{"id":"F2024L00518","name":"Defence (Non-relevant foreign country) Determination 2024","slug":"defence-non-relevant-foreign-country-determination-2024","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":105215,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2024L00518-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Defence (Non-relevant foreign country) Determination 2024","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nDefence (Non-relevant foreign country) Determination 2024\n\nI, Richard Marles, Minister for Defence, make the following determination.\n\nDated 1 May 2024    \n\nRichard Marles\n\nMinister for Defence\n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Defence (Non-relevant foreign country) Determination 2024.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day after this instrument is registered.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 115(3) of the Defence Act 1903 (the Act).\n\n4  Countries that are not relevant foreign countries\n\n  Each of the following countries is not a relevant foreign country for the purposes of the definition of relevant foreign country in section 113 of the Act:\n\n (a) Canada;\n\n (b) New Zealand;\n\n (c) United Kingdom;\n\n (d) United States of America.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument performs exactly the narrow function its title and enabling provision suggest: identifying specific countries to be excluded from the definition of 'relevant foreign country'. There is no scope creep or expansion beyond this straightforward administrative determination."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 4 operative sections","No defined terms within the instrument itself (relies on external definition in section 113 of the Defence Act 1903)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or cross-references beyond the single reference to the enabling provision","Simple declarative format: lists four countries and states they are excluded from a definition","No procedural requirements, timelines, or administrative mechanisms"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short legal instrument that lists four countries — **Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States** — and declares that they are **not** \"relevant foreign countries\" under the Defence Act 1903.\n\n**What this means in practice:**\n- The Defence Act contains rules about how the Australian Defence Force (ADF) can work with foreign military forces. Some of these rules only apply to \"relevant foreign countries.\"\n- By naming these four countries as **not** relevant foreign countries, this Determination exempts them from those particular restrictions.\n- In plain terms: **Australia's closest military allies (the Five Eyes partners minus Australia itself) get special treatment** — the ADF can cooperate with them more freely without triggering certain legal limitations that apply to other nations.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- This reflects Australia's deep intelligence and defence-sharing relationships with these four countries.\n- It streamlines military cooperation, exercises, and operations with these allies by removing bureaucratic or legal barriers that might otherwise apply."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument exercises the statutory power in subsection 115(3) of the Defence Act to designate specific countries as not being 'relevant foreign countries' (sections 3 and 4). It implements a categorisation change within the framework the Act provides rather than altering the Act's substantive scope or introducing new legal powers. The instrument itself does not indicate a change from the Act's original delegated-authority purpose; it simply records the Minister's determination and the countries excluded."},"complexity_factors":["Very short standalone instrument (4 substantive sections) with narrow effect (lists 4 countries).","Legal effect depends on cross-reference to the Defence Act's definition of 'relevant foreign country' (section 113), requiring consultation of that provision to see downstream consequences.","Instrument is an exercise of ministerial power under subsection 115(3) of the Defence Act—identifies decision-maker but not decision criteria or process (section 3).","No implementation, transitional, or cost details in the instrument; practical effects depend on external statutes, policies and administrative arrangements."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument, made by the Minister for Defence, declares Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States to be \"not relevant foreign countries\" under the Defence Act, taking effect the day after registration. That reclassification changes which Defence Act provisions apply to those four states; the instrument gives no reasons, costs, or implementation details."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/defence-non-relevant-foreign-country-determination-2024","history":"/api/acts/defence-non-relevant-foreign-country-determination-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/defence-non-relevant-foreign-country-determination-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/defence-non-relevant-foreign-country-determination-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/defence-non-relevant-foreign-country-determination-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/defence-non-relevant-foreign-country-determination-2024/documents"}}