Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator the Honourable Chris Ellison)Notes on clauses
Clause 1 - Short Title
This is a formal clause which provides for the citation of the Bill.
Clause 2 - Commencement
This clause sets out when the various parts of the Bill commence.
Sections 1-3 of the Bill (the short title, the commencement and the schedules provision) will commence on the day the Bill receives Royal Assent.
Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Bill inserts new serious drugs offences into the Criminal Code, and will commence 28 days after Royal Assent. The purpose of delayed commencement is to allow time for those affected to become familiar with the scope of the new offences.
Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Bill, which sets out necessary consequential amendments, will commence at the same time as Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Bill.
Schedule 2 of the Bill, which inserts new offences into the Criminal Code for the use of children in armed conflict, will commence 28 days after the Bill receives Royal Assent, or the day the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict enters into force in Australia, whichever day is the later. The Minister for Foreign Affairs must make an announcement by notice in the Gazette on the day the Optional Protocol enters into force in Australia. If the Optional Protocol does not come into force in Australia, the provisions in Schedule 2 of the Bill will not commence.
Schedule 3 of the Bill, which amends the POC Act to enable a court to make a restraining order or forfeiture order under the POC Act over a bankrupt's property where the property has vested in the Official Trustee or a registered trustee under the Bankruptcy Act, will commence on the day the Bill receives Royal Assent.
Schedules 4 to 8 of the Bill, which contain minor amendments to other legislation, will commence on the day the Bill receives Royal Assent.
Part 1 of Schedule 9 of the Bill, which exempts documents received by AUSTRAC under section 16 of the FTR Act from disclosure under the FOI Act, will commence on the day the Bill receives Royal Assent.
Part 2 of Schedule 9 of the Bill, which contains minor technical amendments to the FOI Act, will commence on the day after the Bill receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3
This clause makes it clear that Schedules to the Bill will amend the Acts set out in those Schedules in accordance with the provisions set out in each Schedule.