EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1986 NO. 237
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Primary Industry
DAIRY PRODUCE ACT 1986
DAIRY PRODUCE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
The Dairy Produce Act 1986 (“the Act”) is the central piece of legislation in the legislative package which implements new dairy industry arrangements, most elements of which became effective on 1 July 1986. The Act deals with the assistance arrangements for the marketing and promotion of dairy produce; with the reform of the Australian Dairy Corporation (ADC); with the regulation of exports of dairy produce; with the collection of levies imposed by the Dairy Produce Levy (No. 1) Act 1988 and the Dairy Produce Levy (No. 2) Act 1986: and with incidental matters.
Sub-section 52(2) of the Act provides that the regulations may prohibit the export of a kind of dairy product. The Dairy Produce Regulations (No 166 of 1986) prohibit the export of butter, butteroil, cheese, casein, skimmilk powder, wholemilk powder and buttermilk powder, with the result that these products may only be exported by the ADC or by a person holding an export licence.
Sub-sections 55(1) and 58(1) provide that applications for licences and applications for renewal of licences shall be made as prescribed. Since the only grounds on which the ADC may refuse to issue a licence are that the applicant has been charged with or convicted of a prescribed offence, or that the applicant’s licence has previously been cancelled, proposed regulation 4A simply requires the applicant to supply self-identifying information, and information relating to prescribed offences.
Prescribed offences are offences against or arising under the Act or any other law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory that is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 12 months or more or any other offence against or arising under a prescribed law of the Commonwealth or of a State or a Territory. No such laws have been prescribed. The proposed regulation does not require applicants to disclose whether a licence has previously been cancelled - ADC records will reveal this fact. The proposed regulation also provides for the applicant to provide a particular address for service of notices if a different address from the business address is desired for this purpose.
Proposed regulation 4B requires that a fee of $100 be paid in respect of each licence application. The fee is intended to cover the expenses associated with the licensing process.