James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Cyber Security) Share this | Link to 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.

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) Bill 2022. I'll keep it very brief, but I'll start by placing on the record that the Australian Greens will be supporting this bill. This bill allows for the trials of new policies to be tested before they are widely implemented. This allows time and space to identify issues, gaps or room for improvement before the policy is rolled out across the country. For obvious reasons, making small tweaks to a controlled trial is much easier than making these changes once the policy has been implemented more broadly. Further, it will allow for companies to play with more innovative methods and technologies in a controlled environment under the supervision of the government. This type of framework is often called a regulatory sandbox, and, as the minister stated in her second reading speech:

Regulatory sandboxes ensure regulation keeps pace with industry developments, remains fit for purpose and does not become a barrier to innovation and productivity.

I note that this bill was introduced under the previous government, and this version of the bill was also sent to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. In this process, there were concerns expressed about the reliance of the bill on regulation. In the previous form of this bill, the qualification criteria were to be determined through regulation by the Comptroller-General of Customs. The committee was of the view that the matter was significant, as the qualification criteria should be included in the legislation unless there is sufficient reason for it to be included in regulations. The Greens are happy to see that this has been removed from the bill that is now before us, as the reliance on regulation, which does not face the same scrutiny as bills, is an issue of transparency. The Greens strongly support the transparency of this parliament and, indeed, of the government as a whole.

I would also like to highlight my colleague Senator Steele-John's amendment to this bill, which will now insert a new section into the act to prohibit the importation of goods produced by forced labour. My colleague will go into further detail on this, but I just want to highlight that the International Labour Organization estimated that there were 46.6 million people living in modern slavery in 2021, of which 27.6 million were in forced labour, with 17.3 million in the private sector. Brands that have been found to be benefitting from forced labour include Adidas, Apple, Calvin Klein, Google, H&M, Nike, Puma and Zara, and the list goes on and on. The banning of the importation of goods produced by forced labour is a step that this government can take towards respecting human rights and the dignity of everyone across the globe.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank senators who have contributed to this debate. The Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) Bill 2022 will amend the Customs Act 1901 to support the development of new regulatory approaches and business models in customs and trade with appropriate legislative safeguards. The bill creates a regulatory framework that establishes a customs regulatory sandbox to facilitate short-term trials through temporary variations to certain obligations under the Customs Act.

The ability to trial innovative regulatory approaches with industry stakeholders within a controlled environment is an essential tool to guide future reform initiatives. Industry has expressed interest in regulatory sandboxes in the customs context as a mechanism for trialling new approaches to border management. It is important that the ABF be able to respond to this opportunity for industry collaboration in order to develop the evidence base to inform regulatory reform over the long term. Fit-for-purpose regulation aids Australian business, drives economic growth and supports efficient and effective regulatory outcomes for the ABF to continue its important job of protecting the Australian community. A customs regulatory sandbox will be an important tool in the hands of the ABF to work with industry and continue to support reforms under the government's simplified trade system agenda. The bill also aligns customs law with current legislative practice. These amendments will provide more certainty to the process of altering customs tariffs. The bill deserves support. I also table an addendum to the explanatory memorandum related to this bill. The addendum responds to matters raised by the scrutiny of bills committee.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.