This bill became law on Sep 14th, 2023.
Immigration, border & security
Australia now allows customs trial programs that can run for up to 12 months, with one extension of up to 6 months, so new border processes can be tested before broader law changes.
Australia’s customs law lacked a controlled way to test new technology, business models and regulatory approaches, leaving trade modernisation without an evidence base for reform. This bill creates time-limited customs trials with approved participants and clarifies how tariff change notices are issued to give the process more certainty.
Australia’s customs rules already governed imports, exports and licensing, but they gave officials no controlled way to test new trade practices or technology before rewriting the law, even as ministers said regulation needed to keep pace with industry developments and avoid blocking innovation and productivity. After a similar proposal had appeared in the previous parliament, the 2022 bill revived the idea by creating a time-limited customs sandbox and tidying tariff-notice processes, and it became law in September 2023.
The main reservation was that the bill had relied too heavily on regulations rather than clearer rules in the bill itself, raising a drafting and safeguard concern rather than opposition to customs trials as a policy. That concern appears to have been narrow and largely resolved before passage, with the Greens still supporting the bill and no party represented in the debate opposing it.
Clare O'Neil MP introduced this bill. It passed on the voices.
Did it become law?
Yes
Became law 14 Sept 2023
Final passage
Passed without a counted vote
1 recorded amendment or procedural vote was found, but no counted vote on the bill itself was recorded.
Passage speed
288 days
From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step
Meaning
Australia now allows customs trial programs that can run for up to 12 months, with one extension of up to 6 months, so new border processes can be tested before broader law changes.
Approved participants in a customs trial can have some normal import, export, warehouse or broker rules switched off, changed, or supplemented while the trial runs.
Businesses, partnerships and individuals can join a customs trial only if they meet both general and trial-specific entry rules set by the Comptroller-General of CustomsThe customs official who can set up a trial, set its rules, and approve who can take part..
A business or person can lose trial approval if they stop meeting the entry rules, break trial conditions, or fail to follow the special trial requirements.
Notices about proposed customs tariff changes will now be issued as registered legislative instruments on the Federal Register of LegislationThe official online register where Commonwealth laws and other legislative instruments are published. instead of Gazette notices.
The Comptroller‑General of Customs may establish controlled trials. A controlled trial is for a period of up to 12 months, with a possible one‑off extension of up to 6 months.Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) Act 2023 final Act text
The bill will enable the modification or waiver of existing licensing, importing and exporting obligations under the Customs Act, for trial periods of 12 to 18 months.Minister's second reading speech
In either case, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may approve an entity where the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied the entity meets both the general qualification criteria outlined in a legislative instrument made under section 179K and the specific eligibility criteria for the trial as outlined in the rules establishing the controlled trial.Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) explanatory memorandum
(1) The Comptroller‑General of Customs may, in writing, vary, suspend or revoke an entity’s approval under section 179E in relation to a controlled trial if the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that:Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) Act 2023 final Act text
Following these amendments, publication in the Gazette of a notice made under subsection 273EA(1) will no longer be required by the Customs Act. This is because the instrument giving notice will instead be publicly available on the Federal Register of Legislation, following its registration under the Legislation Act 2003.Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) explanatory memorandum
Context
Australia’s customs rules already governed imports, exports and licensing, but they gave officials no controlled way to test new trade practices or technology before rewriting the law, even as ministers said regulation needed to keep pace with industry developments and avoid blocking innovation and productivity. After a similar proposal had appeared in the previous parliament, the 2022 bill revived the idea by creating a time-limited customs sandbox and tidying tariff-notice processes, and it became law in September 2023.
Earlier customs trials bill is introduced in the previous parliament
Speakers on the 2022 bill said an earlier Customs Amendment (Controlled Trials) Bill 2021 had already put the same basic sandbox idea on the national agenda.
Hansard ↗Government says customs law needs a sandbox for new trade technology
When introducing the bill, the minister said the Customs ActThe main law that sets the rules for imports, exports, warehouses and customs brokers in Australia. needed a regulatory sandboxA controlled legal space where government can test a new approach before deciding whether to make it permanent. so trade and customs technologies could be trialled safely before committing to legislative change.
Hansard ↗Explanatory memorandum sets out time-limited controlled trials
The explanatory memorandum said the bill would amend the Customs Act 1901The main law that sets the rules for imports, exports, warehouses and customs brokers in Australia. to allow time-limited trials with approved entities in a controlled regulatory environment.
Australian Parliament House ↗Senate debate links the bill to industry interest and future reform
In the Senate, the government said industry had expressed interest in customs sandboxes and that short-term trials would help guide future reform initiatives.
Hansard ↗Parliament passes the bill
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, clearing the way for customs trials and the change from Gazette notices to registered legislative instruments for tariff alteration notices.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament. turns the customs trials framework into law
Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament. completed the process and made the new customs trials framework and related tariff-notice changes part of Australian law.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The scrutiny committee listed the bill among bills on which it had no comment.
No comment
Scrutiny Digest 11 of 2023The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Finally passed both Houses
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament., turning the bill into an Act.
Key criticism
The main reservation was that the bill had relied too heavily on regulations rather than clearer rules in the bill itself, raising a drafting and safeguard concern rather than opposition to customs trials as a policy. That concern appears to have been narrow and largely resolved before passage, with the Greens still supporting the bill and no party represented in the debate opposing it.
No broader public case against the bill is clearly recorded in the debate.
Too much left to regulation
A limited criticism was that earlier drafting relied too much on regulation-making rather than putting enough detail and safeguards directly in the bill, which raised concerns about how the trial scheme would be controlled in practice.
Further sources
Votes
The bill passed both chambers on the voices. The counted divisions below were about amendments or procedure, not final passage.
House agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.
Passed on the voices
In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.
Senate agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.
Passed on the voices
In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.
Recorded amendment and procedural votes grouped by chamber. Expand a vote to see the party breakdown.
Senate
Defeated 14 to 25. Support came from Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Labor, Liberal Party, and UAP.
The amendment was defeated, so the bill did not gain a forced-labour import ban and proceeded without that change.
These are amendment votes, not the final passage vote on the bill itself. The bill passed both chambers on the voices.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
O'Neil supports the bill because it sets up controlled customs trials to test new practices and technologies, simplify trade, and reduce costs and delays for business while keeping border protections in place.
Read in Hansard ↗Andrews says the coalition will support the bill because it carries forward a flexible trade and customs reform the coalition had already backed, and she says it will make life easier for business.
Read in Hansard ↗Gallagher supports the bill and says it modernises customs rules by creating regulatory sandboxes, allowing controlled trials of new trade and customs practices before permanent change.
Read in Hansard ↗James Stevens supports the bill because he says it will give the department flexibility to run trials that simplify export regulation and digitise processes for exporters.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
3 speakers · 4 contributions · 3 support
“The Bill seeks to encourage innovation through testing new customs practices and technologies, as well as regulatory approaches and business models, with appropriate safeguards.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Clare O'Neil on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Minister's second reading speech
O'Neil supports the bill because it sets up controlled customs trials to test new practices and technologies, simplify trade, and reduce costs and delays for business while keeping border protections in place.
“The bill will enable Australia's whole-of-government simplified trade system agenda, which seeks to simplify and digitise the trade system to deliver tangible benefits for Australian businesses, enable trade growth and better protect the community.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Clare O'Neil says Labor supports the bill because it lets Customs and the Australian Border ForceAustralia's border enforcement agency, which helps administer customs rules and border security. trial new regulatory approaches and technologies with safeguards. She argues it is an important part of the simplified trade systemA reform agenda aimed at making customs and trade processes faster, simpler and more digital for business. agenda and helps maintain border security while reforming customs law.
“The controlled trials bill is an important enabler for the whole-of-government simplified trade system agenda. It will assist the government to test new approaches within the Australian Customs framework while maintaining and achieving Australia's border security objective. The bill deserves support, and I commend it to the House.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
“The ability to trial innovative regulatory approaches with industry stakeholders within a controlled environment is an essential tool to guide future reform initiatives. Industry has expressed interest in regulatory sandboxes in the customs context as a mechanism for trialling new approaches to border management. It is important that the ABF be able to respond to this opportunity for industry collaboration in order to develop the evidence base to inform regulatory reform over the long term. Fit-for-purpose regulation aids Australian business, drives economic growth and supports efficient and effective regulatory outcomes for the ABF to continue its important job of protecting the Australian community. A customs regulatory sandbox will be an important tool in the hands of the ABF to work with industry and continue to support reforms under the government's simplified trade system agenda. The bill also aligns customs law with current legislative practice. These amendments will provide more certainty to the process of altering customs tariffs. The bill deserves support. I also table an addendum to the explanatory memorandum related to this bill. The addendum responds to matters raised by the scrutiny of bills committee.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
3 speakers · 3 support
“The coalition, however, will always support good policy that seeks to make life easier for businesses, and for that reason I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise to speak in support of the Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) Bill 2022. I will to make a brief contribution with two points. Firstly, I really hope that the adoption of this legislation, and the flexibility that it creates for the department to look at a whole range of trials within the prescribed format of this legislation, leads to broader change around the administration of export regulations within our government. Hopefully, it will provide a good opportunity to show that we can simplify things, make things more straightforward for our exporters and, in particular, look for ways to digitise processes and make things as smooth as possible.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“Of course, we'll always support good policy which seeks to make life easier for business, and that's the reason why I'll be supporting the passage of this bill without any amendments.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
1 speaker · 1 support
“I rise to speak to the Customs Legislation Amendment (Controlled Trials and Other Measures) Bill 2022. I'll keep it very brief, but I'll start by placing on the record that the Australian Greens will be supporting this bill. This bill allows for the trials of new policies to be tested before they are widely implemented. This allows time and space to identify issues, gaps or room for improvement before the policy is rolled out across the country. For obvious reasons, making small tweaks to a controlled trial is much easier than making these changes once the policy has been implemented more broadly. Further, it will allow for companies to play with more innovative methods and technologies in a controlled environment under the supervision of the government. This type of framework is often called a regulatory sandbox, and, as the minister stated in her second reading speech:”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
House · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Senate · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Senate · Committee of the Whole debate
Committee of the Whole debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate · Committee of the Whole debate
Committee of the Whole debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Parliament · Finally passed both Houses
Passed both houses
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Assent · Assent
Assent
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament., turning the bill into an Act.
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
No comment
The scrutiny committee listed the bill among bills on which it had no comment.
The committee considered the bill in Scrutiny Digest 11 of 2023 and made no comment.
Scrutiny Digest 11 of 2023
