EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
CUSTOMS ACT 1901
CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
STATUTORY RULES 1988 NO. 326
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SCIENCE, CUSTOMS AND SMALL BUSINESS
These Statutory Rules effect the repeal of certain controls in the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations.
These are, in particular, the removal of the controls on the importation of: a) children’s nightwear; b) cigars and cigarettes containing explosive substances; c) goods imported in unregistered vessels; and d) tea.
Details of the regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1: repeals regulation 4F of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations, which prohibits the importation of articles of children’s nightwear unless they have markings stating their degree of flammability.
In 1973 State Governments enacted legislation prohibiting sales of articles of children’s nightwear unless they had markings stating their degree of flammability, and in 1975 a complementary Customs prohibition in the form of regulation 4F of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations was introduced.
In 1978, section 62 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (which deals with consumer product safety standards) was amended with the effect that children’s nightwear that did not conform to Australian standards notified in the Gazette could be declared unsafe goods under subsection 62(2D). Due to the amendments inserted by Act No. 17 of 1986, the current sections of the Trade Practices Act 1974 which effect the above controls are sections 65C and 65E, and the relevant Gazette notice appears in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. G2, 20 January 1987 at pages 188 and 189.
At the time the original amendments in 1978 were made to the Trade Practices Act 1974, no action was taken to review the operation of regulation 4F of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations. However, a recent review has concluded that this prohibition is no longer required to ensure the effectiveness of the Government’s control of children’s nightwear safety standards, and current advice from regional offices of the Australian Customs Service confirms that importations of children’s nightwear examined by Customs officers meet the required standards.
As a result of the existing State and Commonwealth controls listed above, and the effectiveness of them, the repeal of Regulation 4F is proposed on the ground that it is now unnecessary.
Regulation 2: repeals three items in the First Schedule to the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations, namely items 9, 14 and 27.
• Item 9 prohibits absolutely the importation of “Cigars and cigarettes containing explosive substances, trick cigars, and articles of a similar nature, which are a danger to the community.”
This prohibition was introduced by proclamation in 1919 because of the danger of such items to smokers, and the possibility of fire from flying fragments. It was incorporated in the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations in 1935 and amended in 1939 to include trick cigars and explosive plugs for cigars.
However, there is no record of any commercial or private importations of such goods over a period of more than 50 years. Further, there is existing State legislation which now controls the sale of these goods under States dangerous goods legislation. The Commonwealth also possesses a means of controlling such goods under Section 65B of the Trade Practices Act 1974, which provides an adequate method of alerting the community to the danger of these goods, where necessary (i.e. the Minister may publish a warning of the possible risks involved in the use of goods).
• Item 14 prohibits absolutely the importation of “Goods imported in any ship or aircraft which is not lawfully registered”. This item, and the related item 9 of the Third Schedule which prohibits the importation of “Goods imported in any ship or aircraft which has not her certificate of registration on board” unless the absence of the certificate is accounted for to the satisfaction of the Collector, (see Regulation 3 which proposes the repeal of this item) was originally in Section 51 of the Customs Act 1901 until its transfer to the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations in 1956.
The nature of the prohibitions was designed to protect the viability of organised maritime links with Australia at the turn of the century and in pre-Federation days when the States, then colonies, had their own Customs requirements.
A recent review of these items has shown that the prohibitions are now outdated and the fact that goods are on an unregistered vessel is no longer relevant from a Customs control point of view. The general powers in the Customs Act 1901 (such as sections 30 and 49) will continue to provide sufficient control over goods imported into Australia, while the registration requirements of ships and aircraft will continue to be controlled under legislation such as the Shipping Registration Act 1981, Air Navigation Act 1920, Civil Aviation Act 1988 and associated regulations.
• Item 27 of the First Schedule to the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations prohibits absolutely the importation of tea which is exhausted, adulterated with spurious leaf or exhausted leaves, unfit for human use or unwholesome. In addition, item 28 of the Third Schedule prohibits the importation of tea unless prescribed standards of strength and purity are met (see Regulation 3 which proposes the repeal of this item).
Both these items were developed prior to the adoption by State and Territory Health authorities of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH & MRC) Food Standards Code. Those standards now adequately and more effectively ensure both the public health and consumer protection elements of the original prohibitions.
Regulation 3: repeals two items in the Third Schedule, namely items 9 and 28.
• The reasons for the proposed repeal of item 9 are discussed in relation to Regulation 2 - repeal of item 14 of the First Schedule.
• The reasons for the proposed repeal of item 28 are discussed in relation to Regulation 2 - repeal of item 27 of the First Schedule.