Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Home Affairs, the Honourable Jason Clare MP)Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Customs Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2012
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 Bill will amend the Act to introduce a new offence for bringing into Australia a new category of goods known as 'restricted goods' as well as make a number of other minor technical amendments.
Human rights implication
Minimum guarantees in criminal proceedings
The Bill will create a new offence with a civil penalty. As noted by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights in its Fifth Report of 2012, where a civil penalty regime subjects a person to a high penalty and is intended to be punitive or deterrent in nature it may engage article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
As the Bill creates a new offence with a high penalty intended to have a deterrent effect it engages the minimum guarantees in criminal proceedings contained in article 14 of the ICCPR. Although a new offence will be created, the Bill does not affect or limit any of the existing human rights protections, including the minimum guarantees in criminal proceedings contained in Australian law.
Conclusion
The Bill is compatible with human rights as although the Bill engages the minimum guarantees in criminal proceedings, the Bill maintains all existing protections contained in Australian law and does not seek to limit the guarantees in any way.