Quarantine Amendment Act 1979

Administered by Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Legislation au C2004A02011 Not in force Act

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No. 1 of 1979

An Act to amend the Quarantine Act 1908.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

Short title, &c.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Quarantine Amendment Act 1979.

(2) The Quarantine Act 1908 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

Commencement

2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Goods ordered into quarantine

3. Section 48 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (2) “Twenty dollars” and substituting “$200”.

Proceedings in respect of offences

4. Section 85 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (3) and substituting the following sub-sections:

“(3) Where proceedings for an offence referred to in sub-section (2) are brought in a court of summary jurisdiction, the court may commit the defendant for trial or to be otherwise dealt with in accordance with law or, if the court is satisfied that it is proper to do so and the defendant and the prosecutor consent to it doing so, may determine the proceedings summarily.

“(4) Where a court of summary jurisdiction determines proceedings summarily in accordance with sub-section (3), it shall not impose a fine exceeding $2,000 or sentence the defendant to imprisonment for a period exceeding one year.”.

Penalties

5. The Principal Act is amended as set out in Schedule 1.

Further amendments

6. The Principal Act is amended as set out in Schedule 2.

Application

7. (1) The amendments made by this Act, other than the amendments of sections 82 and 83 of the Principal Act, do not apply in relation to offences committed before the commencement of this Act.

(2) In the application of section 82 of the Principal Act as amended by this Act to offences committed before the commencement of this Act, the reference in that section as so amended to 5 years shall be read as a reference to 3 years.

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SCHEDULE 1 Section 5

AMENDMENTS OF PRINCIPAL ACT IN RELATION TO PENALTIES

Provision	Amendment
Sub-section 12a(2).......	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “one year”, substitute “5 years”
	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Sub-section 15a(2).......	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “one year”, substitute “5 years”
Section 16............	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Section 18a............	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$500 “
Section 20............	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “one year”, substitute “2 years”
Section 20a............	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “one year”, substitute “2 years”
Section 20b............	(a) Omit “Two thousand dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “two years” (wherever occurring), substitute “5 years”
	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Section 22............	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “one year” (wherever occurring), substitute “2 years”
Section 24............	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Section 25............	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Sub-section 26(1)........	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Section 26a............	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Section 27............	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Sub-section 28(1)........	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Sub-section 28(4)........	(a) Omit “Two thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “two years”, substitute “2 years”
Sub-section 29(1)........	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Section 30............	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Section 32............	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “one year”, substitute “2 years”
Sub-section 34(3)........	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Section 35a............	Omit “One thousand dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$2,000”
Sub-section 35a(5).......	(a) Omit “Two thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “two years”, substitute “2 years”
Section 36............	(a) Omit “Two thousand dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “two years” (wherever occurring), substitute “5 years”
Section 38............	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Section 40............	(a) Omit “Two thousand dollars”, substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “two years”, substitute “5 years”
Section 43............	(a) Omit “Two thousand dollars”, substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “two years”, substitute “5 years”

SCHEDULE 1—continued

Provision	Amendment
Section 44............	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “one year” (wherever occurring), substitute “5 years”
Sub-section 45(2)........	Omit “One thousand dollars or imprisonment for one year”, substitute “$2,000”
Sub-section 45(3a).......	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Sub-section 45(4)........	Omit “Five hundred dollars or imprisonment for six months”, substitute “$2,000”
Section 49............	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Section 50............	(a) Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “six months”, substitute “2 years”
Section 51............	(a) Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
	(b) Omit “six months”, substitute “one year”
Section 52............	(a) Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “six months”, substitute “2 years”
Sub-section 67(1)........	(a) Omit “Two thousand dollars”, substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “five years”, substitute “5 years”
Sub-section 67(1a).......	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “one year”, substitute “2 years”
Section 67a............	(a) Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000”
	(b) Omit “one year”, substitute “2 years”
Sub-section 70(2)........	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Sub-section 71(1)........	Omit “Two hundred dollars”, substitute “$200”
Section 72............	(a) Omit “Five hundred dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$2,000”
	(b) Omit “Two hundred dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$1,000”
Sub-section 73(1)........	Omit “One thousand dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Section 73............	Omit “Five hundred dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$2,000”
Section 74............	Omit “Two hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Sub-section 75(1)........	Omit “Two hundred dollars”, substitute “$1,000”
Sub-section 76(1)........	(a) Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
	(b) Omit “six months”, substitute “one year”
Section 77............	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Section 78............	(a) Omit “Two thousand dollars”, substitute “$10,000”
	(b) Omit “three years “, substitute “5 years”
Section 78a............	Omit “One thousand dollars” (wherever occurring), substitute “$5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years”
Section 79............	(a) Omit “indictable”
	(b) Omit “three years”, substitute “10 years”
Section 80............	Omit “two years”, substitute “2 years”
Section 81............	(a) Omit “punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years”
	(b) Add at the end thereof the following sub-section:
	“(2) Where a person is guilty of an offence against this Act by virtue of sub-section (1), the person is punishable upon conviction—
	(a) where paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) applies in relation to the offence—by a fine not exceeding $ 10,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 5 years; or
	(b) where only paragraph (1) (d) applies in relation to the offence—by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 2 years.”

SCHEDULE 1—continued

Provision	Amendment
Section 82............	Omit “imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years”, substitute “a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 5 years”
Section 83............	(a) Omit “indictable”
	(b) Omit “imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years”, substitute “a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 2 years”
Section 84............	Omit “two years”, substitute “2 years”
Section 86e............	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”
Paragraph 87(1)(s).......	Omit “Five hundred dollars”, substitute “$2,000”

SCHEDULE 2 Section 6

FURTHER AMENDMENTS

1. The following provisions of the Principal Act are amended by omitting any number expressed in words that is used, whether with or without the addition of a letter, to identify a section of that Act, and substituting that number expressed in figures:

Sections 9a(1a), 46a(2) and 87(1)(1)(ii).

2. The following provisions of the Principal Act are amended by omitting “of this Act” and “of this section”:

Sections 9a(1a), 20b(5), 35aa(3), 35a(5), 44(3), 46a(2), 72(3), (5) and (6) and 87(1)(1)(ii).

3. The Principal Act is further amended as set out in the following table:

Provision	Amendment
Paragraph 21(a)	Omit “one league”, substitute “3 nautical miles”
Section 24	Omit “thirty yards”, substitute “30 metres”
Sub-section 64(1)	Omit “of this Act” (second occurring)
Section 66	Omit “any Federal or State Court”, substitute “a court”

Overview

The Quarantine Amendment Act 1979 (No. 1 of 1979) was enacted to amend the Quarantine Act 1908, addressing the need for updated penalties and procedures in dealing with quarantine-related offences. This Act was enacted by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, with the objective of enhancing the effectiveness of the quarantine laws by increasing penalties for violations and ensuring more stringent enforcement measures. The amendments introduced by this Act include increasing fines, adjusting imprisonment terms, and modifying the procedures for handling offences under the Principal Act. Notably, the Act also addresses the application of these amendments, clarifying that they do not retroactively apply to offences committed before its commencement, while making specific exceptions for certain sections.

Scope and Application

The Quarantine Amendment Act 1979 amends the Quarantine Act 1908, enhancing and clarifying the regulatory framework for quarantine measures within Australia. This Act applies to all individuals, entities, and industries engaged in activities that involve the importation, exportation, and transit of goods that may pose a risk to public health, animal health, or plant health. This includes, but is not limited to, importers, exporters, carriers, and other stakeholders involved in the movement of goods across Australian borders. The geographic and jurisdictional reach of the Act is national, as it is a Commonwealth Act. The amendments to the Principal Act are retrospective, except for those concerning sections 82 and 83, which apply only to offences committed after the commencement of this Act. The Act also provides for amendments through subordinate instruments, further extending or restricting its application as necessary. Notably, the Act includes specified exclusions and exemptions, but these are not detailed within the provided text.

Key Provisions

The Quarantine Amendment Act 1979 makes significant amendments to the Quarantine Act 1908. Firstly, Section 3 of the Amendment Act increases the fine for goods ordered into quarantine from $20 to $200. This alteration reflects the increased regulatory costs and the need for stricter enforcement measures in the management of quarantined goods. Secondly, Section 4 modifies the proceedings for offences under the Principal Act, allowing courts of summary jurisdiction to commit defendants for trial or determine proceedings summarily if both the defendant and the prosecutor consent. This section also caps the fine for summary proceedings at $2,000 and the imprisonment term at one year. These amendments aim to provide courts with more flexibility while ensuring that penalties remain proportionate to the severity of the offence. The Amendment Act imposes several obligations on entities and individuals governed by the Principal Act. Notably, it mandates that the amendments made by this Act, apart from those affecting sections 82 and 83, do not apply to offences committed before its commencement. This transitional provision ensures that existing legal proceedings and penalties are not retroactively altered, thereby maintaining legal certainty and fairness. Additionally, section 7 of the Amendment Act specifies that for offences committed before the Act's commencement, the penalty under section 82 of the Principal Act, as amended, shall be a reference to 3 years instead of 5 years, further demonstrating the Act’s intent to balance new regulatory requirements with respect for prior legal frameworks. Under the Amendment Act, several offences and their corresponding penalties are defined and, in some cases, increased. For instance, Section 5, through Schedule 1, revises the penalties for various offences under the Principal Act, replacing monetary fines with higher amounts and, in some cases, introducing imprisonment terms. For example, subsection 12a(2) now imposes a fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for 5 years instead of $1,000 and one year. Similarly, subsection 15a(2) replaces a $1,000 fine and one-year imprisonment with a $10,000 fine and 5 years imprisonment. These changes reflect a more stringent approach to enforcement, intended to deter violations and protect public health and safety. The increased penalties underscore the seriousness of non-compliance and the potential risks associated with breaches of quarantine regulations.

Area of Law: Environmental Law
Instrument: Act
Concepts: Commencement Provisions; Offence Provisions; Regulatory Standards; Enforcement Powers

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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