{"id":"C2015A00099","name":"Imported Food Charges (Imposition—General) Act 2015","slug":"imported-food-charges-imposition-general-act-2015","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"99 of 2015","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":54912,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2015A00099-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—General) 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 Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted.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 neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise 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":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act operates exactly as its title and structure suggest — it is a narrow, purpose-built charging imposition Act limited to cost-recovery fees connected with the administration of imported food controls. There is no evidence of scope creep; the cost-recovery constraint (section 7(2)) explicitly limits the charges to no more than the Commonwealth's actual costs, keeping the Act tightly bounded to its original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional considerations requiring the Act to distinguish between taxes, duties of customs, and duties of excise (referencing sections 55 and 114 of the Australian Constitution)","Delegated legislative structure — the Act itself sets almost no specific rules, deferring all operational detail to regulations made under it, which means the full picture requires reading multiple instruments","Staged commencement provisions with contingent triggers (sections 3–10 only commenced if a separate Act, the Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015, also commenced)","Interaction with multiple other pieces of legislation (Imported Food Control Act 1992, Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015)","Crown-binding clause and territorial extension provisions add layers that require understanding of Australian federalism"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act authorises the Australian Government to impose charges on businesses and individuals who import food, funding inspection and administration under the Imported Food Control framework. The charges are created by regulation, treated as taxes for constitutional purposes, and must be limited to cost‑recovery (not profit). It doesn’t extend to some external territories unless the main food law applies there, and it preserves the constitutional protection for state property."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"6(1) and 8","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 6(1) uses permissive language ('The regulations may prescribe a charge') and section 8 similarly uses 'The regulations may prescribe one or more persons who are liable'. This means there is no guarantee any charge will ever be imposed or that any person will ever be liable. The Act is titled an 'Imposition' Act — suggesting it imposes charges — but on its face it imposes nothing at all without subordinate legislation. While this is a common drafting pattern in Australian taxation law (required to satisfy constitutional constraints), the gap between the Act's title and its operative content is a structural absurdity.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The Act imposes charges but leaves both the charge amount and the identity of who must pay entirely to regulations, meaning the Act itself imposes no actual charge on anyone — it is purely a framework with no operative effect until regulations are made."},{"type":"other","section":"7(2)","severity":"low","reasoning":"The cost-recovery constraint in s7(2) is expressed only as a ceiling ('no more than likely costs'). There is no requirement that charges actually recover any costs at all. A charge of $0.00 would technically satisfy the provision. If the purpose is cost recovery, the absence of a floor makes the safeguard one-sided and largely meaningless as a genuine fiscal control.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The Minister must be satisfied the charge is set to recover 'no more than' the Commonwealth's 'likely costs', but there is no floor, meaning a charge of zero would always satisfy this requirement, rendering the cost-recovery obligation functionally toothless."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"2 (Commencement table, item 2)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"If the contingency in item 2(b) fails (i.e., the Collection Act never commences), then ss3–10 never commence. Notably s3 (Crown binding) and s4 (territorial extension) are listed as commencing on Royal Assent under item 1, so they survive. However, ss6–10 — the entire substantive core of the Act — would never have legal effect. An 'Imposition' Act that can never impose anything is a structural absurdity, albeit one contingent on an unlikely event that did not in fact occur.","confidence":0.78,"description":"Sections 3 to 10 are stated not to commence at all if the Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015 does not commence. This means the Act's entire operative content — including the power to bind the Crown (s3), the exemption for State property (s5 is in Part 1 but charges provisions are ss6-9), and the regulation-making power (s10) — could be permanently inoperative, leaving the Act as a legal nullity."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"2(2)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 2(1) incorporates the table by reference as part of the operative commencement provision. Section 2(2) then declares that column 3 'is not part of this Act'. Since the table is embedded within s2 of the Act, column 3 is physically within the Act while legally outside it. This is a known and intentional drafting convention in Commonwealth legislation, but it remains logically peculiar — the Act contains text that the Act itself says is not part of the Act.","confidence":0.6,"description":"Column 3 of the commencement table is declared not to be part of the Act, yet the table itself is part of section 2, which is part of the Act. The Act therefore contains information that simultaneously is and is not part of the Act within the same provision."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"6(2)","section_b":"6(4)","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 6(2) declares that all charges prescribed under s6(1) 'are imposed as taxes', while s6(4) carves out that the section only imposes a charge 'so far as that charge is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise'. Duties of customs and excise are themselves taxes, creating an internal inconsistency: a charge is simultaneously declared to be a tax (s6(2)) and simultaneously excluded from imposition if it is a particular species of tax (s6(4))."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"4","section_b":"6(1)","confidence":0.55,"description":"Section 4 conditions the Act's extension to Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands on whether the Imported Food Control Act 1992 extends to those territories. However, s6(1) empowers regulations to prescribe charges connected with the administration of that same Act without any equivalent geographic limitation. This creates a potential inconsistency where charges could theoretically be prescribed in relation to matters arising in those territories even if the Act has not been extended to them."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"7(2)","section_b":"6(3)","confidence":0.68,"description":"Section 7(2) requires the Minister to be satisfied that each charge is set to recover no more than the Commonwealth's likely costs 'in connection with the prescribed matter'. Section 6(3) permits a single charge to be prescribed in relation to two or more prescribed matters. Where a single charge spans multiple matters, it is logically unclear which 'prescribed matter' and associated 'likely costs' the Minister must assess under s7(2), potentially making the cost-recovery ceiling impossible to evaluate with precision."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: providing constitutional authority to impose charges related to imported food administration. It has not expanded beyond this narrow remit."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (only 10 sections)","Minimal defined terms (only one explicit definition in section 5(2))","Heavy reliance on delegated legislation — most substantive details (amount of charges, who pays, exemptions) are left to regulations rather than specified in the Act itself","Single cross-reference to companion legislation (*Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015*)","Simple conditional logic limited to commencement provisions and constitutional safeguards (section 6(4))","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements within the Act text"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a framework for charging fees on imported food to help pay for the government's costs of checking that imported food is safe and meets Australian standards.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Authorises charges**: Allows the government to create regulations that set fees (called \"charges\") for activities related to inspecting and controlling imported food.\n- **Limits the charges**: The fees can only cover the actual costs of administering food safety laws — they can't be used to make a profit.\n- **Defines who pays**: The regulations can specify which people or businesses must pay these fees (typically importers).\n- **Allows exemptions**: The regulations can also create exceptions where certain people don't have to pay.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Importers of food** into Australia who may need to pay inspection fees.\n- **The Commonwealth government**, which uses these fees to fund food safety inspection programs under the *Imported Food Control Act 1992*.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a \"money bill\" — it gives the government constitutional authority to collect these specific charges as taxes. Without this law, the government couldn't legally charge importers for food safety inspections. It ensures that the cost of keeping Australia's food supply safe is partly borne by the importers who bring food in, rather than entirely by taxpayers.\n\n**Key limitations:**\n- The charges cannot be customs duties or excise duties (special types of taxes with different constitutional rules).\n- The charges cannot apply to property owned by Australian States.\n- The law only applies to certain Australian territories if the main food control law also applies there."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"As presented, the Act (originally enacted) establishes a regulatory power to impose cost-recovery charges related to the Imported Food Control Act 1992 and leaves detailed design, liability, exemptions and collection to regulations and a separate Collection Act (ss 6–10; s2). The source text shows no amendments or alterations to that scope."},"complexity_factors":["Delegated regulation-making power to prescribe charges and supporting matters (ss 6, 10)","Requirement that the Minister be satisfied charges recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs (s7(2)) — discretion and evidentiary burden on decision-maker","Regulations may set amounts either as fixed sums or by calculation method (s7(1)) — potential technical complexity in formulae","Liability and exemptions are left to regulations (ss 8–9) — compliance burden depends on regulatory design","Constitutional constraint excluding duties of customs or excise (s6(4)) — legal boundary requires care in drafting","Linkage to the separate Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015 for commencement and collection (s2 note and s8 note) — operational interdependence","Territorial and Crown application rules (ss 3–5) — limited territorial extension and prohibition on taxing State property"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act authorises regulations to impose charges (taxes) connected with administering the Imported Food Control Act 1992; the Act itself does not set or collect charges (ss 6, 7, 10). The Minister must be satisfied charges recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs (s7(2)); regulations may specify who pays and any exemptions (ss 8–9). Charges must not be customs or excise (s6(4)); the Act binds the Crown (s3) and most provisions’ commencement depends on the separate Collection Act (s2)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-general-act-2015","history":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/history","analysis":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/imported-food-charges-imposition-general-act-2015/documents"}}