Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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IMPORTED FOOD CONTROL REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 321

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 321

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

Imported Food Control Act 1992

Imported Food Control Regulations (Amendment)

The Imported Food Control Act 1992 (the Act), and the Imported Food Control Regulations (the Regulations) made pursuant to section 43 of the Act, provide for a scheme of inspection and control of food imported into Australia.

This amendment to the Regulations addresses two issues: one is the exemption of certain New Zealand foods from the operation of the Act; the other is the updating the Regulations to reflect a title change.

Section 7 of the Act provides that the Act applies to all food imported into Australia other than (inter alia) food that is imported from New Zealand and is of a kind that is specified by the regulations to be food to which this Act does not apply. This provision for the regulations to exempt certain New Zealand food was introduced by the Primary Industries and Energy Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 1997.

The amendment to the Regulations specifies the food of a kind, imported from New Zealand, to which the Act does not apply. The purpose of the amendment is to allow Australia to meet its obligations under agreements reached between Australia and New Zealand to harmonise food surveillance and compliance procedures and relax barrier inspection programs applying to certain food traded between the two countries.

Schedule 1 of the National Food Authority Amendment Act 1995 changed all references to "National Food Authority" in the Act to "Australia New Zealand Food Authority".

The amendment also substitutes references in the Regulations to the "National Food Authority" with references to "Australia New Zealand Food Authority". The purpose of the amendment is to bring the Regulations into line with the Act.

Details of the amendment are as follows:

Regulation 1 provides for the Imported Food Control Regulations to be amended as set out in the Imported Food Control Regulations (Amendment).

Regulation 2 inserts a new regulation specifying the type of New Zealand food to which the Act does not apply.

Regulations 3 and 4 substitute "Australian New Zealand Food Authority" for "National Food Authority" in regulations 9 and 10 respectively.