James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Cyber Security) Share this | Hansard source

We are going quickly through some big business this evening. I'm happy to step up and assist the chamber by speaking to the Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) Bill 2022. The bill before the Senate will allow for time limited trials of trade and custom practices with approved entities in a controlled regulatory environment known as a regulatory sandbox. The bill contains two schedules. Schedule 1 contains the provisions relating to the regulatory sandbox framework. Schedule 2 contains technical amendments which largely relate to the process in which notices of intention to propose customs tariff alterations occur.

In speaking to this bill, I note that in the previous parliament the former government introduced a very similar bill which dealt with the same subject matter as this bill. Unfortunately, the previous bill was not dealt with before the dissolution of the House at the last federal election. The bill that the government has introduced is, for all intents and purposes, the same bill that the coalition introduced, especially those provisions in schedule 1, with the only additions being those technical amendments incorporated in schedule 2. I'd like to thank the government for continuing with this former coalition government policy, which of course was very consistent with our Simplified Trade System agenda, which this bill forms a key part of.

The bill encourages innovation in testing new business models and regulatory approaches, with appropriate safeguards, through allowing the modification or waiver of existing licensing, importing and exporting obligations under the Customs Act 1901. Under these amendments, the Comptroller-General of Customs will be provided with the power to vary, suspend or revoke an entity's approval to participate in a controlled trial. In doing so, they must provide the entity with a written notice, with a minimum of seven days before the notice takes effect. Taking part in a controlled trial is voluntary, with the trials themselves restricted to a maximum duration of 18 months. There is no imposition of penalty or sanction for failure to comply with the trial; however, the comptroller-general has the ability to suspend or revoke an entity's approval, and this is not subject to merits review. By replacing qualification criteria and rules for controlled trials in delegated legislation, it will allow for controlled trials to be undertaken with a greater degree of certainty and to be administered effectively and in a timely manner.

I note that the previous bill was referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, which recommended that the previous iteration of the bill be passed. Labor members of that committee at the time complained that aspects of the bill such as the qualification criteria for participation in controlled trials would be administered through delegated legislation rather than primary legislation. Despite having made that complaint, the minister has proposed exactly the same bill that her colleagues objected to. Flexibility is required in a dynamic trade environment, and the use of delegated legislation means that changes can be made more expeditiously, as opposed to bringing new legislation through the parliament every time. Delegated legislation is also, appropriately, subject to parliamentary oversight through the disallowance process. If we had to come to this place to amend the Customs Act 1901 each time a controlled trial was being considered, it would defeat the purpose of having controlled trials in the first place.

This bill marks the government's endorsement of the previous government's Simplified Trade System agenda, and I appreciate that the government has seen value in a more flexible and productive system. The previous government's agenda was aimed at making cross-border trade for Australian businesses easier and less costly. It means that businesses are more productive, supply chains are more secure and the Australian Border Force can direct more attention to addressing higher order threats. The Home Affairs portfolio was leading a number of initiatives under the Simplified Trade System agenda and making a significant contribution to supporting whole-of-government efforts to simplify the end-to-end trade environment for business. Given the economic conditions green-carded under this government, businesses will need every support they can get to keep their heads above water. Of course, we'll always support good policy which seeks to make life easier for business, and that's the reason why I'll be supporting the passage of this bill without any amendments.