Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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IMPORTED FOOD CONTROL REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1998 NO. 69

STATUTORY RULES 1998 NO. 69

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

Imported Food Control Act 1992

Imported Food Control Regulations (Amendment)

Section 43 of the Imported Food Control Act 1992 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The Imported Food Control Regulations (the Regulations) prescribe, inter alia, what fees are payable for chargeable services in relation to inspection and analysis of imported foods under the Act and when these fees must be paid.

The purpose of the Imported Food Control Regulations (Amendment) is to reduce the time based fees relevant to the provision of inspection services for food that is imported into Australia. These reductions will ensure that the time based fees for inspection of foods are equivalent to inspection fees for other imported goods of quarantine concern. The reductions to fees are required to ensure that full cost recovery within the Import Clearance Programme is achieved during the 1998/99 financial year.

The Imported Food Control Regulations (Amendment) amend the Regulations as follows:

Regulation 1 - Commencement

Subregulation 1.1 provides that the Regulations as amended commence on 5 May 1998.

Regulation 2 - Amendment

Subregulation 2.1 provides that the Imported Food Control Regulations are amended as set out in these Regulations.

Regulation 3 - Schedule 2, Part 1 (Fees)

Subregulation 3.1 replaces the inspection charges for food set out in column 3 of item 1. The charge rates for chargeable services have been reduced: from $637 to $605 for the provision of inspection services during a whole day; from $72 to $68 for the first half hour or part of a half hour service; from $36 to $34 for each additional quarter hour or part of a quarter hour after the first half hour.

Subregulation 3.2 replaces the inspection fees for supervision of the treatment destruction or reexport of food set out in column 3 of item 4. The charge rates for chargeable services have been reduced from $72 to $68 for the first half hour or part of a half hour service and from $36 to $34 for each additional quarter hour or part of a quarter hour after the first half hour.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General

Family Law Act 1975

Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 125(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) empowers the GovernorGeneral to make Regulations prescribing all matters necessary to be prescribed for the purposes of the Act.

Section 111B of the Act provides that the Regulations may make such provision as is necessary to enable Australia to perform its obligations, or obtain any advantage or benefit, under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Convention).

The objects of the Convention are to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any Convention country, and to ensure that rights of custody and access to children under the laws of a Convention country are effectively respected in the other Convention countries.

Australia signed and ratified the Convention on 25 October 1986, and the Convention came into force for Australia on 1 January 1987.

The purpose of the Regulations is to add the Czech Republic to the list of Convention countries in Schedule 2 of the Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations. The Czech Republic deposited its instrument of ratification with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 15 December 1997. Therefore, in accordance with Article 43, paragraph 2, the Child Abduction Convention entered into force between Australia and the Czech Republic on 1 March 1998.

Details of the Regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 is formal.

Regulation 2 amends Schedule 2 of the Regulations to insert details relating to the Czech Republic, including the provisions of the Convention in respect of which the Czech Republic has made reservations. The Czech Republic has entered a reservation under Article 26 (third paragraph) of the Convention excluding its liability for legal costs arising from court proceedings except insofar as those costs may be covered by its legal aid system.

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.

Authority: Section 125 of the

       Family Law Act 1975