The long-awaited exposure draft of the Defence Trade Controls Regulations  (2012) were released yesterday for public consultation. Industry has until 17 February to comment on the proposed legislation. The proposed regulations are required to implement the Australia-U.S. Defence Trade Cooperation Treaty, as Australia is obligated to strengthen its controls over defence goods, services and technology for the treaty to enter into force. The Defence Trade Controls Bill was passed by Parliament without amendment on 21 November 2011. The draft regulations set out the requirements and obligations of Australian exporters of controlled defence goods, services, and technology. Some of the key regulations include:
  • The regulation of intangible exports (technical data, telephone calls, emails) on the DSGL.
  • The regulation of defence services
  • The regulation of defence goods
  • Recordkeeping requirements, monitoring requirements and penalties for Australian companies in non-compliance.
It is expected that the new regulations will become part of Australian law by mid 2012. A copy of the draft regulations can be viewed here.