The Defence Trade Controls Bill 2011 was passed by the Australian Parliament on 31 October 2012. The Bill, which implements the US-Australia Defence Trade Cooperation Treaty and implements more stringent controls on Australia's intangible defence exports, will become an Act after it receives Royal Assent from the Governor General. Defence is currently redrafting the associated regulations which will reflect feedback they received during consultation. It is expected that it will take a few months for the US and Australia to complete all the required administrative arrangements to bring the Treaty into effect. Once the bill becomes an Act, there will be a 24 month transition period before offence provisions come into effect. This timeline effectively gives Australian companies two years to establish internal compliance programs to manage the effect of strengthened export controls on their operations. Update: The Bill received Royal Assent and became the Defence Trade Controls Act on 13 November 2012.