Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator the Honourable Christopher Martin Ellison, MP)Schedule 12 - Commonwealth agencies
Customs Administration Act 1985
Item 1 - Subsection 16(1A) - (definition of Commonwealth agency)
This item repeals and substitutes the definition of Commonwealth agency in subsection 16(1A) of the Customs Administration Act.
Section 16 of the Customs Administration Actgoverns the recording and disclosure of protected information by Customs officers and people working in and for Customs. It enables the disclosure of protected information to a number of entities such as Commonwealth agencies, State agencies, foreign countries or agencies or instrumentalities of a foreign country and international organisations. Both Commonwealth agency and State agency are defined as meaning any instrumentality or agency of the Crown.
The Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence ("ABCI") is an unincorporated organisation established by inter-governmental agreement between the Commonwealth, the States and the Northern Territory. Whether an entity is "an agency or instrumentality of the Crown" depends upon the nature and degree of control exercised over it by the Crown. As all jurisdictions are represented on the Management Committee of the ABCI, it may be considered to be controlled by the Crown in each of its emanations.
While it is possible that the ABCI is both a Commonwealth agency and a State agency for the purposes of section 16, it is proposed to put the matter beyond doubt.
It is therefore proposed to amend the present definition of Commonwealth agency in subsection 16(1A) of the Customs Administration Act to provide that a Commonwealth agency also includes the ABCI.