Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations (Amendment) 1995 No. 403
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 403
Issued by the authority of the Attorney-General
Customs Act 1901
Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations (Amendment)
Section 50 of the Customs Act 1901 provides that the Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the importation of goods into Australia unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with.
Regulation 4A of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations prohibits the importation of films, publications and other goods that contain material which falls within the criteria set out in the Regulation unless a permission in writing has been granted by the Attorney-General. This material includes:
• pictures of child pornography, or of bestiality, likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult;
• pictorial depictions of acts of considerable violence or cruelty or of sexual violence against non-consenting persons;
• publications and films that promote or incite crime, violence or drug abuse.
The main purpose of the Regulations is to bring the criteria in Regulation 4A into line with the criteria for refused classification in the National Classification Code.
In its Report on Censorship Procedure, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) noted that the criteria in Regulation 4A of the Regulations differ slightly from the classification criteria under which a film or a publication is refused classification under the current Commonwealth, State and Territory censorship scheme. The ALRC noted, for example, that non-pictorial child pornography comes within the criteria for refused classification but is not a prohibited import. Further, the criteria for prohibited imports, with respect to sexual violence, are limited to violence against 'non-consenting' persons but the classification criteria for refused classification are not.
The ALRC recommended (as did the Joint Select Committee on Video Material in its earlier Report) that this 'gap' be closed by making the prohibited imports criteria the same as the criteria for refused classification. A similar recommendation was made by the Senate Select Committee on Community Standards Relevant to the Supply of Services Utilising Electronic Technologies in its Report on the Consideration of the Provisions of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Bill 1994.
The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (the Classification Act) is the Commonwealth's contribution to a revised censorship scheme in co-operation with the States and Territories. Under the Classification Act, classification decisions must be made in accordance with the National Classification Code set out in the Schedule to that Act. That Code contains the refused classification criteria for publications, films and computer games. These criteria are similar to those in operation under the current Commonwealth, State and Territory legislative scheme.
Details of the Regulations are set out in the attachment.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 provides that subregulation 3.5 (which omits a reference to films that are registered under the Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations) commences on the date of commencement of the remainder of the provisions of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (the Classification Act).
Regulations 2 provides that the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations are amended as set out in the Regulations.
Regulations 3.1 and 3.2 amend the definition of 'film' and 'publication' in subregulation 4A(1) to include a reference to a computer game. Computer games are dealt with separately in the Classification Act and more restrictive refused classification criteria are applied to them.
Regulation 3.3 amends subregulation 4A(1) to include definitions taken from the Classification Act of 'computer game', 'computer generated image' and 'interactive game'.
Regulation 3.4 omits subregulation 4A(1A) and substitutes a new subregulation 4A (1A) to bring the criteria in the subregulation into line with the refused classification criteria for films, publications and computer games in the National Classification Code.
Regulation 3.5 omits a reference to films that are registered under the Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations from subregulation 4A(1A). That provision, amongst other matters, provides that Regulation 4A does not apply to films that are so registered. This amendment is consequent upon the repeal of the Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations by the Classification Act. The amendment will, under Regulation 1, commence when the Act is commenced.