Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act 2015

The Act organises a small set of legal concepts that allocate rights, liabilities and enforcement tools in relation to imported food charges. The central defined terms are imported food charge, imported food control instrument of a person, late payment fee, protected person, internal reviewer and references to other legislation for shared terms (section 6).

Imported food charge is defined by reference, not by formula: it is a charge imposed under either section 6 of the Imported Food Charges (Imposition,Customs) Act 2015, section 6 of the Imported Food Charges (Imposition,Excise) Act 2015, or section 6 of the Imported Food Charges (Imposition,General) Act 2015 (section 6(1)). The Act therefore functions as a collection and enforcement framework that complements those imposition Acts. The Act does not specify amounts, bases or triggers for the charges; those are in the imposition Acts and in regulations made under this Act (see section 8 and section 22).

Imported food control instrument of a person is a defined category that describes the regulatory permissions and approvals that the Secretary may suspend or revoke for enforcement. It includes a food control certificate, approvals under sections 19(1A) or 19(2) of the Imported Food Control Act 1992 concerning overseas food processing operations, compliance agreements, and any other approval under that Act prescribed by regulations (section 6(1)). Those instruments are the specific regulatory rights used as leverage to procure payment.

The Act expressly contemplates that the regulations will set timing for payment, agent liability and recovery rules (section 8). Late payment fees are optional regulatory instruments that may apply if an imported food charge is unpaid when due; the regulations may set a fee, including a fee related to each day or part of a day (section 11(1)-(2)). The regulations may also nominate who is liable to pay such a fee (section 11(3)).

Enforcement tools are primarily administrative: the Secretary may suspend or revoke imported food control instruments by written notice (section 12(2)-(3)), and may orally or in writing direct persons not to perform particular acts relating to the debtor until the charge or fee is paid (section 12(5)). The range of acts that can be directed not to be done is enumerated in section 12(5)(a)-(f), and includes issuing certificates, approvals, determinations and entering compliance agreements. If necessary, the Commonwealth may also recover unpaid amounts as a debt in court (section 13).

Procedural and remedial concepts include remission and refund (section 15), compulsory information and document notices with at least a 14 day period to comply and a 30 penalty unit sanction for non‑compliance (section 16), internal review for delegate decisions (section 17), the Secretary’s power to seek further information from applicants for review (section 18), and Administrative Review Tribunal jurisdiction for certain decisions (section 19). The Act contains civil protection for the Commonwealth and protected persons for acts done in good faith (section 20), and allows delegations by the Secretary to SES employees, subject to directions (section 21). The Act is subject to regulations by the Governor‑General (section 22).

A number of concepts are intentionally delegated to secondary instruments. The use of "may" in the key regulation and remission provisions (for example sections 8, 11 and 15) is a design choice that concentrates detailed rule‑making power in subordinate instruments rather than the primary statute. The Act also cross‑references the Imported Food Control Act 1992 for a number of substantive definitions and approvals (section 6(2)), tying the enforcement framework to an existing regulatory regime by reference.

The Act most directly affects persons who import food into Australia or operate overseas food processing operations that are regulated under the Imported Food Control Act 1992 and who hold or seek imported food control instruments. The Act’s defined phrase "imported food control instrument of a person" lists the specific kinds of approvals and instruments that can be suspended or revoked: food control certificates; approvals under subsection 19(1A) and determinations under subsection 19(2) of the Imported Food Control Act 1992 as they relate to overseas food processing operations; compliance agreements to which the person is a party; and any approval under the Imported Food Control Act 1992 that the regulations prescribe (section 6(1)).

Importers, overseas processors and their agents are affected by the payment rules and the exposure to late payment fees. The regulations may prescribe the due date for charges and may identify agents who are liable to pay on behalf of a principal and the means of recovery by the agent from the principal (section 8). Section 11(3) also allows the regulations to prescribe one or more persons who are liable to pay a late payment fee in relation to a specified imported food charge, so agents or intermediaries can be made directly liable by regulation.

Government actors are also implicated. The Act binds the Crown (section 4), but the Commonwealth is not liable to pay an imported food charge or a late payment fee; the Parliament’s position is that the Commonwealth should be notionally liable, and the Finance Minister may give written directions to give effect to that intention, including directions about transfers of money within Commonwealth accounts (section 9(1)-(2)). Those Finance Minister directions are explicitly not legislative instruments (section 9(4)) and prevail over other Commonwealth law (section 9(3)).

Protected persons identified in the Act include the Secretary, persons given directions under subsection 12(5), persons given information or documents under a subsection 16(1) notice, and delegates of the Secretary under section 21 (section 6(1)). These persons receive statutory protection from civil proceedings in respect of acts or omissions done in good faith under the Act (section 20). That provision affects the litigation exposure of officials and others who assist the administration.

Third parties who may be required to provide information or documents under section 16 are affected by a non‑compliance penalty of 30 penalty units. Businesses that rely on imported food control instruments (for example to export to Australia or to issue certificates) risk having those instruments suspended or revoked for unpaid charges, which will affect their ability to deal in regulated food supply chains. Persons engaged in administrative review (applicants whose instruments have been suspended or revoked) are affected by the internal review mechanisms in section 17, the Secretary’s ability to require further information under section 18, and the right to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal in the circumstances set out in section 19.

Finally, SES employees in the Department are affected because the Secretary may delegate powers or functions to an SES employee, who must comply with any directions of the Secretary (section 21). That concentrates operational authority within the departmental executive.

The Act creates limited duties and a set of rights that are primarily administrative rather than criminal. Duties arise from regulatory prescription, Secretary directions, information notices, and, where regulations so provide, obligations on agents or specified persons to pay late fees or charges.

Duty to pay: Persons who are liable for imported food charges must pay as prescribed by the relevant imposition Acts and as to timing provided by regulations (see the definition of imported food charge in section 6(1) and the power in section 8(a)). Where the regulations prescribe a due date, a late payment fee may also be prescribed and thus become payable if the charge is not paid when due (section 11(1)). Section 11(3) permits regulations to specify one or more persons who are liable to pay the late payment fee for a specified imported food charge.

Duty to provide information or documents: If the Secretary believes on reasonable grounds that a person has information or documents relevant to the operation of the Act or to an imported food charge, the Secretary may require that information or those documents by written notice, with the period for compliance being at least 14 days (section 16(1)-(2)). Failure to comply is an offence carrying a penalty of 30 penalty units (section 16(3)).

Secretary’s administrative duties: When the Secretary or a delegate issues a written notice under section 12(2) to suspend or revoke an imported food control instrument, the notice must set out reasons and notice of the debtor’s right to have the decision reviewed (section 12(3)). The Act, however, states that failure to comply with that requirement does not affect the validity of the decision (section 12(3)), so the statutory duty to state reasons is not a condition of legal validity under the Act.

Review rights: If a delegate suspends or revokes an imported food control instrument under subsection 12(2), the affected person may apply in writing to the Secretary for internal review within 30 days of notification (section 17(1)-(2)). On receipt, the Secretary must personally review the decision or cause it to be reviewed by someone who was not involved in the original decision and who is senior to the delegate (section 17(3)). The internal reviewer may affirm, vary or set aside the original decision and, if setting aside, may make any other decision considered appropriate (section 17(4)). The internal reviewer must give written notice of the decision on review, with reasons and notice of the right to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (section 17(6)). If the applicant does not receive notice of the decision on review within 90 days after making the application, the Secretary is taken to have affirmed the original decision for the purposes of section 19 (section 17(7)).

Tribunal review: The Act allows applications to the Administrative Review Tribunal for review of (a) decisions personally made by the Secretary to suspend or revoke an instrument under subsection 12(2), and (b) decisions of the internal reviewer made under section 17 that relate to such suspensions or revocations (section 19). That preserves an external merits review pathway for those categories.

Remission and refund: The Secretary has discretion to remit or refund the whole or part of an imported food charge or late payment fee, either on the Secretary’s own initiative or on written application (section 15(1)-(2)). That is an executive power to relieve liability in whole or part.

Recovery as debt: Where an imported food charge or late payment fee is payable and unpaid, the Commonwealth may recover it as a debt by action in a court of competent jurisdiction (section 13). That is a civil enforcement pathway in addition to administrative suspension or revocation.

Delegation and directions: The Secretary may delegate powers or functions to SES employees in the Department in writing (section 21(1)), and delegates must comply with any directions of the Secretary when exercising delegated powers (section 21(2)). The Finance Minister may give written directions about transfers of money within Commonwealth accounts to give effect to the Parliament’s intention that the Commonwealth be notionally liable for charges (section 9(2)); such directions take effect despite other Commonwealth law and are not legislative instruments (sections 9(3)-(4)).

Protections: The Act protects the Commonwealth and protected persons from civil proceedings in respect of things done or omitted in good faith under the Act (section 20). Protected persons include the Secretary, persons given directions under subsection 12(5), persons given information under subsection 16(1) notices, and delegates of the Secretary (section 6(1)).

Regulation‑making power: The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act or otherwise necessary or convenient to carry out the Act (section 22). Much of the operative detail of duties, liabilities and timing is therefore assignable to the regulations.

The Act uses both administrative and civil enforcement mechanisms, with a single criminal penalty provision for failure to comply with an information notice. Enforcement levers are concentrated in the executive branch (the Secretary and delegates) and in civil recovery.

Administrative enforcement: The core administrative enforcement tools are found in section 12. If a person (the debtor) is liable to pay an imported food charge or late payment fee that is due and payable, the Secretary may, by written notice to the debtor, suspend one or more imported food control instruments until payment, or revoke one or more such instruments (section 12(2)). The notice must state reasons and the right of review, although the Act clarifies that failure to include those statements does not affect the validity of the suspension or revocation (section 12(3)). The Secretary may also direct, orally or in writing, third parties not to perform enumerated regulatory actions in relation to the debtor until payment is made (section 12(5)). Those enumerated actions include issuing a food control certificate, issuing an imported food inspection advice, approving overseas food processing operations under section 19(1A) or making determinations under section 19(2) of the Imported Food Control Act 1992, entering into compliance agreements, and other specified activities under that Act (section 12(5)(a)-(f)). Directions given in writing under subsection 12(5) are not legislative instruments (section 12(6)).

Civil enforcement: The Act provides for recovery of unpaid charges and late fees as debts due to the Commonwealth by action in a court (section 13). This creates a standard civil enforcement pathway where monetary recovery is pursued in courts rather than by criminal sanctions.

Penalty provision: The Act contains a single offence with a monetary penalty linked to non‑compliance with an information notice. If the Secretary serves a written notice under section 16(1) requiring information or documents relevant to the operation of the Act or to an imported food charge, and the person fails to comply, that person commits an offence with a penalty of 30 penalty units (section 16(3)). The notice must specify a period for compliance of at least 14 days (section 16(2)).

Late payment fees: The regulations may prescribe late payment fees that operate as administrative financial penalties for late payment (section 11). These can be structured by day or part of a day, and the regulations may specify the persons liable to pay them (sections 11(1)-(3)). A late payment fee is distinct from the criminal penalty for failing to provide information under section 16; it is a regulatory charge enforced as a debt or via administrative suspension measures.

Protections against civil proceedings: Section 20 provides statutory protection from civil proceedings for the Commonwealth and protected persons in relation to acts or omissions done in good faith under the Act. This limits private civil exposure arising from the exercise of the Act’s powers by protected persons.

Procedural constraints and review: Administrative enforcement is constrained by internal review (section 17) and external review in the Administrative Review Tribunal (section 19) for the categories specified. Delegation and direction rules (section 21) and the Secretary’s power to require further information from review applicants (section 18) affect enforcement process and timing.

Collectively, the Act offers a hybrid enforcement model: administrative suspension or revocation of regulatory permissions and civil court recovery for unpaid sums, supplemented by statutory information powers and a discrete criminal penalty for non‑compliance with information notices.

This Act is explicitly a companion statute that links to and depends upon other legislative instruments. Most materially, the Act defines "imported food charge" by reference to three separate imposition Acts: the Imported Food Charges (Imposition,Customs) Act 2015, the Imported Food Charges (Imposition,Excise) Act 2015, and the Imported Food Charges (Imposition,General) Act 2015 (section 6(1)). The Act therefore does not itself impose charges; it provides the collection, enforcement and ancillary framework to operate with those imposition statutes.

The Act cross‑references the Imported Food Control Act 1992 for shared terms and instruments. Section 6(2) states that any expression used in this Act and also used in the Imported Food Control Act 1992 has the same meaning in this Act as it has in that Act. The definition of imported food control instrument expands to include several approvals, determinations and compliance agreements given under the Imported Food Control Act 1992 (section 6(1)). The Secretary’s powers to suspend or revoke instruments and to direct that approvals or determinations under the Imported Food Control Act 1992 not be given (section 12(5)(c)-(d)) show that enforcement under this Act is operationally integrated with the approval and certification regime of the Imported Food Control Act 1992.

Financial administration interaction is flagged in section 9. While the Act binds the Crown (section 4), it also declares the Commonwealth is not liable to pay an imported food charge or late payment fee, although Parliament intends the Commonwealth to be notionally liable (section 9(1)). To give effect to that intention, the Finance Minister may issue written directions that affect transfers of money within Commonwealth accounts and such directions have effect despite any other Commonwealth law (section 9(2)-(3)). The directions are not legislative instruments (section 9(4)). Those provisions insert an interaction between the Department of Finance’s account management and the Act’s financial accounting, in effect enabling internal transfers while preserving a formal non‑liability of the Commonwealth.

Administrative law and review interaction is provided by the Act’s internal review and external Tribunal review provisions. The Act provides internal review of delegate decisions to suspend or revoke instruments (section 17) and allows applications to the Administrative Review Tribunal for review of decisions made personally by the Secretary and decisions of the internal reviewer that relate to such suspensions or revocations (section 19). These rights operate within the existing administrative law framework and the jurisdictional remit of the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Regulations made under this Act (section 22) will interact with this Act and the three imposition Acts by prescribing timing, agent liability, late payment fees and any other matters necessary to give effect to the collection model. Because many operational details are delegated to regulations (sections 8, 11 and 22), the Act’s practical operation is sensitive to subordinate legislation and to the contents of the imposition Acts referenced in the definition of imported food charge.

The Act’s protection from civil proceedings for protected persons acting in good faith (section 20) interacts with common law tort and contract claims by providing a statutory shield for certain official acts. The recovery provision (section 13) interacts with ordinary debt recovery procedures in courts. The offence in section 16(3) interacts with criminal penalty unit statutes to fix the monetary penalty amount.

Finally, the Act’s commencement and territorial application interact with the Imported Food Control Act 1992 by limiting extension to certain external Territories: it does not extend to Norfolk Island, Christmas Island or the Cocos (Keeling) Islands unless the Imported Food Control Act 1992 extends to that Territory (section 5). This ties territorial scope to the 1992 Act.

The textual material provided shows the Act’s commencement detail as originally enacted and contains an explicit note about the commencement table that is important for amendment history practitioners. Section 2(1) sets out that each provision specified in column 1 of the table commences in accordance with column 2 of the table, and the embedded table records that the whole of the Act commenced the day after Royal Assent, with the date detail given as 30 June 2015 in column 3. Section 2(2) makes clear that any information in column 3 is not part of the Act and that information in that column may be edited in published versions without changing the Act. The Act also contains the statutory short title (section 1) and the commencement mechanism (section 2).

The Act contains a note that the commencement table relates only to provisions as originally enacted and will not be amended to deal with later amendments (text above the table and in section 2(2)). That note is a drafting device explaining that later amendments will not be reflected in the original table; it does not itself record later amendments.

Within the text provided, there are no later amending provisions, schedules, or marked insertions. The Act’s architecture anticipates subsidiary legislation: the Governor‑General may make regulations (section 22); and other imposition Acts are referenced for the substantive charges (section 6(1)). The Act therefore leaves much of the operative detail to regulations and to the separate imposition Acts. Where future amendment occurs, they would most likely be made by amendment to this Act (for framework changes), to the imposition Acts (for charging bases and rates), or by regulation (to prescribe timing, agent liability and late payment fees under the powers in sections 8 and 11).

The Act also makes cross‑references to the Imported Food Control Act 1992 (section 6(2)) and ties territorial application to whether that 1992 Act extends to particular Territories (section 5). Any amendment altering the Imported Food Control Act 1992’s territorial reach would therefore change, by reference, the territorial application of this Act.

For practical amendment history work, the following points in the Act should be checked when tracing changes: section 6 for definitional cross‑links; sections 8 and 11 for delegated regulation powers; section 9 for the Finance Minister’s directions and their non‑legislative‑instrument status; section 12 for enforcement mechanics and the notice content clause that does not affect validity; and section 17 for internal review time limits and the 90 day deemed affirmation rule (section 17(7)). Any amendments to those provisions will materially change enforcement and administrative review mechanics.

No text in the extract records historical amendments beyond the original commencement. For an authoritative amendment history, one would consult the consolidated Act on the official legislation register and the records of instrument lists of subordinate legislation made under section 22.

The material provided contains no judicial decisions, no recorded litigation, and no statutory references to particular cases. The Act itself provides for avenues of review and dispute resolution without recording any litigation outcomes. The Act creates two primary legal pathways that can be expected to generate litigation in the usual course, should disputes arise: civil recovery proceedings for unpaid charges (section 13), and merits review in the Administrative Review Tribunal for specified decisions (section 19).

Section 13 provides that an imported food charge or late payment fee that is due and payable to the Commonwealth under the Act may be recovered as a debt by action in a court of competent jurisdiction. That preserves the ordinary civil court route for disputed monetary liabilities. Section 19 allows applications to the Administrative Review Tribunal for review of decisions personally made by the Secretary to suspend or revoke an imported food control instrument under subsection 12(2), and for review of decisions of the internal reviewer made under section 17 that relate to such suspensions or revocations. Those Tribunal proceedings are the statutory merits review path for the classes of administrative decision specified in the Act.

The Act also contains procedural features that are litigation‑relevant. Section 12(3) requires notices of suspension or revocation to set out reasons and notice of review rights, but states that failure to comply with this subsection does not affect the validity of the decision. That legislative statement may affect arguments in judicial review proceedings about statutory invalidity due to defective notices, because the Act removes invalidity as an outcome for failure to provide reasons or review information under that subsection. Section 17(7) contains a procedural default: if an internal review applicant does not receive notice of the decision on review (if any) within 90 days of the application, the Secretary is taken to have affirmed the original decision for the purposes of section 19. That deemed affirmation will matter to timing of Tribunal applications and to judicial review strategies.

The Act’s civil protections for protected persons (section 20) limit the scope of potential civil proceedings against officials and certain private persons acting at their direction, to acts done in good faith under the Act. That statutory protection is a relevant defence in any civil proceeding challenging administrative acts taken under the Act.

Because the Act cross‑references other statutes (the three imposition Acts and the Imported Food Control Act 1992), litigation about the substantive charge liability or the interpretation of the imposition provisions would involve those statutes as well. For example, disputes about who is liable can hinge on regulations made under this Act that prescribe agent liability (section 8 and section 11(3)), and such regulations could be subject to judicial review or statutory interpretation disputes.

The text provided contains no recorded litigation history. If litigation arises, likely issues would include the validity of suspensions or revocations, the scope of the Secretary’s direction powers under section 12(5), the legality and scope of Finance Minister directions under section 9, the validity of any regulations made under section 22, and the operation of procedural rules in sections 16-19. For a complete litigation record, consult court databases and tribunal records for cases that reference this Act and the related imposition Acts.

Practical pitfalls, procedural traps and non‑obvious outcomes are embedded in the Act’s text. This section flags provisions that commonly produce practical consequences for regulated parties, advisers and administrators.

1. The Act does not itself set charges or rates. The substantive charging provisions are in separate imposition Acts referenced in the definition of imported food charge (section 6(1)). Practitioners must look to those Acts and to regulations made under this Act (sections 8 and 22) to determine what is actually payable and when. Relying on the primary Act alone will miss operative detail.

2. The regulations are the primary source of timing and liability rules. Section 8 permits regulations to prescribe the time when a specified imported food charge is due and payable and rules about the liability of an agent to pay charges and recovery by an agent from the principal. Those are regulatory choices that will materially affect who pays and when.

3. The Commonwealth is formally not liable to pay charges, but notionally liable: section 9(1) says the Commonwealth is not liable to pay an imported food charge or late payment fee, but Parliament intends the Commonwealth to be notionally liable. The Finance Minister may give directions about transferring money within Commonwealth accounts to give effect to that intention (section 9(2)). Those directions override other Commonwealth law (section 9(3)) and are not legislative instruments (section 9(4)). The non‑legislative status of Finance Minister directions can be a point of surprise for those who expect such directions to be subject to disallowance or other parliamentary scrutiny.

4. Suspension or revocation notices need reasons and review information, but omission does not invalidate. Section 12(3) requires a suspension or revocation notice to set out reasons and notice of the debtor’s review rights, but states that failure to comply does not affect the validity of the decision. That statutory clause narrows a common procedural ground for contesting administrative action, and can affect legal strategy in judicial review or merits review.

5. Oral directions are authorised. Section 12(5) gives the Secretary the power to give directions orally or in writing that certain things not be done until payment is made. Oral directions raise evidentiary and procedural challenges for the person subject to the direction and for administrative record‑keeping.

6. Written directions and Finance Minister directions are not legislative instruments. Both section 12(6) (written directions under subsection 12(5)) and section 9(4) (Finance Minister directions) state those directions are not legislative instruments. That affects parliamentary oversight mechanisms which typically apply to legislative instruments.

7. A 90 day deemed affirmation rule can affect Tribunal access. If an internal review applicant does not receive notice of the decision on review within 90 days after application, the Secretary is taken to have affirmed the original decision for the purposes of section 19 (section 17(7)). That can truncate or complicate an applicant’s ability to pursue Tribunal review and fixes a statutory timing consequence that applicants must monitor.

8. The Secretary can refuse to consider an internal review application until the applicant provides further information. Section 18(2) permits the Secretary to refuse to consider an application until the additional information is given. That can lengthen the review process and interacts with the 90 day deemed affirmation rule in section 17(7).

9. The information notice offence carries a non‑trivial fine. A failure to comply with a written notice under section 16(1) is an offence with a penalty of 30 penalty units (section 16(3)). Practitioners must note the minimum statutory compliance period is 14 days (section 16(2)), so short notice is not permitted.

10. Delegation and directions create internal control complexity. The Secretary may delegate powers to SES employees (section 21(1)), and the delegate must comply with any directions of the Secretary (section 21(2)). This can create layered decision‑making that affects where accountability lies and the identity of decision‑makers for review purposes.

11. Protected persons get civil protection for acts done in good faith. Section 20 shields the Commonwealth and protected persons from civil proceedings for things done or omitted in good faith under the Act. That defence may limit civil litigation options, and the "good faith" standard can be a contested juridical issue if litigation arises.

12. Territorial application is conditional. The Act does not extend to Norfolk Island, Christmas Island or the Cocos (Keeling) Islands unless the Imported Food Control Act 1992 extends to those Territories (section 5). Practitioners working with those Territories must check extension of the 1992 Act as well.

In short, the Act places much of the operative detail into regulations and related imposition Acts, and contains several procedural and evidential features (non‑legislative directions, oral directions, the 90 day deemed affirmation, and a statutory non‑invalidating clause for omitted reasons) that can produce unexpected outcomes unless carefully managed.

Compliance under this Act requires attention to three document sets: the imposition Acts that define imported food charges, regulations made under this Act that prescribe timing and agent liability, and the administrative instruments and processes administered by the Department and the Secretary. The following is a practical checklist grounded in the Act’s provisions.

1. Identify whether imported food charges apply to your operations. The Act defines imported food charge by reference to three imposition Acts (section 6(1)). Obtain and review those imposition Acts to determine what constitutes a charge, which transactions are chargeable, and any rules of calculation.

2. Monitor and obtain the regulations. The regulations are central: section 8 authorises regulations to prescribe the time when specified imported food charges are due and payable and to prescribe rules about agent liability and recovery. Section 11 authorises regulations to prescribe late payment fees and who is liable for them. Ensure you have the current regulations and any explanatory materials. These instruments will specify payment dates and whether an agent (for example, a customs broker) may be liable.

3. Set up internal payment controls tied to regulatory due dates. Because the regulations may prescribe precise payment times, design accounts payable processes that capture timing requirements to avoid late payment fees under section 11. If late fees may be charged per day (section 11(2)), daily delays can compound costs.

4. Determine whether you or your agent is the person liable. Regulations may make agents liable to pay imported food charges on behalf of principals and set out recovery rules (section 8(b)). Clarify contractually with agents (customs brokers, logistics providers) who bears initial liability and the terms of indemnity or recovery between principal and agent.

5. Maintain and safeguard imported food control instruments. The Secretary may suspend or revoke imported food control instruments for unpaid charges (section 12(2)). Keep these instruments, certificates, approvals and compliance agreements current and reconcile any charges tied to them. If a notice of suspension or revocation is received, it must include reasons and review information (section 12(3)),record receipt dates and preserve the right to seek internal review within 30 days (section 17(2)).

6. Respond promptly to information notices. If the Secretary issues a written notice under section 16 requiring information or documents relevant to the Act or an imported food charge, the period must be at least 14 days (section 16(2)). Non‑compliance is an offence penalised at 30 penalty units (section 16(3)). Prioritise compliance with such notices and, if necessary, seek legal advice before responding to understand scope and privilege issues.

7. Use internal review and Tribunal rights proactively. If a delegate suspends or revokes an instrument, apply for internal review within 30 days (section 17(1)-(2)). The Secretary or an appropriate senior officer must conduct the review (section 17(3)), and the internal reviewer has broad remedial powers (section 17(4)). If the Secretary personally made the decision, or if the internal reviewer’s decision relates to a suspension or revocation, an application may be made to the Administrative Review Tribunal (section 19). Be mindful of the 90 day deemed affirmation rule in section 17(7) and of the Secretary’s power to require further information under section 18, which can delay decision timing.

8. Consider remission or refund pathways where appropriate. Section 15 allows the Secretary to remit or refund whole or part of a charge or late payment fee on the Secretary’s own initiative or on written application. Document facts and grounds that could support remedial relief and lodge a written application if warranted.

9. Preserve records and evidence of payment and communications. Given the Secretary’s power to issue oral directions under section 12(5), maintain contemporaneous records of oral communications and any directions received. Record payments, remittance advices, correspondence with agents and regulatory filings to support defence in debt recovery actions (section 13) or review processes.

10. Check territorial applicability. If dealing with imports involving Norfolk Island, Christmas Island or the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, confirm whether the Imported Food Control Act 1992 extends to the Territory because the Act’s extension is conditional (section 5).

11. Audit delegation chains. Since the Secretary may delegate to SES employees (section 21(1)) and delegates must comply with directions of the Secretary (section 21(2)), identify who holds decision‑making authority in practice, and address supervisory direction lines in any correspondence or internal review requests.

12. Factor in civil protections for officials. Section 20 limits civil proceedings against protected persons acting in good faith. While this does not immunise administrative decisions from review, it informs litigation strategy and potential counterclaims.

Following this checklist will align a regulated entity with the Act’s principal compliance touchpoints: payment timing and amounts (from the imposition Acts and regulations), timely response to information notices, and careful management of administrative instruments that can be suspended or revoked as an enforcement mechanism.