Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2020.

The Australian government is committed to ensuring that our community has access to medical and hygiene equipment needed to treat, diagnose and prevent the spread of coronavirus. The customs tariff proposal that I've just tabled inserts a new concessional item into schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995. This new concessional item, No. 57, provides a free rate of customs duty for eligible medical and hygiene products needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Item 57 has a retrospective commencement. It applies to imported goods for which the time for working out the rate of duties is between 1 February 2020 and 31 July 2020. Item 57 applies to goods prescribed by the by-law. The new by-law prescribes goods including critical equipment such as masks, gloves, face shields, gowns, goggles, test kits, certain disinfectants and soap.

Item 57 applies to the eligible prescribed goods regardless of their origin. This means importers who previously needed to prove origin under one of our free trade agreements can now access the same free rate of duty without the compliance costs associated with claiming preferential tariff treatment. This will temporarily simplify the import process and ensure these vital goods get to where they are needed most. These goods are essential to safeguard our healthcare professionals and essential workers, and we thank them for the magnificent work they are doing right across Australia. They also are required as we begin to relax the restrictions the government has applied to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This customs tariff proposal is a targeted and proportionate measure to support Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other countries have taken similar steps to temporarily remove or reduce custom duties on medical and hygiene products to support the availability of these goods. By introducing this measure, the government is helping to ensure that Australia can secure supplies of these essential goods for our community.

Just in conclusion, I thank all the Australian Border Force staff for the incredible and amazing work they're doing, and Commissioner Mike Outram for leading this magnificent team of people who have just done an incredible job of protecting Australians.

Debate adjourned.