House of Representatives

Replacement Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Communications, the Honourable Michelle Rowland)

GENERAL OUTLINE

1. The purpose of the Australian Postal Corporation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (the Bill) is to further strengthen Australia's legislative framework for the screening, and inspection, of incoming international mail at the border, so it continues to operate effectively and ensures the security of postal articles.

2. Part 7B of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 (the Act) prohibits the opening and examination of articles, and the disclosure of information and documents in relation to articles except in specified circumstances. It also provides for the dealing with articles and their contents, including through other legislative regimes contained in the Customs Act 1901, Biosecurity Act 2015 and the Imported Food Control Act 1992.

3. In recent years, a number of deficiencies, including areas of ambiguity, with the operation of Part 7B of the Act have been identified by Australia Post and border agencies. These have been exacerbated by increasing parcel and declining letter volumes, increased use of automation and the increased availability of electronic advanced data for intelligence led and risk-based screening.

4. The Bill seeks to ensure that the security-related elements of the Act are strong and continue to be relevant, and provide for the opportunity to increase the capacity for operational efficiencies and innovation in a changing mail and security environment.

5. Schedule 1 to the Bill amends the Act to address security-related vulnerabilities identified in the mail stream, improves operational flexibility, and provides greater certainty for officials responsible for border control and postal activities at international mail gateways where those activities involve the screening, inspection of, and where warranted, intervention with, international mail. Specifically, these measures will:

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allow Australia Post employees to disclose information or documents to prescribed persons, and particularly officials and officers of Commonwealth, State and Territory bodies, to assist in the performance of their functions or duties;

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extend the operation of secondary disclosure provisions to include new prescribed persons;

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clarify the existing offence provisions to make clear officers of border agencies and members of a police force or service are permitted to open and examine articles where it is authorised under the Act and any other laws; and

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streamline provisions in Part 7B of the Act that deal with articles and their contents by removing burdensome provisions that do not support the operational effectiveness of the legislation, and concepts that have become irrelevant over time.

6. The Act prohibits the disclosure of information and documents about an article except in specified circumstances. These exceptions include that, among other things, the disclosure is required under a law of the Commonwealth, or certain laws establishing commissions to conduct investigations and inquiries, or for the specific purpose of administering a scheme under the Sport Integrity Australia Act 2020. The Act does not allow disclosures to Commonwealth, State and Territory bodies, to assist in the performance of their functions or duties, even if they may involve postal articles or the use of postal services provided by Australia Post. The Bill will also introduce a new exception to permit the disclosure of information or a document about articles to specified persons to assist them to exercise their powers, or perform any of their functions or duties. The new measures will also allow the Secretary of the administering department to prescribe, by legislative instrument, an agency or authority of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory for this purpose, and include prescribed persons in the secondary disclosure regime under the Act. This change will also allow Australia Post to share aggregated data with prescribed agencies or authorities to assist them to conduct analysis to inform operational and resource planning, and risk profiling.

7. If an employee of Australia Post knows, or has reasonable grounds for suspecting, that the article contains something that is or could be explosive, dangerous or deleterious, the article may be dealt with in accordance with Australia Post's service terms and conditions, as provided for under section 32 of the Act. The Bill includes a measure to incorporate these provisions into the Act, reflecting the serious conditions and risks in dealing with postal articles, which from time to time contain explosive, dangerous and injurious goods.

8. The Bill contains a number of amendments to simplify terminology and legislative processes to provide greater certainty to Australia Post employees, and customs and biosecurity officers responsible for the inspection and examination of mail, and ease the burden of compliance.

9. In particular, the Bill will remove the requirement for Australia Post employees to be appointed by their employer as an 'authorised discloser' in order to use and disclose information or documents.

10. The existing exceptions that permit the use and disclosure of information or documents about an article by Australia Post employees are currently categorised as 'specially protected' or 'not specially protected'. 'Specially protected' means 'information that is clearly visible on, or through, the outside of the covering or packaging of an article'. The Bill will amend the Act to remove the distinction between these categories, so all information about an article is protected and prohibited from disclosure unless permitted by the exceptions.

11. Currently, under the Act, the opening and examination of postal articles is prohibited except in specified circumstances and must be undertaken by a person who is authorised by Australia Post, which may include customs or biosecurity officers. The Bill will remove this requirement and specify in plain terms the persons who are permitted to open and examine mail. The Bill also contains other amendments to enable the same Australia Post employee or customs officer to open an article and to take multiple steps to enable its delivery and confirmation of whether the contents are subject to duties or taxes, and may lawfully be carried.

12. The Bill also makes consequential amendments to the Criminal Code Act 1995 – specifically, to the terminology for postal offences to reflect updated definitions that describe when an article is in the course of post.

13. The measures in the Bill have been developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders over an extended period, to ensure the measures are operationally fit-for-purpose regardless of further advancements in technology – in particular, Australia Post, Australian Border Force, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The Attorney-General's Department and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner were also consulted on potential privacy impacts.

14. The amendments made to the Act by Schedule 1 to the Bill will commence on a date to be fixed by Proclamation. If a date of Proclamation were to be fixed, it would be intended to allow sufficient time for Australia Post, border agencies and other prescribed persons to put in place appropriate administrative and operational arrangements and procedures for the purposes of the amendments. If no date is fixed by Proclamation, Schedule 1 to the Bill would commence 6 months after the Bill received the Royal Assent.

FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT

15. The Bill is not expected to have any material financial impact on Commonwealth expenditure or revenue, with inspection costs continuing to be met under current arrangements. Australia Post may be subject to other costs associated with goods being examined by a Customs Officer. However, these costs are not expected to be significant.

ABBREVIATIONS

16. The following abbreviations are used in this explanatory memorandum: