EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1984 NO. 128
CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued by the Authority of the Minister of State for Industry and Commerce.
The Regulation inserts a new regulation 4P into the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations to introduce control measures for the importation into Australia of cordless telephones.
The amendment was sought by the Minister for Communications, who considers that the amendment is necessary to prevent the importation into Australia of large numbers of cordless telephones which do not comply with the relevant Telecom and Department of Communications specifications.
These cordless telephones, which, pursuant to the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1905 and the Telecommunications Act 1975, may not be legally used in Australia or attached to the Telecom network could cause interference to television reception. Some of these telephones which use high power could cause interference to aviation communications and thereby pose a threat to aviation saftey.
The amendment prohibits the importation into Australia of those cordless telephones which either do not satisfy the Department of Communciations’ licensing criteria guarding against radio frequency interference or are not suitable for attachment to the Telecom network for reasons relating to electrical safety or technical compatability.
Details of Regulation 4P are set out below:
Sub-regulation (1) defines “authorized officer”, “cordless telephone”, “Minister” and “relevant component of a cordless telephone” for the purposes of the Regulation.
Sub-regulations (2) and (3) prohibit the importation of cordless telephones or a relevant component unless permission for such importation has been given by the Minister for Communications or an authorized officer, or the cordless telephones are of a kind specified in an approval for importation given by the Minister for Communications by notice published in the Gazette.
Sub-regulation (4) provides that in considering whether the above permission or approval should be given, the Minister for Communications or the authorized officer shall take into account relevant matters including whether the use of the cordless telephone in question would be likely to cause injury to persons or damage to property or cause interference with the use of other equipment used in radio communication.