Explanatory Statement

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Foreign Affairs

Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011

 Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons – Syria) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2025 

Section 28 of the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (the Regulations) commenced on
15 December 2011. The purpose of the Regulations is to facilitate the conduct of Australia’s relations with certain countries, and with specific entities or persons outside Australia, through the imposition of autonomous sanctions in relation to those countries, or targeting those entities or persons.

The Regulations make provision for, among other things, the making and revocation of designations of persons or entities for the purpose of applying targeted financial sanctions, and for declarations of persons for the purposes of imposing a travel ban. Regulation 6 of the Regulations enables the Minister for Foreign Affairs (the Minister) to, among other things, designate entities if satisfied that the entity is providing support to the Syrian regime and/or the entity is responsible for human rights abuses in Syria. Once designated:

• the designated person or entity becomes the object of the prohibition in regulation 14 (which prohibits directly or indirectly making an asset available to, or for the benefit of, a designated person or entity, other than as authorised by a permit granted under regulation 18); and
• an asset owned or controlled by a designated person or entity is a ‘controlled asset’, becomes subject to the prohibition in regulation 15 (which prohibits a person who holds a controlled asset from either using or dealing with that asset, or allowing it to be used or dealt with, or facilitating the use of or dealing with it, other than as authorised by a permit granted under regulation 18).

Designated and declared persons, and designated entities, in relation to Syria are listed in the Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons – Syria) List 2012 (the 2012 List). The Minister has the discretion under regulation 10 of the Regulations to revoke a designation or declaration.

This instrument amends the 2012 List to revoke the designation of COMMERCIAL BANK OF SYRIA and SYRIAN LEBANESE COMMERCIAL BANK (together the Entities).

The purpose of this instrument is to remove the financial restrictions currently in place on the Entities.

Details of the amendments are set out in Attachment A.

For 15J(2)(e) of the Legislation Act 2003, no public consultation was undertaken in relation to the Amendment Regulation, as it is an instrument that is of minor regulatory impact as it removes, and does not add to, the legislative obligations on the Australian community. These amendments were subject to consultation within government and there were no other persons with whom it was appropriate or reasonably practicable to undertake consultation. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade conducts regular outreach to the Australian business community to explain sanctions laws implementing Australia’s autonomous sanctions.

The Office of Impact Analysis (OIA) has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required (reference: OIA25-09967 and OBPR22-02078).

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the

Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities – Syria) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2025

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

Designated and declared persons, and designated entities, in relation to Syria are listed in the Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons – Syria) List 2012 (the 2012 List). The Minister has the discretion under regulation 10 of the Regulations to revoke a designation or declaration.

This instrument amends the 2012 List to revoke the designation of COMMERCIAL BANK OF SYRIA and SYRIAN LEBANESE COMMERCIAL BANK (together the Entities).

The purpose of this instrument is to remove the financial restrictions currently in place on the Entities.

Human rights implications 

The Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms. 

Conclusion 

The Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights because it promotes the protection of human rights.

Attachment A

Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities – Syria) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2025

Section 1

The title of the instrument is the Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons – Syria) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2025.

Section 2

Subsection 2(1) provides that the whole of the 2025 Instrument commences the day after it is registered.

Subsection 2(2) is a technical provision that makes clear that any information inserted in column 3 of the table about the specific date of commencement is not part of the instrument.

Section 3

The instrument is made under subregulation 10(1) of the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (the Regulations). Subregulation 10(1) provides, among other things, that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, revoke a designation under regulation 6 of the Regulations. Subregulation 10(2) provides that the Minister may revoke a designation and/or declaration on the Minister’s initiative.

Section 4  

Section 4 is a technical provision which activates the amending Schedule of the instrument. This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons – Syria) List 2012

Item 1

Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons – Syria) List 2012 (the 2012 List) sets out entities that the Minister has designated for targeted financial sanctions, and declared for the purposes of a travel ban, under table item 7 of regulation 6 of the Regulations.

This item revokes the designation of COMMERCIAL BANK OF SYRIA in item 10 of the table in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the 2012 List.

Item 2

This item revokes the designation of SYRIAN LEBANESE COMMERCIAL BANK in item 23 of the table in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the 2012 List.