EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Subject - Quarantine Act 1908
Quarantine Amendment Proclamation 2006 (No. 1)
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. The range of matters that the Governor-General may prohibit includes 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.
The purpose of the Quarantine Amendment Proclamation 2006 (No. 1) (“the Amendment Proclamation”) is to update the list of seeds that may be imported into Australia without a 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 to the Proclamation) is prohibited unless a Director of Quarantine has granted a permit for its importation. Schedule 5 to the Proclamation lists all species that have been assessed as permitted seeds. The effect of section 63 is to allow the importation into Australia of a seed of the plant species listed in Schedule 5 without a permit.
The Amendment Proclamation amends Schedule 5 to the Proclamation by adding 56 seed species, removing 6 entries, which are now considered weeds, and revising certain entries that describe a plant genus and exclude certain species of that genus. These amendments reflect ongoing assessments conducted by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) and Biosecurity Australia as a result of requests from importers to have additional species added to the permitted seeds list. All seeds being added have undergone the required assessment by AQIS or Biosecurity Australia.
No consultation has occurred on these amendments because they are of a minor or machinery nature and do not substantially change the law.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Proclamation commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Details of the proposed amendments are set out below:
Section 1 provides that the name of the Proclamation is the Quarantine Amendment Proclamation 2006 (No. 1).
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 inserts 56 new plant species into Schedule 5 to the Proclamation. The effect of this amendment is to allow the importation of the seed of these plant species into Australia without an import permit.
Items 2 to 7 removes six species of plant from Schedule 5 to the Proclamation. These species have been removed because they are now considered to be a weed. The effect of this amendment is to prohibit the importation into Australia of the seeds of these plant species without a permit.
Item 8 amends certain entries in Schedule 5 to the Proclamation that describe a plant genus and exclude certain species of that plant genus. The amendment inserts some new species of plants as exclusions and removes some existing species of plants from the exclusions category. The effect of this amendment is, in the case of the insertion of a new species, to limit the range of seeds that falls within a particular plant genus that may be imported without a permit. In the case of the removal of existing species, the effect is to broaden the range of seeds that falls within a particular plant genus that may be imported without a permit.