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Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.*
to repeal provisions that require the registration of stock foods,
to repeal provisions that require the labelling of packages of stock food
that is pet food,
to repeal provisions that imply certain warranties in respect of the sale
or delivery of chaff and in respect of invoices, agreements, circulars
and advertisements for stock food,
to replace a provision that requires the giving of an invoice when stock
food is sold with a provision that requires an information statement to
be provided when stock food is supplied in bulk,
to broaden an existing provision that enables the regulations to fix the
maximum amount of foreign ingredients that can be contained in a
stock food to enable the Minister to issue temporary orders to fix new
or different maximum foreign ingredient concentrations,
Amended in committee--see table at end of volume.
to allow the regulations to regulate or prohibit the incorporation of
veterinary chemical products in stock foods to produce medicated
stock foods,
to allow the Director-General of the Department of Agriculture to issue
permits to allow the supply of stock foods in circumstances that would
ordinarily constitute a contravention of provisions for package
labelling, maximum foreign ingredient concentrations, medicated stock
food controls or withdrawal from sale directions,
to broaden existing and proposed new controls to cover not only sales
of stock food as at present but also the broader class of transactions
encompassed by supply (as used in the Agvet Code and Agvet
Regulations),
to enable the regulations to make provision by applying, adopting or
incorporating publications as in force for the time being,
to increase the powers of inspectors to enable them to require the
production of and inspect and take copies of records required by or
under the Act and to enable them to require a person to state the
person's name and address, and to make other minor amendments to
the powers of inspectors,
to revise terminology in the Act to make it consistent with the
terminology used in the Agvet Code and Agvet Regulations (which
contain uniform provisions for the regulation of agricultural and
veterinary chemicals throughout Australia),
to revise penalties for the offences with which the amendments are
concerned and related offences so that the maximum penalty will be 50
penalty units when the offence is committed by an individual and 100
penalty units when the offence is committed by a body corporate,
to make minor miscellaneous amendments,
to make consequential amendments and savings and transitional
provisions.
Clause 2 provides that the proposed Act will commence on
a day or days to
be appointed by proclamation.
Clause 3 is a formal provision that gives effect to the Schedule of
amendments to the Stock Foods Act 1940.
Explanatory note page 2
Schedule 1
Amendments
Schedule 1 [ 1 ] replaces the definition section of the Act to remove obsolete
definitions and bring other definitions into line with terminology used in the
Agvet Code and Agvet Regulations.
Schedule l [2] makes the following amendments:
Section 4 will be repealed. That section currently creates a
presumption and an offence with respect to sales and deliveries of
chaff (in effect requiring the chaff to be hay chaff unless the contrary is
specified).
Sections 55C will be repealed. Those sections currently require
manufactured stock foods and by-products to be registered.
Section 6 will be replaced. The section currently requires packages of
manufactured stock foods and by-products to be labelled in a certain
way. The new section will require the labelling of packages of stock
food for food producing species and horses (so that packages of pet
food will not be required to be labelled) and packages of any stock
food supplement (including pet stock food supplement). Labels will
have to be in accordance with the regulations.
A new section 6A will be inserted requiring suppliers of bulk stock
food to provide the customer with a written statement about the stock
food that complies with the regulations.
Schedule 1 [3] will replace section '7 (which currently allows the regulations
to prescribe the maximum proportion of foreign ingredients that may be
present in a stock food). The section will be broadened to allow the Minister
to make temporary orders of up to 60 days duration to further restrict or
impose new restrictions on the presence of foreign ingredients in stock food.
Schedule 1 [4] makes the following amendments:
(a)
Sections 81 1 will be repealed. Those sections impose requirements on
invoices, agreements, circulars and advertisements with respect to
stock foods and provide that statements made in them constitute a
warranty to the customer. Section 1 1 creates a number of offences that
relate to various provisions in the Act. To the extent that the offences
will still be relevant they will be transferred to the various provisions
that create the offences.
Explanatory note page 3
(b)
A new section 8 will be inserted to allow the regulations to regulate or
prohibit the incorporation of veterinary chemical products in stock
foods to produce medicated stock food. It will be an offence to supply
a stock food in contravention of the regulations.
(c)
A new section 9 will be inserted to allow the Director-General of the
Department of Agriculture to issue permits to allow the sale of stock
food or stock food supplement in circumstances that would otherwise
constitute a contravention of provisions of the Act that regulate
packaging, foreign ingredient concentrations or veterinary chemical
product content or that require the withdrawal of stock food from sale.
Schedule 1 [5] and [6] are examples of amendments that change "sale" and
"sell" throughout the Act to "supply" to cover a broader class of
transactions, which is consistent with the Agvet Code and Agvet Regulations.
Other provisions of the Act are amended to the same effect in the course of
the other amendments being made to those provisions.
Schedule 1 [7] lowers the maximum penalty for the offence of contravening
an order of the Minister to withdraw stock food from sale. The current
penalty is 200 penalty units for an individual or 400 penalty units
for a corporation. The new penalty will be 50 penalty units for an individual
or 100 penalty units for a corporation. This level of penalty will be made
consistent for related offences in the Act.
Schedule 1 [8] provides that an inspector can have assistance when
exercising the powers of an inspector.
Schedule 1 [9] changes "sale" to `"supply" in the provisions dealing with
powers of inspectors.
Schedule 1 [10] allows an inspector to require a person to state the person's
name and address and to require the production of and take copies of and
extracts from records required to be kept by or under the Act.
Schedule 1 [11] makes it clear that the powers of an inspector to seize and
remove articles can be exercised separately (that is, an inspector need not
remove an article that the inspector has seized).
Schedule 1 [12] increases from 6 months to 12 months the period for which
an article or substance seized by an inspector can be retained.
Schedule 1 [13] corrects a typographical error.
Schedule 1 [14] changes "sale" to "supply" in the provisions dealing with
powers of inspectors to demand information.
Explanatory note page 4
Schedule 1 [15] removes the requirement that a certificate of an analyst
under the Act be in a form approved by the Director-General.
Schedule 1 [16] broadens the power of a court to order forfeiture of stock
food on convicting a person for certain offences against the Act so that the
power will apply to conviction for any offence against the Act or the
regulations.
Schedule 1 [17] broadens the existing offence provision concerned with the
obstruction of inspectors so that it will cover the additional powers being
conferred on inspectors by the Bill, The provision will require an inspector to
warn a person that it is an offence not to comply with a requirement by the
inspector to state the person's name and address.
Schedule 1 [18] is consequential on the repeal of provisions requiring the
registration of stock foods.
Schedule 1 [19] and [20] repeal certain regulation making powers that are
obsolete or will be redundant.
Schedule 1 [21] provides a power for the regulations to adopt or incorporate
publications as in force for the time being (that is, as amended from time to
time).
Schedule 1 [22] is consequential on the repeal of provisions requiring the
registration of stock foods.
Schedule 1 [23] and [24] insert savings and transitional provisions and a
savings and transitional regulation making power.
Explanatory note page 5