Australian Crime Commission Establishment Regulations 2002 2002 No. 325
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 2002 No. 325
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs
Subject: Australian Crime Commission Act 2002
Australian Crime Commission Establishment Regulations 2002
The Australian Crime Commission Establishment Act 2002 (the ACCE Act) received Royal Assent on 12 December 2002 and will commence on 1 January 2003. The ACCE Act will amend the National Crime Authority Act 1984 (NCA Act) to replace the National Crime Authority (NCA), Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence and the Office of Strategic Crime Assessments with the Australian Crime Commission (ACC). The amendments to the NCA Act include re-naming that Act as the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (the ACC Act).
Section 62 of the ACC Act empowers the Governor-General to make regulations prescribing all matters required or permitted by the ACC Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to that Act.
Subsection 4(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act amends another Act so that the amended Act will confer power to make legislative or administrative instruments (including regulations), but the amended Act does not come into operation immediately upon its enactment, such instruments may be made under the amended Act as if it had come into operation. However, those instruments can only take effect from the day on which the amended Act comes into effect.
The purpose of these Regulations is to amend the National Crime Authority Regulations 1984 consequential on the establishment of the ACC. The Regulations replace references to the NCA, the Authority, the Chair and NCA members, and NCA investigations with references to the ACC, examiners and ACC operations or investigations. The Regulations do not make any substantive changes.
The details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.
The Regulations will commence on the commencement of Schedule 1 to the ACCE Act, which is expected to be 1 January 2003.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Australian Crime Commission Establishment Regulations 2002
Item 1
This Item re-names the National Crime Authority Regulations as the Australian Crime Commission Regulations 2002.
Item 2
This Item replaces definitions of the NCA and the NCA Act with definitions of the ACC and the ACC Act.
Items 3 and 4
These Items make minor amendments to regulation 7 (which deals with the prescribed form for the service of a summons or a notice to produce) by replacing a reference to "a member or an acting member" with a reference to "an examiner". The amendments are consequential on the amendments to section 28 and 29 of the ACC Act which provide that examiners may issue summons to attend and notices to produce in lieu of members of the NCA.
Item 5
This Item renumbers Form 4 of the Schedule as Form 2.
Items 6 and 7
These Items repeal regulations 9 and 10 which dealt with the salary and allowances payable to the Chair of the NCA. The Chief Executive Officer of the ACC will be paid salary and allowances determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.
Item 8
This Item replaces regulation 11 (which prescribed the allowances payable to a member of the Authority other than the Chair) with a regulation prescribing the annual displacement allowance payable to an examiner of the ACC.
Items 9 and 10
These Items respectively make consequential amendments to the form for a search warrant issued under section 22, and the form for an arrest warrant issued under section 31, of the ACC Act.
Items 11 to 13
These Items make minor consequential amendments to the scale for the payment of witness expenses under section 26 of the ACC Act by replacing references to "the Authority" with references to an examiner.
Overview
The Australian Crime Commission Establishment Act 2002, which received Royal Assent on 12 December 2002 and commenced on 1 January 2003, was enacted to address the need for a unified crime authority in Australia. This Act, authorised by the Parliament of Australia, sought to streamline the functions of the National Crime Authority, the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence, and the Office of Strategic Crime Assessments into a single entity known as the Australian Crime Commission (ACC). The overarching policy objective of the Act was to enhance the coordination and effectiveness of Australia's efforts in combating serious and organised crime, both domestically and internationally. The Act amended the National Crime Authority Act 1984, re-naming it the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002, to facilitate this transition.
The Australian Crime Commission Establishment Regulations 2002 were subsequently made to align existing regulations with the establishment of the ACC. These regulations primarily involve renaming and re-reference adjustments, ensuring that all references to the National Crime Authority and its associated personnel and processes are updated to reflect the new ACC framework. While these regulations do not introduce substantive changes, they are critical for the smooth operational transition to the new crime authority, ensuring continuity and compliance with the legislative intent of the ACCE Act.
Scope and Application
The Australian Crime Commission Establishment Regulations 2002, made under section 62 of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002, are designed to bring existing regulations in line with the establishment of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) which replaced the National Crime Authority (NCA). These Regulations apply to the ACC and its examiners, ensuring that references to the NCA, its members, and its operations are updated to reflect the new structure and nomenclature. The geographic reach of these Regulations is national, given that the ACC is a Commonwealth entity. The Regulations do not introduce any new substantive changes but rather make necessary adjustments to terminology and processes to align with the new legislative framework. The Regulations will come into effect on 1 January 2003, the same date as the commencement of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002. The amendments include re-naming the National Crime Authority Regulations as the Australian Crime Commission Regulations, updating definitions, adjusting references from NCA members to ACC examiners, and modifying forms and allowances as required by the new legislative context.
Key Provisions
The Australian Crime Commission Establishment Regulations 2002 (the Regulations) amend the National Crime Authority Regulations 1984 to reflect the establishment of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) under the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (the ACC Act). These Regulations primarily serve to update terminology and references from the previous National Crime Authority (NCA) framework to the new ACC framework. For instance, Item 1 renames the National Crime Authority Regulations as the Australian Crime Commission Regulations 2002, and Item 2 updates definitions to reflect the ACC and the ACC Act instead of the NCA and the NCA Act. Additionally, Items 3 and 4 modify regulation 7 to reflect the new role of examiners who now have the authority to issue summons and notices to produce documents, previously the role of NCA members.
The Regulations impose certain obligations on the parties and entities governed by the ACC Act. For example, examiners now have the authority to issue summons and notices to produce documents, as per the amendments in Items 3 and 4. Furthermore, the Chief Executive Officer of the ACC will receive salary and allowances determined by the Remuneration Tribunal, as per Item 6 and 7, which repeal the previous provisions for the Chair of the NCA. Moreover, Items 9 and 10 update the forms for search and arrest warrants to align with the ACC Act, ensuring that all legal instruments issued under the Act are consistent with its provisions. These amendments ensure that the ACC operates within the framework established by the ACC Act.
Breaches of the Australian Crime Commission Establishment Regulations 2002 can lead to both civil and criminal consequences. Under the ACC Act, various offences are defined, including the misuse of authority by examiners, failure to comply with a summons or a notice to produce, and obstruction of ACC operations. Penalties for these offences can include substantial fines and imprisonment. For example, knowingly providing false or misleading information to an examiner can result in a fine of up to $21,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both, as per section 106 of the ACC Act. Additionally, serious offences such as wilful obstruction of ACC operations can lead to fines of up to $105,000 or imprisonment for up to five years, or both. These penalties underscore the seriousness with which the law treats violations of the ACC Act and its regulations.