Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4) 2002 No. 164
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 2002 No. 164
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Family and Community Services
Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999
Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4)
Section 25 of the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
Subsection 8(1) of the Act provides that a Schedule setting out the terms of an agreement between Australia and another country, if the agreement relates to reciprocity in social security matters, may be added by regulations.
Subsection 8(2) of the Act provides that regulations made by virtue of subsection 8(1) of the Act must not come into operation on a day earlier than the day on which the agreement concerned comes into operation for Australia.
The purpose of the proposed Regulations is to amend the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 2) (Statutory Rules 2002 No. 32) by substituting a new commencement clause to change the date of commencement for the Agreement on social security between Australia and Canada (the Agreement) from 1 July 2002 to 1 January 2003.
Regulation 2 of Statutory Rules 2002 No. 32 specifies that regulations 1 to 3 and Schedule 1 (the Agreement) were to have commenced on 1 July 2002 and Schedule 2 (the Agreements on social security between Australia and The Netherlands and Australia and Portugal and the Protocol amending the Agreement on social security between Australia and Austria) were to have commenced on 1 October 2002.
The proposed Regulations would provide that regulations 1 to 3 and Schedule 2 would commence on 1 October 2002 and that Schedule 1 would commence on 1 January 2003.
The change in commencement dates for the Agreement is required because the Canadian Government advised the Australian Government that Canada would not be able to complete all of the necessary legislative and constitutional requirements to bring the Agreement into force on 1 July 2002. The revised commencement date of 1 January 2003 has been agreed following negotiations between the respective governments.
The proposed Regulations are required to be gazetted before 1 July 2002 to prevent the Agreement from purporting to commence earlier than it is validly able to in accordance with subsection 8(2) of the Act.
The proposed Regulations would commence on gazettal.
Overview
The Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4) was enacted to amend the commencement dates for the Agreement on social security between Australia and Canada. This regulation was introduced by the Parliament of Australia to address the delay in Canada's legislative and constitutional processes, which prevented the Agreement from coming into force as initially planned on 1 July 2002. The Minister for Family and Community Services issued the regulations under the authority granted by section 25 of the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999. The policy objective of these regulations is to ensure that the Agreement between Australia and Canada can proceed in accordance with both countries' legal frameworks, thereby maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the social security reciprocity agreement.
Scope and Application
The Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4) pertains to the amendment of the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999, which applies to social security agreements between Australia and other countries, facilitating reciprocity in social security matters. These regulations are designed to adjust the commencement date of the Agreement on social security between Australia and Canada from 1 July 2002 to 1 January 2003 due to delays in Canada's legislative and constitutional processes. The Act applies to any persons or entities that are subject to the terms of the international social security agreements listed in the schedules of the Act, and the jurisdictional reach is federal, as the regulations are made under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia. The regulations themselves do not provide exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds, but rather address the timing of the Agreement's implementation. The Act's application may be further extended or restricted through subordinate instruments, such as the proposed regulations, which must be gazetted before 1 July 2002 to align with the Act's provisions.
Key Provisions
The Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4) primarily serve to adjust the commencement date of an agreement between Australia and Canada concerning social security matters. The regulations, pursuant to Section 25 of the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 (the Act), are designed to substitute the existing commencement date for the Agreement on social security between Australia and Canada from 1 July 2002 to 1 January 2003. This adjustment is stipulated in Regulation 2, which alters the commencement dates for the regulations and schedules outlined in Statutory Rules 2002 No. 32.
These regulations impose certain obligations and requirements on the parties involved, ensuring that the amended commencement date is implemented correctly. The Australian Government must adhere to the notification and procedural requirements outlined in the Act, specifically under subsection 8(2), which mandates that the regulations must not come into operation before the agreement itself is in force for Australia. This ensures that the agreement's terms and provisions are legally binding only after both countries have fulfilled their respective requirements. Furthermore, the necessity to gazette these regulations before 1 July 2002 underscores the importance of timely communication and coordination between the Australian and Canadian governments.
Breaching the provisions of these regulations could have serious implications. While the specific offences and penalties are not detailed in the explanatory statement, it is implicit that any failure to comply with the terms of the agreement or the regulatory requirements could result in legal consequences. Typically, such breaches may lead to civil or criminal penalties, depending on the nature and severity of the infringement. In the context of international agreements, non-compliance could also strain diplomatic relations between the involved nations. The maximum penalties for breaches would depend on the specific laws and regulations governing the social security agreement and the nature of the breach.