This bill is currently before Parliament.
Industry, agriculture & resources
The bill narrows when an occupier of a registered export establishment commits an offence or civil penalty breach for carrying out export operationsActivities done in relation to goods for export. In this bill, the term is used for work such as producing or preparing goods before export. that are not listed in that establishment's registration.
The bill was introduced to fix two practical problems in the Export Control Act 2020The Commonwealth law that provides the main framework for regulating exports of goods, including food and agricultural products, from Australia.. First, the government said the existing registered-establishment offence could require exporters to vary a registration even for operations that the export rules did not actually require to be registered. Second, some trading partners require government export documents that are not tied to a single consignmentA particular shipment or batch of goods being exported. The bill allows some government certificates to cover a kind of goods without being tied to a specific consignment., and the government wanted the ActThe Commonwealth law that provides the main framework for regulating exports of goods, including food and agricultural products, from Australia. to clearly support those documents as part of its export assurance reforms.
The bill is a narrow export-control housekeeping bill tied to a wider export assurance reform project. The Export Control Act 2020The Commonwealth law that provides the main framework for regulating exports of goods, including food and agricultural products, from Australia. regulates exports of goods including food and agricultural products. As the government prepared to bring more currently non-prescribed products into the system as 'general productsThe government’s term for several currently non-prescribed goods that export assurance reforms are intended to bring into the Export Control Act framework, such as wool, honey, animal food, skins and hides, rendered goods, food and beverages, and pharmaceutical or technical products.', it found that the registered-establishment rules could create unnecessary registration work for businesses, while the certificate rules did not clearly cover all documents trading partners may require. Parliament passed the bill without recorded amendments, while Coalition speakers supported it and separately criticised rising export regulation costs.
No collected speaker opposed the bill. The main criticism raised in debate was about the broader export regulation system: Coalition speakers supported these amendments but argued that rising departmental export service costs and cost recovery charges were placing pressure on agricultural exporters.
Hon Julie Collins MP introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Labor, Nationals, Liberal Party.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
90 days
Updated 10 June 2026.
Meaning
The bill narrows when an occupier of a registered export establishment commits an offence or civil penalty breach for carrying out export operationsActivities done in relation to goods for export. In this bill, the term is used for work such as producing or preparing goods before export. that are not listed in that establishment's registration.
Export operationsActivities done in relation to goods for export. In this bill, the term is used for work such as producing or preparing goods before export., including production and preparation, can be carried out at a registered establishmentA place registered under export control law for particular export operations and goods, such as processing or preparing goods for export. without being added to the registration if the export rules do not require that operation to be covered by the registration.
The change is aimed especially at future 'general productsThe government’s term for several currently non-prescribed goods that export assurance reforms are intended to bring into the Export Control Act framework, such as wool, honey, animal food, skins and hides, rendered goods, food and beverages, and pharmaceutical or technical products.' such as wool, honey, animal food, skins and hides, rendered goods, food and beverages, and pharmaceutical or technical products, where the government says registered establishments are not proposed as the main regulatory tool.
The bill also lets government export certificates cover a kind of goods even when they are not tied to a particular consignmentA particular shipment or batch of goods being exported. The bill allows some government certificates to cover a kind of goods without being tied to a specific consignment., so the department can issue documents required by overseas trading partners.
A non-consignmentA particular shipment or batch of goods being exported. The bill allows some government certificates to cover a kind of goods without being tied to a specific consignment.-specific government certificateAn official export document issued by the Australian Government to support trade, often to give importing countries assurance about goods. will last until the expiry date written on it, or otherwise for no more than 18 months from issue.
that kind of export operations in relation to that kind of goods is required by the rules to be carried out at an establishment which is registered for that kind of operations in relation to that kind of goodsExport Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) as-passed bill text
allow for export operations (including production and preparation) to be carried out at registered establishments without needing to be included in the registration if it is not a prescribed export condition to be so includedExport Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) explanatory memorandum
The amendments would be of particular benefit in relation to general products, because registered establishments are not proposed to be used as a regulatory mechanism for those commodities.Export Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) explanatory memorandum
expand the scope of export documentation that can be issued by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry ... to include additional documentation required by trading partners that does not relate to a specific consignment of goodsExport Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) explanatory memorandum
remains in force until the earlier of the following: (a) any expiry date specified in the certificate; (b) the day that is 18 months after the date on which it was issued.Export Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) as-passed bill text
Context
The bill is a narrow export-control housekeeping bill tied to a wider export assurance reform project. The Export Control Act 2020The Commonwealth law that provides the main framework for regulating exports of goods, including food and agricultural products, from Australia. regulates exports of goods including food and agricultural products. As the government prepared to bring more currently non-prescribed products into the system as 'general productsThe government’s term for several currently non-prescribed goods that export assurance reforms are intended to bring into the Export Control Act framework, such as wool, honey, animal food, skins and hides, rendered goods, food and beverages, and pharmaceutical or technical products.', it found that the registered-establishment rules could create unnecessary registration work for businesses, while the certificate rules did not clearly cover all documents trading partners may require. Parliament passed the bill without recorded amendments, while Coalition speakers supported it and separately criticised rising export regulation costs.
Export Control Act sets the main export framework
The explanatory memorandum describes the Export Control Act 2020The Commonwealth law that provides the main framework for regulating exports of goods, including food and agricultural products, from Australia. as the overarching framework for regulating exports of goods, including food and agricultural products, from Australia.
Explanatory memorandum ↗Export assurance reform identifies registered-establishment issues
The department was conducting export assurance reforms for products such as wool, honey, animal food, skins and hides, rendered goods, food and beverages, and pharmaceutical or technical products. The bill responds to registration and documentation issues identified through that reform work.
Explanatory memorandum and minister speech ↗Government introduces the bill
Julie Collins introduced the bill in the House, saying it would remove unnecessary registration burden and let the government issue a broader range of export documents needed by trading partners.
Minister's second reading speech ↗House passes the bill
The House agreed to the second and third readings. Coalition speaker Sam Birrell supported the bill but raised broader concerns about export regulatory cost increases.
House debate and parliamentary timeline ↗Senate passes the bill unchanged
The Senate agreed to the second and third readings, and the bill finally passed both houses in the same form.
Senate debate and 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 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 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
Key criticism
No collected speaker opposed the bill. The main criticism raised in debate was about the broader export regulation system: Coalition speakers supported these amendments but argued that rising departmental export service costs and cost recovery charges were placing pressure on agricultural exporters.
The criticism was directed at export regulation costs and transparency around departmental modelling, not at the bill’s core changes to registered establishments and government certificates.
Export regulatory cost increases
Coalition speakers said departmental export regulatory costs for sectors including meat, seafood, grain, dairy, fruit and vegetables had risen by 47 per cent over five years, and argued those costs would ultimately be passed on to exporters and producers.
Transparency on cost recovery
Coalition speakers said the government should release modelling and evidence behind the cost increases, and Dave Sharma argued expanded export cost recovery charges should be abandoned rather than delayed for 12 months.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Julie Collins said the bill would reduce red tape for export businesses by allowing some operations at registered establishments without unnecessary registration changes, and would broaden the export documents the government can issue to meet trading partner requirements.
Read in Hansard ↗Sam Birrell said the Coalition supported the bill as a sensible, minor red-tape reduction for agricultural exporters, while using the debate to criticise rising export regulation costs and seek more transparency on the department's cost recovery model.
Read in Hansard ↗Dave Sharma said the Coalition supported the bill because it reduced unnecessary regulatory burden and improved export documentation powers, but argued the government should abandon expanded export cost recovery charges and explain the rise in departmental export service costs.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 2 contributions · 1 support
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Julie Collins on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Minister's second reading speech
Julie Collins said the bill would reduce red tape for export businesses by allowing some operations at registered establishments without unnecessary registration changes, and would broaden the export documents the government can issue to meet trading partner requirements.
“The bill will remove this burden, by enabling occupiers of registered establishments to conduct these operations without contravening the act.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Julie Collins closed the House debate by saying the bill would let export businesses carry out operations at registered establishments unless registration is actually required, support market access documentation, and help broader export assurance reforms for non-prescribed goodsGoods brought within detailed export control rules. The bill concerns operations for prescribed goods at registered establishments..
“The bill will remove this requirement, allowing industry to produce and prepare multiple types of products at a registered establishment if those products meet all of the requirements for exports.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
2 speakers · 2 support
“the federal coalition believes that the measures outlined in this legislation are sensible and reasonable”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The measures contained in the Export Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) Bill 2026 are sensible, practical and proportionate reforms”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 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 · 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.
