Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2) 2001 No. 137
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 2001 No. 137
Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General
Electronic Transactions Act 1999
Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2)
Section 16 of the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
The Act applies to laws of the Commonwealth. Subsection 5(2) of the Act provides that, before 1 July 2001, a law of the Commonwealth meant a law of the Commonwealth specified in the regulations. From 1 July 2001, the Act applies to all Commonwealth laws unless specifically exempted by regulation.
The Act received Royal Assent on 10 December 1999 and commenced by proclamation on 15 March 2000. The Electronic Transactions Regulations 2000 (the Regulations) also commenced operation on 15 March 2000 to coincide with the Act's commencement and specified the Commonwealth laws to which the Act applied. The Regulations were amended in June 2000 and May 2001 so that the Act applied to 301 laws of the Commonwealth prior to 1 July 2001. The Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2001 amend the principal Regulations by inserting new regulations and replacing Schedule 1. The effect of these amendments is to exempt the laws listed in Schedule 1 from the operation of the Act.
The Act creates a regulatory regime for the use of electronic communications in transactions. It does not remove any legal obligations that may be imposed upon a person by other Commonwealth laws. The sole purpose of the Act is to enable people to use electronic communications in the course of satisfying their legal obligations.
Commonwealth Departments have reviewed the laws that they administer and requested exemptions for those laws to which the Act should not apply. The laws of the Commonwealth that are exempted from the operation of the Act are contained in Schedule 1 of the Regulations.
Details of the Amending Regulations are in the attachment.
The Regulations commence on 1 July 2001.
NOTES ON PROPOSED REGULATIONS
The details of the proposed Regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 Cites the Regulations as the Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2).
Regulation 2 provides that these Regulations commence on 1 July 2001.
Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Electronic Transactions Regulations 2000.
Item 1 of Schedule 1 amends Regulation 4 and inserts regulations 5, 6 and 7.
Regulation 4 means that those laws of the Commonwealth which have listed subsection 8(1) in column 3 of Schedule 1 are not subject to the operation of subsection 8(1) of the Act.
Regulation 5 means that those laws of the Commonwealth which have listed Division 2 of Part 2 of the Act in column 3 of Schedule 1 are not subject to the operation of Division 2 of Part 2 of the Act. Those laws of the Commonwealth which have listed a provision of Division 2 of Part 2 of the Act in column 3 of Schedule 1 are not subject to the operation of a provision of Division 2 of Part 2 of the Act.
Regulation 6 means that those laws of the Commonwealth which have listed section 14 in column 3 of Schedule 1 are not subject to the operation of section 14 of the Act.
Regulation 7 means that those laws of the Commonwealth which have listed section 15 in column 3 of Schedule 1 are not subject to the operation of section 15 of the Act.
Item 2 of Schedule 1 substitutes a new schedule 1 to the Regulations. Column 2 of Schedule 1 identifies the laws of the Commonwealth which are exempt from the corresponding provisions of the Act listed in column 3 of Schedule 1.
Overview
The Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2) were enacted to provide exemptions to certain Commonwealth laws from the operation of the Electronic Transactions Act 1999. The Act, which received Royal Assent on 10 December 1999 and commenced on 15 March 2000, established a regulatory regime for the use of electronic communications in transactions, aiming to facilitate the use of electronic means in fulfilling legal obligations without removing existing legal requirements imposed by other Commonwealth laws. The problem or gap addressed by this legislation is to ensure that the use of electronic transactions is appropriately regulated while allowing certain laws to remain unaffected to preserve their specific legal frameworks. The regulations were issued by the authority of the Attorney-General and aim to align the application of the Act with the practical needs of various Commonwealth laws by exempting specific provisions from the Act's scope.
Scope and Application
The Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2) provide amendments to the Electronic Transactions Regulations 2000, altering the application of the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (the Act) to Commonwealth laws. Initially, the Act applied to specified Commonwealth laws as listed in the 2000 Regulations, but from 1 July 2001, it applies to all Commonwealth laws unless exempted by regulation. The 2001 Amendment Regulations amend the 2000 Regulations by inserting new regulations and replacing Schedule 1, thus exempting certain laws from the Act's operation. These exemptions are detailed in the new Schedule 1, which lists specific Commonwealth laws and the corresponding provisions of the Act that do not apply to them. The amendments aim to fine-tune the application of the Act by excluding laws that are not suited for electronic transactions, thereby facilitating the use of electronic communications in legal obligations while ensuring that other legal obligations remain unaffected.
Key Provisions
The Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2) (the Regulations) amend the existing Electronic Transactions Regulations 2000 (the principal Regulations) to specify exemptions to the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (the Act). Regulation 4, Regulation 5, Regulation 6 and Regulation 7 of the Regulations amend the principal Regulations by inserting new regulations and replacing Schedule 1, thereby exempting certain Commonwealth laws from the operation of the Act. Specifically, Regulation 4 exempts laws listed in subsection 8(1) of the Act, Regulation 5 exempts laws listed in Division 2 of Part 2 of the Act, Regulation 6 exempts laws listed in section 14 of the Act, and Regulation 7 exempts laws listed in section 15 of the Act.
The Regulations impose obligations on the Commonwealth to review its laws to determine which are subject to the Act and which should be exempt. The Commonwealth departments have undertaken this review and made recommendations for exemption, which are now specified in Schedule 1 of the Regulations. The Act itself does not impose any obligations on individuals or entities; rather, it provides a framework for the use of electronic communications in transactions that comply with Commonwealth laws.
The Regulations do not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance. However, any breach of a Commonwealth law that is not properly exempted from the operation of the Act could result in civil or criminal liability under that law. The penalties for such breaches would depend on the particular law in question and could range from fines to imprisonment, depending on the severity of the offence. The Act itself does not create any new offences or penalties; it simply provides a legal framework for the use of electronic communications in compliance with existing laws.