REPLACEMENT explanatory STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Assistant Treasurer
Consumer (Tobacco) Amendment (Rotation of Health Warnings) Information Standard 2013
Overview
This Legislative Instrument amends an existing information standard to remove the legal requirement for retailers of most tobacco products to rotate the health warnings on the retail packaging of tobacco products. The obligation for manufacturers and importers of tobacco products remains in place. The existing provisions for the rotation of health warnings prescribed in the Competition and Consumer (Tobacco) Information Standard 2011 applied to all suppliers and this was determined to be too onerous on retailers, both operationally and financially.
Background
Legislative Power
The Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Act (No.2) 2010 together with the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Act (No.1) 2010, amended the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA) to implement a new national consumer law regime known as the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The TPA was renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) on 1 January 2011. The ACL forms Schedule 2 to the CCA.
Subsection 134(1) of Schedule 2 to the CCA provides that the Commonwealth Minister may, by written notice published on the internet, make an information standard for consumer goods of a particular kind that require the provision of specified information about the goods.
Subsection 136(1) provides that a person must not, in trade or commerce, supply consumer goods of a particular kind if an information standard for consumer goods of that kind is in force and those goods do not comply with the standard.
Commencement
This legislative Instrument commences on the day after it is registered.
Disallowance
This legislative instrument is not subject to disallowance due to section 44 of the Legislation Act 2003.
Sunsetting
This legislative instrument is not subject to sunsetting due to section 54 of the Legislation Act 2003.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
This Legislative Instrument amends an information standard concerning the supply of tobacco products in retail packaging displaying health warnings in rotation. It revokes the former responsibility of rotation on retailers and applies this to manufacturers and importers of tobacco products in Australia. To make this obligation on manufacturers and importers clear, the following amendments have been made:
- Subsection 1.3(1) includes the definition of ‘manufacturer’ noting that ‘manufacture’ has a corresponding meaning.
- Section 2.1 has modified clause (3) to clarify the requirements for retailers who place single cigars into retail packaging.
- Subsections 9.5(3), 9.6(2) and 9.7(2) have been repealed as they refer to requirements for the time period 1 January 2012 to 30 November 2012 which are now redundant.
- Subsections 9.5(4), (5), (6) and (7), 9.6(3) and (4) and 9.7(3) and (4) omit the words “on retail packaging supplied” and substitute “on retail packaging of tobacco products manufactured in, or imported into, Australia”.
- Subsection 9.5(8) after “retail packaging” inserts “of tobacco products manufactured in, or imported into, Australia”.
- A subsection 9.7A has been included for the purposes of clarifying the point in which the date of the rotation of health warnings on tobacco products manufactured in Australia and imported into Australia is determined.
Consultation
For the purposes of section 17 of the LIA, consultation has been undertaken concerning the product safety standard.
A draft of the Legislative Instrument was circulated for consideration by interested parties, including manufacturers/importers and retailers of tobacco products, and relevant government agencies. Parties who made submissions were either supportive of the final changes or did not oppose them.
Overview
The Consumer (Tobacco) Amendment (Rotation of Health Warnings) Information Standard 2013 was enacted to address the operational and financial burden imposed on retailers by the existing requirement to rotate health warnings on tobacco product packaging. The amendment was introduced to alleviate the perceived onerous nature of these obligations for retailers, while maintaining the requirement for manufacturers and importers to rotate health warnings. The enacting body is the Commonwealth Minister, exercising powers conferred by subsection 134(1) of Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The policy objective is to ensure that tobacco products continue to display necessary health warnings while shifting the administrative burden from retailers to manufacturers and importers, thereby fostering compliance and reducing unnecessary financial strain on retailers.
Scope and Application
The Consumer (Tobacco) Amendment (Rotation of Health Warnings) Information Standard 2013 amends an existing information standard concerning the supply of tobacco products with health warnings in rotation. This Act applies to all manufacturers and importers of tobacco products in Australia. The obligation to rotate the health warnings on retail packaging has been shifted from retailers to manufacturers and importers, a change motivated by the operational and financial burden such a requirement placed on retailers. The amendment ensures that health warnings must still be displayed on the retail packaging of tobacco products manufactured in, or imported into, Australia, but now this responsibility rests with the manufacturers and importers. The Act revokes certain sections that were relevant to a specific period from 1 January 2012 to 30 November 2012, as those requirements are no longer applicable. The amendment is designed to clarify the obligations of different parties involved in the supply chain of tobacco products, ensuring that the health warnings remain a prominent feature on retail packaging while easing the burden on retailers.
Key Provisions
The Consumer (Tobacco) Amendment (Rotation of Health Warnings) Information Standard 2013 amends the existing information standard for the supply of tobacco products, particularly focusing on the rotation of health warnings on retail packaging (subsection 1.3(1)). This legislative instrument changes the obligations regarding the rotation of health warnings from retailers to manufacturers and importers of tobacco products in Australia (subsection 9.5(3), (4), (5), (6), and (7); subsection 9.6(2), (3), and (4); subsection 9.7(2), (3), and (4)). It clarifies that health warnings must be rotated on the retail packaging of tobacco products manufactured in, or imported into, Australia (subsection 9.5(8); subsection 9.7A). Additionally, it removes certain previous requirements that have become redundant, such as those related to the time period from 1 January 2012 to 30 November 2012 (subsections 9.5(3), 9.6(2), and 9.7(2)). The instrument also includes modifications to clarify the requirements for retailers placing single cigars into retail packaging (section 2.1).
The primary obligations imposed by the amended standard are that manufacturers and importers of tobacco products must ensure that health warnings are rotated on the retail packaging of tobacco products manufactured in or imported into Australia (subsection 9.5(4), (5), (6), and (7); subsection 9.6(3) and (4); subsection 9.7(3) and (4)). This includes determining the date of the rotation of health warnings for tobacco products manufactured in Australia and imported into Australia (subsection 9.7A). The standard seeks to alleviate the burden on retailers by shifting the responsibility for rotating health warnings to the manufacturers and importers.
There are no specific offences or penalties outlined in this legislative instrument for breach of the amended information standard. However, under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (subsection 136(1)), a person who supplies non-compliant consumer goods in trade or commerce may be subject to civil penalties, including fines up to $1.1 million for corporations and $220,000 for individuals. This ensures that non-compliance with the amended standard could lead to significant civil consequences for manufacturers and importers who fail to meet their obligations.