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

Administered by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Legislation au F2025L01368 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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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.

Overview

The Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 was enacted to enable the Australian government to impose sanctions independently of international bodies, targeting specific countries, entities, or individuals in response to human rights abuses or other international concerns. The Act facilitates Australia's foreign policy by allowing for targeted measures that align with national interests and international commitments. The Governor-General, under Section 28 of the Act, has the authority to make regulations necessary for the Act's implementation. The Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, which commenced on 15 December 2011, provide the framework for these sanctions, including the designation of entities subject to financial restrictions and travel bans. The policy objective of these regulations is to maintain and enhance Australia's international relations by enforcing sanctions that reflect its values and commitments to global stability and human rights. This legislative structure allows for flexible and responsive measures to be taken against entities contributing to international instability or human rights violations.

Scope and Application

The Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons – Syria) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2025 amends the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 to revoke the designation of certain entities for the purposes of targeted financial sanctions and travel bans imposed on Syria. Specifically, the instrument removes the designation of the COMMERCIAL BANK OF SYRIA and the SYRIAN LEBANESE COMMERCIAL BANK, thereby lifting the financial restrictions on these entities. This instrument is made under section 28 of the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011, which allows the Governor-General to make regulations necessary for the Act’s implementation. The regulations themselves commenced on 15 December 2011 and serve to facilitate Australia’s international relations by imposing autonomous sanctions on specific countries and entities. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has the authority to designate entities under regulation 6 if they are deemed to be supporting the Syrian regime or are involved in human rights abuses within Syria. Once designated, these entities face strict financial and travel restrictions. The amendment to the 2012 List, which details designated and declared entities, was made without public consultation due to its minor regulatory impact. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade regularly engages with the Australian business community to explain sanctions laws, and the Office of Impact Analysis confirmed that a Regulation Impact Statement was not necessary for this amendment.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 include the provisions for the designation of entities under Regulation 6 (paragraph 6), the prohibition on making assets available to designated entities under Regulation 14 (paragraph 14), and the prohibition on using or dealing with controlled assets under Regulation 15 (paragraph 15). Regulation 10 allows the Minister for Foreign Affairs to revoke designations or declarations. The Regulations also detail the listing of designated and declared persons and entities in the Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons – Syria) List 2012 (paragraph 10 and Attachment A). The obligations and requirements imposed by the Act and the Regulations on parties and entities include adherence to the prohibitions against making assets available to designated entities (Regulation 14) and using or dealing with controlled assets (Regulation 15). The Regulations also require designated and declared persons and entities to be listed in the 2012 List (Attachment A), and the Minister has the authority to revoke these designations or declarations under Regulation 10. The Act and Regulations impose penalties and consequences for breaches, including the prohibitions on making assets available to designated entities and using or dealing with controlled assets. While the maximum penalties are not explicitly stated in the provided text, such breaches typically attract significant penalties under Australian law. The revocation of designations, as seen in the instrument, removes the financial restrictions on the designated entities, effectively lifting the sanctions placed upon them.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.