Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Imported Food Control Regulations) Certificate 2018

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F2018L01229 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Imported Food Control Regulations 1993) Certificate 2018

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the Attorney-General in compliance with
section 15G of the Legislation Act 2003

 

INTRODUCTION

This certificate was made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 (Legislation Act) and is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act.

A certificate issued by the Attorney-General under subsection 51(1) of the Legislation Act is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19). As such, a statement of compatibility with human rights is not required (Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, section 9).

OUTLINE

The purpose of the sunsetting provisions of the Legislation Act is to ensure that legislative instruments are kept up to date and only remain in force for so long as they are needed.

Paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act enables the Attorney-General to issue a certificate to defer the sunsetting day of an instrument for a period of either six or 12 months. The instrument will then be repealed on the day specified in the certificate instead of the scheduled sunsetting day.

This allows instruments to continue to be in force for a further but limited period of time when they would otherwise sunset. This removes the administrative burden of remaking instruments which would have a limited duration prior to their repeal and potential replacement, or where circumstances prevent the making of replacement instruments prior to the sunsetting day.

PROCESS BEFORE CERTIFICATE WAS MADE

Regulatory impact analysis

Certificates of deferral of sunsetting are machinery of government instruments, and are therefore not subject to the regulatory impact assessment requirements set out by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The OBPR reference for this standing exemption is ID19633.

Consultation before making

Before this certificate was issued, the Attorney‑General considered the general obligation to consult imposed by section 17 of the Legislation Act. Consultation involved the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources (the Minister) advising the Attorney‑General of the reasons in support of issuing the certificate. The Minister is responsible for administering the Imported Food Control Act 1992, the enabling legislation under which the Imported Food Control Regulations 1993 (the Regulations) were made. As such, the Minister is the relevant rule-maker for the purposes of section 6 of the Legislation Act. The certificate is consistent with the policy intent of the sunsetting arrangements and does not significantly alter existing arrangements. Accordingly, further consultation was unnecessary.

Statutory preconditions relevant to this certificate

If the Attorney-General is satisfied that the statutory conditions in section 51 of the Legislation Act are met, an instrument’s sunsetting day can be deferred for either six or 12 months by means of a certificate made under that section. In terms of process, the Legislation Act requires:

a)      the responsible rule maker to apply to the Attorney-General in writing

b)      the Attorney-General to be satisfied that:

i)            the instrument would (apart from the operation of the sunsetting provisions) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after its sunsetting day, or

ii)            the proposed replacement instrument will not be able to be completed before the sunsetting day for reasons that the rule maker could not have foreseen and avoided, or

iii)            the dissolution or expiration of the House of Representatives or the prorogation of the Parliament renders it inappropriate to make a replacement instrument before a new government is formed, and

c)      the Attorney-General to issue a certificate that includes a statement of reasons for the issue of the certificate.

On the basis of the information contained in the statement of reasons included in the certificate, the Attorney‑General is satisfied that the criterion in subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act is met.

The certificate issued by the Attorney‑General must be laid before each House of the Parliament no later than six sitting days after it is made. It is a legislative instrument and must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, but is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19).

More information

Further details on the provisions of the certificate are provided in Attachment A.

The instrument which is the subject of this certificate, and which will now sunset at a later day as specified in this certificate, is available on the Federal Register of Legislationhttp://www.comlaw.gov.au.

Further information may be requested from the Attorney-General’s Department about the operation of this declaration, and from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources about the instrument to which this certificate applies.


ATTACHMENT A

NOTES ON THE CERTIFICATE

Section 1 Name

This section provides that the certificate is named the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Imported Food Control Regulations) Certificate 2018. The certificate may be cited by that name.

Section 2  Commencement

This section provides for the certificate to commence on the day after it is registered.

Section 3 Authority

This section provides that the certificate is made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003.

Section 4 Definitions

This section defines, for the purposes of this certificate, ‘Regulations’ to mean the Imported Food Control Regulations 2018 and ‘Legislation Act’ to mean the Legislation Act 2003.

Section 5  Statement of reasons for issue of certificate

This section provides the statement of reasons as required by paragraph 51(2)(a) of the Legislation Act.

The statement of reasons explains why the Attorney-General is satisfied that the criterion set out in subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act has been met, namely that the Regulations would (apart from the operation of the sunsetting provisions) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after its sunsetting day.

Section 6 Deferral of sunsetting of the Determination

This section provides that the Regulations for which the sunsetting day is 1 October 2018, is taken to cease to be in force under section 51 of the Legislation Act on 1 October 2019.

Section 7 Repeal of this instrument

This section provides that the certificate is repealed at the start of 2 October 2019.

 

 

Overview

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Imported Food Control Regulations 1993) Certificate 2018 was enacted to address the need for temporary extensions of certain regulatory instruments, specifically the Imported Food Control Regulations 1993, beyond their scheduled sunsetting date. The sunsetting provisions of the Legislation Act 2003 were designed to ensure that legislative instruments remain current and are only in force for as long as necessary. Under this Act, the Attorney-General can issue a certificate to defer the sunsetting day of an instrument for six or 12 months, thus preventing the administrative burden of remaking instruments that would otherwise need to be repealed and potentially replaced. This certificate was issued in compliance with section 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act and is not subject to disallowance. The Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources advised the Attorney-General on the reasons for issuing the certificate, and it was determined that further consultation was unnecessary as the certificate aligns with the policy intent of the sunsetting arrangements and does not significantly alter existing arrangements.

Scope and Application

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Imported Food Control Regulations 1993) Certificate 2018 applies to the Imported Food Control Regulations 1993, which are administered by the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. These regulations pertain to the control and regulation of imported food within Australia, governing the entities and persons involved in the import and sale of food products. The certificate extends the sunsetting date of these regulations, thereby allowing them to remain in effect for an additional period. The certificate operates nationally, across all states and territories in Australia, as it is a Commonwealth instrument. There are no explicit exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds stated in the certificate itself, although the scope of its application is inherently limited to the specific regulations mentioned. The certificate does not create new laws or alter the existing regulatory framework beyond the deferral of the sunsetting provisions, and it does not extend or restrict the application of the Imported Food Control Regulations 1993 beyond what is specified in the certificate.

Key Provisions

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Imported Food Control Regulations 1993) Certificate 2018 primarily focuses on extending the operational period of the Imported Food Control Regulations 1993 (Regulations) by deferring their sunsetting date (section 6). According to the certificate, the sunsetting date for the Regulations, which was initially set for 1 October 2018, has been postponed to 1 October 2019 (section 6). This means that the Regulations will remain in effect for an additional year beyond their originally scheduled expiration. The certificate is made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003, which allows the Attorney-General to defer the sunsetting of legislative instruments under certain conditions (section 3). The Act imposes several obligations on the parties involved. The Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, who is responsible for administering the Imported Food Control Act 1992, had to apply to the Attorney-General in writing to defer the sunsetting of the Regulations (section 51(1)(a)). The Minister also needed to provide reasons supporting the issuance of the certificate (section 5). The Attorney-General, in turn, had to be satisfied that the Regulations would cease to be in force within 12 months after the scheduled sunsetting date or that unforeseen circumstances prevented the timely completion of a replacement instrument (section 51(1)(b)(i)). Additionally, the certificate must be laid before each House of the Parliament within six sitting days of its issuance and must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation (section 51(2)(a)). Under the Legislation Act 2003, breaches of the provisions outlined in the certificate could result in various civil and criminal consequences. However, the explanatory statement does not detail specific offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance with the certificate. It is noted that the certificate is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19), and therefore, no statement of compatibility with human rights is required (Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, section 9). The focus of the certificate is on administrative processes and ensuring that the Regulations remain in force for a specified period, rather than on punitive measures for non-compliance.

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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.