Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
2010-2011-2012-2013
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
THE SENATE
Fair Trade (Australian Standards) Bill 2013
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of Senator John Madigan, DLP Senator for Victoria)
Fair Trade (Australian Standards) Bill 2013
OUTLINE
The Fair Trade (Australian Standards) Bill 2013 is about increasing the standards of products sold on
the Australian market in a fair and reasonable way.
The Bill will require Australia's trading partners to ensure that companies that export goods to
Australia take responsibility for ensuring that their manufactured goods meet Australian Standards
prior to being sold on the Australian market. The requirement will require the Minister to ensure that
appropriate requirements are included in any trade agreement that Australia enters into with another
country. This Bill has been written to protect the Australian consumer from products which do not
meet Australian standards and have been known to risk peoples' lives.
In the media in recent months, we have been inundated with examples of products being imported
from overseas that do not meet Australian standards, yet they are not covered under the ACCC's area
of authority.
This bill creates a holistic solution, which will ensure responsibility and accountability so that
standards are enforced across borders, with the assistance of foreign diplomatic assistance at the
highest level.
The executive director of the Housing Industry Association of the ACT pointed out that even when
products are slightly below standard, they potentially pose a more serious risk, stating: "It's very hard
to test steel and timber and glass after it's been manufactured". This Bill seeks to leave the onus of
assurance on the exporter, as they are much closer to the beginning of how the product came into
formation and therefore should have a stronger understanding of whether the product would meet, or
what is required to make it meet, Australian standards.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The Bill has no foreseeable negative financial impact.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Part 1
Clause 1: Short title
This clause provides that the Bill when passed may be cited as the Fair Trade (Australian Standards)
Act 2013.
Clause 2: Commencement
This clause provides that the Bill will commence on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3: Object
This clause provides that the purpose of the Act is to encourage Australia's trading partners to ensure
that goods that imported into Australia, from a country that has a trade agreement with Australia, are
subject to minimum standards about the quality of those goods.
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Part 2
Clause 4: Trade Agreement must include certain requirements
This clause outlines how and in what instances the Commonwealth must, through the Minister,
include certain requirements about standards in trade agreements that are entered into with other
countries.
^Clause 5: Commonwealth must not enter into certain trade agreements
This clause provides that a Trade Agreement must comply with all applicable product standards that
apply in the purchaser's country or that the selling company or entity selling the products must ensure
that the goods are improved to Australian product standards.
^Clause 6: Meaning of Trade Agreement
This clause outlines the definition of a Trade Agreement as being "an international agreement that the
Commonwealth has, or will, enter into with the government of another country, or with the
governments of a group of countries, that will abolish or decrease tariffs (or other import charges) that
are levied or charged by Australia at the time goods are imported into Australia." It also explains the
different ways that Australia can enter into a trade agreement with another country.
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STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Fair Trade (Australian Standards) Bill 2013
This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international
instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Bill
This Bill seeks to encourage Australia's trading partners to ensure that goods that are imported into
Australia, from a country that has a trade agreement with Australia, are subject to minimum standards
about the quality of those goods.
Human rights implications
There are no human rights implications.
Conclusion
The Bill does not engage the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011and therefore complies
with Human Rights.
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