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2019
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
SENATE
ANL LEGISLATION REPEAL BILL 2019
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure,
Transport and Regional Development, the Hon Michael McCormack MP)
ANL LEGISLATION REPEAL BILL 2019
OUTLINE
The purpose of the Bill is to repeal the entire ANL Act 1956 (ANL Act) and ANL Guarantee
Act 1994 (Guarantee Act) to remove restrictions against the use of 'protected names' relating
to the former Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited, and to remove outdated and
unnecessary legislation.
The Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited was sold to French company CMA
CGM in 1998, with the Commonwealth company subsequently wound up as a legal entity in
2003. The 1998 sale included all assets and intellectual property associated with the business,
as well as the transfer of staff to new employment contracts.
Part IV of the ANL Act was intended to protect against the unauthorised use of names and
trademarks associated with ANL Limited while it was owned and operated by the
Commonwealth. It places restrictions on the use of certain 'protected names' relating to ANL
Limited, making it an offence for any party not exempted in the Act to use these names in
certain business contexts, including domain names and intellectual property registrations.
While these protections were no longer required following the sale and winding up of ANL
Limited, the protections have been retained due to a historical oversight.
As a result, some affected businesses are currently unable to register or re-register their
domain names and other intellectual property. Repealing Part IV of the Act will remove this
unnecessary and burdensome provision, allowing the Commonwealth to honour the terms of
the 1998 sale in good faith and remove impediments to business.
The remaining provisions in the ANL Act have had no practical effect since the 1998 sale and
can be repealed without negative impact. These provisions set out a number of matters
relating to the operation of ANL Limited as a Commonwealth-owned business, including
staffing and taxation matters. As these arrangements were resolved at the time of the sale,
repealing these provisions will not impact the rights or entitlements of former employees, and
will remove redundant legislation.
The Guarantee Act can also be repealed without negative impact. The Guarantee Act is a
short Act which allows the Treasurer to guarantee loans to ANL Limited. As ANL Limited is
no longer a Commonwealth company and has not existed as a legal entity since 2003, the
Guarantee Act has no practical effect.
Repealing both the ANL Act and the Guarantee Act will remove outdated and unnecessary
legislation, removing impediments to business with no negative impacts expected.
Financial impact statement
The Bill is not expected to have any significant financial impact.
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Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
ANL Legislation Repeal Bill 2019
This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act
2011.
Overview of the Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to repeal the entire ANL Act 1956 (ANL Act) and ANL Guarantee
Act 1994 (Guarantee Act) to remove protections against the use of 'protected names' relating
to the former Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited, and to remove outdated and
unnecessary legislation.
The Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited was sold to French company CMA
CGM in 1998, with the Commonwealth company subsequently wound up as a legal entity in
2003. The 1998 sale included all assets and intellectual property associated with the business,
as well as the transfer of staff to new employment contracts.
Part IV of the ANL Act was intended to protect against the unauthorised use of names and
trademarks associated with ANL Limited while it was owned and operated by the
Commonwealth. It places restrictions on the use of certain 'protected names' relating to ANL
Limited, making it an offence for any party not exempted in the Act to use these names in
certain business contexts, including domain names and intellectual property registrations.
While these protections were no longer required following the sale and winding up of ANL
Limited, the protections have been retained due to a historical oversight.
As a result, some affected businesses are currently unable to register or re-register their
domain names and other intellectual property. Repealing Part IV of the Act will remove this
unnecessary and burdensome provision, allowing the Commonwealth to honour the terms of
the 1998 sale in good faith and remove impediments to business.
The remaining provisions in the ANL Act have had no practical effect since the 1998 sale and
can be repealed without negative impact. These provisions set out a number of matters
relating to the operation of ANL Limited as a Commonwealth-owned business, including
staffing and taxation matters. As these arrangements were resolved at the time of the sale,
repealing these provisions will not impact the rights or entitlements of former employees, and
will remove redundant legislation.
The Guarantee Act can also be repealed without negative impact. The Guarantee Act is a
short Act which allows the Treasurer to guarantee loans to ANL Limited. As ANL Limited is
no longer a Commonwealth company and has not existed as a legal entity since 2003, the
Guarantee Act has no practical effect.
Repealing both the ANL Act and the Guarantee Act will remove outdated and unnecessary
legislation, removing impediments to business with no negative impacts expected.
3
Human rights implications
This Bill does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Repealing the ANL Act 1956 (the ANL Act) will remove restrictions on the use of 'protected
names' relating to the former Commonwealth-owned ANL shipping line, removing
impediments to business. As the other provisions of the ANL Act have not had any practical
effect since the sale of ANL Limited in 1998, repealing these provisions does not engage any
rights or freedoms.
The only practical effect of repealing the ANL Guarantee Act 1994 (the Guarantee Act) will
be that the Treasurer will no longer be able to guarantee loans in respect of ANL Limited. As
this has not been necessary or appropriate since the 1998 sale of ANL to CMA CGM,
repealing the Guarantee Act also does not engage any human rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Bill is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and
Regional Development, the Hon Michael McCormack MP
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NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1: Short title
1. This is a formal provision that specifies the Act may be cited as the ANL Legislation
Repeal Act 2019.
Clause 2: Commencement
2. This clause provides for when each provision of the Act will commence. In this case, the
whole of the Act commences the day after the Act receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3: Schedules
3. This clause provides that legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended
or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other
item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1 - Repeals of Acts
ANL Act 1956
Item 1: The whole of the Act
4. This clause repeals the entire ANL Act 1956, removing the burdensome protected name
provisions in Part IV of the Act as well as other outdated and unnecessary provisions.
ANL Guarantee Act 1994
Item 2: The whole of the Act
5. This clause repeals the entire ANL Guarantee Act 1994, removing unnecessary and
outdated provisions.
5