{"id":"BILL-s1320","name":"Customs Legislation Amendment (Commercial Greyhound Export and Import Prohibition) Bill 2021","slug":"customs-legislation-amendment-commercial-greyhound-export-and-import-prohibition-bill-2021","collection":"bill","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":445978,"registerId":"commonwealth-BILL-s1320-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-05-05","status":"introduced","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[],"analysis":{"summary":{"status_summary":"The bill was introduced in the Senate on 1 September 2021, lapsed at the end of previous parliaments, and was restored to the notice paper on 23 July 2025.","complexity_score":3,"likely_questions":["What activities involving greyhounds are prohibited by this bill?","What is the current status and next steps for the bill?"],"complexity_factors":["Amends the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 and Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956","Referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee"],"plain_english_summary":"The Bill would amend Australia’s customs regulations to ban the commercial export and import of greyhounds for racing, breeding or other commercial purposes. It directly affects businesses and individuals in the greyhound racing industry by stopping cross‑border movement for those activities. Introduced in 2021, the bill has lapsed and been restored several times and remains in early parliamentary stages awaiting further debate."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This bill narrowly targets commercial international trade in greyhounds by adding them to existing Customs prohibited import/export lists. It remains focused on that single policy objective and does not appreciably broaden the statutory scope beyond prohibiting commercial export/import of greyhounds for racing and breeding. There is no clear evidence in the bill text that it has grown beyond that original, specific purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow scope: bill amends two existing regulations only (Prohibited Exports Regs 1958 and Prohibited Imports Regs 1956).","Limited number of changes: typically insertion of an item (greyhounds) into existing prohibited lists rather than multiple new provisions.","Reliance on cross‑references: enforcement and penalties depend on the existing Customs Act and the two long‑standing regulations, requiring readers to consult those instruments for the full effect.","Key definitional reliance: effect depends on how terms such as “greyhound” and “commercial purposes” are defined or interpreted in the regulations or in practice — possible ambiguity adds interpretive complexity.","Administrative interaction: practical implementation requires coordination with quarantine and animal welfare regimes (external complexity, not legislative density)."],"plain_english_summary":"**What the bill does, in plain English**\n\n- The bill adds greyhounds to the lists of animals that Customs is not allowed to take out of, or bring into, Australia for racing, breeding or other commercial purposes. It does this by amending two existing sets of Customs regulations: the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 and the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956.\n\n- Mechanically, that means Customs officers will have the regulatory backing to seize, detain and refuse clearance for greyhounds that are being exported or imported where the purpose is racing, breeding, or other commercial activity (rather than, for example, a private pet movement). The prohibition operates through the existing Customs regulatory framework for “prohibited exports” and “prohibited imports.”\n\n**Who is affected**\n\n- Greyhound breeders, trainers, commercial exporters and importers of greyhounds for racing or breeding.\n- Transport and freight businesses that handle consignments of animals for commercial greyhound trade.\n- Customs and border agencies, which will need to identify and enforce the prohibition.\n\n**Why it matters (mechanics and incentives)**\n\n- The stated purpose, as set out in the bill’s explanatory material, is to stop Australia being the origin or destination for cross‑border commercial trade in racing greyhounds. That is a narrow regulatory change: it does not, on its face, ban private or non‑commercial movement of pet greyhounds unless the movement is captured by the commercial definitions in the regulations.\n\n- Who pays: the direct compliance costs fall on those who commercially export or import greyhounds (breeders, owners, transporters). Indirectly, enforcement costs fall on Customs (departmental resourcing) and potentially on other agencies (quarantine, if coordination is required).\n\n- What changes about behaviour: commercial actors will need to stop or reroute business that relied on international sale or supply of racing/breeding greyhounds. Some operators may try to restructure transactions to claim private (non‑commercial) status, or use informal/unauthorised channels, shifting activity out of regulated supply chains.\n\n**Key implementation points to watch**\n\n- Definitions and evidentiary standard: enforcement depends on how the regulations and Customs interpret “for racing, breeding and commercial purposes” — whether intent must be proved, what documents prove commercial intent (sales contracts, promotional material, transport invoices), and how “commercial” differs from a private sale.\n\n- Interaction with other laws and agencies: the prohibition sits alongside quarantine, biosecurity and animal welfare regimes. Practical enforcement may require information‑sharing and coordination between Customs, the Department of Agriculture (biosecurity), and state/territory animal welfare agencies.\n\n- Compliance and avoidance risks: narrow prohibitions can create incentives to relabel transactions as non‑commercial, to move animals through countries with weaker checks, or to attempt illegal movement, which could raise enforcement costs and require new investigative resources.\n\n**Relation between mechanics and claimed purpose**\n\n- The bill provides Customs the regulatory tool to cut off legal international commercial channels for racing/breeding greyhounds. That is a direct mechanism for reducing cross‑border commercial trade in such animals.\n\n- Costs and trade‑offs include: compliance costs for legitimate businesses; the administrative burden on border agencies to identify and screen consignments; the potential displacement of trade into illicit channels; and possible legal disputes about classification of movements.\n\n(References: amends Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 and Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956; explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill.)"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/customs-legislation-amendment-commercial-greyhound-export-and-import-prohibition-bill-2021","history":"/api/acts/customs-legislation-amendment-commercial-greyhound-export-and-import-prohibition-bill-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/customs-legislation-amendment-commercial-greyhound-export-and-import-prohibition-bill-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/customs-legislation-amendment-commercial-greyhound-export-and-import-prohibition-bill-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/customs-legislation-amendment-commercial-greyhound-export-and-import-prohibition-bill-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/customs-legislation-amendment-commercial-greyhound-export-and-import-prohibition-bill-2021/documents"}}