Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator the Honourable Chris Ellison)Notes on clauses
List of Abbreviations
| AFP | Australian Federal Police |
| Customs | Australian Customs Service |
| NCA | National Crime Authority |
Clause 1: Short title
The short title of this Act is the Measures to Combat Serious and Organised Crime Act 2001.
Clause 2: Commencement
This clause provides that sections 1, 2 and 3 of this Act commence on the day on which the Act receives Royal Assent.
Schedules 1 and 2 of this Act commence on a day or days to be fixed by Proclamation. If either Schedule 1 or 2 has not commenced within 6 months of Royal Assent, then the Schedule(s) that has not commenced, commences on the first day after the end of the 6-month period. This will allow time to make the regulations necessary to give effect to the amendments.
Item 10 of Schedule 4 of this Act will commence on a day to be fixed by Proclamation. This Item repeals a provision that provides that the existing provisions of Part 1C apply to the investigation of certain Australian Capital Territory (ACT) offences. The ACT is considering a proposal to enact its own regime, essentially replicating the Commonwealths Part 1C, to apply to ACT offences. This is consistent with the fact that the ACT has enacted its own criminal investigation provisions in other contexts. However, the timing of any such measure has not yet been determined.
While an upper limit would normally be placed on the date by which an amendment comes into force, in this case such a limit would create the risk that Part 1C would cease to apply to the investigation of ACT offences without a new ACT regime having been put in place. On the other hand, this Act was considered the best vehicle to take forward this measure (rather than delaying further) given that (i) the Act contains a broader package of Part 1C measures; (ii) if the ACT was required to enact its own amendments first, there might then be significant further delay awaiting a Commonwealth amendment of the kind proposed in this Item.
The remaining provisions of the Act commence the 28th day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent .
Clause 3: Schedule(s)
This clause provides that, subject to the commencement provision, each Act that is specified in a Schedule is amended as set out in that Schedule.