Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations (Amendment)

Legislation au C1938L00060 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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STATUTORY RULES.

1938. No. 60.

REGULATIONS UNDER THE CUSTOMS ACT 1901-1936 AND THE COMMERCE (TRADE DESCRIPTIONS) ACT 1905-1933.*

WHEREAS by section 112 of the Customs Act 1901-1936 it is provided that the Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the exportation of any goods—

(a) the exportation of which would, in his opinion, be harmful to the Commonwealth; or

(b) which have not been prepared or manufactured for export under the prescribed conditions as to purity, soundness, or freedom from disease, or which do not conform to the prescribed conditions as to purity, soundness, or freedom from disease :

And whereas it is provided by the said section that the said power of prohibitions shall extend to authorize the prohibition of the exportation of goods generally, or to any specified place, and either absolutely or so as to allow of the exportation of the goods subject to any condition or restriction:

And whereas it is provided by section 11 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901-1937 that the expression “the Governor-General ” in any Act includes the person for the time being administering the Government of the Commonwealth, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council:

And whereas I am of opinion that the exportation of fresh fruit, except subject to the conditions and restrictions prescribed by the Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations, as amended by the following Regulations, would be harmful to the Commonwealth :

Now therefore I, the Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Customs Act 1901-1936 and the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905-1933.

Dated this Twenty second day of June,1938.

Administrator.

By His Excellency’s Command,

for and on behalf of the Minister of State for Commerce and the Minister of State for Trade and Customs.

Amendments of the Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations, †

First Schedule— item 1.

1. Item 1 in the First Schedule to the Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations is amended—

(a) by omitting from the table contained in paragraph 3 (in the second column) the words “Australian bushel ”,

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on June, 1938.

† Statutory Rules 1938, No. 29, as amended by Statutory Rules 1938, No. 38.

2960.—8/18.6.1938.—Price 5d.

“Standard bushel ”, “ Long bushel ”, “ Australian half-bushel ”, “ Pear ”, “ Standard half-bushel ” and “ Flat half-bushel ” and inserting in their stead the words “ Australian apple box ”, “ Standard apple box ”, “ Long pear box ”, “ Australian half box ”, “ Standard pear box ”, “ Standard half box ” and “ Long half box ”, respectively;

(b) by omitting paragraph 4 (in the second column) ;

(c) by inserting in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph 5 (in the second column), after the word “by” (first and third occurring), the words “not less than”;

(f) by adding at the end of sub-paragraph (g) of paragraph 5 (in the second column) the words “ and shall be centre strapped.”;

(e) by omitting paragraphs 6 and 7 (in the second column) and inserting in their stead the following paragraphs:—

“ 6. Boxes described as ‘ Standard apple box ’ in the table contained in paragraph 3 of this item shall be constructed in accordance with the following specifications :—

(a) Each end shall be 11½ inches deep by 10½ inches wide by not less than ⅝ inch nor more than ¾ inch thick.

(b) Each side shall be 10½ inches wide by not less than 19¼ inches nor more than 19½ inches long. If made of soft wood, it shall be of one piece or two pieces 5/16 inch thick. If made of hard wood, it shall be of one piece ¼ inch thick or of two pieces 5/16 inch thick.

(c) The bottom shall be not less than 19¼ inches nor more than 19½ inches long. If made of soft wood, it shall be of two pieces each 5½ inches wide by 3/16 inch thick. If made of hard wood, it shall be of one, two or three pieces aggregating 11 inches wide by 3/16 inch thick. If a unitized bottom is used, it shall be of two, three or four pieces aggregating 11 inches wide by not less than ⅛ inch nor more than 3/16 inch thick.

(d) The top shall be not less than ⅛ inch nor more than ¼ inch longer than the bottom. If made of soft wood, it shall be of two pieces each 5½ inches wide by 3/16 inch thick. If made of hard wood, it shall be of one, two or three pieces aggregating 11 inches wide by 3/16 inch thick. If a unitized top is used, it shall be of two, three or four pieces aggregating 11 inches wide by not less than ⅛ inch nor more than 3/16 inch thick.

(e) A cleat shall be used at each end of the top and bottom and shall be not less than 11 inches nor more than 11½ inches long by not less than ⅝ inch wide by not less than 5/16 inch thick.

“ 7. Boxes described as ‘Standard pear box’ in the table contained in paragraph 3 of this item shall be constructed in accordance with the following specifications:—

(a) Each end shall be 11½ inches wide by 8½ inches deep by not less than ⅝ inch nor more than ¾ inch thick.

(b) Each side shall measure 8½ inches wide by not less than 19¼ inches nor more than 19½ inches long. If made of soft wood, it shall be of one piece only, 5/16 inch thick. If made of hard wood, it shall be of one piece ¼ inch thick or of two pieces 5/16 inch thick.

(c) The bottom shall be not less than 19¼ inches nor more than 19½ inches long. If made of soft wood, it shall be of two pieces each 5½ inches wide by not less than 3/16 inch nor more than ¼ inch thick. If made of hard wood, the bottom shall be of one, two or three pieces aggregating 11 inches wide by 3/16 inch thick. If a unitized bottom is used it shall be of two, three or four pieces aggregating 11 inches wide by not less than ⅛ inch nor more than 3/16 inch thick.

(d) The top shall be not less than ¼ inch nor more than ½ inch longer than the bottom. If made of soft wood it shall be of two pieces each 5½ inches wide by 3/16 inch thick. If made of hard wood, it shall be of one, two or three pieces aggregating 11 inches wide by 3/16 inch thick. If a unitized top is used, it shall be of two, three or four pieces aggregating 11 inches wide by not less than 1/8 inch nor more than 3/16 inch thick.

(e) A cleat shall be used at each end of the top and bottom and shall be not less than 11 inches nor more than 11½ inches long by not less than ⅝ inch wide by not less than 5/16 inch thick.”; and

(f) by adding after paragraph 8 (in the second column) the following paragraph:—

“ 9. Where the measurements of any box or tray, other than the measurements of the thickness of any timber, vary by not more than ⅛ inch from the measurements in paragraph 3, 5, 6, 7 or 8, as the case may be, of this item, the provisions of that paragraph shall be deemed to have been complied with.”.

First Schedule— item 2.

2. Item 2 in the First Schedule to the Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations is amended by omitting from paragraph 2 (in the second column) the words “‘Standard bushel’” and inserting in their stead the words “‘Standard apple box’”

First Schedule— item 4.

3. Item 4 in the First Schedule to the Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations is amended—

(a) by omitting paragraph 3 (in the second column) and inserting in its stead the following paragraph:—

“ 3. The number of mandarins contained in a box of the type described as ‘ Citrus’ in the table contained in

paragraph 3 of item 1 shall not exceed 560. The number of mandarins contained in any other box shall bear such proportion to 560 as the cubic capacity of the box bears to the cubic capacity of a box so described as ‘ Citrus’ ”;

(b) by omitting from paragraph 5 (in the second column) the words “ ‘Extra Fancy’ or ‘Fancy’ ” and inserting in their stead the words “ ‘ Special ’ or ‘ Standard ’ ”;

(c) by omitting from paragraph 6 (in the second column) the words “ ‘Extra Fancy’ ” and inserting in their stead the word “ ‘ Special ’ ” ;

(d) by omitting from paragraph 7 (in the second column) the word “ ‘Fancy’ ” and inserting in its stead the word “ ‘ Standard ’ ” ;

(e) by adding at the end thereof (in the second column) the following paragraph:—

“ 8. Mandarins shall be packed only in cases of the type described as ‘ Citrus ’ in the table contained in paragraph 3 of item 1:

Provided that in special circumstances mandarins may, with the approval of the Secretary, be packed in cases of the type described as ‘ Australian apple box ’ or ‘ Standard apple box ’ in that table.” ; and

(f) by omitting from sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 (in the third column) the words “ ‘Extra Fancy’ or ‘Fancy’ ” and inserting in their stead the words “ ‘ Special ’ or ’ Standard ’

First Schedule— item 5.

4. Item 5 in the First Schedule to the Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations is amended—

(a) by adding at the end of paragraph 5 (in the second column) the following proviso:—

“ Provided that oranges intended for export to New Zealand shall be packed in one of three grades, namely, ‘ Special ’, ‘ Standard ’ or ‘ Good’ ” ;

(b) by inserting after paragraph 7 (in the second column) the following paragraph:—

“7a. Oranges intended for export to New Zealand and described as ‘ Good ’ shall consist of oranges complying with the requirements of paragraph 4 of this item but disfigurements such as are caused by scars, scratches of the skin, excessive navel segments, cavities, punctures and blemishes due to any fungus or insect pest may be allowed to the extent of 25 per centum of the total surface area of any individual orange.”;

(c) by omitting from the proviso to paragraph 8 (in the second column) the words “ ‘ Australian bushel ’ or ‘ Standard bushel ’ ” and inserting in their stead the words “ ‘ Australian apple box ’ or ‘ Standard apple box ’ ” ;

(d) by omitting from sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 (in the third column) the words “ ‘ Special ’ or ‘ Standard ’ ” and inserting in their stead the words “ ‘ Special ’ ‘Standard ’or ‘ Good ’ ” ; and

(e) by adding at the end of paragraph 2 (in the third column) the following words and letters:—

“ St. Michael........................St. M.

“ Joppa............................Jop.

“ Siletta ...........................Sil”.

First Schedule— item 6.

5. item 6 in the First Schedule to the Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations is amended—

(a) by omitting from paragraph 9 (in the second column) the words “ ‘Pear’, ‘long bushel’ ” and inserting in their stead the words “ ‘ Standard pear box ’ ‘Long pear box ’ ” ;

(b) by omitting from the proviso to paragraph 9 (in the second column) the words “ ‘ Standard bushel ’ ” and inserting in their stead the words “ ‘ Standard apple box ’ ”; and

(c) by omitting from paragraph 10 (in the second column) the word “ ‘ Pear ’ ” and inserting in its stead the words “ ‘ Standard pear box ’ ”.

By Authority: L. F. Johnston, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra.

Overview

The Statutory Rules of 1938 No. 60, enacted under the authority of the Customs Act 1901-1936 and the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905-1933, address the need for stringent regulations on the exportation of fresh fruit to safeguard the health and economic interests of the Commonwealth. The regulations were introduced to ensure that fresh fruit exports do not compromise the quality standards required to protect against the introduction of diseases and pests into the domestic market. The objective is to prohibit the exportation of fresh fruit that does not meet specified purity, soundness, or freedom from disease conditions, thereby maintaining the integrity of Australia’s agricultural sector. The regulations were made by the Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth, acting on the advice of the Federal Executive Council, to implement these stringent measures effectively.

Scope and Application

The Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations, made under the Customs Act 1901-1936 and the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905-1933, apply to the exportation of fresh fruit from Australia, aiming to protect the Commonwealth from the potential harm associated with unsanitary or improperly prepared fruit exports. The regulations govern the types of containers and the conditions under which fresh fruit can be exported, thereby ensuring the fruit meets certain purity, soundness, and disease-free criteria. These regulations affect entities involved in the export of fresh fruit, including farmers, exporters, and packers. The geographic reach of these regulations is national, as they pertain to the entire Commonwealth of Australia. There are no stated exclusions or exemptions in the regulations, meaning they apply broadly to all fresh fruit exports. The regulations are subject to amendment and further clarification through subordinate instruments, as evidenced by the amendments detailed in the Statutory Rules. These amendments adjust specifications for fruit containers, grading standards, and allowable disfigurements on fruit, thus extending and refining the scope of the original regulations.

Key Provisions

The primary sections of the Exports (Fresh Fruit) Regulations, as amended, lay down the specifications and conditions for the exportation of fresh fruit from Australia. These regulations, which are made under the Customs Act 1901-1936 and the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905-1933, set forth detailed requirements for the packaging and classification of fresh fruit, particularly apples, mandarins, and oranges, intended for export. These regulations also specify the types of boxes that can be used for export, such as the 'Australian apple box', 'Standard apple box', 'Standard pear box', and 'Long pear box', and detail the precise dimensions and construction requirements for these boxes (see First Schedule—items 1 and 7). Furthermore, the regulations include provisions for the maximum number of fruits that can be packed into a box and the permissible levels of disfigurement for oranges intended for export to New Zealand (see First Schedule—items 4 and 5). The obligations imposed by these regulations on the parties involved, such as exporters and packers, are comprehensive and detailed. They must adhere to the prescribed box specifications and construction standards, ensuring that the boxes are not only of the correct dimensions but also of the appropriate thickness and material. For instance, exporters must use boxes that comply with the specifications outlined in the regulations, such as the 'Standard apple box' for apples and the 'Standard pear box' for pears. Additionally, the regulations mandate that the number of fruits packed into a box should not exceed the specified limits and that the fruits must meet certain quality standards, such as the allowable levels of disfigurement for oranges (see First Schedule—items 1, 3, 4 and 5). Failure to comply with these specifications can result in the rejection of the consignment at the point of export. Violations of these regulations can lead to significant civil and criminal consequences. Although the specific penalties are not detailed within the text of the legislation, breaches of regulations under the Customs Act 1901-1936 and the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905-1933 generally attract fines and, in severe cases, imprisonment. The precise penalties would depend on the nature and severity of the breach, but they can include substantial fines for non-compliance with packaging and classification requirements, as well as potential criminal charges for repeated or deliberate violations.

Area of Law: Commercial Law
Instrument: Regulation
Concepts: Definitions & Interpretation; Licensing & Registration; Reporting & Disclosure Obligations

Interactions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.

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