Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda

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CRIMES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2014

                                         2013-2014-2015

       THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

                             HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

CRIMES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES
                         AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2014

                                    ADDENDUM TO THE
                            EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

                    (Circulated by authority of the Minister for Justice,
                            the Honourable Michael Keenan MP)
 CRIMES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES
                          AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2014

This addendum sets out additional information which will be added to the Revised
Explanatory Memorandum, to address recommendations made by the Standing
Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills recommendation in the First Report of 2015. It is
additional to the Supplementary Explanatory Memorandum tabled in the House of
Representatives on 24 November 2014.

The below additional information is to be included in the Statement of Compatibility
of Human Rights under the section relating to Schedule 6 - amendments to the
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

After paragraph 4 of the section on the protection against unlawful and arbitrary
interference with privacy, insert:
Paragraph 122(3)(ga) provides that taxation officer can share information obtained
under section 49 `for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance of the
taxation officer's duties'. In determining what disclosures are considered `in the
performance of the taxation officer's duties', paragraph 122(3A) (item 4 of these
amendments) clarifies that the disclosure grounds in section 355-50 of Schedule 1 to
the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA) are disclosures permitted under the
AML/CTF Act.

The grounds for disclosure in section 355-50 of the TAA have been in operation since
2010, when the TAA was amended following the Treasury's Review of Taxation
Secrecy and Disclosure Provisions in 2006. The amendments have been deliberately
linked to these grounds to ensure consistency with the ATO's disclosure protections
and the disclosure grounds for information gathered under the Taxation
Commissioner's other powers to compel the production of information. Therefore
while the amendments allow disclosure of information people or organisations other
than the person to whom the information relates, the safeguards and limitations of
section 355-50 of the TAA ensure that the amendments do not trespass unduly on
personal rights and liberties.

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