{"id":"C2015A00097","name":"Imported Food Charges (Imposition—Customs) Act 2015","slug":"imported-food-charges-imposition-customs-act-2015","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"97 of 2015","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":54905,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2015A00097-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n This Act may be cited as the Imported Food Charges (Imposition—Customs) Act 2015.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n```html\n

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

29 June 2015

2. Sections 3 to 10

The later of:

(a) the start of the day after this Act receives the Royal Assent; and

(b) immediately after the commencement of the Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015.

However, the provisions do not commence at all if the event mentioned in paragraph (b) does not occur.

30 June 2015

\n```\n\n> Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act binds the Crown","content":"#### 3 Act binds the Crown\n\n This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Extension to certain external Territories","content":"#### 4 Extension to certain external Territories\n\n This Act does not extend to Norfolk Island, the Territory of Christmas Island or the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands unless the Imported Food Control Act 1992 extends to that Territory.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act does not impose tax on property of a State","content":"#### 5 Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.\n (2) In this section:\n\n> property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Charges","content":"## Part 2—Charges","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Imposition of charges","content":"#### 6 Imposition of charges\n\n (1) The regulations may prescribe a charge in relation to a prescribed matter connected with the administration of the Imported Food Control Act 1992.\n (2) The charges prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) are imposed as taxes.\n (3) Two or more charges may be prescribed in relation to the same prescribed matter, and a single charge may be prescribed in relation to 2 or more prescribed matters.\n (4) This section imposes a charge only so far as that charge is a duty of customs within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Matters relating to amount of charges","content":"#### 7 Matters relating to amount of charges\n\n (1) The regulations may prescribe a charge for the purposes of subsection 6(1):\n (a) by specifying an amount as the charge; or\n (b) by specifying a method for calculating the amount of the charge.\n (2) Before the Governor‑General makes regulations for the purposes of subsection 6(1) prescribing a charge in relation to a prescribed matter connected with the administration of the Imported Food Control Act 1992, the Minister must be satisfied that the amount of the charge is set at a level that is designed to recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs in connection with the prescribed matter.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Who is liable to pay charges","content":"#### 8 Who is liable to pay charges\n\n The regulations may prescribe one or more persons who are liable to pay a specified charge prescribed for the purposes of subsection 6(1).\n\n> Note: For matters related to the collection of charges prescribed for the purposes of subsection 6(1), see the Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exemptions from charges","content":"#### 9 Exemptions from charges\n\n The regulations may provide for exemptions from a charge prescribed for the purposes of subsection 6(1).","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Miscellaneous","content":"## Part 3—Miscellaneous","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 10 Regulations\n\n The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":12}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act is tightly focused on its stated purpose: imposing cost-recovery charges (as customs duties) connected with administering the imported food control regime. No provisions appear to extend beyond that original and clearly defined intent. The cost-recovery cap in s.7(2) actively constrains scope drift."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional layering: the Act exists solely because the Australian Constitution (s.55) requires customs duties to be imposed in separate legislation, adding a structural complexity not obvious from the text alone","Skeleton legislation: the Act itself sets almost no actual rules — all operative detail is delegated to regulations made by the Governor-General, meaning the full legal picture requires reading subordinate instruments not included here","Interaction with multiple related Acts: full understanding requires cross-referencing the Imported Food Control Act 1992, the Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015, and potentially companion imposition Acts (excise/general)","Constitutional exemption for State property referencing s.114 of the Constitution adds a layer requiring constitutional knowledge","Conditional commencement provisions (sections 3–10 only commence if a separate Act also commences) create timing complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets the Commonwealth charge importers of food for the cost of running Australia’s imported food inspection and control system, with charges set by regulation and limited to actual cost recovery. It treats the fees as customs duties and exempts state government property; it only applies to certain territories if the main imported food law does.\n\nA companion law handles collection."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"As enacted, the Act authorises regulations to impose charges related to imported food administration (subject to s55 limits) and requires Ministerial cost‑recovery satisfaction. It does not itself create collection mechanics (referred to the Collection Act) nor alter the substantive Imported Food Control Act 1992; therefore the statutory scope set at enactment stands unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Delegated lawmaking: core powers and details (amounts, liable persons, exemptions) are left to regulations made by the Governor‑General (s6(1), s10).","Ministerial pre‑condition: regulations imposing charges require the Minister to be satisfied charges are set to recover no more than likely Commonwealth costs (s7(2)), adding an administrative threshold.","Constitutional constraint: charges operate only to the extent they are customs duties within the meaning of s55 of the Constitution (s6(4)), creating a legal boundary for scope.","Inter‑act dependency: commencement and practical collection depend on the separate Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015 (s2 note), so implementation spans multiple instruments.","Discretion over liability and exemptions: regulations may specify who pays and who is exempt, concentrating decision‑making in subordinate legislation (ss8, 9).","Narrow substantive content: the Act itself is short and mostly enables regulation rather than prescribing technical rules, lowering textual complexity."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets the Governor‑General make regulations that impose charges, treated as taxes and (to the extent applicable) customs duties, for matters connected with administering the Imported Food Control Act 1992. The regulations can set fixed amounts or formulas and can name who must pay and who is exempt. (ss6(1)‑(4), 7(1), 8, 9)\n\nThe Minister must be satisfied charges recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs before regulations are made, and collection arrangements are handled under a separate Act. (s7(2); commencement link s2)"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation appears to be serving its original narrow purpose. It was enacted in 2015 as part of a package with the Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015 to create a cost-recovery framework for imported food inspection. The Act remains tightly focused on imposing charges as duties of customs for food safety administration, with no evidence of scope creep into unrelated policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute — only 10 sections","Minimal defined terms — only one defined term in section 5(2) referencing the Constitution","Heavy reliance on regulations — most substantive details (fee amounts, who pays, exemptions) are left to future regulations rather than specified in the Act itself","Simple structure — three straightforward parts (Preliminary, Charges, Miscellaneous) with no nested exceptions or conditional logic","Single cross-reference — only references the Imported Food Control Act 1992 and the companion Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015","Constitutional safeguards — sections 4, 5, and 6(4) contain simple limitations to ensure constitutional validity, but these are standard boilerplate provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a system for charging fees on imported food to help pay for the government's costs of checking that imported food is safe. It works together with the Imported Food Control Act 1992, which sets the food safety rules.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Allows the government to create fees** (called \"charges\") for activities related to checking imported food — things like inspecting shipments, testing samples, or processing paperwork.\n- **Limits what the fees can cover** — the Minister must be satisfied that fees only recover the government's actual costs, not make a profit.\n- **Specifies who pays** — the regulations will name who is responsible for paying each fee (usually importers or their agents).\n- **Allows exemptions** — some people or situations can be excused from paying fees if the regulations say so.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Importers of food** into Australia — they may have to pay fees for food safety checks.\n- **The Australian government** — specifically the department that administers food import controls.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a \"money bill\" that creates the legal power to collect these fees as taxes under the Constitution. Without this law, the government couldn't legally charge importers for food safety services. It ensures that the cost of protecting Australian consumers from unsafe imported food is partly borne by the importers who bring the food in, rather than entirely by taxpayers.\n\n**Key technical point:**\nThis law is carefully limited to only create \"duties of customs\" (a specific type of tax on imports allowed by the Constitution). It also explicitly avoids taxing state government property, which the Constitution prohibits."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-customs-act-2015","history":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-customs-act-2015/history","analysis":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-customs-act-2015/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-customs-act-2015/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-customs-act-2015/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-customs-act-2015/documents"}}