Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Customs Amendment Bill 2014 is designed to build on the government's legislative agenda of border protection by strengthening the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. This will serve to prevent the entry of prohibited items and illicit goods into our country and clamp down on the avoidance of import duties on dutiable items.

The challenges faced by our customs and border protection agency is compounded by the vastness of the Australian continent, which covers an area of more than 7.6 million square kilometres with a total coastline length of 35,876 kilometres and an additional 23,859 kilometres of island coastlines and some 758 remote estuaries around the country at which vessels may land. Australia's extensive exclusive economic zone covers 8.1 million square kilometres. We have a sparsely populated continent with a significant number of remote towns, where only basic port and airport facilities exist, without the advanced security found in capital cities. It is in this context that the task of monitoring our borders and controlling the international flow of passengers and goods represents a massive undertaking for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

By improving our border protection capabilities to intercept contraband and the smuggling of illegal cargo—such as drugs, weapons, and materials subject to quarantine—we will be able to combat transnational crime, preserve the biosecurity of our agricultural industry and promote greater national security. This bill seeks to make a number of relatively minor technical amendments to the Customs Act of 1901, which will serve to close a number of loopholes that could potentially allow illicit cargo and prohibited items to go undetected or be transferred from vessels and aircraft within Australian jurisdictions.

The anticipated future increase in the flow of passengers and goods across international borders is brought about by the emerging economies in our region with increased international trade facilitated by free trade agreements with Japan, Korea and China. Trade is projected to increase further as a free trade agreement is expected to be reached with India and as Australia develops stronger economic partnerships with the 10 member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations, ASEAN, and beyond. Our customs service must be adequately prepared and resourced to cope with the increased demands encountered at all entry points to Australia.

Perhaps the most significant of the proposed amendments are designed to allow customs officers to examine domestic goods carried on domestic legs of international flights. Currently, under section 30 of the act, customs control does not extend to domestic goods, which include domestic cargo or personal effects of domestic travellers once they are loaded onto or unloaded from international ships and aircraft. Section 186 of the act does not adequately provide for the examination of domestic goods on domestic legs of international flights and voyages. In practice, domestic travellers on international flights or voyages access the customs controlled areas of ports and airports and mix with international travellers prior to, during and after the domestic leg of the flight or voyage. Domestic cargo can currently be loaded or unloaded from a ship or aircraft on a domestic leg without any authority or permission under the act. The bill seeks to correct this anomaly by granting customs officers the necessary powers to examine domestic goods carried on domestic legs of international flights.

Another key aspect of the bill proposes that customs control be extended to goods on board a ship which docks or an aircraft which lands at any place in Australia that is not a designated port or airport

Currently, the act does not extend Customs control to goods which are on board a ship or an aircraft at a place other than a designated port or airport in Australia. From time to time it may be necessary for vessels or aircraft to dock or land at places on the Australian mainland due to adverse weather conditions or other reasonable causes under section 58(1) of the act, or if the master of a ship or the pilot of an aircraft has received permission from a collector to bring the ship or aircraft to land under section 58(2) of the act.

For instance, the cruise ship industry regularly seeks permission to visit non-proclaimed areas of the Australian coastline, and the stopover may involve disembarking travellers or unloading goods in these locations where government agencies do not have a presence. Goods on board a ship or aircraft in these circumstances are not currently subject to Customs control and cannot, therefore, be examined by an officer of Customs under section 186. To ensure that border risks and intervention activities can be managed appropriately, it is proposed that Customs control be extended to goods on board a ship or aircraft at the place to which the ship or aircraft has been brought under the circumstances covered in sections 58(1) or 58(2) of the act. Item 5 repeals and substitutes section 31 of the act to ensure that all goods on board a ship or aircraft from a place outside Australia are subject to Customs control while the ship or aircraft is within Australia.

The bill also contains amendments which add legal certainty to the circumstances in which the Chief Executive Officer of Customs can authorise persons to carry out functions under the act. Currently, the CEO of Customs can authorise an individual by name or position, or a class of offices or positions, to be authorised officers for the purposes of carrying out functions under particular provisions in the act. Unlike delegations, the law remains ambiguous as to whether an authorisation will apply to future offices or positions created within an authorised class that come into existence after the authorisation is given. The amendment proposes to amend the definition of 'authorised officer' in the act so that authorisations can apply to future offices or positions created. This will preclude the need to update authorisation instruments on a regular basis to ensure that new offices are covered.

In addition, the bill will improve and make consistent with other parts of the Customs Act the application process for permission to load and unload a ship's and an aircrafts' stores, and for the transfer of goods between certain vessels. The proposed amendments are designed to standardise the application processes in the act by requiring applications for certificates of clearance to be in an approved form. This supports the Australian Customs and Border Protections Service's initiatives to streamline processes and eventually allow applicants to apply for clearance certificates online.

The bill will also provide greater flexibility in relation to the reporting of the arrival of ships and aircraft in Australia and reporting stores and prohibited goods on such ships and aircraft. These changes will allow earlier assessment and the planning of resources required if the stores or prohibited goods reported present risks, including the management of firearms, weapons, and narcotics. The bill will also correct a technical error in relation to the interaction of Custom and Border Protection's Infringement Notice Scheme and claims process for seized goods under the Customs Act.

In summary, the measures contained in the Customs Amendment Bill 2014 are designed to incrementally improve the security of our national borders by addressing anomalies in the current system. By giving the Australian Customs and Border Protections Service the necessary powers to examine domestic goods en route to and from international destinations in the circumstances outlined, and at places within Australia other than at ports and airports where foreign vessels or aircraft land, the government can intercept prohibited items, illicit goods, and dutiable items, preventing them from crossing our borders. The bill also ensures that the legislation is brought up to date with current Customs practice, and I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context