These Regulations relate to the amendments to the Defence Trade Controls Act that were made earlier in the year. ATSE together with the Australian Academy of Science provided several submissions and a committee appearance opposing the initial draft bill on the grounds that some sections were unclear, a lack of clearly legislated exemption for fundamental research, impacts on international students and researchers and other issues. Following the raising of these concerns, some amendments were made to the bill, including a clear legislated exemption for fundamental research.
Now, the Department of Defence has released an exposure draft of amendments to the Defence Trade Control Regulations, which support implementation of the Act. These amendments to the Regulations will:
Adds AUKUS exemptions to the regulations.
Add the provision of services to definitions that used to only refer to goods.
Adds criteria for determining whether the supply of Defence and Strategic Goods List (DSGL) technology to a foreign person in Australia is prejudicial to security, defence or international relations.
ATSE has sent the Department of Defence a short letter-style submission.
ATSE’s submission acknowledges the improvements made to the defence trade controls legislation amendments in response to concerns raised by ATSE on unintended consequences for research. ATSE also welcomes 2024-25 Federal Budget funding for education resources to support compliance, as recommended by ATSE in the previous consultation. ATSE recommends an amendment to the regulations to minimise the impact of the regulations changes on research activity, noting that such activity may contribute to Australia’s international relations. ATSE’s submission also notes that much research activity takes place outside the university ecosystem and that these organisations and researchers will need additional support and clarity on their obligations.
Amend the criteria the Minister has to consider in making decisions about whether the supply of DSGL goods or technologies prejudice security, defence or international relations; to include research.
The Australian Academy of Science (AAS) and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) jointly provided a submission on the exposure draft of the Defence Trade Controls Amendment Bill 2023.
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