EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Quarantine Act 1908
Quarantine Amendment Proclamation 2005 (No. 2)
The Quarantine Proclamation 1998 (“the Proclamation”) provides the legislative basis for controlling the entry of animals, plants and other goods of quarantine concern into Australia, and for controlling the movement of animals, plants or other goods of quarantine interest between different parts of the Australian mainland.
Subsection 13(1) of the Quarantine Act 1908 (“the Act”) provides that the
Governor-General may, by proclamation, declare or prohibit a range of matters for the purposes of the Act, including: the introduction or importation into Australia of any disease or pest or any substance, article or thing containing or likely to contain any disease or pest; the importation into Australia of any articles or things likely, in his or her opinion, to introduce, establish or spread any disease or pest; and the importation into Australia of any animals or plants or any parts of animals or plants.
Subsection 13(2) of the Act provides that the power of prohibition under section 13 of the Act extends to authorise prohibition generally, or as otherwise provided by the instrument authorising the prohibition, including prohibition either absolutely or subject to specified conditions or restrictions. Subsection 13(2A) of the Act provides that a proclamation made under subsection 13(1) of the Act may provide that the importation of a thing is prohibited unless a permit for its import is granted by a Director of Quarantine. In addition, subsection 13(2B) of the Act states that an import permit granted pursuant to a proclamation made in accordance with subsection 13(2A) may be granted subject to compliance with any conditions or requirements set out in that permit.
Section 63 of the Proclamation provides that the importation into Australia of a seed (other than a seed of a kind of plant mentioned in Schedule 5 of the Proclamation) is prohibited unless a Director of Quarantine has granted a permit for its importation. Schedule 5 of the Proclamation lists all species that have been assessed as permitted seeds. The effect of section 63 is to allow the importation of a seed species listed in Schedule 5 to Australia without an import permit.
The purpose of the Quarantine Amendment Proclamation 2005 (No. 2 ) (“the Amendment Proclamation”) is to remake the list of seeds which may be imported into Australia. Biosecurity Australia has conducted a review of Schedule 5 to the Proclamation (“the permitted seeds list”). Stage one of the review involved Biosecurity Australia consulting with stakeholders on a list of 4,003 seed species. The list was assembled by the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management (the CRC for Weed Management). The Amendment Proclamation implements the outcomes of the review.
The Office of Regulation Review advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required as the amendments to Schedule 5 provided for by the Amendment Proclamation are of a minor nature.
The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the proposed Proclamation may be exercised.
The Amendment Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Amendment Proclamation commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Details of the amendments are set out below:
Section 1 provides that the name of the Amendment Proclamation is the Quarantine Amendment Proclamation 2005 (No. 2).
Section 2 provides that the Proclamation commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Quarantine Proclamation 1998.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Item 1 substitutes Schedule 5 to the Proclamation. The effect of this amendment would be to allow the importation of a seed species listed in Schedule 5 to Australia without an import permit unless a contrary intention is expressed by excluding certain species of a particular plant genus listed in Schedule 5.