Subsections 303CA (9)(a), (9)(b) and (9)(c) of the Act provide that the Minister may amend the list, as necessary to: correct an inaccuracy or update the name of a species; ensure that the list includes all species required to be included in the list; and ensure that the notations in the list are consistent with the Convention.
The majority of amendments outlined in this instrument correct the taxonomic name of species which have been reclassified due to new scientific information. Changes include assigning the species in the appropriate taxonomic grouping i.e. class, order or family. Other amendments:
- correct the notation for a species where the Convention has agreed to impose limits for items eligible for personal and household effects exemptions
- amend the notation of an Appendix III species where there has been an error in the way the species was included on the list, and
- add a taxon that is listed under the Convention but was not included in, or removed from, the list due to an administrative error.
The purpose of this instrument is to effect these amendments.
The amendments put into effect by this instrument are considered to have minimal impact on industry as the species are either already regulated, or there is very limited, or no, trade in these species.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation, Department of Finance and Deregulation, has advised that the proposed changes are minor in nature and that a Regulatory Impact Statement is not required for these amendments.
The Department of the Environment did not seek the views of other stakeholders, as the changes are machinery in nature, and state/territory and Commonwealth agencies previously agreed to amendments when they were originally adopted.
The instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The instrument commenced on the day after it was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Authority: sections 303CA (9) (a), (b) and (c) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.