(a) was necessary to secure the safety of, or appeared to be the only way of averting a threat to, human life; or
(b) was necessary to secure, or appeared to be the only way of averting a threat to, the safety of a ship at sea, of an aircraft in flight or of a resources installation; or
(c) was authorised in writing by the Comptroller‑General of Customs and was carried out in accordance with the conditions (if any) specified in the authorisation.
(7) Subsection (6) is not to be taken to limit by implication any defence that would, apart from that subsection, be available to a person charged with an offence against this section.
(8) For the purposes of this section:
(a) a person is not to be taken to travel from or to an external place or an installation only because the person is in an aircraft flying over, or on a landing place in or on, the place or installation; and
(b) goods are not to be taken to have been brought from, or sent to, an external place or an installation only because the goods were in an aircraft that flew over, or was on a landing place in or on, the place or installation.
(9) A person who commits an offence against this section is punishable, on conviction, by a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units.
60 Boarding stations
(1) The master of every ship from a place outside Australia bound to or calling at any port shall bring his or her ship to for boarding at a boarding station appointed for that port and shall permit his or her ship to be boarded.
Penalty: 100 penalty units.
(2) The pilot of an aircraft from a place outside Australia arriving in Australia shall not suffer the aircraft to land at any other airport until the aircraft has first landed:
(a) at such airport for which a boarding station is appointed as is nearest to the place at which the aircraft entered Australia; or
(b) at such other airport for which a boarding station is appointed as has been approved by the Comptroller‑General of Customs, in writing, as an airport at which that aircraft, or a class of aircraft in which that aircraft is included, may land on arriving in Australia from a place outside Australia.
Penalty: 100 penalty units.
(3) The pilot of an aircraft engaged on an air service or flight between Australia and a place outside Australia:
(a) shall not suffer the aircraft to land at an airport for which a boarding station is not appointed; and
(b) shall, as soon as practicable after the aircraft lands at an airport, bring the aircraft for boarding to a boarding station appointed for that airport and shall permit the aircraft to be boarded.
Penalty: 100 penalty units.
(3A) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) are offences of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
(4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against a provision of subsection (2) or (3) if the person charged proves that he or she was prevented from complying with the provision by stress of weather or other reasonable cause.
61 Facility for boarding
(1) A person commits an offence if:
(a) the person is:
(i) the master of a ship who permits the ship to be boarded; or
(ii) the pilot of an aircraft who permits the aircraft to be boarded; or
(iii) the master of a resources installation; or
(iv) the owner of a sea installation; or
(v) the owner of an offshore electricity installation; and
(b) the person does not, by all reasonable means, facilitate the boarding of the ship, aircraft or installation by a person who is authorised under this Act to board the ship, aircraft or installation.
Penalty: 60 penalty units.
(2) Subsection (1) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
61A Owner or operator of port etc. to facilitate boarding
(1) An officer of Customs may request an owner or operator of a port or of a port facility to facilitate, by any reasonable means, the boarding of a ship that is in the port or port facility by any person who is authorised under this Act to board the ship.
(2) The owner or operator commits an offence if the owner or operator fails to comply with the request.
Penalty: 30 penalty units.
(3) In this section:
port facility means an area of land or water, or land and water, (including any buildings, installations or equipment in or on the area) used either wholly or partly in connection with the loading, unloading, docking or mooring of ships.
62 Ships to come quickly to place of unlading
(1) When a ship has been brought to at a boarding station and boarded by an officer, the master of the ship shall, subject to any direction given under section 275A, bring the ship to the proper place of mooring or to the proper wharf appointed under subsection 15(2), without touching at any other place, as quickly as it is practicable for him or her lawfully to do so.
Penalty: 60 penalty units.
(2) Subsection (1) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
63 Ship or aircraft not to be moved without authority
(1) No ship or aircraft after arrival at the proper place of mooring, at the proper wharf appointed under subsection 15(2) or at an airport appointed under subsection 15(1) shall be removed therefrom before the discharge of the cargo intended to be discharged at the port or airport.
Penalty: 60 penalty units.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the removal is by authority or by direction of the harbour or aerial authority.
(3) Subsection (1) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
Division 3—The report of the cargo
Subdivision A—General reporting requirements
63A Definitions
In this Division:
abbreviated cargo report means an electronic cargo report, in relation to low value cargo of a particular kind, made by a special reporter in relation to cargo of that kind in accordance with the requirements of section 64AB.
applicant means an applicant under Subdivision C for registration, or for renewal of registration, as a special reporter in relation to low value cargo of a particular kind.
application means an application under Subdivision C for registration, or for renewal of registration, as a special reporter in relation to low value cargo of a particular kind.
cargo, in relation to a ship or aircraft, includes any mail carried on the ship or aircraft.
dedicated computer facilities, in relation to a person who is seeking to be registered, or is or has been registered, as a special reporter in relation to low value cargo of a particular kind, means computer facilities of that person that meet the requirements of Subdivision C relating to the making of abbreviated cargo reports in relation to cargo of that kind, and the storage of electronic information concerning individual consignments covered by those reports.
house agreement, in relation to a particular mail‑order house and to a particular registered user proposing to handle consignments from that house, means a written agreement between that house and that user that includes provisions:
(a) setting out the arrangements made by the user with the house for the shipment of low value goods consigned by that house and handled by that user; and
(b) providing that all such consignments from that house that are to be handled by that user will be consolidated at a single place of export outside Australia designated or determined in accordance with the agreement; and
(c) providing that the house will transmit electronically to the user full particulars of each such consignment for which an order has been placed including details of the consignment’s transportation to Australia.
low value cargo means:
(a) cargo consigned from a particular mail‑order house; or
(c) cargo comprising other goods of a kind prescribed by the regulations;
being cargo in relation to each single consignment of which section 68 does not apply because of paragraph 68(1)(f).
mail, in relation to a ship or aircraft, means:
(a) any goods consigned through the Post Office that are carried on the ship or aircraft; and
(b) any other correspondence carried on the ship or aircraft that is not consigned as cargo and that is not accompanied personal or household effects of a passenger or member of the crew.
Note: Correspondence covered by paragraph (b) would include, for example, an airline’s inter‑office correspondence that is carried on one of the airline’s aircraft and that is not consigned as cargo.
mail‑order house means a commercial establishment carrying on business outside Australia that sells goods solely in response to orders placed with it either by mail or electronic means.
notified premises, in relation to a person who is, or has been, a special reporter in relation to low value cargo of a particular kind, means:
(a) the premises or all premises indicated in the application, in accordance with subsection 67EC(3), as places in Australia at which are located:
(i) dedicated computer facilities for the storage of information relating to cargo of that kind; or
(ii) documents relating to such information; and
(b) if a special reporter notifies the Comptroller‑General of Customs under subsection 67EF(2) that, with effect from a particular day, the premises at which all or any of those facilities or documents will be located is to be changed to another place in Australia—with effect from that day, the premises at which all of those facilities and documents will be located.
re‑mail item, in relation to a ship or aircraft, means an item of cargo carried on the ship or aircraft, in respect of which all of the following apply:
(a) the item is packaged in an addressed envelope, of paper or other material, whose length plus width does not exceed 80 cm;
(b) the item consists only of paper;
(c) the item and packaging weigh no more than one kilogram;
(d) the item either has no commercial value or is a publication in respect of which the following apply:
(i) the publication is sent from overseas to the addressee as a subscriber to the publication;
(ii) the subscription is made by a direct dealing with the consignor by either the addressee or another person arranging a gift subscription for the addressee;
(iii) the value of the publication does not exceed $250 (or such other amount as is prescribed for the purposes of subparagraph 68(1)(f)(iii));
(e) the item is not mail;
(f) the item is not, or does not contain, goods covered by paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of prohibited goods in subsection 4(1);
(g) there is no individual document of carriage for the item;
(h) the item was consigned on the ship or aircraft by the consignor, with other items that are covered by paragraphs (a) to (g) of this definition, to different consignees.
re‑mail reporter means a person or partnership that is registered under Subdivision E as a re‑mail reporter.
special reporter means a person who is registered under Subdivision C as a special reporter in respect of low value cargo of a particular kind.
64 Impending arrival report
(1) This section applies to a ship or aircraft in respect of a voyage or flight to Australia from a place outside Australia.
(2) If the ship or aircraft is due to arrive at a port or airport in Australia (whether the first port or airport or any subsequent port or airport on the same voyage or flight), the operator must report to the Department, in accordance with this section, the impending arrival of the ship or aircraft.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), the report of the impending arrival of the ship or aircraft may be made by document or electronically.
(4) If the operator is required to report to the Department under section 64AAB, or to make a cargo report, in respect of the voyage or flight, the report of the impending arrival of the ship or aircraft must be made electronically.
(5) A report of the impending arrival of a ship (other than a pleasure craft) must be made:
(a) not earlier than 10 days before the time stated in the report to be the estimated time of arrival of the ship; and
(b) not later than:
(i) the start of the prescribed period before its estimated time of arrival; or
(ii) if the journey is of a kind described in regulations made for the purposes of this subparagraph—the start of the shorter period specified in those regulations before its estimated time of arrival.
(5A) A report of the impending arrival of a pleasure craft must be made:
(a) not earlier than the prescribed number of days before the time stated in the report to be the estimated time of arrival of the pleasure craft; and
(b) not later than:
(i) the start of the prescribed period before its estimated time of arrival; or
(ii) if the journey is of a kind described in regulations made for the purposes of this subparagraph—the start of the shorter period specified in those regulations before its estimated time of arrival.
(6) Regulations made for the purposes of paragraph (5)(b) or (5A)(b) may prescribe matters of a transitional nature (including prescribing any saving or application provisions) arising out of the making of regulations for those purposes.
(7) A report of the impending arrival of an aircraft must be made:
(a) not earlier than 10 days before the time stated in the report to be the estimated time of arrival of the aircraft; and
(b) not later than the prescribed period before that time.
(8) For the purposes of paragraph (7)(b), the prescribed period before the estimated time of arrival of an aircraft is:
(a) if the flight from the last airport is likely to take not less than 3 hours—3 hours or such other period as is prescribed by the regulations; or
(b) if the flight from the last airport is likely to take less than 3 hours:
(i) one hour or such other period as is prescribed by the regulations; or
(ii) if the flight is of a kind described in regulations made for the purposes of this subparagraph—such shorter period as is specified in those regulations.
(9) A documentary report must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) be in an approved form; and
(c) be communicated to the Department by sending or giving it to an officer doing duty in relation to the reporting of ships or aircraft at the port or airport at which the ship or aircraft is expected to arrive; and
(d) contain such information as is required by the form; and
(e) be signed in a manner specified in the form.
(10) An electronic report must communicate such information as is set out in an approved statement.
(11) The Comptroller‑General of Customs may approve different forms for documentary reports, and different statements for electronic reports, to be made under subsections (9) and (10) in different circumstances, by different kinds of operators of ships or aircraft or in respect of different kinds of ships or aircraft.
(12) An operator of a ship or aircraft who intentionally contravenes this section commits an offence punishable, on conviction, by a penalty not exceeding 120 penalty units.
(13) An operator of a ship or aircraft who contravenes this section commits an offence punishable, on conviction, by a penalty not exceeding 60 penalty units.
(14) An offence against subsection (13) is an offence of strict liability.
64AA Arrival report
(1) This section applies to a ship or aircraft in respect of a voyage or flight to Australia from a place outside Australia.
(2) When the ship or aircraft has arrived at a port or airport in Australia (whether the first port or airport or any subsequent port or airport on the same voyage or flight), the operator must report to the Department, in accordance with this section, particulars of the arrival of the ship or aircraft and the time of arrival.
(3) Subject to subsection (3A), the report must be made:
(a) in the case of a ship—before:
(i) the end of 24 hours (disregarding any period that occurs on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday) after the ship’s arrival; or
(ii) the issue of a Certificate of Clearance in respect of the ship and the port;
whichever first happens; or
(b) in the case of an aircraft—before:
(i) the end of 3 hours after the aircraft’s arrival; or
(ii) the issue of a Certificate of Clearance in respect of the aircraft and the airport;
whichever first happens.
(3A) The Comptroller‑General of Customs may, by legislative instrument, determine that reports for specified ships, or specified aircraft, in specified circumstances must be made before a specified time or before the occurrence of a specified event. Such reports must be made in accordance with the instrument.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), a report mentioned in subsection (3) or (3A) may be made by document or electronically.
(5) If the operator is required to report to the Department under section 64AAB, or to make a cargo report, in respect of the voyage or flight, a report mentioned in subsection (3) or (3A) must be made electronically.
(6) A documentary report must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) be in an approved form; and
(c) be communicated to the Department by sending or giving it to an officer doing duty in relation to the reporting of ships or aircraft at the port or airport of arrival; and
(d) contain such information as is required by the form; and
(e) be signed in a manner specified in the form.
(7) An electronic report must communicate such information as is set out in an approved statement.
(8) The Comptroller‑General of Customs may approve different forms for documentary reports, and different statements for electronic reports, to be made under subsections (6) and (7) in different circumstances, by different kinds of operators of ships or aircraft or in respect of different kinds of ships or aircraft.
(9) An operator of a ship or aircraft who intentionally contravenes this section commits an offence punishable, on conviction, by a penalty not exceeding 120 penalty units.