Bill
Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Penalties) Bill 2021
passed, as at 2021-06-29. Agriculture, Water and the Environment portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2021-02-18
- second reading — 2021-02-18
- second reading — 2021-06-16
- second reading — 2021-06-16
- third reading — 2021-06-16
- introduced — 2021-06-21
- second reading — 2021-06-21
- second reading — 2021-06-23
- second reading — 2021-06-23
- committee — 2021-06-23
- third reading — 2021-06-23
- passed — 2021-06-23
- royal assent — 2021-06-29
Divisions
- Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Penalties) Bill 2021 - in Committee — 2021-06-23, Senate: negative, ayes 10, noes 30
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2021-02-18.
The bill would increase civil and criminal penalties for breaking key biosecurity rules on goods brought into Australia and on activities under approved arrangements.
It would raise maximum civil penalties from 120 to 300 penalty units for contraventions related to goods under biosecurity control, and increase criminal pecuniary penalties from 300 to 1,000 penalty units for certain offences.
For bringing or importing prohibited or suspended goods, the bill would raise the maximum criminal pecuniary penalty from 2,000 to 5,000 penalty units for a fault-based offence.
- Increase civil penalty amounts from 120 to 300 penalty units for contraventions of sections 124 to 130 and 139 to 141.
- Increase criminal pecuniary penalties from 300 to 1,000 penalty units for fault-based offences under sections 140 and 141.
- Increase criminal pecuniary penalties for bringing or importing prohibited or suspended goods: from 600 to 2,000 penalty units for the most serious offence, and from 2,000 to 5,000 penalty units for another offence.
Biosecurity industry participants with approved arrangements and others who bring or import goods into Australian territory.
Sources
em
billhome
frl act