Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the federal coalition, I'm pleased to inform the House that we will be supporting the passage of the Export Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) Bill 2026. We are supporting this legislation because it will deliver sensible and minor amendments to the framework of export operations in Australia. The Export Control Act 2020 sets out the overarching legislative framework for the regulation of exported goods, including food and agricultural products, from Australia. It is important to acknowledge that this is a legislative framework which is regularly reviewed to ensure that it remains streamlined and fit for purpose.

This bill will reduce the regulatory burden on industry and facilitate regulatory reform of certain goods, 'general products', that are not currently prescribed for the purposes of the act, which are 'non-prescribed goods'. On this front, this bill before the House today would amend the Export Control Act 2020 to deliver several outcomes. First, it will allow 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 so be included'. This can present an excessive regulatory burden for some export operations, and this particular amendment in the bill will remove it. Ultimately, the federal coalition will always support measures that are aimed at cutting red tape, boosting productivity and maximising efficiency for Australia's export system and our key agricultural industries, who depend upon it.

The second set of amendments in this bill includes minor changes to expand the scope of export documentation that can be issued by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry when it comes to trade. This part of the legislation would allow the department to provide additional documentation required by Australia's trading partners to cover 'a range of goods' for export to a maximum period of 18 months, rather than 'a specific kind of goods'. This is also a measure that we welcome, given that it could help meet changing requirements from overseas countries.

Right now, we know that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is conducting an export assurance reform project that is examining the regulatory oversight of certain non-prescribed goods, including commodities such as wool and wool grease, skins and hides, animal food, honey and bee products, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and technical and blood products. Collectively, these categories of products are intended to be prescribed for purposes of the Export Control Act 2020 and be referred to as 'general products' once prescribed. The amendments in this bill will be of particular benefit to these 'general products' because registered establishments are not proposed to be used as a regulatory mechanism for those commodities.

To add a further note on the government's legislation, the explanatory memorandum indicates that the amendments in this bill are supported by industry. Overall, it is crucial that Australia maintains an efficient, robust and evidence based export system, because we know how vitally important exports are to the health, profitability, sustainability and resilience of our agriculture sector and all of our hardworking primary producers. This is underpinned by the reality that Australia exports 70 per cent of its total production, and, in 2025-26, this is forecast to reach $80.5 billion, which is truly a remarkable achievement.

When this legislation was introduced a couple of weeks ago, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry said that this bill was about 'increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our export regulatory system'. However, when it comes to export regulation, there are some significant challenges which currently confront the sector, and they need to be recognised. Among these are the excessively rising costs of Australia's agricultural exports. It is extraordinary that, over the last five years, between 2020 and 2025, the export regulatory costs of the department for our agricultural industries such as meat, seafood, grain, dairy and fruit and vegetables have increased by 47 per cent—an increase of 47 per cent in five years! These export regulation services cover responsibilities like documentation, assessments, inspections and audits. Unfortunately, we know that our nation's key export industries are already confronted with tariffs and rising fuel, fertiliser and input costs, so a 47 per cent rise in regulatory costs by the department to provide export services is enormously concerning, as it will be passed on to our agricultural industries. This increase needs to be heavily scrutinised, and, in the interests of our agricultural exporters, the ruler needs to be run over this.

That's why the federal coalition is taking action. In the Senate, we have successfully moved an order for the production of documents that demands that this government release its modelling and evidence behind these massive cost blowouts, because, in order to secure full transparency and accountability and maintain a fit-for-purpose export regulatory system, we need to know how the Albanese Labor government allowed the department's costs of providing export services to explode by such a large magnitude and now expects the agricultural industry to pay for it. We will take time to go through this data.

In conclusion, as I affirmed in my earlier remarks, the federal coalition strongly backs our agricultural exporters. We will always support having a productive, streamlined and effective export regulatory framework in Australia, and, when it comes to the Export Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) Bill 2026, the federal coalition believes that the measures outlined in this legislation are sensible and reasonable. It's for those reasons that I commend this bill to the House.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do want to thank the member opposite for contributing to the debate. I'm not sure that I can say I agree with everything he said, because I don't. But I say that this important bill, the Export Control Amendment (Clarifying Obligations Relating to Registered Establishments) Bill 2026, will reduce regulatory burden for Australian export businesses by ensuring that export operations can be carried out at registered establishments without needing to be included in the registration unless it's a prescribed export condition.

The act currently requires that all operations for prescribed goods at a registered establishment must be included in its registration. This includes operations that do not otherwise require registration, creating excessive regulatory burden for Australian exporters. 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.

This bill also broadens the scope of what documents the government can issue under the act to support trade. This ensures that the government can better support Australia's market access by providing the assurances required by our trading partners. These amendments support the Australian government's export assurance reform project. These reforms will strengthen the regulatory oversight of certain goods that are not currently prescribed for the purposes of the export control legislation, including wool, honey, pet food, skins and hides, rendered goods, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, stock feed and feed additives.

The bill underpins the government's commitment to support the growth of Australia's agriculture sector. It increases the efficiency and the effectiveness of our export regulatory system, and it paves the way for broader reform across a range of non-prescribed goods. I commend the bill to the chamber.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.